Francis Pileggi Speaks With Delaware Business Court Insider About Consolidation of Chancery Court Rules

Wilmington, Del. (October 2, 2023) – Wilmington Managing Partner Francis G.X. Pileggi recently spoke with the Delaware Business Court Insider (DCBI) (part of Law.com) for an article titled, “Rule Changes Address 'Huge Inconvenience' of Formatting Chancery Filings,” which discusses the consolidation of the Delaware Court of Chancery’s rules on formatting and content.

As the article explains, the Delaware state judiciary recently announced the consolidation of its formatting and content rules as part of a “comprehensive update” designed to align the style of the rules with that of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. According to the article, the changes to the rules will likely save attorneys time when ensuring that their filings meet court requirements.

In explaining the benefits of the recent updates, Mr. Pileggi told DBCI, “It really was a great public service to do this, because it typically is not something that’s at the top of everyone’s priorities. . . . Among the most helpful on a practical level is the consolidation into one place of the rules relating to the maximum length, content, and format of briefs, motions, and letters to the court. In another example, it was useful to remove antiquated words like ‘decree nisi.’”

In addition, Mr. Pileggi noted that previously, searching various sources to review the rules regarding court filings “was a huge inconvenience, and also time consuming.” He further explained how the new changes could result in cost-savings for clients, describing, “For the unlucky associate who was given the task of going to double check what the maximum length was, it was not always an easy task the first time doing it. Which ultimately would mean that it’s more expensive for the client, because they’re going to be charging the client, at least indirectly, for the time it takes to determine compliance for filings.”

Mr. Pileggi is a member of Lewis Brisbois’ Complex Business & Commercial Litigation Practice. He focuses primarily on high-stakes disputes of corporations, stockholders, members of boards of directors, members and managers of LLCs, and those with managerial or ownership interests in other forms of entities. In addition, since 2004, Mr. Pileggi has maintained the Delaware Corporate & Commercial Litigation Blog, at www.delawarelitigation.com, in which he analyzes key corporate and commercial decisions from Delaware's Supreme Court and Court of Chancery.

Read the full DBCI article here (subscription may be required).