The new ad buy is almost double what the workers spent last month on television advertisements.
WDEL radio host Rick Jansen speaks with Philip Shawe, the co-CEO of TransPerfect, on recent dangerous rulings by the Delaware Chancery Court. Also joining the conversation, is State Senator Colin Bonini (R-DE).
A group of TransPerfect workers have spent nearly $300,000 on a new round of television commercials in an effort to change a law that could result in the company’s sale.
“We arrived to the hearing with a full bus of TransPerfect employees,” said Chris Coffey, Campaign Manager for CPBD. “These employees have been ordered not to speak out against the court, but still risked attending the hearing to fight for their jobs. We hope that Delawareans will see the threat that the Chancery Court’s decision poses to Delaware’s economy and to more than 4,000 livelihoods. We urge them to sign the petition and stand with us to protect our state and its residents.”
CPBD was formed after the Delaware Court of Chancery ordered an appointed custodian to sell TransPerfect amid an internal dispute among company owners. Over the past few months, CPBD has been involved with court proceedings, submitting an amicus brief and arguing that the Court of Chancery appoint a custodian to act as a provisional director until the dispute is resolved – and continues to work with members of legislature to get the bill passed. “I am concerned that the TransPerfect case will negatively impact the state of Delaware – and I am actively working with Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware to make sure our state keeps its long and well-deserved reputation as the state where businesses come from around the globe,” said Senator Colin Bonini. “We all want the same thing – to keep jobs in Delaware and to keep our state’s economy strong.” Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 2,200 members including employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect, as well as concerned Delaware residents, business executives, and others. They formed in April 2016 to focus on raising awareness among Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the issue. For more information on Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware, visit DelawareForBusiness.org. Contact: Mary Urban, [email protected] Julijana Englander, [email protected] SOURCE Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware“CRITICS SAY DELAWARE’S BUSINESS COURT HAS GROWN TOO POWERFUL”
In this segment, which aired on Bloomberg Businessweek in September 2016, correspondents discuss the controversy surrounding the Delaware Court of Chancery’s ruling to dissolve TransPerfect in order to resolve a shareholder dispute.
[wpvideo M7U7fimj]TransPerfect is a financially healthy company posting record revenues and profits despite the ongoing litigation in Delaware. Chancellor Andre Bouchard’s decision was based on Section 226 of the Delaware Corporate Code. The ruling was met with a massive response by TransPerfect employees who–unaware of any irreparable harm–continue to fight for the company’s survival.
The Delaware Supreme Court decision against TransPerfect Global co-CEO Philip Shawe yesterday is no surprise. The DSC is dominated by Leo Strine (who picked his own protege, Andre Bouchard, to fill the vacancy he left in Chancery) and his bullying of the other justices is well-known in Dover (he’s turned over the entire bench –meaning made them all quit — in a 2-year period). Having read the briefs, it is my opinion that C.J Seitz didn’t write the brief that bears his name, and the real author was Strine — but it seems that may be the way to avoid appearances of improprieties in the Delaware Judiciary. Once again in this case, it smells like backroom business as usual in our small state. A couple of observations: * Kudos for the only real jurist on the bench with the nerve to stand up to Strine, Karen Valihura, whose Dissent should be heralded as one of Delaware’s most brilliant pieces of legal work of our time. Unfortunately, it’s the minority, but it is a blueprint for Legislators and the Bar Association to fix the obvious ambiguity in the law that the Chancellor slithered through to commit this travesty of justice. Valihura could have just gone along with the pack, but she didn’t. Her Dissent is 35 pages of brilliant legal analysis backing up Shawe’s position, and vindicating what I and others have been saying all along. * Shame on Strine for, instead of drawing any real legal conclusions, just reciting the same, tired witness-less and fictional narrative of Bouchard. And, for acting like a child during the oral arguments. And, for not having the courage and decency to put his own name on papers he most likely wrote. * Shame on the other 3 DSC justices for, in my opinion, letting themselves be pushed into Strine-following zombies, when they must know Valihura’s Opinion is correct and far superior. * Shame on Bouchard for, what I view as, his obvious corruption in this decision. He should read Valihura’s reversal of his decision to figure out how he is supposed to do his job. He hasn’t a clue. The job of a judge isn’t to pay back your friends; it isn’t to make peace with Strine to get him off your back; it’s only one thing, the dispassionate administration of justice — and it’s not what happened in the TransPerfect case. Bouchard makes his pack of parasite pals richer and richer each each passing day by scuttling settlement possibilities, stuffing TransPerfect to the gills with lawyers and consultants all charging between $700 and $1,400 per hour. $15 million a year is being stolen from TransPerfect by a legal ruling that reeks of corruption, and DSC has put it’s stamp of approval on this. It makes me want to vomit. More on this decision, and it’s dark and shady origin to come. But to leave things on a positive note: Hooray for Delaware Supreme Court Justice Karen Valihura, one of two Republicans on the bench. I salute her for brushing off what must have been tremendous pressure from Strine and the establishment to go along with wrongly supporting Bouchard — and more importantly — for being a honest champion of Delaware Law, holding true to what the Legislature intended in our statues- honoring the separation of powers, respecting the Delaware and U.S. Constitutions, restoring what little faith I now have in our cronyism-based legal system, and having the courage to speak the truth. Strine has had his day and shown his true colors with the TransPerfect case: Karen Valihura should be the Chief Justice! Your comments are welcome. Always for Delaware and respectfully submitted, JUDSON Bennett-Coastal NetworkJudicial activism–or judicial overreach, as it is sometimes called–refers to judicial rulings suspected of being based on personal or political considerations rather than on existing legal precedent. The scary thing about a situation like this is that in the law, when such a decision is upheld, it is tantamount to legislating from the bench, in effect, creating new law, which is not the responsibility of the judiciary. Law-making is supposed to come from the legislative branch of our government, in order for our democratic system to work as it should. In Delaware’s renowned Court of Chancery, famous for resolving corporate disputes equitably, Chancellor Andre Bouchard’s rulings in the TransPerfect case have indisputably gone wildly beyond what is fair and equitable, and obviously been adjudicated from his personal bias, rather than applying the law appropriately. In my opinion his actions in this case, besides obvious appearances of impropriety, make him seriously suspect. 1) How does declaring an internal dispute between stockholders equate to irreparable harm, when TransPerfect continuously makes tremendous profits? 2) How does this judge justify ordering the sale of this profitable company for the sole benefit of one stockholder because of his personal bias? Is it because he is scratching the back of his cronies at “Skadden Arps” to raid the company coffers, and siphon off TransPerfect profits under the false premise of “helping” the company, which is already the leader in it industry? 3) How can Bouchard legitimately sanction the defendant in this case an unprecedented $7.1 million dollars based on the concept that he attempted to spoliate documents. No concept exists in the law. Either evidence is destroyed or it is not. Shawe’s e-discovery expert, and 3 other experts testified Shawe saved all evidence appropriately. Bouchard’s rulings are carefully crafted to avoid the word “spoliation” because Elting did not and could not prove her case. Regardless of the evidence, Bouchard sought to punish Shawe by grabbing headlines with deceiving rhetoric, such as Shawe “deleted” certain evidence. Not true, folks!!! Are we to believe that the Chancellor could be so technologically inept, that he failed to understand that once data is “preserved” – in this case with a mirror image – the gold-standard of evidence preservation – that it can no longer be “deleted”? No. We should not be fooled. Bouchard sought to illegally issue punitive sanctions and destroy Shawe’s reputation based on headline-grabbing rulings which were patently false and grossly misleading. 4) How can Chancellor Bouchard award $1.4 million dollars to the plaintiff’s attorney (his personal friend!!) to be paid by the defendant without so much as an itemized bill from Kevin Shannon at Potter Anderson. I guess this is the treatment you get when you travel to New Orleans with a Chancellor, socialize together, and make public co-paneling appearances – In the middle of the case, when Chancellor Bouchard, who is the entire judge and jury, would normally be sequestered in a non-bench trial. But Bouchard was not sequestered, when he decided this case, he was traveling on taxpayer money to New Orleans to attend a boondoggle at Tulane University with Elting’s attorney. Are we expected to be naive enough to believe this boondoggle with Shannon, didn’t influence Bouchard, when weeks before he promised a “measured” decision. No folks, we aren’t, this has the appearance of corruption by Andre Bouchard, and it should be investigated. 5) How can Chancellor Bouchard appoint another friend and his former law partner, as a Custodian of TransPerfect, and then allow him to charge $1,400 per hour with no limit whatsoever. Did he do it to benefit his friend Bob Pincus, and his former law firm, for some pay-off down the road? Bouchard has allowed Skadden Arps to bilk TransPerfect to the tune of over $3 million dollars?!? ….in a single year?! For attending a board meeting once a month?? I am amazed and appalled at this seemingly, blatant attorney misuse of TransPerfect’s hard-earned dollars. Money that should and could be going for raises for the TransPerfect staff, is instead going directly into Pincus’ pockets … all approved by Chancellor Andre Bouchard. Talk about the appearance of impropriety – Wow!. It is a disgrace and it must stop! 6) How can this Judge not be required to know the U.S. Constitution, and sign an order violating the First and Fourth Amendment rights of TransPerfect’s thousands of U.S.-based employees?!? … and get away with it. The law firm of Skadden Arps, through his former law partner Bob Pincus, is an arm of the court and Bouchard has granted him sweeping powers to fire, sanction, or fine any employees that talk to the press or don’t want to give over their private emails, phones or records. The Chancery’s unprecedented sale order granting Pincus never-before-granted sweeping powers to punish at will – is a blatant disregard of the “due process” requirements of the U.S. Constitution, and has created an atmosphere of fear and discord at TransPerfect? The workers deserve better. Someone must stand up to Bouchard, the omnipotent-bully Chancellor, who apparently seeks to punish those who speak out against his controversial actions and decisions. I have talked with enough employees to know this is not a stretch of anyone’s imagination. TransPerfect’s in-house counsel was forced to choose between doing Pincus’ illegal bidding or quit her job. Amazing stuff going on in this company folks that is fodder for a best-seller. Shockingly, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as each and every successive ruling I examine by Chancellor Andre Bouchard seems to have no basis in law, but reeks to holy hell of his possible, personal bias, cronyism, and desire to enrich his friends. I have now spoken to many attorneys (who are afraid to speak out), who have told me they have never seen a Chancellor or Judge rule so obviously and consistently against one litigant, when indeed the evidence, overwhelming and indisputably stated the complete opposite of his rulings. I urge the Delaware legislature in its upcoming session to order the Court of the Judiciary to investigate Andre Bouchard for possible wrongful acts, and to make a law that requires STANDARDS that must be followed when the Chancery Court makes custodian decisions in the future. I’m told in New York, they spin a wheel to appoint Custodian’s to prevent this sort of thing from happening. Why not spin a wheel in Delaware? Make it a random appointment instead of creating the possibility of corruption? This all amounts to not only harming and risking the jobs of 4,000 TransPerfect jobs, but also possibly destroying millions of dollars of Delaware capital that is derived from Delaware’s incorporation fee bonanza, which is now seriously at risk. Ruining 4,000 people’s lives will not go down easy for the State of the Delaware, when the only tangible result has been to enrich the law firm of Skadden Arps and their consultants, and investment banker friends. If the Delaware Supreme Court refuses to recognize what is happening, because of the hometown relationships there – the Delaware General Assembly MUST step in and do its duty. It must protect our state’s image and economy – and cannot allow this rogue and apparently unprincipled Chancellor to create these appearances of impropriety which will kill Delaware’s very profitable corporate franchise. We need to give this situation proper consideration, and investigate. Delaware’s judicial reputation is truly at stake over the next month. It is time for Delaware to show the world that it will not allow Chancellor Bouchard’s cronyism to conquer justice.