Founded in 1888, Prickett, Jones & Elliott, P.A. is one of Delaware’s oldest law firms. For more than a century, Prickett Jones attorneys have been prominent members of the Delaware Bar who take pride in providing quality legal representation to our clients from around the state, and throughout the country and the world. Our primary goal is always to help our clients achieve their objectives in a practical and cost-efficient manner.
The firm’s primary practice is Delaware corporate law. We represent clients involved in complex corporate and business-related litigation and transactions. We work regularly with clients and law firms on matters involving public and private corporations and other business entities, particularly matters relating to corporate governance and corporate transactions. We regularly serve as lead counsel in complex and expedited corporate and business litigation, and have extensive experience in litigating such cases through trial and appeal. We also have substantial experience in litigation concerning intellectual property and other commercial interests.
The firm is a member of the Legal Netlink Alliance, a global network of experienced legal professionals that allows Prickett Jones to assist clients with matters outside of Delaware.
Prickett Jones has the experience and resources to handle the largest corporate and business related matters. We are regularly involved in some of the largest and most complex lawsuits and transactions affecting Delaware corporations and business entities. However, our moderate size provides clients with a level of personal attention, responsiveness, flexibility and economic efficiency that many larger firms cannot provide. All of our directors take a hands-on approach and work closely with our clients to meet their specific needs and goals.
The firm encourages its lawyers to contribute regularly to professional and public service organizations. Past members of the firm have chaired numerous professional committees including: the Business and Corporate Litigation Committee of the ABA Section of Business Law; the Committee on Partnerships and Unincorporated Business Organizations of the ABA Section of Business Law; the ABA Committee on Class Actions and Derivative Suits; and the Delaware Supreme Court Board of Professional Responsibility. Firm members also participate in the following professional groups:
Many former Prickett Jones attorneys work in all levels of Delaware’s judiciary. Former directors and associates of the firm also have served or currently serve on the Delaware Supreme Court, Court of Chancery, Superior Court, Family Court and Court of Common Pleas, including a former Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court and former Chief Judge of the Family Court.
Long known for our litigation experience, Prickett Jones has been a fixture on the Delaware legal landscape for over 130 years. The firm was founded in 1888 by William S. Prickett. Two successive generations of the Prickett family led the firm through the last century: William Prickett Sr., who was active in the practice until his death in 1964, and William Prickett, Jr., who retired from practice of law in 2008, but who maintained an office at the firm until his death in 2014. Over the years the firm and its members have helped shape the development of Delaware case law, playing major roles in many of Delaware’s landmark corporate law cases, and the development of the Delaware General Corporation Law and laws affecting alternative business entities.
While we are proud of our historical role in the development of Delaware law, we have never been content to rest on past accomplishments. Our first century was marked by a spirit of innovation and commitment to quality in the delivery of legal services that established Prickett Jones as a leading Delaware law firm. Those goals continue to guide us in our second century as we continually seek new and better ways to help our clients succeed.
The entrance to the firm’s Wilmington office is in the “Starr House” which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The accompanying drawing by Jonnie Holzman, wife of our retired partner, James L. Holzman, depicts the facade of 1310 King Street and the surrounding buildings that house Prickett Jones’s Wilmington office. The original deeds to 1310 hang in our lobby and show that the house was built between 1802 and 1806 by Michael Van Kirk, a “stonecutter.” The building contains many original features including marble and stone fireplaces, a large wooden staircase and an indoor pump and basin in the dining room. A large beehive fireplace and oven still stand in what was a small wooden lean-to kitchen. Mr. Van Kirk sold the house in 1806 to Jacob Starr, described in the deeds as a “waterman,” for $2,000. The house remained in the Starr family for more than 100 years. The most famous resident was Captain Thomas Starr, Jacob’s son. Captain Starr owned a fleet of vessels that carried many local products, including flour from Wilmington’s Brandywine Mills, to many ports along the Atlantic Coast.
1310 was sold by the last of the Starrs to Mr. and Mrs. Louis Monte in the 1940s who restored the house. In 1954, 1310 was sold to William Prickett, Sr. for use as offices for the firm then known as Prickett & Prickett. As the firm expanded, 1310 expanded by the purchase of the buildings at 1308 and 1314 King Street and the acquisition of a printing plant at 1306 King Street. The most recent expansion of the building occurred in 1990 when a three story structure was constructed on the firm’s property abutting French Street. On March 24, 1971, 1310 was placed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks.