Practice Areas
Education
- J.D., magna cum laude, 1988, Georgetown University Law Center
- Associate Editor, 1987-1988, Georgetown Law Journal
- B.A., 1985, University of Maryland
Admissions to Practice
- Delaware, 1989
Rick is Chair of the firm's Executive Committee and a member of the Delaware Corporate Law Counseling Group which specializes in providing advice on corporate governance and transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and corporate control contests. His work often involves counseling boards of directors and board committees, including special committees of directors appointed to negotiate mergers or other significant transactions. He also provides formal legal opinions on issues involving Delaware corporate law and related matters.
Rick is the Chairman of the Council of the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State Bar Association and Co-Chair of the General Review Task Force of the ABA Committee on Corporate Laws. He also serves on the Editorial Board of the ABA Task Force on Public Company Acquisitions, and the ABA Task Force on Shareholder Proposals.
Selected Best Lawyers’ 2011 Delaware Mergers & Acquisitions Lawyer of the Year, Rick is also one of five lawyers listed in the top band for Delaware Corporate/M&A lawyers in the 2010 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
Rick regularly presents before professional audiences on Delaware corporate law appearing at distinguished venues such as the Tulane Corporate Law Institute, the Securities Regulation Institute, the National Institute on Negotiating Business Acquisitions, the Ray Garrett, Jr. Corporate and Securities Law Institute, the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals, and the RR Donnelley SEC Hot Topics Institute, among many others.
He is the co-author of The Delaware Corporation; Legal Aspects of Organization and Operation 1-4th C.P.S. (BNA 2010) and has written numerous articles, including Responding to Unsolicited Takeover Offers (Conference Board 2009), Power to the Franchise or the Fiduciaries?: An Analysis of the Limits on Stockholder Activist Bylaws (Delaware Journal of Corporate Law, 2008); and An Optimal Mix of Clarity and Flexibility (Delaware Lawyer Spring 2008).
Professional and Community Activities
- Planning Committee, Tulane Corporate Law Institute
- Chairman, Council of the Corporate Law Section of the Delaware State Bar Association
- Co-Chair, General Review Task Force of the ABA Committee on Corporate Laws
- Editorial Board, ABA Task Force on Public Company Acquisitions
- Member, ABA Task Force on Shareholder Proposals
Noteworthy
- Best Lawyers’ 2011 Delaware Lawyer of the Year in Mergers & Acquisitions Law
- Chambers USA: Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
- Best Lawyers in America 2006-2012
- Super Lawyers – Delaware Edition
- Lawdragon: 500 Leading Lawyers in America
News
- 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. - Chambers USA 2011 Names Twenty Morris Nichols Attorneys and Four Practice Groups as Best In Delaware
The 2011 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business today ranked twenty Morris Nichols’ attorneys and four practice groups as best in Delaware. - 19 Morris Nichols Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in Super Lawyers – Delaware Edition 2011
Super Lawyers® magazine has named 19 Morris Nichols attorneys as top legal counsel in Delaware for 2011. - Rick Alexander, Daniel Matthews in Corporate Counsel Weekly: The Multi-Jurisdictional Stockholder Litigation Problem and the Forum Selection Solution
Rick Alexander and Daniel Matthews authored The Multi-Jurisdictional Stockholder Litigation Problem and the Forum Selection Solution, published in the May 11, 2011 issue of BNA’s Corporate Counsel Weekly. - Gil Sparks, Rick Alexander, Lou Hering, Patricia Vella, Eric Wilensky – Present at ABA Business Law Section Spring Meeting
Gil Sparks, Rick Alexander, Lou Hering, Tricia Vella, and Eric Wilensky served as panel speakers at the American Bar Association (ABA) Business Law Section Spring Meeting in Boston. - Morris Nichols Attorneys Listed in Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America
Rick Alexander, Jack Blumenfeld, John Johnston, Bill Lafferty, Ken Nachbar and Gil Sparks have been recognized in Lawdragon Magazine’s listing of its 500 Leading Lawyers in America 2010. - Rick Alexander Elected Chair of Morris Nichols’ Executive Committee
Morris Nichols is pleased to announce that Rick Alexander has been elected Chair of the firm’s Executive Committee. - Rick Alexander Presents at 42nd Annual Securities Regulation Institute: Important Developments in Delaware Corporate Law
Rick Alexander served as a panelist for the session entitled Important Developments in Delaware Corporate Law at PLI’s 42nd Annual Securities Regulation Institute held in New York City. - Rick Alexander Named 2011 Delaware M&A Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers
Rick Alexander has been named Delaware Lawyer of the Year by the Best Lawyers in America Guide. - Morris Nichols Trial Team Contributes to eBay's Victory in Shareholder Dispute with craigslist
William Lafferty headed the Morris Nichols trial team that represented eBay Inc. in its successful shareholder dispute against craigslist. - Rick Alexander Presents DealLawyers.com Webinar: Dissecting the Modern Poison Pill
Rick Alexander served as a panelist for the DealLawyers.com Webinar entitled Dissecting the Modern Poison Pill - Rick Alexander Guest Contributor to The Conference Board Governance Center Blog: State Law Under Proxy Access
Rick Alexander wrote State Law Under Proxy Access, an entry that appears on The Conference Board’s Governance Center Blog - 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. - Chambers USA 2010 Names Twenty Morris Nichols Attorneys as Leading Lawyers
The 2010 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business today ranked twenty Morris Nichols attorneys and four practice groups as among the best in Delaware. - 18 Morris Nichols Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in Super Lawyers – Delaware Edition 2010
Super Lawyers® magazine has named 18 Morris Nichols attorneys as top legal counsel in Delaware for 2010. - Lawdragon Names Four Morris Nichols Attorneys Among 500 Leading Lawyers in America
Rick Alexander, Jack Blumenfeld, Bill Lafferty and Ken Nachbar have been named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America 2010 guide. - Morris Nichols Represents IMS Health Transaction Committee in $5.2 Billion Private Equity Acquisition – Largest Leveraged Buyout this Year
Rick Alexander, and associates Eric Wilensky and Ryan Greecher, advised the Transaction Committee for IMS Health, Inc. in connection with its acquisition by TPG Capital and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in a transaction valued at $5.2 billion.
Notable Publications and Presentations
- Frederick H. Alexander, Corporate Directors Should Prepare for Rise in Unsolicited Takeover Offers, The Conference Board Governance, No. 309 (June 2009)
- Frederick H. Alexander, An Optimal Mix of Clarity and Flexibility, Delaware Lawyer, Vol. 26, No. 1, Spring 2008
- Frederick H. Alexander, James D. Honaker, Stockholders in Corporate Governance: Power to the Franchise or the Fiduciaries?: An Analysis of the Limits On Stockholder Activist Bylaws, 33 Del. J. Corp. L. 3 (2008)
- Frederick H. Alexander, James D. Honaker, The Nuts and Bolts of Majority Voting, Corporation, Aspen Publishers, August 2006 (revised December 2006)
- Frederick H. Alexander, James D. Honaker, Amendments Adopted to the Delaware Corporation Law, Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (July 26, 2006)