Andre Bouchard, a Chancellor of the Delaware Court, which has precedently been a corporation positive state prior to his appointment, was sworn in as Chancellor of the Court of Chancery on May 5, 2014 after he was nominated by Governor Jack Markell in March 2014 and approved by the Delaware Senate in April. Chancellor Andre Bouchard’s 12-year term will expire in 2026.Before his appointment to Chancellor of the Court, Bouchard spent 28 years as the managing partner of corporate and commercial litigation firm, Bouchard Margules & Friedlander. Now, under his leadership, the Delaware Court has suffered its reputation, which is highlighted in recent articles entitled, “New Delaware Bill Seeks to Shine a Light on Archaic Chancery Court” and “USA Today Highlights U.S. Supreme Court Trumping Andre Bouchard’s Chancery Court.” Bouchard has undermined the privilege of the Court through backdoor deals and rubbing elbows with politicians rather than focusing on benefiting large corporations, such as the world’s largest global translation services company TransPerfect and CEO Phil Shawe, among others. At a time where Andre Bouchard could be making a large difference in the decision-making of the Delaware Court system, he has often strayed from precedent leading to multiple unprecedented decisions not in favor of businesses. A list of his unusual and unprecedented rulings can be determined by his sanctioning of TransPerfect CEO Phil Shawe to $7.1 million dollars while allowing the plaintiff’s attorney Kevin Shannon to bill an additional $1.7 million in unitemized fees without allowing anyone to visually review the documents. To change these unusual and unprecedented hearings for companies in the Delaware Courts there needs to be a call for transparency within the system, so Andre Bouchard can stop billing unitemized services under the radar. A recent call for transparency within Andre Bouchard’s Delaware Court was introduced to the Delaware State Legislature on July 1st. Review the full call for transparency within the Delaware Courts here: Delaware Legislation Details.
What has Andre Bouchard done in his career?
Over the course of his career, Chancellor Andre Bouchard has continued to be influenced by political and professional peers to make his decisions. After hand-picking his own Custodian and good friend Robert Pincus, Chancellor Bouchard has undermined the judicial system and state of Delaware.Robert Pincus and Chancellor Andre Bouchard worked together at law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom prior to Bouchard’s appointment and selection of Pincus as Custodian. Since then, the two have continued to push through non-processed and itemized fees for each business that enters the Delaware Court without allowing the receipts to be seen. It’s clear that the relationship between Pincus and Bouchard is not only a conflict of interest, but also jeopardizes Delaware’s $1.4 billion incorporation industry. Collectively, Bouchard’s unprecedented rulings within the Delaware court system have dropped the state’s recognition as a pro-business state. Recently, citizens for a pro-business Delaware were removed from a Delaware State Bar Association Brunch, as their position directly competes with Bouchard’s clear view point. The Chancery Court, under Bouchard’s ruling, has innumerable conflicts of interest and many appearances of impropriety that have cost Delaware a loss of reputation (dropping the state from #1 to #11 in a national survey for providing fairness and equity).
Chancellor Andre Bouchard is now the subject of a Federal “Department of Justice” Investigation, according to an article published in a Spanish Newspaper.
Delaware’s Chancellor Bouchard’s connections to Supreme Court Justice Leo Strine and Custodian Kevin Shannon started far before their days in The Chancery Court
This is the Federal Government finally changing 30 YEARS of precedent to give those in the Shawe’s position (citizens facing a State government “taking” of private property), a better chance to fight those in Bouchard’s omnipotent and arbitrary position.
In a recent survey released by Slingshot Strategies LLC, confirms there are a large number of Delaware voters who are dissatisfied with Andre Bouchard’s Chancery Court. Importantly, 79% of Delawareans believe Andre Bouchard should have been forced to disclose his pre-existing, 20-year BFF friendship with TransPerfect Global co-founder, Elting’s counsel, Kevin Shannon of Potter Anderson.
