Georgia Center for Arbitration & Mediation
Michael Ledyard
  • +1 (770) 886-5890

Bio

Mike practiced law in Delaware from 1982 until 2020, most recently as a partner of Morris James LLP, where he served as the Chair of the firm’s Business Transactions, Strategic Planning and Counseling Practice, a group that routinely handled over $100 billion in financings annually for a wide range of clients.

Mike’s practice focused on the use of limited liability companies, statutory and common law trusts, partnerships, corporations and other entities in complex financing transactions, such as asset backed financings, leveraged leases and like-kind exchanges, and in joint ventures and other business organizations. He regularly acted as counsel to borrowers, lenders, lessees, trustees, and other financing parties, and rendered third-party legal opinions as to matters of Delaware and federal law, including federal bankruptcy law. In addition, Mike frequently served as a court appointed arbitrator of civil suits in the Delaware Superior Court.

Mike is one of the principal drafters of the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act and the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act and was a member of the drafting committee charged with proposing and drafting annual amendments to those Acts and to the Delaware Statutory Trust Act. Mike has spoken across the United States and abroad on the subject of Delaware alternative entity law and has written frequently on the topic. In addition, for over 30 years he has maintained an “AV Preeminent” rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating awarded by that firm, for his legal abilities and professional ethics and has been honored by being listed in Best Lawyers (2020, 2021) and Delaware Today Top Lawyers (2014, 2019).

Mike was admitted to the Delaware Bar in 1982. He received his B.A. degree from the University of Hawaii in 1970 and his law degree, cum laude, from Delaware Law School in 1982. He was a member, 1980-81, and associate editor, 1981, of the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law.

Mike is an avid bird hunter and foxhunter and lives with his wife, Cathie, on their farm in Thomasville, Georgia.

Bio

Mike practiced law in Delaware from 1982 until 2020, most recently as a partner of Morris James LLP, where he served as the Chair of the firm’s Business Transactions, Strategic Planning and Counseling Practice, a group that routinely handled over $100 billion in financings annually for a wide range of clients.

Mike’s practice focused on the use of limited liability companies, statutory and common law trusts, partnerships, corporations and other entities in complex financing transactions, such as asset backed financings, leveraged leases and like-kind exchanges, and in joint ventures and other business organizations. He regularly acted as counsel to borrowers, lenders, lessees, trustees, and other financing parties, and rendered third-party legal opinions as to matters of Delaware and federal law, including federal bankruptcy law. In addition, Mike frequently served as a court appointed arbitrator of civil suits in the Delaware Superior Court.

Mike is one of the principal drafters of the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act and the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act and was a member of the drafting committee charged with proposing and drafting annual amendments to those Acts and to the Delaware Statutory Trust Act. Mike has spoken across the United States and abroad on the subject of Delaware alternative entity law and has written frequently on the topic. In addition, for over 30 years he has maintained an “AV Preeminent” rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating awarded by that firm, for his legal abilities and professional ethics and has been honored by being listed in Best Lawyers (2020, 2021) and Delaware Today Top Lawyers (2014, 2019).

Mike was admitted to the Delaware Bar in 1982. He received his B.A. degree from the University of Hawaii in 1970 and his law degree, cum laude, from Delaware Law School in 1982. He was a member, 1980-81, and associate editor, 1981, of the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law.

Mike is an avid bird hunter and foxhunter and lives with his wife, Cathie, on their farm in Thomasville, Georgia.

ADR Services

General Civil Mediation and Arbitration

Practice Areas

Business Transactions

Strategic Planning and Counseling

Commercial Transactions

Corporate Advice

Corporate Governance Counseling

Corporate Trust Fiduciary Services

Delaware Advantage Trusts

Delaware Alternative Entities: LLC, LP, Partnership and Trust

Legal Opinions

Structured Finance Transactions

Education

University of Hawaii, BA, 1970

Delaware Law School, JD, 1982

Bar Admissions

State Bar of Delaware

Affiliations

Delaware Journal of Corporate Law, Member (1980 – 1981) and Associate Editor (1981)

Publications

  • Delaware Proposes Amendments to its Alternative Entity Statutes, June 2, 2021, Corporate Law Alert
  • The Use of Delaware Statutory Trusts in Like Kind Exchanges Under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code, Corporate Law Alert
  • Delaware Statutory Trusts, Corporate Law Alert

Fees

2 Parties: $200 per party, per hour

3 Parties: $175 per party, per hour

4 Parties: $160 per party, per hour

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