Delaware Litigation Lawyer & Attorney : Francis G. X. Pileggi : Corporate, Business, Commercial, Delaware Chancery Court

Francis practices primarily in the areas of corporate and commercial litigation. He was the founding partner who started the Wilmington, Delaware, office of Fox Rothschild LLP, one of the country's largest and oldest law firms, in 2001, where he continues to practice in the Litigation Department.

His litigation practice emphasizes representation of corporations and other entities, members of boards of directors, stockholders, creditors and debtors. He has extensive experience in matters involving fiduciary duties and corporate governance as well as summary proceedings under the Delaware General Corporation Law. He is Co-chair of the Electronic Discovery Committee of his firm.

He is a Guest Contributor for The Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Blog.

Recognized as one of the top lawyers in Delaware by Delaware Today magazine, Francis has a strong legislative background, having served as legislative counsel for the Delaware House of Representatives from 1994 through 1998. During that time, he wrote legislation and testified before the Delaware General Assembly about pending legislation.

He is a former member of the Executive Committee and a former assistant treasurer of the Delaware State Bar Association, as well as a former member of the Steering Committee for the Superior Court Trial Practice Forum. Additionally, Francis participated on Host Committees for fundraisers for the 2008 campaigns of Jack Markell for Delaware Governor and Matt Denn for Lieutenant Governor.

Francis uses his skills as a trial attorney and his corporate background to provide legal counsel and advice to the construction industry. A member of the Delaware Contractors Association, Francis has spoken before this and other trade groups and is a member of the firm's Construction Law Group.

He is on the Board of Trustees of Neumann College in Aston, Pennsylvania and was named in 2005 by the Prime Minister of Italy as a Cavaliere. Also in 2005 he was appointed by the Governor of Kentucky as a Kentucky Colonel. He is a member of the National Italian American Foundation and Legatus International. He is also a member of the Order of Malta. He is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Delaware Trial Lawyers Association.

He is on the Editorial Board of The Bencher, the national publication of The American Inns of Court. He is the former Editor for the Newsletter of the ABA Business Law Section's Business and Corporate Litigation Committee, and co-chair of the Ethics Subcommittee of the ABA Litigation Section's Business and Commercial Litigation Committee.

His Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog at www.delawarelitigation.com has been selected as a Top Blog by LexisNexis, and as one of the Top 100 Most Popular Blawgs of All Time by Justia.com's BlawgSearch site.

He has been described as "a brand name in Delaware corporate litigation through his blog" and has also been referred to as the "dean of Delaware law bloggers".

Click here to view his complete biography.

• Co-author, Benefits of Being a Delaware Company and Recent Developments in the Governance of LLCs,  Bloomberg Law Reports , Vol. 2, No. 33 (August 18, 2008).
• Chancery Gives Victory to Freedom of Contract, The Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Blog, http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/corpgov/2008/05/23/chancery-gives-victory-to-freedom-of-contract/ (May 23, 2008)
• Co-author, Court Rejects Bid Due To Use of Wrong Bond Form, DCA News (May 12, 2008)
• Co-author, Non-Delaware Lawyers Sued in Delaware for Advising on Delaware Law, Business Law Today (March/April 2008)
• Class Member Not Entitled to Full Panoply of Attorney/Client Relationship Benefits, The Bencher (March/April 2008)
• Review of Corporate Decisions by Delaware Courts in 2007, Delaware Law Weekly, Jan. 2008
• Review of Corporate Decisions by Delaware Courts in 2006, Bloomberg Law Reports, Feb. 2007.
• Directors' Actions Scrutinized in Sample v. Morgan, Delaware Law Weekly, Feb. 21, 2007.
• Shareholder Request for Books and Records Denied Under Section 220, Delaware Law Weekly, Dec. 13, 2006.
• Unsolicited E-mails Not Subject to Rules Applicable to Client Communications, The Bencher, Jan/Feb 2007.
• Attorney Fees for Breach of Forum Selection Clause, The Delaware Law Weekly, Nov. 1, 2006.
• Ethics Column, The Bencher, , Sept./Oct. 2006
• Deepening Insolvency, The Delaware Law Weekly, Sept. 2006
• Chancery Court Rulings Highlight Flexibility of Equitable Relief Available, Delaware Law Weekly, July 2006
• Florida Appellate Court Allows Attorney to Represent Majority Shareholder But Not Corporation; The Bencher, January/February 2006
• Arbitration May Not Be As Efficient As It Seems; The Delaware Law Weekly, October 2005 .
• Jurisdiction Over Non-Residents In Delaware Based on Civil Conspiracy With A Delaware Entity; The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, Jan. 2005
• A Short Overview of Recent Developments in Electronic Discovery; Delaware Law Weekly, Sept. 2004
• Recent Delaware Decisions Clarify Definition of 'Independent Director'; Delaware Corporate Litigation Reporter, Aug. 2003
• New Legislation Expands Jurisdiction of Delaware Court of Chancery; Litigation and Corporate Departments Alert, June 2003
• Court Enforces Restriction on Competition by Ex-Employees; Delaware Law Weekly, Feb. 2003
• A Hard Look at Fees for Fees; Delaware Law Weekly, Oct. 2002

• ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY BASICS AND THE NEW FEDERAL RULES Views From the Bench and Bar 
                                                                                                                                                                  May 2007
  Philadelphia Country Club
  
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  December 19, 2006
  Delaware State Bar Association
   

• BLOGS: WHAT LAWYERS AND BUSINESSES NEED TO KNOW June 14, 2006 Presented with Patrick Robben, on behalf of and sponsored by the American Bar Association.

• OVERVIEW OF DELAWARE CORPORATE LAW June 2005 Presented to Delegation of Lawyers from Italy hosted by Delaware Secretary of State.

• OVERVIEW OF ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY May 2005 Presented to Construction Financial Management Association Wilmington, Delaware.

• OVERVIEW OF ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY May 2004 Presented to Delaware Contractors Association.

• LEGATUS PRESENTATION: CEO BUSINESS ETHICS February 2004.

• SARBANES-OXLEY ACT: CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY ISSUES November 2002 Green Valley Country Club.