Bell Nunnally Partner R. Heath Cheek is quoted in the D CEO magazine article “Texas is Coming for Delaware’s Crown” featured in the January/February print edition. The article delves into efforts by the Texas Legislature to make the state more attractive to business, including the creation of business courts. Cheek, along with Senior Associate Nathan Cox, were the first attorneys in Texas to file in business court history.

“Texas prides itself on being the No. 1 state for business, and yet there’s this little state called Delaware that gets an outsized share of Fortune 500 incorporations,” commented Cheek. “The Texas Legislature said, ‘We’re going to take a run at Delaware, and to do that, we need to replicate the strengths that Delaware has.’”  One of Delaware’s strengths has always been its business court system.  Texas is now trying to create its own similar system. 

Cheek notes that business courts are attractive to parties in corporate disputes as the sides know the rules of engagement and judges involved have specific, relevant experience. The author notes that even in large, population-wise counties in Texas, judges are tasked with switching between very different types of matters such as custody disputes, armed robberies and business contracts. “What business courts have done is take those complicated, high-dollar business cases and move them into their own courts so we’re not getting inconsistent rulings,” said Cheek.