James L. Holzman
Director

Jim Holzman is a member of the Corporate Litigation and Corporate Law Counseling Groups.  His litigation practice concentrates on defense of litigation involving mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, securities law, and other complex business matters.  He has tried cases in all of Delaware's principal trial courts and in federal courts both in and outside of Delaware. His corporate law practice focuses on advising Delaware corporations, boards of directors, and board committees on fiduciary duties and the application and construction of provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law in contexts such as mergers and acquisitions and other transactional settings and those involving governance and compliance issues.  He has represented special board committees formed to negotiate major transactions as well as those convened to conduct investigations.

Mr. Holzman is immediate past Chairman of the Council of the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State Bar Association, the Bar group responsible for reviewing and recommending amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law.  From 2008 through mid-2010 he led the legislative and other responses of the Council to the unprecedented events in the financial markets and to the resulting scrutiny of multiple aspects of corporate governance.  A long time member of the Council, he previously chaired the corporate governance review task force for the Council in the wake of major corporate scandals in 2002-2003.  He also chaired the Council committee that developed amendments to Section 271 of the DGCL (sale of assets).  Previously, he chaired the Council committee that developed, after a two year study, technology amendments to the DGCL.  On the national level, he has assumed a number of leadership posts with the American Bar Association.  He is a member of the Editorial Board of The Business Lawyer.  Previously, he served as Chair of the Business and Corporate Litigation Committee of the ABA.  He served as a member of the Council of the ABA Section of Business Law and chaired both the Finance Committee and the Revenue Committee.  He is also a liaison for the Business Law Section to the ABA Presidential Task Force on the Attorney-Client Privilege. He is a frequent speaker on corporate governance and corporate law for the American Bar Association and Practicing Law Institute.

Mr. Holzman’s versatility and abilities as both a litigator and a corporate practitioner are recognized by peers and clients.  He is listed in The International Who’s Who of Corporate Governance Lawyers.  The Best Lawyers in America recognizes him as a leading practitioner in corporate law.  Benchmark Litigation, the definitive guide to Americas’ leading business litigation attorneys, has named him a “Local Litigation Star,” based on  consistently superior recommendations of peers and clients.

Practice Areas

• Corporate Litigation
• Corporate Law Counseling
• General Litigation
  • Commercial and Contract Disputes

Professional and Community Activities

• Chairman, Corporation Law Council and Section, Delaware State Bar Association
• Co-Chair, Delaware Business Law Forum
• Member, Editorial Board, The Business Lawyer
• Chair, Business and Corporate Litigation Committee, ABA Business Law Section (1996-2000)
• Co-Chair, Ad Hoc Committee on Judges, ABA Business Law Section (2003-2006)
• Member, Council, ABA Business Law Section Council (2001-2005)
• Chair, Council Finance Committee, ABA Business Law Section (2004-2005)
• Chair, Revenue Committee, ABA Business Law Section
• Member, Task Force on Litigation Reform and Rules Revision, ABA Business Law Section
• Member, Advisory Board, Northeast Business Law Institute
• President, Board of Trustees, Tower Hill School (2000-2003)

Bar Admissions

• Delaware
• Florida
• United States District Court for the District of Delaware
• United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• United States Supreme Court

Publications

• Review of Developments in Delaware Corporation Law (published annually 1995-____)
• James L. Holzman and Thomas A. Mullen, A New Technology Frontier for Delaware Corporations,  4 Delaware Law Review 1 (2001).

Education

• Stetson University (B.A. 1970)
• University of Florida (J.D. 1972)