Welcome to the Delaware Court of Chancery

Court of Chancery Seal

The Court of Chancery will begin accepting applications for clerkships for the 2014-2015 term on May 15, 2013, and students should supplement their application with the second semester grades when available. The Court generally intends to begin interviewing and making offers July 1, 2013, but reserves the right to hire earlier.
More information on how to apply.

The Delaware Court of Chancery is widely recognized as the nation's preeminent forum for the determination of disputes involving the internal affairs of the thousands upon thousands of Delaware corporations and other business entities through which a vast amount of the world's commercial affairs is conducted. Its unique competence in and exposure to issues of business law are unmatched.

Currently the Court, through a private vendor, has made docket information and pleadings available over the internet for civil actions filed in the Court of Chancery (See File and ServeXpress—Please note: There is a charge for using File and ServeXpress. The site is not maintained by the Delaware Court of Chancery and is the responsibility of File and ServeXpress.)

Recent Amendments and Rule Changes:

On January 1, 2013, the Court of Chancery amended its Rules regarding discovery. Rules 26, 30, 34 and 45 were updated to account for modern discovery demands and bring the Court’s rules in line with current practice. In addition to amendments to the Rules, the Court also expanded its Guidelines for Practitioners, originally released in January 2012, to include guidelines regarding discovery. View rules changes, guideline changes and complete press release.

On January 1, 2013, the Court of Chancery adopted Rule 5.1, a new rule updating the procedures for filing documents under seal. The Court of Chancery amended its Rules to improve public access to filings in cases before the Court. The amendment updates the Court’s existing rule governing the filing of documents under seal. To ensure that public access to court filings is only restricted when justified, the new Rule 5.1 provides a definition of “good cause” that requires that only documents that contain sensitive, confidential information will qualify for sealing. By this means, the new Rule 5.1 better protects the public’s right of access while still enabling parties to restrict public access to truly sensitive information, such as trade secrets, personal information such as social security numbers or other identifying information, or competitively sensitive pricing information. The order and the memorandum explaining Rule 5.1 can be viewed here.

On December 1, 2012, the Court of Chancery adopted a new Rule 104 and made revisions to Rule 101. Rules 100 to 103 initially were adopted in April 2012 to govern proceedings to modify trusts by consent, and were designed to ensure that the Court receives complete information about the trust, its beneficiaries, and its fiduciaries before determining whether the trust can and should be modified. The new amendment to Rule 101 further advances that goal by clarifying that the appendices to the petition must include a complete black-lined and complete clean copy of the proposed, amended trust instrument, so that the import of the proposed changes is clear. New Rule 104 clarifies that Rules 100 to 104 apply to any action in which the parties seek to modify a trust, including settlements of contested cases. Click here to read the order.

Guidelines
for practitioners litigating
in the Court

Best Practices
for persons filing civil action cases in the Court

Mediation
Mediation Guideline Pamphlet

Rules
Rules and rule amendments

Find the Court
Court hours and locations

Court Costs
Court fees and charges

Opinions
Database of Court opinions

Calendar
View the weekly courtroom calendar

Court of Chancery Guidelines for Use of Laptops by the Media.

The Court of Chancery will now permit members of the media to bring laptops into Chancery courtrooms for note taking purposes only, upon approval. Click here to read the Guidelines and submit an authorization form.