Cole Schotz Adds Special Counsel Michael D. Van Gorder in Delaware

Cole Schotz P.C. is pleased to announce the arrival of Michael D. Van Gorder as special counsel in the firm’s Litigation Department in Delaware.

Mr. Van Gorder is an experienced Delaware litigator whose practice focuses on complex corporate, securities and bankruptcy-related disputes. He has extensive experience representing clients in matters involving breaches of fiduciary duty, shareholder rights, books-and-records demands and federal securities claims, as well as representing debtors, creditors and other stakeholders in bankruptcy proceedings.

“As a major center of U.S. corporate law, Delaware remains a critical venue for many of our clients’ most important disputes,” said David Dean, head of the firm’s Delaware office, deputy co-chair of the firm’s Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring Department, and a member of the Litigation Department. “Michael’s experience before the state’s courts and deep understanding of the issues that shape corporate litigation further strengthens our litigation bench.”

Mr. Van Gorder represents clients in state and federal courts throughout Delaware, including the Delaware Court of Chancery and Delaware Supreme Court. His experience includes litigating shareholder class actions, derivative suits, books-and-records actions and antitrust matters, as well as advising clients through all stages of complex commercial litigation. He joins Cole Schotz from Gellert Seitz Busenkell & Brown, LLC and previously practiced at a boutique litigation firm where he prosecuted shareholder actions under federal securities laws and state corporate law in courts across the country.

Mr. Van Gorder earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Widener University School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law. He also earned an M.B.A. in Finance and a B.S. in Business Management from Wilmington University. Prior to entering private practice, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable James T. Vaughn, Jr. of the Delaware Supreme Court.