The Delaware House of Representatives voted on June 28 to expand the number of vice chancellors on the Court of Chancery from four to six. The court, widely recognized as the nation’s premier business court, handles disputes concerning corporate governance, mergers, acquisitions and all manner of other transactions affecting the internal affairs of the more than one million entities organized in Delaware. The expansion comes in response to the court’s growing case load and a recent budget request from Chief Justice Leo E. Strine Jr. of the Delaware Supreme Court, who highlighted the need to keep pace with the demand of Delaware’s “primary industry.”

The legislation will now be given to Governor John Carney to be signed into law. The measure marks the first time the court has expanded its ranks since 1989, when its size increased to five judges in total.