Rudolf Koch

Overview

“Rudolf Koch is one of the best lawyers in Delaware. He has incredible judgment, and is a master of both the courtroom and the boardroom” (The Legal 500). “His oral presentation and written advocacy skills are exceptional, and his knowledge of Delaware law is superb” (Chambers USA).

Litigating complex corporate and commercial disputes in Delaware’s state and federal courts, Rudy is “known by the courts as a real litigator” (The Legal 500) who is “wonderful on his feet” (Chambers USA). Rudy handles stockholder class actions, derivative lawsuits, contested mergers and acquisitions, contractual disputes, appraisal actions, and other statutory proceedings, such as books and records actions. “Tenacious, passionate and resourceful, he’s a gifted oral advocate who is super hardworking and very persuasive” (Chambers USA, 2024).

Rudy also advises general partners, corporate boards, and committees with respect to governance, litigation, internal investigations, and control disputes. He clerked for the Honorable Maryanne Trump Barry in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and practiced commercial litigation at Cravath, Swaine & Moore prior to joining the firm in 2006.

Rudy has been published in The Business Lawyer, The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation, Insights: the Corporate and Securities Law Advisor, Business Law Today, and the Cornell Law Review.  He has also lectured on corporate governance, class action litigation, and executive compensation.

PRACTICES

Arbitration & Mediation
Corporate & Chancery Litigation
Corporate Transactions
Corporate Governance
Mergers & Acquisitions
Commercial Litigation

Clerkships

• The Honorable Maryanne Trump Barry, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Select Experience

• Successfully represented Jane Goldman through an expedited trial in a high-profile dispute relating to control of Sol Goldman’s multibillion-dollar New York real estate empire, where the court ruled in Jane’s favor that her nephew was not a member or manager of a Goldman family Delaware limited liability company
• Represents Telsa Inc. in further proceedings related to Mr. Musk’s rescinded pay package.  Cross examined plaintiff’s expert, NYU law professor Jackson, at the hearing on plaintiff’s counsel’s unprecedented motion seeking over $7 billion worth of Tesla stock as an incentive fee and, at a subsequent hearing, argued the company’s position on the effectiveness and impact of the stockholder ratification vote on Mr. Musk’s compensation and the incentive fee request
• Successfully represented IDT Corporation, Howard Jonas, and the Patrick Henry Trust in the Delaware Court of Chancery, where after a 10-day trial the court rejected class action claims asserted by a former stockholder of Straight Path Communications Inc. seeking approximately $1.2 billion in damages
• Recognized as runner up for Litigator of the Week in American Lawyer for successfully co-leading a trial in the Court of Chancery on behalf of Silvio Scaglia over control of model and talent agency Elite World Group, where the court turned back a request by Julia Haart, star of the Netflix show My Unorthodox Life, to be reinstated as CEO and finding that she does not own or control half of the parent company, Freedom Holding, Inc.
• Successfully represented former Vice President of the United States, Al Gore, and his business partner through a private arbitration and also in litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery in connection with their sale of Current TV
• Successfully defended Wayport, Inc. and its former general counsel through a trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery involving fiduciary duty and common law fraud claims arising out of a sale of common stock by a former officer to certain preferred investors
• Successfully represented a health-care services company in an appraisal proceeding where the court, after trial, found the appraised value to be approximately 15 percent less than the deal price
• Successfully represented an issuer in a declaratory judgment action through summary judgment and appeal, where the Delaware Supreme Court unanimously found that, absent a contrary contractual provision, an issuer can cancel notes for zero consideration under New York law
• Successfully represented Goldman Sachs defending against a derivative lawsuit challenging the company’s worldwide compensation structure
• Represented numerous private equity companies in connection with post-closing fraud, breaches of representations and warranties and earnout disputes
• Represented numerous boards, merger targets and acquirors in connection with injunction proceedings
• Represented numerous companies and directors in connection with corporate control disputes
• Defended directors and officers in numerous class action and derivative lawsuits

Education

• Cornell Law School, J.D., magna cum laude
  Cornell Law Review, Editor
  Order of the Coif
• Cornell University, B.S.

Pro Bono Activities

• Child Attorney, Delaware’s Office of the Child Advocate

Recognition

• Chambers USA, since 2017
• The Legal 500, since 2016, Leading Lawyer, 2024, 2023, 2022
• Benchmark Litigation, since 2016
• The Best Lawyers in America, since 2017
• Super Lawyers, since 2013
• Delaware Today Top Lawyer, Appellate, 2024, 2021

Bar Admissions

• Delaware
• New York
• United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
• United States District Court, District of Delaware
• United States District Court, Southern District of New York
• United States District Court, Eastern District of New York