If you’ve read Why Commercial Litigation Costs So Much in Delaware, you know Delaware is expensive. The process is meticulous. The filings are brutal. The out-of-pocket costs are steep. And the judges don’t play around.
But here’s the part most people don’t talk about—talent.
Because in Delaware, the cost problem isn’t just about motions, discovery, or experts. It’s about who’s qualified to do this work.
And the answer?
Not many.
Let’s Start With This: What Is “Corporate Litigation,” Really?
People throw the phrase around all the time:
“Oh yeah, I do corporate litigation.”
No, you don’t.
If you defend State Farm in trucking accidents, you’re an insurance defense lawyer.
If you work at Greenberg Traurig and do employment law for mid-market tech companies, you’re doing labor & employment—not corporate litigation.
Corporate litigation is not just “litigation involving corporations.” It’s litigation involving the law of corporations—fiduciary duty, books and records, derivative actions, appraisal, M&A fights, capital stack chaos.
And Delaware is the Vatican of corporate law. (We were going to say Mecca, but we’re a Catholic-leaning public benefit firm, so we’ll keep it on brand.)
You want to talk 220 demands? Entire fairness? Kahn v. M&F Worldwide? That’s Delaware’s playground.
Most Lawyers Hated Corporations Class
Ask most lawyers what their least favorite class was in law school.
Spoiler: It’s corporations.
They slog through it for the bar and never look back.
When I graduated from Georgetown, people were stunned that I wanted to do Delaware corporate litigation. I wrote my thesis on 220 books and records. People looked at me like I was nuts.
Nobody says “I want to do Delaware Chancery work” when they enter law school.
Except me. Apparently.
Now Let’s Talk About the Delaware Bar
You want to practice in Delaware?
Hope you’re ready to earn it.
- No reciprocity: Doesn’t matter if you’re licensed in 10 states. Delaware doesn’t care.
- Clerkship-style checklist: You need a supervising Delaware lawyer, and you have to certify 30+ learning components.
- Residency requirement: You must physically work in Delaware for 3–6 months.
- 3-day bar exam: No shortcuts. You’re sitting down and testing—again.
Honestly? I respect it. The system builds relationships, knowledge, and a real bar. Delaware lawyers know each other. People are (generally) civil. It’s a tighter, more collegial legal culture than anywhere else I’ve practiced—and I’m licensed in five states.
But here’s the problem:
Most lawyers don’t want to do it.
Even high-end commercial litigators in Philly and DC—people who could easily handle the substance—won’t bother. I had a friend getting recruited by a top Delaware firm. He told me:
“Look, I’ve been practicing for 20 years. I’m not taking another bar exam.”
And I get it.
But that means: limited talent pool, high demand. Economics 101.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Look up the Delaware Supreme Court admissions wall. Every name. Every year.
You’ll see: maybe 100 lawyers get admitted each year.
Now subtract:
- People who leave the state
- People who do family law, criminal law, or government work
- Public defenders, AGs, child advocates
- People doing non-litigation work (estate, tax, etc.)
Now shrink it even more: people who are smart enough, trained enough, and interested enough to handle high-stakes commercial litigation?
You’re left with a tiny handful.
Delaware Doesn’t Attract Talent the Way Other Cities Do
Delaware is great. I’ll say that straight up.
But it punches below its weight.
It sits on the Acela corridor, between NYC and DC. It should be booming. But instead:
- Young lawyers flock to New York, LA, DC, and now Miami
- Law school grads say “Delaware?” and pull up Zillow
Why? Because—let’s be real—Delaware isn’t cool.
You want to go out in Wilmington? Great, you’ve got Deco. And… yeah. That’s about it.
Delaware doesn’t attract the masses. It attracts the obsessed. And that’s a small number.
So yes, we’re always hiring.
But no, we can’t just pluck Chancery-ready lawyers off a tree. Because that tree barely exists.
The Judges Are... Intense
Let me tell you a story.
One time, our courtesy copy wasn’t stapled properly.
We got a minute order from the judge calling it out.
Try that in New York. You’ll get eye rolls. Maybe a shrug.
In Delaware? You get sanctioned with paperwork shame.
And that’s not a one-off. Delaware judges are extremely sharp and extremely detail-oriented. They expect perfection. Not vibes. Not “rough justice.” Not “well, it’s equitable.”
Perfection.
And the lack of jury trials doesn’t save you money—it makes it worse.
Why?
Because without juries, every argument lives and dies on the briefs.
And those briefs? They’re 30–50 pages long. With exhibits. With declarations. With fact findings and post-trial memos and reply briefs and sur-replies.
It’s like having two trials—one live, one on paper.
So Let’s Add It Up:
- A tiny, elite, self-regulating bar
- Zero reciprocity, formal admissions process
- High expectations, low tolerance for sloppiness
- No jury shortcuts—only massive, exhaustive briefing
- One of the smartest, most intense judicial benches in the country
- And a litigation culture that’s cleaner, sharper, and less forgiving than basically anywhere else
Add to that the limited housing market, lack of big-city draw, and slow lawyer pipeline, and what do you get?
Expensive litigation.
Because talent is scarce, standards are high, and the margin for error is zero