Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP

What Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP does

Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP is a Wilmington, Delaware-based law firm organized as a Limited Liability Partnership, founded in 1959 and operating continuously for over half a century. The firm delivers professional legal services through five core practice areas: Bankruptcy and Restructuring, Business and Tax, Corporate Litigation and Counseling, Intellectual Property, and Litigation and Trial Practice. Its value proposition is built on deep, locally-rooted Delaware legal expertise — partners serve on the committees that draft amendments to Delaware's entity and other laws, and the firm has played a role in many groundbreaking cases that have shaped Delaware case law.

The firm's customer base consists of corporate clients from all 50 states that seek the sophistication and business-savvy fairness of the Delaware legal system, engaged either directly or through their primary outside counsel. Revenue is generated through billable-hour professional services fees negotiated on a quote-based, matter-by-matter basis; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The firm does not operate a technology platform, marketplace, or productized offering, and there are no disclosed AI/ML capabilities, app offerings, or API integrations. Distribution is entirely direct: clients engage the firm for representation through partner-led teams, with the firm's reputation, legislative involvement, and Delaware bench-and-bar relationships functioning as the primary go-to-market assets.

Notable recent matter-level activity includes representation of At Home Group Inc. in a $1B–$10B-asset Chapter 11 filing in June 2025 and of Food52, Inc. in a December 2025 Chapter 11, including facilitation of a $6.5M stalking horse bid by America's Test Kitchen. The firm is owned and controlled by its partner group under the LLP model, with no external parent company, private equity sponsor, or institutional investor involvement indicated in available data. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed, and headcount falls in the 251–500 employee band.

Name

Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP

Legal name

Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP

Website

https://ycst.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor is a Wilmington, Delaware-based law firm founded in 1959 that provides bankruptcy, restructuring, corporate litigation, business and tax, IP, and trial practice services to corporate clients from all 50 states seeking Delaware legal expertise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services (Delaware corporate and bankruptcy law)

NAICS

Legal Services (5411), Other Legal Services (54119)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

M&A Advisory (Buy-Side & Sell-Side) (BPAHAOAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sell-Side M&A Advisory (FSAEAGAA), Buy-Side M&A Advisory (FSAEAGAB), Special Needs & Supplemental Needs Trust Services (FSAAANAJ)

Keywords

• Delaware legal services
• Corporate bankruptcy law
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Intellectual property litigation
• Corporate litigation

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilmington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Services: Professional legal services provided to corporate clients seeking Delaware legal expertise. Revenue generated through billable hours for legal representation in bankruptcy, restructuring, corporate litigation, business transactions, intellectual property, and other practice areas. The firm serves as primary outside counsel or works alongside primary outside counsel for companies navigating Delaware legal matters.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP is a Delaware-based law firm that provides legal representation and counsel to corporate clients on Delaware law matters. Its offerings span five core practice areas — Bankruptcy and Restructuring, Business and Tax, Corporate Litigation and Counseling, Intellectual Property, and Litigation and Trial Practice — each encompassing specialized sub-services such as bankruptcy litigation, debtor restructuring, mass torts, M&A, corporate governance disputes, patent and trademark litigation, and cybersecurity/privacy. Engagements are delivered by partner and associate teams on a billable-hours basis, with clients either retaining the firm directly or working through their primary outside counsel.

Product overview

Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP is a Delaware law firm offering legal services across five core practice areas: Bankruptcy and Restructuring, Business and Tax, Corporate Litigation and Counseling, Intellectual Property, and Litigation and Trial Practice. The firm operates as a single-service law firm with multiple practice sections rather than a technology platform. Each core practice area encompasses specialized sub-service offerings—for example, Bankruptcy and Restructuring includes Bankruptcy Litigation, Debtor/Corporate Restructuring, and Mass Torts; Business and Tax covers entity formation, M&A, tax planning, and cybersecurity; Corporate Litigation and Counseling handles stockholder actions, M&A disputes, and corporate governance matters; Intellectual Property covers patent litigation and trademarks; and Litigation and Trial Practice addresses commercial disputes and personal injury matters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bankruptcy and Restructuring Legal services for bankruptcy litigation, debtor and corporate restructuring, mass torts, and related matters, delivered to corporate clients navigating Chapter 11 and distressed situations in Delaware.
• Business and Tax Comprehensive business law services covering asset protection, business transactions, commercial real estate, cybersecurity, education law, employee benefits, entity formation, family office advisory, labor and employment, legal opinions, M&A, secured transactions, tax, trusts and estates, and trade secret matters.
• Corporate Litigation and Counseling Corporate governance and dispute resolution services including alternative entity governance, appellate litigation, appraisal litigation, books and records demands, business divorce, busted deal litigation, challenged transactions, corporate governance, expedited litigation, internal investigations, M&A litigation, portfolio company management, proxy disputes, securities litigation, stockholder actions, and statutory actions under Delaware corporate law.
• Intellectual Property IP legal services including cybersecurity and data protection, IP litigation, patent litigation, and trademark matters for corporate clients.
• Litigation and Trial Practice General litigation services covering bankruptcy litigation, commercial litigation, complex and specialty litigation, medical negligence, personal injury, and workers' compensation.

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• America's Test Kitchen (F52, LLC)minorOthers · 29 December 2025America's Test Kitchen, through its subsidiary F52, LLC, submitted a stalking horse bid of $6.5 million with $3.4 million in debtor-in-possession financing to acquire Food52's assets through a 35-day sale process. This represents a client/vendor relationship in a bankruptcy proceeding rather than a formal partnership.
• AvidbankminorOthers · 15 December 2025Avidbank is mentioned as a senior lender that performed a sudden cash sweep on December 15, 2025, triggering Food52's liquidity crisis. This is a creditor relationship in a bankruptcy case, not a formal business partnership.
• Wilmington UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 December 2025Wilmington University launched the Wilmington University Restructuring Institute, a national hub for education and training in corporate restructuring, located in Wilmington, DE. The institute aims to serve professionals and students through specialized programs and expert-led training starting in January 2026. While both are Delaware-based institutions, there is no explicit mention of Young Conaway's involvement with this institute in the source material.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz: Elite M&A and corporate governance firm often co-counseling on Delaware corporate litigation; competes for the same high-end public-company representation.
• Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP: Premier M&A, securities, and corporate governance firm that competes for the same Delaware-centric corporate litigation and transactional mandates.
• Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP: Top-tier restructuring and corporate litigation practice that competes for major Delaware bankruptcy and special-situation mandates.
• Sullivan & Cromwell LLP: Wall Street M&A and restructuring heavyweight that competes for high-end Delaware corporate and bankruptcy work, often as primary outside counsel.
• Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP: Top M&A and litigation firm commonly involved in Delaware corporate matters; a competitor and frequent co-counsel for sophisticated public-company representation.
• Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP: Global AmLaw firm with a major Wilmington office covering the same bankruptcy/restructuring and corporate litigation work; a frequent competing bidder for Delaware distressed mandates.
• Kirkland & Ellis LLP: Dominant global restructuring practice that frequently serves as debtors' or creditors' counsel in large Chapter 11 cases; competes for the same flagship bankruptcy mandates.
• Latham & Watkins LLP: Global full-service firm with strong bankruptcy and corporate practices that competes for distressed transactions and Delaware corporate mandates.

Direct peers

• Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A. Wilmington-based Delaware law firm with a directly overlapping practice mix in corporate, bankruptcy, M&A, and Chancery Court litigation—its closest head-to-head competitor for Delaware-specific work.
• Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP: Wilmington-headquartered Delaware firm with comparable Chancery Court, corporate governance, and restructuring practices; competes for the same Delaware corporation-counsel mandates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP