Donald J. Wolfe, Jr.
Partner
TEL: (302) 984-6015 FAX: (302) 778-6015 dwolfe@potteranderson.com
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Mr. Wolfe is Chair-Elect of the firm. His practice concentrates on corporate litigation in the Court of Chancery and the counseling of boards of directors and special board committees of Delaware corporations with respect to issues of fiduciary duty and internal corporate governance. He served as Chair of the firm's Corporate practice group and as a member of the Firm's Executive Committee from 1999 through 2005.
Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business recently observed that Mr. Wolfe "has worked on a range of high-profile litigation matters" in recent years, displaying "exquisite advocacy skills" that "have won him a following among peers and clients" and "a comprehensive knowledge of the law" (From Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business 2005, 2006, 2007.)
Education- Temple University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1976
- University of Delaware, B.A., History and Political Science, 1972
Representative Matters
Mr. Wolfe has had several notable engagements in recent years, among them:
- On behalf of Hewlett-Packard Company in its successful defense of Walter Hewlett’s challenge to validity of the approval by HP shareholders of the company’s acquisition of Compaq (see Hewlett v. Hewlett-Packard Company, Del, Ch., 19513, Chandler, C., ( April 8, 2002 and April 30, 2002);
- On behalf of the special committee of the board of Pure Resources, Inc. in connection with a going private transaction by its controlling stockholder, Unocal Corporation, and in the related litigation challenging the fairness of that transaction ( see In re Pure Resources, Inc. Shareholders Litigation, 808 A.2d 421 (Del. Ch. 2002));
- On behalf of Omnicare, Inc. in its successful effort to acquire NCS Healthcare and to secure judicial invalidation of the pre-existing merger agreement between NCS and Genesis Healthcare Ventures, Inc.(see Omnicare, Inc. v. NCS Healthcare, Inc. 818 A.2d 914 ( Del. Supr. 2003));
- On behalf of PeopleSoft and its Board of Directors in connection with the hostile tender offer launched by Oracle Corporation and the extended litigation relating to Oracle’s challenge to the deployment by PeopleSoft of its Shareholder Rights Plan and the implementation of its Customer Assurance Program;
- On behalf of The Walt Disney Company and its directors in connection with litigation sparked by a proxy contest initiated by former Disney directors Roy Disney and Stanley Gold and their ensuing challenge to the validity of the election of directors at Disney’s annual meeting. (see Disney v. The Walt Disney Co., 2004 WL 1776688 ( Del. Ch. Aug 6, 2004)
Mr. Wolfe is presently representing Citigroup, Inc. in connection with an internal board investigation of the events leading up to the company’s losses and write-offs in the wake of the recent collapse of the subprime markets. He also represents Bank of America in connection with litigation surrounding the propriety of the Bank’s investments in the subprime markets and with respect to an internal investigation by its board in response to a shareholder demand that the Bank institute litigation in connection with losses and write-offs sustained in connection with those activities. He is also Delaware counsel for Charles F. Dolan and his family, representing them in connection with various issues arising from their controlling interest in Cablevision Systems Corporation, one of the largest cable operators in the country and the owner of Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers. He is Delaware counsel to the board of Intel Corporation in shareholder litigation alleging a breach of fiduciary duty in connection with alleged antitrust violations and represents Cerberus, Inc. in litigation surrounding its proposal to acquire Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. and the subsequent withdrawal of that proposal, and Clayton, Dubilier and Rice in litigation challenging its acquisition of Servicemaster, Inc. He is presently representing CNET Networks, Inc. defending a challenge to the application and validity of its advance notice bylaw initiated by JANA Partners.
He has lately counseled IAC/Interactive Corp with regard to its recent dispute with John Malone and Liberty Media Corporation. He has also recently represented Motorola, Inc. in connection with litigation surrounding a proxy fight initiated by Carl Icahn; Take Two InterActive Software, Inc. in litigation challenging the application of its advance notice bylaw in connection with its annual meeting of shareholders; IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. in connection with its bid to acquire The Chicago Board of Trade; Mittal Steel, the world’s largest steel maker, in connection with litigation arising from its acquisition bid for Arcelor, the world’s second largest steel manufacturer; Euronext with respect to its combination with the New York Stock Exchange; Maytag, Inc., in connection with litigation surrounding its proposed acquisition by Whirlpool, Inc.; ImClone Systems Incorporated with respect to a proposed proxy contest by affiliates of entities owned by Carl Icahn; and Lifepoint Hospitals, Inc. in litigation arising from a proposed proxy contest by Accipter, Inc.
Mr. Wolfe has participated as Delaware counsel in many of the more significant Delaware corporate decisions of the Court of Chancery and the Delaware Supreme Court over the past thirty years, including Weinberger v. UOP, Inc., 457 A.2d 701 (Del. Supr. 1983); Smith v. Van Gorkom, 488 A.2d 858 (Del. Supr. 1985); Revlon, Inc. v. MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc., 506 A.2d 173 (Del. Supr. 1985); Ivanhoe Partners v. Newmont Mining Corp., 535 A.2d 1334 (Del. Supr. 1987); Paramount Corp. v. Time Inc., 571 A.2d 1140 (Del. Supr. 1990); Hewlett v. Hewlett-Packard Company, Del. Ch., C.A. No. 19513, Chandler, C. (April 8, 2002 and April 30, 2002); Omnicare, Inc. v. NCS Healthcare, Inc., 818 A.2d 914 (Del. Supr. 2003); Tooley v. Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, Inc. 845 A.2d 1031 (Del. 2004); Disney v. Walt Disney Co., 2004 WL 1776688 (Del. Ch. Aug. 6, 2004); In re Pure Resources, Inc., Shareholders Litigation, 808 A.2d 421 (Del. Ch. 2002); Accipiter Life Sciences Fund, L.P. v. Helfer, et al., Del Ch., C.A. No. 2057, Lamb, V.C. (Aug 2, 2006); In re Cysive Shareholders Litigation, 836 A.2d 531 (Del. Ch. 2003); Grobow v. Perot, 526 A.2d 914 (Del. Ch. 1987); Aprahamian v. HBO & Co., 531 A.2d 1204 (Del. Ch. 1987); In re Tri-Star Pictures, Inc. Litigation, 634 A.2d 319 (Del. Supr. 1993); Hubbard v. Hollywood Park Realty Enterprises, 1991 WL 3151 (Del. Ch. 1991); Dunlap v. Sunbeam Corporation, 1999 WL 1261339 (Del. Ch. 1999); Warner Communications Inc. v. Chris-Craft Industries, Inc., 583 A.2d 962 (Del. Ch. 1989); In re BHC Communications Shareholder Litigation, 789 A.2d 1 (Del. Ch. 2001); Siegman v. Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc., 576 A.2d 625 (Del. Ch. 1989); Insitituto Bancario Italiano SpA v. Hunter Engineering Co., Inc., 449 A.2d 210 (Del. Supr. 1982); Citron v. Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corp., 568 A.2d 53 (Del. Supr. 1989); Speiser v. Baker, 525 A.2d 1001 (Del. Ch. 1987); Jedwab v. MGM Grand Hotels, Inc., 509 A.2d 584 (Del. Ch. 1986); Kaiser Aluminum Corp. v. Matheson, 681 A.2d 392 (Del. Supr. 1996); Packer v. Yampol, 1986 WL 4748 (Del Ch. 1986); Kahn v. Occidental Petroleum Corp., Del. Ch., C.A. No. 10808, Hartnett, V.C. (July 7, 1989) and Associated Imports, Inc. v. ASG Industries, Del. Ch. C.A. No. 5953, Duffy, J. (June 20,1984).
Mr. Wolfe has also served as special Delaware counsel for boards of directors and special board committees for such corporations as Bank of America Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company, Citigroup, Inc., Rockefeller Center Properties, Inc., PeopleSoft, Inc., Motorola, Inc., The Walt Disney Company, Bell Atlantic Corporation, Republic Industries, Inc., Computer Associates International, Inc., infoUSA, Inc., National Steel Corporation, Pharmacia Corporation, Maytag Corporation, Dreamworks Animation SKG, Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., ImClone Systems Incorporated, iPass, Inc., BarnesandNoble.com, Levi Strauss Associates, Inc., Lifepoint Hospitals, Inc., Biosite, Inc., Triad Hospitals, Inc., The Hertz Corporation, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corporation, EON Labs, Inc., TicketMaster Online-City Search, Inc., IGEN, Inc., Walter Industries, Inc., Insituform East, Inc., Houlihan's Restaurants, Inc., AMF Holdings, Inc., Fairfield Communities, Inc., Pass, Inc., PLM International Inc., Space Imaging, Inc., Gemstar International Group Ltd., Kenetech Corporation, Todd A-O Corporation, Pure Resources, Inc., OEC Corporation, Take Two Interactive Software, Inc., Ashworth, Inc., UTStarcom, Inc., NRG, Inc., Fox & Hound Restaurant Group, Rental Service Corporation, Unico Corporation, Net2Phone, Phonefree.com, G.P. Strategies Inc., Veterinary Centers of America, Inc., Golden Telecom, Inc., Rent-A-Center, Inc., Siliconix Incorporated, Genencor International, Inc., Micro General Corporation, Printcafe Software, Inc., Epicor Software Corporation, Venoco, Inc., Adelphia Communications Corporation, and Cysive, Inc.
Seminars & Speeches
Mr. Wolfe has made numerous presentations and has authored many published articles on a broad range of corporate issues to a variety of corporate law seminars and symposia, including The Tulane Institute of Corporate Law, The Association of General Counsel, The UCLA Law Institute on Corporate Securities and Mergers and Acquisitions, The Harvard School of Law, The University of Pennsylvania Institute of Law and Economics, The UCLA Mergers and Acquisitions First Monday Forum, as well as a variety of seminars sponsored by The Practicing Law Institute and the American and Delaware State Bar Associations. He has also served with a number of other corporate counsel from Delaware and around the country as a delegate representing the State of Delaware and the Delaware Secretary of State on several international missions to promote the benefits of Delaware's court system and of its corporate law.
Professional Activities- Mr. Wolfe is the co-author of an annually updated treatise examining litigation practice in the Delaware Court of Chancery and entitled Corporate and Commercial Practice in the Delaware Court of Chancery (Lexis Law Publishing), which has become recognized as a leading authority on Delaware corporate practice and which is frequently relied upon and cited by the Delaware courts. Upon its publication, the work was reviewed in the February 1999 issue of The Business Lawyer, in which the authors (R. Franklin Balotti and Raymond J. DiCamillo of Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A.) described it as the "first practice guide geared specifically to that influential tribunal," and as having established the authors as "the 'Wright and Miller' of the Court of Chancery."
- He served as a member of the firm's Executive Committee and as Chair of the firm's Corporate Practice Group from 1999 through 2005 and he served as Chairman of the Board of Bar Examiners of the Delaware Supreme Court, following two terms as a member of that Board.
- He was named to The Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America for 2006 and 2007 and The Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America for 2007.
- He is a member of the Board of Advisors of the University of Pennsylvania's Institute of Law and Economics.
- He has served at the request of the Delaware Supreme Court as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Delaware Bar Foundation, for which he also served as Treasurer.
- He served as Chair of the Delaware Supreme Court Advisory Committee on IOLTA.
- He was the first to hold the office of Assistant to the President of the Delaware Bar Association, serving during the tenure of The Honorable E. Norman Veasey as President of the DSBA.
- He has served as a member of the Council of the Corporate Section of the Delaware State Bar Association, which is charged with proposing annual amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law on behalf of the Delaware State Bar Association.
- He has served as a Member of the Executive Committee of the Delaware State Bar Association; as a Member of the Nominating Committee of the Delaware State Bar Association; as Chair of the New Lawyers Committee of the Delaware State Bar Association; as State Membership Chair of the American Bar Association; and as Member of the Richard S. Rodney Inn of Court. He is a recipient of the Delaware State Bar Association's New Lawyers Distinguished Service Award.
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