Biography
Aaron Sims, a partner in Potter Anderson’s corporate litigation group, practices primarily in the areas of corporate, complex commercial, and alternative entities litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery. Aaron has extensive first-chair litigation and trial experience. He also regularly serves as Delaware counsel to numerous law firms, ranging from major national and international firms to smaller firms, all of whom rely on Aaron for his experience and strategic guidance in navigating litigation proceedings.
Aaron has represented corporations and their directors and officers, as well as alternative entities, including limited liability companies and limited partnerships, and their boards and management. He has experience in a broad range of matters, including books and records actions, corporate control disputes, advancement and indemnification suits, breach of fiduciary duty litigation, actions involving breach of contract and breach of operating agreements, post-closing earnout and indemnity disputes, busted deal litigation and actions involving material adverse effect provisions, stock appraisal litigation, dissolution proceedings, and actions seeking the appointment of a custodian or receiver. He has also assisted companies with special investigations of alleged improper conduct in response to stockholder pre-suit demands.
In addition to his Chancery practice, Aaron also has experience litigating in the Delaware Supreme Court, the Delaware Superior Court’s Complex Commercial Litigation Division, and the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. Aaron has also recently served as co-lead counsel in a month-long civil jury trial in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, where the jury returned a favorable verdict. He has also had the unique opportunity to serve as a juror in a criminal trial in the Delaware Superior Court.
In advising his clients and navigating the complexities inherent in litigation, Aaron draws on the valuable experience he gained clerking for two federal judges – Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Chief Judge Glen E. Conrad on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
Aaron has an active pro bono practice and has served as a Guardian ad Litem with Delaware’s Office of the Child Advocate since 2017. Aaron also serves on the Firm’s Recruiting Committee.
Practice Areas
Experience
Representative Matters
- JPMorgan Chase & Co. in various corporate litigation matters
- Gilead Sciences, Inc. in litigation relating to an alleged breach of contract arising out of Gilead’s acquisition of Calistoga Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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Deutsche Bank in connection with its years-long efforts to collect an unpaid judgment debt owed by billionaire investor Alexander Vik and his companies
- Directors and officers of Ambry Genetics Corporation in expedited litigation brought by a stockholder seeking to preliminarily enjoin Ambry’s acquisition by Konica Minolta, Inc.
- Kite Pharma, Inc. in stock appraisal litigation arising out of Kite’s acquisition by Gilead Sciences, Inc.
- WhistlePig, LLC in expedited litigation relating to the proper composition of the company’s Board of Managers and executive management
- A large stockholder in a fintech company in books and records litigation where the Court shifted attorneys’ fees in the stockholder’s favor
- The founder and former owner of a large electrical contracting company in a month-long civil jury trial in a federal district court, where the jury returned a favorable verdict on a breach of fiduciary duty claim against the company’s former President and CEO
- Directors and officers of Occam Networks, Inc. in a suit by stockholders alleging breach of fiduciary duty in connection with Occam’s acquisition by Calix Inc.
- A demand review committee of a global company’s board of directors in connection with several pre-suit stockholder demands
- NAMA Holdings LLC in protracted litigation with The Related Companies relating to a breach of contract
- Altera Corporation in stock appraisal litigation in connection with Altera’s acquisition by Intel Corporation
Professional Activities & Recognition
Honors & Recognitions
The Best Lawyers in America® for Corporate Law (2024, 2025)
Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® for Commercial Litigation and Corporate Law (2021)
Professional
Member, J. Reuben Clark Law Society
Associate Member, Delaware Board of Bar Examiners (2017-2018)
Attorney guardian ad litem for Delaware's Office of the Child Advocate
Education
Washington and Lee University School of Law, J.D., summa cum laude, 2011
- Order of the Coif
- Managing Editor, Washington and Lee Law Review
- Roy L. Steinheimer Jr. Commercial Law Award
- American Bankruptcy Institute Medal
George Wythe University, B.A., magna cum laude, 2007
JUDICIAL CLERKSHIPS
- Law clerk to the Honorable Ferdinand F. Fernandez of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2012-2013
- Law clerk to the Honorable Glen E. Conrad of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, 2011-2012
Bar & Court Admissions
Bar Admissions
- Delaware, 2014
- Virginia, 2011
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- United States District Court for the District of Delaware
- United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia