Mr. Payson practices primarily in the area of corporate litigation, particularly in the Delaware Court of Chancery and the Delaware Supreme Court.  He also advises Boards of Directors of Delaware corporations and committees thereof with respect to the Delaware General Corporation Law, mergers and acquisitions, and class and derivative litigation.

Mr. Payson has been listed in all editions of The Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA:  America's Leading Lawyers for Business as a leading practitioner in his field.

Education

• Duke University, LL.B., 1964
• Duke University, A.B., 1961

Representative Matters

Among the more important corporate cases in which Mr. Payson has been lead or Delaware lead counsel are: Gimbel v. Signal Cos., Del., 316 A.2d 619 (1974); Zapata Corp. v. Maldonado, Del., 430 A.2d 779 (1981); Weinberger v. UOP, Inc., Del., 457 A.2d 701 (1983); Smith v. Van Gorkom, Del., 488 A.2d 858 (1985); Cede & Co. v. Technicolor, Inc., Del., 542 A.2d 1182 (1988); Del., 634 A.2d 345 (1993); Del., 684 A.2d 289 (1996); Mills Acquisition Co. v. MacMillan, Inc., Del., 559 A.2d 1261 (1989); Malone v. Brincat, Del., 722 A.2d 5 (1998); In re Digex Inc. Shareholders Litigation, 789 A.2d 1176 (Del. Ch., Dec 13, 2000) (NO. CIV.A. 18336); In re Siliconix Inc. Shareholders Litigation, 2001 WL 716787 (Del.Ch., Jun 21, 2001) (NO. CIV.A. 18700); Hewlett v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 2002 WL 818091 (Del.Ch., Apr 30, 2002) (NO. CIV.A. 19513-NC); In re Pure Resources, Inc., --- A.2d ----, 2002 WL 31300797 (Del.Ch., Oct 7, 2002) (NO. C.A. 19876); Tooley v. Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Inc., 845 A.2d 1031 (Del. 2004); Cede & Co. v. Technicolor, Inc., 884 A.2d 26 (Del. 2005); In re: Walt Disney Co. Derivative Litigation, 2005 WL 2056651 (Del. Ch 2005).

Professional Activities

• Delaware State Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• Director, Delaware Bar Foundation, 1984-1987
• Delaware Court of Chancery Rules Committee, 1993-2008