Sidley Austin LLP
Justice Jacobs has served on the Delaware Supreme Court since 2003 and announced his retirement from that Court in April, effective June 25, 2014. Before joining the Supreme Court, he had served as Vice Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery since 1985.
Prior to his tenure as Vice Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery, Justice Jacobs practiced corporate and business litigation in Wilmington, Delaware, since 1968. He is currently Adjunct Professor of Law at the Law Schools of New York University, Columbia University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the American Law Institute and serves as an advisor on its Principles of the Law of Liability Insurance Projects; and is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and an Advisory Board Member of the Rand Center for Corporate Ethics and Governance.
“Justice Jacobs will be an exceptional addition to our firm and a great asset to our many public company clients,” said Carter G. Phillips, chair of the firm’s executive committee. “His experience and expertise are extraordinary and are only matched by his collegial nature.”
Throughout his career, Justice Jacobs has participated in academic symposia and continuing legal education programs related to corporate and securities law. He also has guest lectured at numerous American and foreign law schools, delivering the Distinguished Jurist Lecture at the University of Pennsylvania Law School; the Regent’s Lecture in Residence at the UCLA Law School; the Morrison & Foerster Lecture at Stanford Law; and the William J. Brennan Lecture at NYU School of Law.
He was the Distinguished Visiting Jurist at the Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Program and serves as a member of the Board of Advisors of the Planning Committee of the Tulane Corporate Law Institute.
Justice Jacobs holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago, a law degree from Harvard University, and an LLD (Honorary) from Widener University.