<p>Lawrence A. Hamermesh is Emeritus Professor and the former Ruby R. Vale Professor of Corporate and Business Law at Widener's Delaware campus and former Director of the Widener Institute of Delaware Corporate and Business Law. Professor Hamermesh received a B.A. from Haverford College in 1973, and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1976.  <br /><br /> Following graduation from law school, Professor Hamermesh worked as an associate attorney with Morris, Nichols, Arsht &amp; Tunnell in Wilmington, Delaware, from 1976-84, and was a partner at Morris, Nichols, Arsht &amp; Tunnell from 1985-94.  <br /><br /> Professor Hamermesh joined the faculty at Widener in 1994 as Associate Professor of Law. Professor Hamermesh is admitted to practice in Delaware, and he teaches and writes in the areas of Corporate Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions, Securities Regulation, Business Organizations, Corporate Takeovers, and Professional Responsibility.  <br /><br /> In 2010 and 2011, while on a leave of absence, Professor Hamermesh served as senior special counsel in the Office of Chief Counsel of the Division of Corporation Finance at the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC. <br /><br /> Since 1995 he has been a member of the Corporation Law Council of the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State Bar Association, which is responsible for the annual review and modernization of the Delaware General Corporation Law, and was Chair of the Council from 2002-2004.  <br /><br /> From 2001 to 2007 Professor Hamermesh was an elected member of the Corporate Laws Committee of the American Bar Association Business Law Section, which supervises the drafting and revision of the Model Business Corporation Act. He has been the Reporter for that committee since 2013. In 2002-2003, Professor Hamermesh served as the Reporter for the American Bar Association Task Force on Corporate Responsibility. <br /><br />Professor Hamermesh was elected in 1999 as a member of the American Law Institute. Professor Hamermesh is also a member of the Board of Directors of ACLU Delaware, Inc.. He was President of that organization from 1996-2003, and served on the national board of directors of the ACLU from 2004 to 2009. <br /><br />In 2004 Professor Hamermesh received the Daniel L. Herrmann Professional Conduct Award from the Delaware State Bar Association.</p>
<h5>What is the most important way that I &ldquo;give back&rdquo;?</h5>
<p>Delaware corporate lawyers understand that they are stewards for the world&rsquo;s most important corporate law. I contribute to that stewardship by serving on the Corporation Law Section Council and seeking to maintain a balance among the interests of investors, managers, and society.</p>
<h5>What do you learn when you study law in Delaware?</h5>
<p>The criteria for the Delaware Bar&rsquo;s Daniel L. Herrmann Professional Conduct Award emphasize &ldquo;those qualities of courtesy and civility, which, together with high ability and distinguished service, exemplify the Delaware lawyer.&rdquo;&nbsp; Those qualities represent the &ldquo;Delaware way&rdquo; that my faculty colleagues and I hope to teach our students to follow as a path to professional success and personal satisfaction.</p>