OPINION
Another LinkedIn Loser: Vice Chancellor Travis Laster of the Delaware Chancery Court
Dear Friends,
Before Chancery Court Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick’s misuse of social media, applauding negative decisions in other cases against Elon Musk, let’s not forget about the original LinkedIn Chancery loser: Travis Laster.
Vice Chancellor Laster defended anti-semitic comments by the University of Pennsylvania President, as you’ll see in the story below, as well as publicly lobbying against SB21. However you see it, folks, I see it—at best—as poor judgement on his part.
Like McCormick, Laster also used social media inappropriately, trying to prevent the legislative passing of SB21, which curtailed the Chancery Court’s powers. While McCormick denied clicking “support” on a LinkedIn post celebrating Musk’s defeat in a California civil trial, she did agree to reassign the Chancery Court cases involving Musk to other Chancery Court judges, after the LinkedIn click. And don’t forget McCormick’s first grand lie when she was caught on LinkedIn: she blamed “hackers”—even a 10-year-old child could see this for what it is: a low-character way to escape accountability for her actions.
Laster also made inappropriate public comments in the TransPerfect case, effectively green-lighting Andre Bouchard to seize the company for three years.
Why can’t these country club elite liberals just follow judicial ethics, shut up when required, and do their jobs with impartiality?
Do you agree? Please see the Reuters article below regarding Laster’s LinkedIn support for the University of Pennsylvania’s president Liz Magill. Dozens of commenters took Laster to task. What do you think? Please share your feedback. It is always welcome and appreciated.
Sincerely Yours,
JUDSON Bennett–Coastal Network Reuters story:
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/column-u-penn-president-got-delaware-judges-support-linkedin-anger-ensued-2023-12-11/
U Penn president got Delaware judge’s support on LinkedIn. Anger ensued.
Alison Frankel
December 11, 2023 5:49 PM EST Updated December 12, 2023Dec 11 (Reuters) – A longtime judge on the powerful Delaware court that oversees major business disputes took to LinkedIn this weekend to defend the character of the University of Pennsylvania’s embattled president Liz Magill.
He was promptly lambasted by dozens of commenters.
Vice Chancellor Travis Laster, a Delaware Chancery Court judge for the last 17 years, said in a post, opens new tab on Saturday that he was not defending Magill’s widely criticized Congressional testimony on Penn’s handling of antisemitic speech, which led to Magill’s resignation on Saturday as president of the university.
Laster wrote in his post that he was instead speaking out as a friend who has known Magill since both were law students at the University of Virginia. “She is not a monster,” Laster wrote. “She would never endorse or support a statement about genocide. Liz cares deeply about the rule of law and free speech.”
Many of the commenters who responded to Laster were so angry about Magill’s testimony that they questioned any defense of the Penn president, even though Laster made clear that he did not intend his post to be a justification of Magill’s statements at the hearing, nor a call for her reinstatement.
“Don’t let this ‘define’ her?” wrote Dentons partner David Steinberg. “I just love it when non-Jews tell Jewish people what constitutes antisemitic behavior.” (Steinberg did not respond to an email query.)
Some commenters specifically criticized Laster for using the prestige of his office to shore up his friend’s reputation.
“Shocking that a judge on one of America’s most prominent courts is using his soapbox to defend this,” wrote commenter Jonathan Pollard, a Florida employment litigator.
“It’s disappointing when one of the most influential jurists in the world decides to behave this way,” wrote another commenter, who contended that part of Laster’s post read as “a defense of antisemitism.”
Laster was out of the office and unavailable for comment, according to an automated email response to my query. He also did not respond to a message I sent via LinkedIn. The vice chancellor has previously posted on LinkedIn to defend Delaware Chancery Court’s stance on ESG issues and to opine, opens a new tab on other Chancery challenges.
But his post about Magill — and the backlash he received — raise important questions about when and how judges should speak publicly about controversies unrelated to their work in the courtroom.
Laster said clearly in the post that he was speaking as a longtime friend of Magill. He did not comment, for instance, on the 1st Amendment considerations for universities trying to respond to hate speech or on the underlying conflict between Israel and Hamas.
It’s nevertheless impossible to separate Laster from his position, said Florida lawyer Jeff Rood of GrayRobinson, who posted a comment criticizing Laster’s defense of Magill.
“I don’t practice in your court but I think you’ve shown poor judgment posting this,” Rood wrote. “Any practitioner will wonder if their posts about [Magill] and the rot in higher education will influence how you feel about them.”