Delaware Chancellor William B. Chandler III to Join Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the premier provider of legal services to technology, life sciences, and other growth enterprises worldwide, is pleased to announce that William B. Chandler III, the current Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery, will become a partner at the firm. Widely respected as one of the country's most influential judges on issues of corporate law and governance, Chancellor Chandler will join the firm on June 18, 2011.

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"We are incredibly proud to have such an esteemed member of the judiciary join the firm," said Chairman Larry Sonsini. "During his tenure on the bench, Chancellor Chandler has authored many of the most significant decisions on critical questions of corporate governance and the role of directors in managing the corporation. His two decades of judicial experience enable him to offer a unique perspective to the boards of directors and management teams of leading public and private enterprises across the globe. His insight in the areas of corporate governance, special committee assignments, internal investigations, and mergers and acquisitions is unrivaled. In addition, as a jurist and as an individual, Chancellor Chandler has gained a well-deserved global reputation for his wisdom, character, and integrity. We are delighted to welcome him to the firm."

"It has been a privilege to serve on the Delaware Court of Chancery," said Chancellor Chandler. "I repeatedly have said that serving as Chancellor likely will be the greatest honor of my life, but I felt that the time was right to take on new challenges. After considerable thought, I believe Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is the right place for me to begin my next chapter. WSGR has an outstanding legal practice, one of the most enviable client bases in the nation, and a roster of attorneys whom I long have considered among the best in the business. That made the firm extremely compelling to me, and I am excited to establish my practice on such a strong and promising platform."

Chancellor Chandler has served since 1989 on the Delaware Court of Chancery, the nation's leading court for corporate law cases, particularly those relating to change of control and other corporate law issues. Since his appointment, he has issued more than a thousand opinions and presided over some of the most contentious and high-profile corporate law disputes in the country, including those involving The Walt Disney Company, Yahoo, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, eBay, Citigroup, Dow Chemical, and, most recently, the Air Products/Airgas dispute. His opinions and analyses have made him one of the most influential corporate jurists in the world, and many of his rulings have become required reading for M&A and business law practitioners. He also has written and lectured widely on numerous critical corporate law issues, and during his tenure as Chancellor, he gained a national reputation for his successful administration of the Court of Chancery.

Prior to his appointment to the Court of Chancery, Chancellor Chandler served as resident judge of the Delaware Superior Court from 1985 to 1989. Earlier in his career, he was an associate with Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell and served as legal counsel to Pete duPont, the former governor of Delaware. Chancellor Chandler received law degrees from the University of South Carolina School of Law and Yale Law School, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware. He is a member of the American Law Institute and a trustee of the Yale Center for Corporate Governance, the University of Delaware, and the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance.

About Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2011, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati offers a broad range of services and legal disciplines focused on serving the principal challenges faced by the management and boards of directors of business enterprises. The firm is nationally recognized as a leader in the fields of corporate governance and finance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, securities litigation, employment law, intellectual property, and antitrust, among many other areas of law. With long-standing roots in Silicon Valley, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has offices in Austin, Hong Kong, New York, Palo Alto, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, and Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.wsgr.com.

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