Law360 Talks with Partner Christopher H. Lyons about New Robbins Geller Delaware Office

Earlier this year, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announced its newest office, located in Wilmington, Delaware. Partner Christopher H. Lyons, who leads the office, joined Law360 recently to discuss his leadership style, his advice to attorneys preparing to appear before the Chancery Court for the first time, how the Firm will set itself apart in Delaware, and other topics.

The majority of Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware, making it a key jurisdiction for litigation to protect shareholders’ rights and to secure and enforce good corporate governance.

The judges of the Delaware Court of Chancery “are among the best in the world, and the lawyers we get to litigate against and alongside are exceptionally impressive,” said Lyons, who focuses his practice on representing institutional and individual investors in merger-related class action litigation and in complex securities litigation. Lyons also said it’s “always a pleasure” to debate “emerging issues of corporate law with a close-knit community of practitioners who think deeply and broadly about the law and its implications.”

The Firm has led precedent-setting cases in the Delaware Court of Chancery for decades, recovering billions for shareholders and securing important corporate reforms. During that time, the Firm’s clients have led successful litigation to take on corporate misconduct such as options backdating, investment bankers corrupting M&A processes by working both sides of deals, bribery of foreign officials, pollution, off-label marketing, and insider trading and related self-dealing. In April 2023, a Robbins Geller litigation team and co-counsel secured a $1 billion recovery on behalf of investors in Dell Technologies Class V tracking stock in the largest recovery prior to judgment ever achieved in a breach of fiduciary duty class action in the Delaware Court of Chancery.

Lyons began his career clerking for Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster, and since then has prosecuted many cases in the Court of Chancery, including multiple trials on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants.

Lyons shared his advice for success in the Court of Chancery: “For an attorney appearing the first time, three tips — preparation, preparation, preparation. Be as deeply prepared as you can be, understanding both the facts and the law, and keep in mind that every argument you make either helps or hurts your credibility. In this court, it's imperative to understand which arguments are strong, which aren’t, and choose accordingly.”

Asked how Robbins Geller will set itself apart from other national firms with Delaware offices, Lyons said: “Results. We’re in the business of getting results for shareholders who have been wronged. That’s what we’ve done, and it’s what we’ll continue to do.”

In addition to Lyons, partners Randall J. Baron, Travis E. Downs III, Chad Johnson, and Noam Mandel lead the Firm’s Delaware Practice Group litigating this specialized area of law in Delaware courts. The Delaware Practice Group also includes partners Benny C. Goodman III, David A. Knotts, Erik W. Luedeke, A. Rick Atwood, Jr., Desiree Cummings, and Jonathan Zweig, and associate Tayler D. Bolton.

Read the interview at https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/1736471

About Robbins Geller

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is one of the world’s leading complex litigation firms, representing plaintiffs in securities fraud, shareholder derivative, antitrust, corporate takeover, and consumer fraud and privacy cases. With 200 lawyers in 10 offices, Robbins Geller is one of the world’s largest plaintiffs’ firms, and the Firm’s attorneys have obtained many of the largest securities, antitrust, and consumer class action recoveries in history.

The Firm is ranked #1 on the most recent ISS Securities Class Action Services Top 50 Report for recovering more than $1.75 billion for investors in 2022 — the third year in a row Robbins Geller tops the list. And in those three years alone, Robbins Geller recovered nearly $5.3 billion for investors, more than double the amount recovered by any other plaintiffs’ firm. The Firm secured the largest-ever securities fraud class action settlement — $7.2 billion — in In re Enron Corp. Securities Litigation.

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