Richard I. G. Jones, Jr. (“Richie”) is a Partner with Berger Harris. He specializes in Business and Corporate Litigation and Counseling. Richie carries nearly two decades of experience representing corporations, directors, officers, alternative-entity managers and institutional stockholders in a wide range of complex corporate and commercial litigation settings, including stockholder class and derivative actions, internal-corporate-affairs and alternative entity disputes, special committee work, proxy battles, M&A litigation, stockholder activism, business separations, indemnification and advancement of legal fees, enforcement of non-competes, contract disputes and other forms of corporate and commercial actions.

A native Delawarean, Richie is a well-known and respected member of the Delaware Bar and the Wilmington community. He graduated cum laude from Widener University School of Law, where he served as External Managing Editor of the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law. He was a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Walter K. Stapleton of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Richie began practicing law at Richards, Layton & Finger in 1994 and was a partner at Ashby & Geddes. He practices primarily in the Delaware Court of Chancery and Delaware Supreme Court, where he has taken cases through trial and appeal as lead counsel.

In addition to his corporate and commercial litigation expertise, Richie possesses unique qualifications to render advice and counsel on corporate governance issues, with a focus on the intersection of fiduciary duties and the adoption of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards. After leaving Ashby & Geddes, Richie served as Delaware State Director for The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the world’s leading environmental non-profit. At TNC, Richie worked frequently on ESG and sustainability engagements with some of the world’s largest companies and drove the establishment of a ground-breaking impact-investment vehicle for freshwater conservation. Richie also advanced TNC’s policy agenda before various legislative and regulatory bodies, including the Delaware General Assembly and United States Congress. Richie currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility, a quasi-public entity focused on transitioning Delaware to a low-carbon, energy-efficient future.

Representative Cases:

• In re Caremark International, Inc., 698 A.2d 959 (Del. Ch. 1996).
• Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. v. Iris Cantor, et al., 724 A.2d 571 (Del. Ch. 1998).
• In re Siliconix, No. CIV.A. 18700, 2001 WL 716787 (Del. Ch. June 19, 2001).
• McNeil vs. McNeil, 798 A.2d 503 (Del. 2002).
• Hewlett v. Hewlett Packard Company, CIV.A. 19513, 2002 WL 549137 (Del. Ch. Apr. 8, 2002).
• In re Biogen Idec., Inc. (representation of major stockholder activist in successful proxy battle for two board seats; no written decisions issued).
• In re Southern Peru Copper Corp., 52 A.3d 761 (Del. Ch. 2011).