For all the incentives Delaware and its closest competitors hope to offer companies and controllers, specialized state business court benches mostly look the same — stacked with corporate and commercial lawyers.

The hurdle of constitutionally mandated judicial elections led most states to create business dockets within their existing court systems, rather than establishing stand-alone courts that would need candidates to appeal to both voters and companies, said Duane Morris LLP partner Richard Renck, a former chair of the American Bar Association’s business court subcommittee.

A system with judicial nominating commissions that vet appointees, which exists in most of the states with stand-alone courts, helps reassure business leaders they’ll face impartial judges in a predictable court system, he said.

“If you go to states where there are elected judges, that’s hard to advise your client that you’re going to get a fair shake,” he said.

Clients worry more about partisan appointments than any individual judge’s background, he added. “Anybody can rise to the occasion and do this, especially if you have a good process for vetting who you’re putting on the bench.”

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