Aaron M. Nelson
Court of Chancery Practice | Intellectual Property Practice | Stockholder and Investor Practice | Business Divorce Practice | Insurance Coverage Defense Practice | Special Committee Practice
Aaron M. Nelson, a partner with Heyman Enerio Gattuso & Hirzel LLP, focuses his practice in the areas of corporate and commercial litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery, as well as intellectual property litigation in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
His practice includes litigating stockholder class actions and derivative suits involving mergers and acquisitions and other transactions involving issues of corporate governance, officer and director fiduciary obligations, officer and director indemnity, and the resolution of limited partnership and limited liability company disputes.
Aaron is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey.
Education
Widener University School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 2013); Delaware Journal of Corporate Law; President of Moot Court Honor Society; and Veterans Law Clinic
Dickinson College (B.A., cum laude, 2008)
Past Career
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Attorney Contractor, 2013-2014
Law Clerk to the Honorable M. Jane Brady, Delaware Superior Court, 2013
Judicial Intern to the Honorable Henry duPont Ridgely, Delaware Supreme Court, 2012
Memberships
Delaware State Bar Association
American Bar Association
Notable Representations
- In re Carlisle Etcetera LLC, 114 A.3d 592 (Del. Ch. 2015): successfully persuaded the Court to “equitably dissolve” Carlisle Etcetera LLC, a joint venture between Royal Spirit Group of Hong Kong and Tom James Company. This was the first Delaware case to “equitably dissolve” an LLC. Summary judgment was granted in the firm’s client’s favor at 2015 WL 2066764.
- Schmelzer v. Teramedica, Inc., 2015 WL 4555308 (Del. Ch.): convinced the Court of Chancery to award Plaintiffs’ counsel one-fifth of their requested fee petition by arguing that the equitable “micro-cap exception” capped the value of supplemental disclosures obtained for minority shareholders.
- Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Ghilardi, C.A. No. 11233-VCN (Del. Ch. July 9, 2015) (Transcript): successfully persuaded the Court to apply California law to a non-competition agreement which contained a Delaware choice of law provision. The Court denied an application for a temporary restraining order seeking to enjoin the firm’s client from commencing work with a direct competitor because the plaintiff could not establish a colorable claim under California law.
Publications
- Author of Delaware Insider: Equitable Dissolution: The New (Old) Frontier, Business Law Today, May 2016.
- Co-contributor, Litigating the Business Divorce (BNA 2016)
- Co-Author of the 2015 ABA Corporate Law Developments Chapter
- Co-Author of the 2014 ABA Corporate Law Developments Chapter
All of the firm’s partners are AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®. The firm is listed in Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, Go-To Top 500, and the Martindale-Hubbell® Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers..
