Chairman: Neil B Glassman, Esquire
- Number of partners: 10
- Number of other attorneys: 8
FIRM OVERVIEW: With over 50 years of experience, Bayard remains one of Delaware’s premier law firms. The firm’s philosophy is simple—to assure client satisfaction by providing the highest level of legal representation and service for local, national, and international businesses.Bayard attorneys are dedicated to obtaining the best possible results in a timely and cost-effective manner. Bayard is known for the sophisticated specialization, found at larger firms, and the accessibility to attorneys, typically found at smaller firms. The original members, former Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Daniel L Herrmann and Associate Justice William Duffy as well as Alexis I DuPont Bayard, built a strong foundation for the firm. Bayard has nationally recognized practices in commercial bankruptcy, corporate and commercial litigation, intellectual property, securitization, structured finance, and insurance insolvencies.Other established practices include entity formation, real estate, insurance, tax, estate planning, estate administration, and domestic relations. Bayard is the sole Delaware member of Meritas, the largest worldwide association of national and international business law firms. The firm’s subsidiary, The Delaware Corporation Agency, Inc., a registered agent of the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, enables the firm to provide a full range of services relating to the formation of new Delaware entities and registered agent service for new and existing Delaware entities.
MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE:
Bankruptcy & Creditor’s Rights: Bayard provides services to debtors, creditors and equity committees, purchasers, trustees, lenders, and shareholders in Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. It also represents parties in other insolvency proceedings, including state court receiverships and insurance company rehabilitations or liquidations. Bayard works regularly with troubled businesses through all phases of reorganization or liquidation, including out-of-court workouts. Bayard represents clients in a number of jurisdictions, but focuses its practice on bankruptcy cases in Delaware; a venue of choice for business reorganizations. It has participated in most of the significant bankruptcy cases in Delaware in the last decade.
Corporate & Commercial Litigation: Bayard has broad experience in all types of business litigation matters in state and federal courts in Delaware. Bayard has substantial expertise in corporate litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery, the preeminent state court in the United States for the adjudication of corporate matters.Bayard litigators handle all types of corporate governance cases, including contests for the control of boards of directors; corporate election disputes; stock appraisal cases; stockholder class and derivative actions; proceedings involving the rights of preferred stockholders and debt holders; and, expedited proceedings for the inspection of corporate records. Bayard also litigates commercial disputes in state and federal courts in Delaware and in other jurisdictions. Bayard’s experience also includes business contract, construction, mechanic’s lien, and environmental litigation.
Corporate/Mergers and Acquisitions/Alternative Entities: Bayard regularly advises clients in connection with Delaware entity formation and operation, governance advice, third party legal opinions,mergers, acquisitions, and conversions and divestitures. Its attorneys are experienced in negotiating and drafting documents related to this advice.Bayard’s clients range from individuals, small businesses, and non-profit agencies to large corporations. Bayard’s corporate transactional attorneys focus on transactions involving Delaware business entities, including corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and statutory trusts.Bayard also handles structured finance and secured transactions.
Intellectual Property: Bayard has two focuses in intellectual property: litigation and transactional. Bayard’s litigation IP practice centers on providing Delaware counsel to firms involved in patent litigation pending in the Delaware federal court, one of the busiest venues for patent litigation in the United States. Bayard’s IP litigators have experience in bench and jury trials before each of the Court’s judges, and in mediations with the Court’s Magistrate Judge.Bayard’s transactional IP practice focuses on advising clients as to trademark and domain name matters, and preparing, prosecuting, and maintaining HEAD OFFICE DELAWARE 222 Delaware Avenue, Suite 900, PO Box 25130,Wilmington, DE 19899 Tel: 302 655 5000 Fax: 302 658 6395 Website: www.bayardlaw.com state and federal trademark applications. Bayard’s transactional IP attorneys also handle merger and acquisition transactions in which intellectual property assets are being acquired, and loan transactions in which intellectual property assets are serving as collateral. Bayard attorneys also have experience drafting software and intellectual property licenses.
Real Estate: Bayard has a diverse real estate practice, representing clients engaged in all aspects of the real estate industry throughout Delaware and surrounding states.Bayard’s clients include residential and commercial buyers and sellers of real estate, owners and developers of apartment complexes, office buildings, and residential subdivisions; homebuilders; and banks who lend money secured by real estate.Bayard also handles all aspects of title insurance business in Delaware and acts as an agent for several national title insurance companies.
Taxation, Estate Planning & Probate: Bayard has significant experience in estate and trust planning, estate administration, asset management and disposition, business transactions, tax, and fiduciary litigation.Bayard counsels clients on estate planning involving non-resident spouses, creation of domestic entities by non-resident individuals and businesses, estate and business formation and restructuring, negotiating acquisitions, divisions, and sales. Bayard attorneys routinely assist with the Delaware piece of a client’s estate plan, eg. by establishing asset protection, directed, or dynasty trusts, or by re-domiciling existing trusts to Delaware to benefit from its wealth-friendly trust laws. Bayard’s estate planning and transactional attorneys work together to advise on the formation and operation of captive insurance companies, and to incorporate the captive as part of a business owner’s overall estate plan.
Family Law: Bayard provides a full range of domestic legal services in the areas of divorce and separation, property division, child custody and support, negotiation of prenuptial agreements, and adoption.