Delaware judge to weigh Emulex investor lawsuit

* Conference Monday to say if trial goes ahead Wednesday

* Shareholder seeks investor role on Broadcom bid

* Emulex shrs close down 3.7 pct

By Martha Graybow

NEW YORK, July 2 (Reuters) - A Delaware judge is expected next week to consider the fate of an investor lawsuit against Emulex Corp's (ELX.N) board of directors that could, if successful, help Broadcom Corp (BRCM.O) in its quest to acquire the storage technology company.

A conference is scheduled Monday morning on whether a trial in the case, set to begin on Wednesday, can go forward. The conference is before Vice Chancellor Leo Strine of Delaware Chancery Court.

The lawsuit, brought by individual Emulex shareholder Reid Middleton, seeks to force the company's board to get rid of a so-called "poison pill" and other anti-takeover defenses so that shareholders can consider Broadcom's cash tender offer directly.

Broadcom, a wireless chipmaker, this week raised its bid to $912 million, up from $764 million, and changed the tenor of its previously hostile bid in what it called a final effort to engage the Emulex board.

"This lawsuit seeks to let the Emulex shareholders decide for themselves the fate of their corporation, instead of letting the Emulex board just say no until Broadcom walks away," Mark Lebovitch, a partner at law firm Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, said on Thursday.