Practice Areas
Education
- J.D., with distinction, 1975, Emory University School of Law
- B.A., 1970, Haverford College
Admissions to Practice
- Delaware, 1976
- Georgia, 1975
David is a partner in the Commercial Law Counseling Group and serves on the firm’s Executive Committee.
As a respected senior member of the Bar with over 30 years experience in all business cycles, David’s advice and creativity have assisted many Fortune 1000, local, national and international organizations in their efforts to structure, negotiate and draft complex agreements and other instruments to meet immediate transactional needs, anticipate future uncertainties and take advantage of Delaware’s corporate and business laws.
David’s practice covers a wide spectrum of local, national and international transactional matters and client advice, including business acquisition agreements, major material supply agreements, employment matters, licensing, municipal finance and Delaware holding companies.
Active nationally in the American Bar Association, David is a member of the ABA Business Law Section’s Negotiated Acquisition Committee (Editorial Subcommittee for the Revised Model Stock Purchase Agreement) and Uniform Commercial Code and Legal Opinions Committees. He was Delaware’s representative to the ABA Task Force on Adoption of Revised Article 9. Locally, he serves as a member of the Delaware Bar Association’s Uniform Commercial Code Subcommittee.
David is a chapter author of BNA’s Corporate Practice Series and of professional practice guides and articles. He frequently delivers in-house seminars to counsel and clients who seek more effective ways to address transactional concerns in an increasingly challenging economic environment.
Professional and Community Activities
- Director (member Audit Committee), Tiedemann Trust Company
- Trustee, member of Executive Committee, Secretary and past President of The Grand Opera House, Delaware's performing arts center
- Director, Brandywine Baroque, Inc.
- Member, Emory Law School Advisory Board
Noteworthy
- Best Lawyers in America 2009-2013
Representative Matters
- Counsel to the E-ZPass Interagency Group, the consortium of 25 regional agencies and authorities stretching from Maine to Virginia, Indiana and Illinois, that implement the E-ZPass toll collection system.
- Transactional counsel for Lucite International, Inc.’s acquisition of DuPont’s acrylonitrile facility and site services in Beaumont, Texas.
- Shareholder counsel for The Fibre-Metal Products Company in sale of the company to Norcross Safety Products, LLC.
- Transactional counsel in The Siegfried Group, LLP equity offerings and sale of its certified public accounting practice.
- Transactional counsel to FORTISTAR Capital in its $500 million purchase of the Reliant Energy Channelview power plant.
News
- 28 Morris Nichols Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America 2013
28 Morris Nichols attorneys have been named to The Best Lawyers in America 2013 in twenty two practice areas. - 25 Morris Nichols Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America 2012
25 Morris Nichols attorneys have been named to The Best Lawyers in America 2012 in twenty practice areas. - Morris Nichols Part of International M&A Team – Advises Shareholders on the Sale of Omicron NanoTechnology GmbH to Oxford Instruments PLC
David Ley Hamilton and R. Jason Russell served as U.S. legal counsel that teamed with German law firm and fellow TerraLex network member SKW Schwarz to advise on the sale of German-based Omicron NanoTechnology GmbH and its U.K., U.S., Japanese and French subsidiaries to the British technology company Oxford Instruments plc. - David Ley Hamilton Co-Authors Updated ABA Model Stock Purchase Agreement: Second Edition
David Hamilton co-authored the updated Model Stock Purchase Agreement with Commentary, Second Edition, published by the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Business Law Section and released this month. - 26 Morris Nichols Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America 2011; Firm is Top-Listed in Eight Categories in Delaware
26 Morris Nichols attorneys have been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America 2011. The firm was also “Top-Listed in Delaware” in eight practice areas.
Notable Publications and Presentations
- David Ley Hamilton, Michael Houghton, New Filings Under Revised Article 9– A Delaware Perspective, Business Law Today, March/April 2002, at 57
- David Ley Hamilton, David A. Harris, Delaware Enacts Revised Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, (February 13, 2001)