"With more than 335,000 domestic and international corporations, partnerships and business trusts incorporated here, the state is widely recognized as the "Hometown of Corporate America".  More than half of both  the Fortune 500 firms and the firms whose stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange are Delaware corporations"

It has long been noted in business circles that tiny Delaware casts a shadow far larger than its meager area and modest population would otherwise dictate. Today, with more than 335,000 domestic and international corporations, partnerships and business trusts incorporated here, the state is widely recognized as the "Hometown of Corporate America". More than half of both the Fortune 500 firms and the firms whose stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange are Delaware corporations; new corporations (the vast majority of them being headquartered elsewhere) are being incorporated in Delaware at a rate of more than 4,200 a month. The state is certainly unique in having roughly one business incorporated here for every household in the state. Substantial infrastructure has evolved over the years to accommodate the needs of the thousands of businesses incorporated here but headquartered elsewhere. Lewis S. Black Jr., Esq., a Delaware lawyer who is a partner with the Wilmington firm of Morris, Nichols, Arsht and Tunnell has been called one of the "top guns" in corporate law nationally. In his pamphlet, "Why Corporations Choose Delaware," he writes: "It is no wonder that Delaware has become almost a brand name for the ‘business’ of serving as the official home for corporations." The state’s appeal as a corporate enclave is based on three pivotal factors. First, The Delaware legislature over the years has created and subsequently refined a body of corporate law that makes it at least as advantageous, if not more so, for businesses to be incorporated in Delaware than any other jurisdiction. (Even states that have largely copied Delaware’s corporate law in recent years have not succeeded in luring any significant proportion of business incorporation's away from Delaware.) Compared with the statutes governing corporate activity in many other states, Delaware reduces the red tape a company must deal with in conducting such business as paying dividends, amending its charter, selling or mortgaging assets and acquiring or merging with another company. Second, under the aegis of the Secretary of State, Delaware has created a highly efficient, user-friendly, state-of-the-art mechanism to handle the documentation associated with corporate registrations. The state’s Division of Corporations is highly service-oriented, and can normally respond to requests on a two-hour, same-day or 24-hour basis, depending on the customers needs. With a total of 85 employees, the division even maintains a second shift to accommodate requests received as late as midnight. This is a level of service unsurpassed in any other state’s system not only makes it easier to handle the documentation associated with corporate registration in Delaware, it greatly reduces both response time and the likelihood of errors. The third factor behind Delaware’s attractiveness to corporate America is the role the Court of Chancery has played during much of the past century. Aside from the U.S. Supreme Court, it is arguably the highest profile and most widely respected judicial venue in the country, if not the world. It is unquestionably the country’s premier arbiter of corporate disputes.

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