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Check out Leo the Hutt! And his cabal of Jabba the Hutts, folks! Leo Strine, Andre Bouchard and Jennifer Voss are also being called out for their Chancery Court corruption. Well deserved for this collection of corrupt and former Skadden Good Old Boys. Below is the full page ad that ran in the Delaware News Journal. Take a look and let me know your thoughts. Your feedback is always welcome and appreciated. Respectfully Yours, JUDSON Bennett–Coastal Network
OPINION
 
Dear Friends,
 
Having observed and analyzed the methods of the Delaware Court operations of both Andre Bouchard and Leo Strine, in my view, especially in Delaware’s now famous TransPerfect case, it’s easy to see why both have left or are set to leave their government-appointed posts well before their terms were up. Bouchard’s subjectivity, open bias, and appearances of impropriety made him clearly suspect to me. Strine’s obtuseness and arrogance during the appeal stimulated the same concern in my gut as I felt about Bouchard.
 
The way the TransPerfect case was handled was unusual and left many observers queasy. Indeed, huge amounts of money were paid out and there is doubt in many eyes as to the legitimacy of everything that happened. Actions speak loudly. And here we are now, with two of the most powerful men in our court system, resigned and resigning. That has to be unsettling for those who remain in power as to who could be next? 
 
There is much speculation and rumor as to the real reasons why Strine left and Bouchard is leaving. The Delaware Way is always at work and the official state government proclamations and reasons have been established.
 
Those of us who have followed these men and their cases, wonder if both Strine and Bouchard are smugly laughing at the system? Are both a lot richer coming out of this Delaware-insider, Good Ole Boy system? We may never know. We can demand that our state representatives appoint a new Chancellor with logical understanding of the law, based on objectivity and free of conflicts of interest.
 
Change is needed in the law in regard to Delaware’s judicial operation, especially in the Chancery Court and the appeals that are considered thereafter. Now with Bouchard and Stine out of the way, change is sure to come. Will it be change for the better? We must ensure that it is for our state and our citizens to once again prosper and lead as America’s First State!
 
As always, your feedback is welcome and appreciated.
 
Respectfully yours,
 
JUDSON Bennett-Coastal Network
 
www.CoastalNetwork.com
OPINION Dear Friends, Isn’t it interesting that both former Chief Justice Leo Strine and Chancellor Andre Bouchard will both have departed their honorable appointments well before their terms were up. Both of these jurists are grotesquely overrated, in my opinion, and their logical decisions indicated, especially in the notorious TransPerfect case, extreme bias, subjectivity and conflicts of interest, rather than clean, open, reasonable, and fair adjudication. Under Chancellor Bouchard’s tenure, his bias, irregularities, and appearances of impropriety, creating the “tonque in cheek” name of Bouchard’s Court by some attorneys, calling it the Court of “Inequity,” where there is concern about favoritism. I remember famous litigator, liberal Professor Alan Dershowitz (a Democrat), who was hired to represent Shirley Shawe in the TransPerfect case, after having experienced Chief Justice Leo Strine’s absolute bias, and rude ignorance during the appeal.  I was appalled. Furthermore, Strine’s decision was totally flawed and represented a “Taking” under the 5th Amendment. Both Strine and Bouchard worked for the notorious law firm of Skadden Arps. Check out their reputation, folks! It is my belief that these seemingly incompetent and biased judges have hurt Delaware and I am glad they are gone. Good riddance! My friends in Delaware, what do you think is coming next? Now that Strine is gone and Bouchard is fleeing in April? Will equity be returned to Delaware? As always, tell me what you think! Your feedback is important, welcome, and appreciated. Respectfully Submitted, JUDSON Bennett-Coastal Network COASTALNETWORK.COMDear Friends, This is a follow up to yesterday’s article on Delaware’s Chancellor, Andre Bouchard, deciding to retire from the bench. His position is internationally famous, and Associated Press reporter Randall Chase has covered this significant resignation. The story is in every AP associated paper in the United States. Randall Chase also reports on the amazing and unprecedented public criticism that Andre Bouchard has received statewide in Delaware from an organized Citizens group called Citizens for a Pro Business Delaware on Bouchard’s handling of the TransPerfect Global case. Never in my life have I seen a Delaware Chancellor so biased, so subjective, and so arrogant and who indeed deserved the criticism. Yours truly followed every aspect of Bouchard’s tenure and I was appalled at what I saw as his clear bias, his lack of transparency, and his suspicious activities indicating conflicts of interest and appearances of impropriety, especially in his improper handling, in my view, of important cases, the adjudication of which reeked of subjectivity rather than being based on decided law. The bottom line is that it appeared to me and many others throughout the world that Chancellor Andre Bouchard was about feathering the nests of pals and associates rather than providing equity and fairness to the litigants. Folks, even the Delaware Bar Association in an unprecedented move tried to cover for this radical, judicial operator by holding a press conference, attacking the TransPerfect CEO, and basically defending Bouchard’s rulings. As always, the Delaware Way kicked in, which is the incessant protection system that is part of the “Good Old Boy” operation. The bottom line is that Andre Bouchard is leaving way before his term is up. Folks, this is extremely unusual! Indeed his operation as Chancellor was not normal or equitable and he will be leaving us a disconcerting memory of how the Chancery Court should not be run. Two hundred fifty million dollars was spent and went into a whole bunch of greedy pockets from the TransPerfect case alone. We will probably never know the real story? Regardless, from my perspective, good riddance Andre Bouchard, time for laws to be changed, and appearances of impropriety to be eliminated. Please read the Associated Press article below. As always your feedback is welcome and appreciated. Respectfully Submitted, [avatar user=”Judson Bennett” size=”thumbnail” align=”left” link=”https://twitter.com/Judson_Bennett” target=”_blank”]JUDSON Bennett-Coastal Network[/avatar]  

Head of Delaware Chancery Court Stepping Down

The chief judge on Delaware’s Court of Chancery has announced that he is resigning from his post early next year.

BY RANDALL CHASE, Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — The chief judge on Delaware’s Court of Chancery has announced that he is resigning from his post early next year. Chancellor Andre Bouchard sent a letter to Gov. John Carney on Monday announcing that he plans to retire from the bench effective April 30, roughly seven years after he was sworn into a 12-year term of office in 2014. As chancellor, Bouchard has been chief judge on the Chancery Court, which is known for handling high-profile disputes involving some of the nation’s largest companies, many of which are incorporated in Delaware. Bouchard did not specify any reasons for his retirement but officials said in a statement that he wants to spend more time with his family and pursue other interests. “It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve the citizens of Delaware as the steward of this special institution,” Bouchard wrote in his letter to Carney. Carney thanked Bouchard for his service. Delaware Chief Justice Collins Seitz Jr. said Bouchard had lead the Court of Chancery with “humility, imagination, and grace.” During his tenure, Bouchard lead an effort to expand the Court of Chancery for the first time in more than 28 years, with lawmakers agreeing to boost the number of judges from five to seven. Bouchard also has been a frequent target of criticism from a group called Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware and from New York businessman Philip Shawe. The group was formed in 2016 after Bouchard ordered the sale of a translation services company called TransPerfect because Shawe and fellow co-founder Elizabeth Elting, his former fiancee, were hopelessly deadlocked over its management. Shawe opposed Elting’s request for a forced sale but wound up buying out her interest and controlling the company. Among his various rulings in the case, Bouchard ordered Shawe to pay Elting $7.1 million in fees and expenses as sanctions for his “deplorable behavior.” In the sanctions ruling, Bouchard declared that Shawe had intentionally sought to destroy information, failed to safeguard evidence, and repeatedly lied under oath. Last week, attorneys for Shawe and TransPerfect filed a federal lawsuit against Bouchard over billings by an attorney Bouchard appointed as a custodian to oversee the sale of TransPerfect. According to the lawsuit, Bouchard has ordered TransPerfect to pay more than $45 million in fees and expenses to the custodian, his law firm and other advisers while refusing to allow Shawe access to billing and fee details unless he agrees to “gag orders” preventing the information from being disclosed to the public. “Such secret and private proceedings deprive the public in Delaware and the nation of information about how the Court of Chancery operates and about its relationships with Delaware law firms … thereby understandably undermining public confidence in the Delaware courts,” the complaint states. Last year, members of the Delaware State Bar Association, including several former judges, took the unusual step of holding a news conference to defend Bouchard against attacks by Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware, which has said it is interested in promoting judicial transparency and accountability. Bar Association officials suggested that the group, which includes employees of TransPerfect, was simply a front for Shawe.Dear friends, I don’t want anybody to forget, if by chance, former Delaware Supreme Court Justice Leo Stine tries to run for office or is considered for an appointment, how much he and his confederate cohorts like Chancellor Andre Bouchard have, in my opinion, damaged the reputation of America’s First State. Having witnessed his arrogance and rudeness in the TransPerfect appeal, I was actually embarrassed by his despicable behavior. The bias exhibited in his demeanor and subjective decisions has hurt Delaware’s credibility. If Strine ever runs for office or campaigns for a space in the Biden administration, I will be first in the picket line, folks. No one should forget. It wasn’t just the Coastal Network giving him flak. See the Law360 article below. As always, let me know your thoughts! Delaware has suffered enough! Respectfully Yours, [avatar user=”Judson Bennett” size=”thumbnail” align=”left” link=”https://twitter.com/Judson_Bennett”]Judson Bennett-Coastal Network[/avatar] CoastalNetwork.com Justice Strine Catches Flak For Delaware’s Diminished Rep By Matt Chiappardi Law360, Wilmington (September 15, 2017, 6:30 PM EDT) — Court watchers, legal experts and Delaware attorneys have all pointed to a patchwork of reasons they believe the First State fell to 11th place in the 2017 U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey of business-friendly states after holding the top spot since the survey began in 2002, chiefly a series of decisions perceived as plaintiff-friendly that surprised corporate executives. Perceptions of Chief Justice Strine, a prominent figure in the state for more than 20 years, took a back seat to other expressed concerns, but the top jurist’s demeanor on the bench has been an elephant in the room for some time. Delaware’s Chief Justice Leo E. Strine Jr., with his biting wit and forceful personality on the bench, is facing fire from some for the First State’s tarnished reputation among many business leaders, with attorney Alan Dershowitz calling him “an unfortunate face” for the state. Dershowitz, who got into a public dust-up with the chief justice during Supreme Court oral arguments in January and represents a litigant staunchly critical of Delaware court decisions, called him “rude” and suggested his image is not helping the First State’s reputation in the business world. “You don’t feel like you’ve had a fair shake if you’re in front of him,” Dershowitz told Law360. “He dominates everything. He doesn’t ask questions. He’s very intolerant. It’s as much about personality as it is about policy.” Many, even those who acknowledge that his sometimes harsh temperament can be off-putting, have rallied to his defense, pointing to what they said is his impressive intellect, work ethic and dedication to Delaware’s jurisprudence. While Dershowitz was more caustic in his criticism of Chief Justice Strine, others in Delaware legal circles confirm that the chief justice’s larger-than-life persona is not just a frequent topic of private conversation, but a source of consternation among some corporate executives. High-level directors don’t like seeing expensive corporate counsel dressed down in public court and bristle at how amplified his strong views can be if decisions don’t go their way, attorneys have said. When Chief Justice Strine was a vice chancellor and ultimately chancellor of the Chancery Court, attorneys would alter their presentations if they knew they’d be in front of him in order not to be on the receiving end of some barb. There’s also a perception that the chief justice is mercurial when he looks at cases, and attorneys who find themselves in his doghouse have a hard time getting out, often to the detriment of their cases. Chief Justice Strine, a former Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP associate, was legal counsel and policy coordinator for Gov. Tom Carper in the 1990s. Carper nominated him to the Chancery Court in 1998, and he ascended to chancellor in 2011. When Gov. Jack Markell nominated him to be chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court in 2014, there was some concern that he would deviate from Delaware’s tradition of maximizing judicial consensus in decisions, or that his domineering persona might lead to his bullying his colleagues behind the scenes. Those worries have eased somewhat during the three years he’s had the center seat on the Supreme Court bench, and court has seen split decisions, such as the Williams Cos. v. Energy Transfer Equity case earlier this year, with the chief justice on the dissenting side. But some, even those who are not fans of the chief justice’s style, essentially say that attorneys appearing in front of him should simply “toughen up” and suggested they should rethink being a lawyer in the first place if they can be shaken by such a thing. Dershowitz represents Shirley Shawe, mother of TransPerfect co-founder Philip Shawe and 1 percent stakeholder in the company, who has been waging an acrimonious fight over control of the company and staunchly opposes the Chancery Court’s order the company be sold over their objections. When the issue was argued before the Supreme Court in January, Chief Justice Strine brusquely admonished Dershowitz when the attorney tried to make an additional point after his portion of the rigidly timed arguments had expired. The exchange was tense, but attorneys are rarely given extra time in the court once the clock has run down. Lawrence Hamermesh, professor of corporate and business law at Widener University Delaware Law School, raised his eyebrows at Dershowtiz’s comments and noted his status as a paid member of the Shawe legal team. “Having looked at that case, I don’t think he has anything worth saying or listening to,” Hamermesh said. Chancellor Andre G. Bouchard had ordered the profitable legal translation services company sold in 2015 to break a deadlock between Philip Shawe and Elizabeth Elting, former romantic partners who founded the company 25 years ago and have seen their relationship descend into a morass of litigation, on grounds it threatened the financial future of the firm. The Shawes have been resolute in their opposition to the order, including the launch of a failed appeal at the Delaware Supreme Court that was based in part on the theory the forced sale was an unconstitutional taking and a federal lawsuit from Philip Shawe arguing the decision violated his civil rights. There’s also been an aggressive public relations campaign purportedly by a group of TransPerfect employees slamming the decision as bad for business and bad for the First State that gained support from former gubernatorial hopeful and Delaware Senate Republican Colin Bonini. The bevy of billboard, television and radio ads from the group calling itself Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware, which hired Bradley Tusk’s firm Tusk Management for the campaign, has been viewed by many as a PR ploy from a side simply unhappy with a court decision, but the TransPerfect issue has gained traction among some conservative circles in the state. William M. Lafferty, a partner at Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell LLP and veteran member of its corporate and business litigation group, called the campaign “utterly lacking in credibility.” Chief Justice Strine’s irreverent style is no surprise, and has been the subject of controversy and rebuke before. When he was chancellor in 2012, the state Supreme Court issued a per curiam opinion that including several paragraphs chastising him for a 10-page digression in an opinion on the Gantz Properties v. Auriga Capital case for straying beyond the bounds of judicial decisions, writing that if he wants to “ruminate on what the proper direction of Delaware law should be, there are appropriate platforms, such as law review articles, the classroom, continuing legal education presentations, and keynote speeches.” Also as a chancellor in 2012, he courted controversy in a case involving the divorce of fashion executives Tori and Chris Burch when he referred to the proceedings as a “drunken WASP fest.” John G. Harris, co-founding partner of Delaware law firm Berger Harris LLP, said concerns about Chief Justice Strine are frequently “overblown” and “fundamentally not sound,” calling him good for the “Delaware brand.” “I’ve been on the receiving end of some direct and pointed commentary and questioning and it’s never been unfair,” Harris said. “Bring your A game when you step into his courtroom. It’s made me a better lawyer.” Chief Justice Strine declined to comment for this story. –Editing by Brian Baresch and Emily Kokoll.OPINION Dear friends, I am convinced it is indeed shameful that public servant Leo Strine helped pony up over 100-thousand dollars to support the election of Joe Biden. Where’s the integrity folks? I would bet dollars to donuts that this is TransPerfect money being slushed around in the “Delaware Way” — our state’s admitted term for the soft corruption surrounding Chancellor Andre Bouchard’s regime and Skadden cronies. Look how in the pocket this appears to be! Leo Strine, who is supposed to be above and beyond politics as a former Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice, is apparently, shamelessly willing to jump in with six-figures and then some to Joe Biden’s campaign. All that money from the TransPerfect case in our Chancery Court has to go somewhere? It’s outrageous! Could he be peddling or buying influence?! It seems as if he’s looking to buy himself a job in the Biden administration? Frankly, I would have expected more from a former judge. However, this is the “Delaware Way”… anything goes as the money flows. The old saying, “birds of a feather, flock together’ certainly is true. Please read the detailed Law360 article below, which tells the story. You’ll see from the story that Strine was responsible for somewhere between $100-thousand to half-a-million. Certainly has me and likely many others wondering what all that money is for and how Strine will be thanked. As always your feedback is welcome and appreciated. It gives me an accurate pulse of what the Delaware citizens are really thinking. Sincerely Yours, JUDSON Bennett-Coastal Network   https://www.law360.com/articles/1325025/biglaw-fundraisers-pony-up-for-biden-harris-ticket  

BigLaw Fundraisers Pony Up For Biden-Harris Ticket

  By Andrew Strickler Law360 (November 2, 2020, 10:05 PM EST) — A handful of BigLaw leaders have raised big bucks to put Joe Biden in the White House, according to a list the campaign released over the weekend. Despite historical reluctance by many big-name lawyers to appear overtly political — you never know who your next client may be, after all — the list of so-called Biden bundlers included notable names from major partnerships including Cravath Swaine & Moore LLPKirkland & Ellis LLPCovington & Burling LLPDLA Piper and O’Melveny & Myers LLP. Among the people credited with raising at least $100,000 for Biden is Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz counsel Leo Strine Jr. The former chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court said he’d tapped firm colleagues as well as friends to raise money for Biden, a fellow Delaware native Strine called his “first political hero.” “It’s not my bag to do this — I am a longtime advocate of very substantial campaign finance reform — but this was a special situation involving a candidate I have supported forever and a rather compelling situation,” Strine said. Strine, who became of counsel to Wachtell’s corporate department earlier this year after retiring from the bench, said he’d raised north of $100,000 but less than half a million. After 21 years on the bench, “my campaign skills were a little rusty, but I wanted to do what I could to help us elect a great person who cares so much about our nation, and particularly for working people,” he told Law360 in an email. Just three days before the election and with some 90 million votes already cast, the Biden-Harris campaign released a bare-bones list — just names and hometowns — of 817 individuals and couples who’d raised at least $100,000 from their personal networks for the campaign or a joint Democratic party fund. Typically, bundlers also make the maximum personal contribution of $2,800; that figure is not reflected in the $100,000-and-up list. And unlike similar disclosures made by former President Barack Obama amid the 2012 race, the Biden campaign’s list does not include broad fundraising ranges or bundlers’ employers. Altogether, Biden and the Democratic National Committee have raised more than $1.5 billion for the 2020 presidential race, including $167 million in the first half of October alone, according to an analysis by NPR. Trump and the Republican National Committee have raised $1.57 billion. Unsurprisingly, the list of top Biden fundraisers features a number of Democratic politicians, including former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Rep. Adam Schiff of California and Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. Wall Street is also well represented by the likes of Morgan Stanley managing director and vice chairman Thomas Nides; Blackstone CEO Jonathan Gray; and billionaire hedge fund manager Marc Lasry of Avenue Capital Group, who also co-owns the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. With California leading the group in terms of geographic breakdown, Biden’s Hollywood and Silicon Valley bundlers include film director and Oscar winner Lee Daniels; LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman; and Amazon general counsel David Zapolsky. Tony West, Uber’s chief legal counsel and brother-in-law of vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris, is also a Biden bundler. Also on the list is O’Melveny chair Bradley Butwin, who told Law360 that he’d never before raised money for a campaign. Reflecting some of BigLaw’s apolitical tendencies, he was quick to emphasize that his fundraising effort was “strictly personal,” and declined to say how much he’d raised. “There is a lot of emotion in this election, the whole country is watching, and our job as a firm is not to be political, but to respect and value all perspectives,” he said. “I have no doubt that regardless of how the election comes out, you’ll have people at the firm who are happy and others who are unhappy,” Butwin added. Also raising money for the Biden-Harris ticket was Faiza J. Saeed, presiding partner of Cravath, who in 2016 became the first woman to lead the venerated Wall Street firm. DLA Piper co-U.S. managing partner Richard Chesley made the $100,000-and-up list, as did Bill Singer, a Kirkland counsel who was a Hillary Clinton bundler during the 2016 campaign, and King & Spalding LLP’s Sally Yates. Yates was deputy U.S. attorney during Obama’s second term and served briefly as acting U.S. attorney in the early days of the Trump administration. Buckley LLP managing partner Benjamin Klubes also served as a Biden fundraiser, as did Wiley Rein LLP managing partner Peter Shields. Covington commercial litigation practice co-chair Mitch Kamin and the firm’s West Coast head for white collar defense and investigations, Daniel Shallman, are also on the list. Those and a handful of other BigLaw attorneys either did not respond to messages or declined to comment. Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP chairman Brad Karp, who also appears among the elite Biden fundraisers after decades of involvement in politics, called it “the most consequential presidential election of my lifetime.” “As someone who cares passionately about preserving the rule of law, safeguarding our democracy and protecting fundamental liberties, I’ve been delighted to do everything I possibly can to support the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris ticket,” he said in an email. The Trump campaign has not disclosed the names of its bundlers. A message left with the campaign press office was not immediately returned Monday. –Editing by Breda Lund.Well, well, if it isn’t Delaware’s own Leo Strine, former Delaware Supreme Court Justice, writing about racial equality for Columbia Law? I have been reviewing the inequities I have learned about Delaware’s justice system.  Seems Strine is becoming an expert on so many things since leaving his perch on the Delaware Supreme Court with half of his term still left to be served. I can see that he might be an expert in some things in this life, but racism isn’t one of them considering he was rebuked by the Delaware Supreme Court for making racist comments?! Why would anyone listen to Strine on racial equality? Leo Strine as Delaware’s Chief Supreme Court Justice oversaw the incarceration of FIVE TIMES as many Blacks as all other races combined, according to my sources. See the New York Times story below from 2012, folks, for the dirt on Strine. Your comments are always welcome and appreciated! [avatar user=”Judson Bennett” size=”thumbnail” align=”left”]Judson Bennett, Coastal Network[/avatar]

In Unusual Move, Delaware Supreme Court Rebukes a Judge

BY PETER LATTMAN NOVEMBER 9, 2012 8:29 PM As the chief judge of the Delaware Court of Chancery — the country’s most influential court overseeing business cases — Leo E. Strine Jr. has been called an activist. He has also been called an iconoclast, a genius and a humorist. But this week, Delaware’s highest court called him out of bounds. The Delaware Supreme Court issued a stinging rebuke of Judge Strine on Wednesday, criticizing him for what it said was an improper digression in an opinion. Judge Strine’s decision related to a contractual dispute but went off on an 11-page tangent about an obscure issue related to limited liability companies. Read the rest of the article at the NYT here:I’ve been watching and listening to Leo Strine for years, before and after he was Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. Let me tell you, folks, from what I’ve seen, he doesn’t care one bit about employees, as he advocates for corporate change in a recent article! He proved it by helping to take millions from employees in the TransPerfect case by upholding a biased decision from Delaware’s Chancery Court. Much of that money, wasted in legal fees, was passed on to his buddies at Skadden Arps. It’s a socialist agenda, in my opinion, folks. It’s crazy, entitled thinking by Strine, and it’s the type of insipid thinking that is going to lead to tons of litigation. Of course, in my view, that leads to more money for Strine’s lawyer friends, such as his pals at Skadden, including his former Skadden pal, Chancellor Andre Bouchard. Strine wants to change the rules for corporate managers and directors. He’s talking ridiculous nonsense about authorizing the “public benefit corporation”, to declare public purposes beyond profit, and making company directors responsible. Now that he’s not a judge, he’s droning on, talking about how the standard by which management is measured should be changed. Why? So someone can decide to buy expensive items for themselves, like a fancy Tesla, with shareholder money? He’s advocating for getting rid of the standard by which you judge managers, and as I see it, it’s going to lead to much more litigation. Imagine how many different ways this can be interpreted and how many more lawsuits will result. Payday for Strine’s old pals? They all stick together! Read the Fortune article below, partially written by former Chief Justice of The Delaware Supreme Court, Leo Strine, which is the first story that brought this to my attention. Please tell me what you think, folks. Sincerely Yours, [avatar user=”Judson Bennett” size=”medium” align=”left” link=”https://twitter.com/Judson_Bennett” target=”_blank”]Judson Bennett-Coastal Network[/avatar]
BY
COLIN MAYER, Leo Strine
September 13, 2020 5:00 AM EDT Fifty years ago, Milton Friedman in the New York Times magazine proclaimed that the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. Directors have the duty to do what is in the interests of their masters, the shareholders, to make as much profit as possible. Friedman was hostile to the New Deal and European models of social democracy and urged business to use its muscle to reduce the effectiveness of unions, blunt environmental and consumer protection measures, and defang antitrust law. He sought to reduce consideration of human concerns within the corporate boardroom and legal requirements on business to treat workers, consumers, and society fairly. Over the last 50 years, Friedman’s views became increasingly influential in the U.S. As a result, the power of the stock market and wealthy elites soared and consideration of the interests of workers, the environment, and consumers declined. Profound economic insecurity and inequality, a slow response to climate change, and undermined public institutions resulted. Using their wealth and power in the pursuit of profits, corporations led the way in loosening the external constraints that protected workers and other stakeholders against overreaching. Continue Reading 
The Presidential race has been chaotic this week, but voters in America’s First State came out to make changes to the corruption that now defines “Delaware Way” politics. In my view, it is partly led by Chancellor Andre Bouchard and his former Skadden Arps intern, who as I see it has always served his bidding, Leo Strine! “Delaware Way” corruption must stop in our state, folks. The close nature of the election speaks to this country’s intolerance for corruption. Let me know your thoughts, folks!  Respectfully Yours,  [avatar user=”Judson Bennett” size=”thumbnail” align=”left” link=”https://twitter.com/Judson_Bennett”]JUDSON Bennett-Coastal Network[/avatar] Check out the interesting article below:   Citizens for Transparency and Inclusion PAC Lauds Dynamic Slate of Candidates Heading to State Legislature Who Promise To Disrupt the “Delaware Way” November 05, 2020 WILMINGTON, Del.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, following a groundbreaking general election that saw historic firsts in Delaware, including the election of the state’s first transgender elected official, Sarah McBride, first practicing Muslim lawmaker in Delaware, Madinah Wilson-Anton, and first openly gay Black woman in the state senate, Marie Pinkney, Citizens for Transparency and Inclusion (CTI) campaign manager Chris Coffey released the following statement: “Tuesday’s historic results demonstrate once and for all that Delawareans are sick and tired of the same old corrupt ‘Delaware Way’ that protects elites at the expense of everyday Delawareans. We’re proud of our fellow Delawareans for going to the polls and exercising their civic duty in support of candidates who can shake up the Delaware establishment and fight for a new way forward for the First State. “By electing fresh faces like Sarah McBride, the state’s first transgender elected official, Madinah Wilson-Anton, the state’s first practicing Muslim lawmaker, and Marie Pinkney, the state’s first openly gay Black woman legislator, Delawareans sent a historic message that they won’t accept the status quo that privileges the interests of elite, white men over Delaware’s minority communities. “We’re proud of our efforts to spark a conversation on Governor Carney’s disastrous failures for everyday Delawareans. From exposing the Governor for his administration’s corrupt land deal that benefitted one of his top donors, – a perfect encapsulation of the ‘Delaware Way’ – to his unconscionable pardon of a radical militant criminal who later tried to kidnap the Governor of Michigan, to his mishandling of the pandemic in the state’s prisons, which has led to inmates filing a $400 million lawsuit against the Governor, we’re proud of our efforts to push the envelope in Delaware politics. “Many Delaware elites and insiders said we wouldn’t spend $1.25 million on the election cycle, but we did, and we thank our supporters for providing the resources necessary to support our efforts. As we head into 2021, we look forward to continuing our efforts to expose corruption and fight for transparency, diversity, and accountability alongside local organizations and the state’s newest legislators. Our work is just beginning.”Dear friends, Reading the Delaware Business Now story below about the TransPerfect founders setting all of their legal disputes, It has me thinking, folks… imagine if Chancellor Andre Bouchard didn’t use the company’s Chancery Court case as an opportunity to enrich his friends at Skadden Arps, but just let the parties settle, as they just did! Hundreds of millions would have been saved by both sides and the crazy cash loot influx that went to Bouchard’s pals at Skadden and through the Delaware Chancery Court… all of that never needed to happen? Was this all engineered somehow by Bouchard with former Delaware Supreme Court Justice Leo Strine having his back? Read the story below, folks. Would love to know if you’re thinking what I’m thinking?! Respectfully Yours, JUDSON Bennett, Coastal Network https://delawarebusinessnow.com/2020/10/transperfect-owner-shawe-settles-legal-disputes-with-elting/

Phil Shawe re Incorporating in Nevada

TransPerfect owner Shawe settles legal disputes with former co-owner Elting By Delaware Business Now – October 6, 2020 Philip R. Shawe and Elizabeth Elting have settled out of court on long-running issues related to the sale of TransPerfect, a letter from Shawe’s attorney to Delaware Chancery Court stated. The one-time couple owned a 50-50 share of the New York City-based translation services company, with the case over control ending up in Chancery Court. While prevailing in the Chancery case, with Elting selling her share, Shawe has remained critical of Chancery Court and a decision to appoint a custodian Robert Pincus during the selling process. The battle, by some accounts, added up to a quarter of a billion dollars in costs. The settlement provides for the transfer of Elting’s 50 percent ownership interest in Wordfast, LLC, a company with technology used by TransPerfect as well as real estate holdings in New York and California. In a letter to Chancellor Andre Bouchard, Shawe’s lawyer said the TransPerfect owner is “similarly dedicated to finding extra-judicial resolution of the remaining disputes in this case.” The letter expressed hope for a settlement related to billing by Pincus and Skadden Arps. Shawe has claimed billing related to Pincus’ work lacks a detailed listing of services. A group known as Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware through an affiliated Political Action Committee, claims in a TV campaign that Gov. John Carney has fallen short on issues related to the Black community in the state and corrections system. Critics of Citizens claim Shawe is funding the group. Carney is running for a second term.Dear Friends, Leo Strine, former Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court, co-authored Fortune magazine piece with Jaap Winter that will “undermine capitalism” and erase decades of economic progress, in my opinion — but also according to radio talk show host, Kyle Keegan. Keegan vividly described Strine and his co-authors as Communists. “They want Socialism,” said Keegan, who was exasperated at the “idiotic” piece and at Strine, once a power-player in Delaware.

Kill Bigger Radio with Kyle Keegan Ep. 77

Strine claimed to be a business expert to secure his original job as Chancellor, but his only business experience: Current Chancellor Andre Bouchard’s summer associate at (you guessed it) the infamous Skadden Arps. People disagree on whether or not Strine resigned in disgrace over his “shady” handling of the TransPerfect case, but I clearly remember Leo Strine supporting extreme actions that enriched his Skadden henchmen, and destroyed the lives of ordinary workers for years. Having his former intern on the appellate court worked as an advantage for the Bouchard-Strine cronies, and in my view, there was never a chance to derail this backroom deal. Justice Valihura dissented and likened the Chancery’s decision to a “Takings” under the 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution — yet Leo Strine bullied it through. Believe me, folks, “The Delaware Way” is a real concept and works through favor-trading, back-scratching, and soft corruption that I believe Strine and his friends built. It’s so outrageous that it is permitted to continue?!  Please check out the interview on YouTube below, and listen to Strine being taken to task by talk-show host Keegan! As always your comments are welcome and appreciated.  Respectfully yours,  JUDSON Bennett-Coastal Network CLICK ON THE LINK Fortune Magazine is a Commie Rag Now? – Ep 77 Kill Bigger Radio With Kyle Keegan In this episode, I felt the need to stick up for a dead man. Milton Freidman. The man has done a TON of good advancing the principles of free-market economics. I pick apart a Fortune Magazine article written by three “intellectual” communists. Unbelievable, given the name of the publication.

 

https://youtu.be/CmQuWKDad_I

 

Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware support diversity on the state’s Supreme Court. Chancellor Andre Bouchard is out of touch with normal Delawareans, and should not be the next Chief Justice of the state’s highest court. Delaware deserves transparency, equity, and diversity in its court system. Join the movement at http://www.delawareforbusiness.org/join-our-efforts.

I have sensed for years that something was rotten in the state of Delaware’s Court of Chancery, in general, but also specifically as it relates to the TransPerfect case and the missing $250 million in legal, custodian and consultant related fees. I promised my loyal readers that I would find and pull on every loose thread of this case until my perceived web of corruption that belongs to Andre Bouchard becomes totally unraveled for all to see.

This new discovery is going to floor you, and what I believe is the attempted cover up will floor you even more!

Three law firms, from my view, made out like bandits when Bouchard started ordering TransPerfect Global and CEO Phil Shawe’s personal money be paid around to his friends and former law partners like a feudal lord in mid-evil times — and remember folks, no witnesses testified against either Shawe or TransPerfect. These three firms benefited to the tune of millions of dollars whose uncanny “coincidences” and connections to Bouchard warrant a State and Federal investigation of Bouchard and his Cronies:

1. Skadden Arps – The former partner at Skadden, custodian Bob Pincus, whose personal friendship I recall Bouchard bragged about when appointing him. Also, this is where outgoing Chief Justice Strine started in law, as Bouchard’s intern.

2. Potter Anderson – Perhaps, who I believe is the dirtiest attorney in Delaware, Kevin Shannon, who seems to win cases without providing evidence by attending tax-payer financed boondoggles with Strine and Bouchard (who I hear from reliable sources that he golfed with and additionally, traveled to New Orleans with, during critical points in the case!!!)

3. Kramer Levin – Whose seemingly outrageous lies to the Delaware Supreme Court were called out in a nationally televised advertisement. What was their penalty for all of this? A victory. What’s the Bouchard connection? Kramer, Bouchard, and Kevin Shannon all worked together on the infamous Walt Disney case years ago, where they argued against shareholder interests. I have heard from reliable sources, that Gary Naftalis is a named partner at Kramer Levin who comes down to hob nob with Strine and Bouchard; sometimes he’s the only non-Delaware lawyer in attendance at a Delaware conference?

4. Paul Weiss – The fourth firm who made out like John Dillinger — and had no apparent connection to Bouchard…UNTIL NOW!!!

The Fourth Firm—HERE IS THE RUB FOLKS :

This firm, which no one has spoken about until now, in August of 2016, as reported in the New York Law Journal, Chancellor Bouchard ordered Shawe to pay Elting’s lawyers an outrageous and unconstitutional fine of $7.1 million — an order un-related to any “harm” or “compensation” in the case, as the law requires — and the largest such sanction ever in U.S. history. Bear in mind: Shawe denies all claims and has maintained his innocence at all times. All witnesses testified for Shawe–clearly stating that there was no wrong-doing of any kind. How did Paul Weiss win? Keep reading.

Paul Weiss benefits immensely — and no one made the connection before now. Why? Perhaps an orchestrated cover-up on a grand scale?

Who was the most Senior Paul Weiss lawyer in Delaware at the time? Who gained the most in the Paul Weiss DE office? You won’t believe it when I tell you: Former Chancellor Steven Lamb. Bouchard’s first firm, when he left Skadden Arps (if he ever really left – it appears to me he still might have a financial interest in their success), take a seat before reading the next line: Bouchard’s very first firm of his own was: BOUCHARD AND LAMB!!!!

You may not believe me that this is the truth, because it boggles honest minds. Folks, I have done hours of digging and digging to establish the only remaining connection of Bouchard to all the law firm benefactors of the crazy decisions in the TransPerfect case. Irrefutable proof of the Bouchard-Lamb connection is in the link:

http://www.delawaretoday.com/Delaware-Today/November-2015/The-Business-of-Law-Meet-the-New-Leader-of-the-Court-of-Chancery/

So many dots are connected here. Andre Bouchard has, in my opinion, hit for the proverbial “corruption” cycle ( a baseball term for those of you who don’t know) by helping 4 different law firms, all of which he is intimately connected to! He helped them make millions upon millions of dollars by his seemingly biased decisions from the TransPerfect Global case.

The Cover-Up!!!

Chancellor Bouchard prior to his appointment to the Chancery Court was partners with Stephen Lamb! Stephen Lamb after serving on the Chancery Court himself then moved back into private practice with the law firm of Paul Weiss. Fast forward to the TransPerfect case in 2016 and Kramer Levin hires the Paul Weiss firm to work on the case representing Shawe’s former partner at TransPerfect– Liz Elitng. Specifically, they were hired to work on the allegation that Shawe spoliated evidence which, according to the testifying employees, were NOT able to prove in any way, shape, or form. The bottom line is that nobody needs proof if Bouchard’s court is corrupt and rigged for his cronies to win?

Yet when all the papers were served on behalf of Elting by Paul Weiss, absolutely no mention was made of former Chancellor Lamb’s name. It wasn’t until I was doing some research and saw an article where Paul Weiss was claiming victory, did I notice that one of the attorneys taking credit for the victory was Stephen Lamb! No other public document I can find anywhere even lists LAMB on the TransPerfect case!!! Another coincidence?? In Bouchard’s court, there seems to be a lot of coincidences. Yet, we know from this evidence he was on the team taking Shawe’s and TransPerfect’s money with Bouchard’s help.

HELLO — They brag about his specific role on the Paul Weiss website!?!?!

I will issue a challenge to all those mentioned, who have never denied these inferences: To Chancellor Bouchard, Former Chancellor Lamb, Kevin Shannon, various Kramer Levin attorneys, who in my opinion, boldly lied to the Delaware Supreme Court with no repercussions!

COASTAL NETWORK’S CHALLENGE: Prove to me there was no cover-up and no hidden agenda. Indeed, this is the appearance of impropriety. Show me one official court document other than the Paul Weiss Web Site, that mentions LAMB’s involvement in the TransPerfect case — and I will discontinue this line of inquiry. In my opinion, Bouchard had a legal duty to inform Shawe that he was formerly in business with Chancellor Lamb, He should have recused himself, but he did not! Folks, any reasonable man would see this as a serious conflict of interest.

This is the most damning evidence of corruption, in my opinion, an investigative reporter could find, as it proves to me that this coordinated group had the intent to hide their wrong-doing. There is no other explanation from my educated perspective. How long will we let this infamous boy’s club of incestuous characters operate by sucking the life out of Delaware’s corporations, Delaware citizens, and Delaware’s reputation?! On behalf of the Coastal Network and my 6,000 readers, I again call for a bi-partisan investigation of Chancellor Andre Bouchard by the General Assembly!

Would love to hear your thoughts on this stunning discovery. Your feedback is always welcome.

As I see it, TransPerfect & Shawe never had a chance at fair trial with this what I call “murder’s row” of Bouchard’s cronies…

Scroll down to read this article:

HTTPS://WWW.PAULWEISS.COM/PRACTICES/LITIGATION/LITIGATION/NEWS/DELAWARE-SUPREME-COURT-AFFIRMS-71-MILLION-SANCTIONS-AWARD-IN-FAVOR-OF-ELIZABETH-ELTING?ID=23702


FEBRUARY 13, 2017

Delaware Supreme Court Affirms $7.1 Million Sanctions Award in Favor of Elizabeth Elting

“The Delaware Supreme Court upheld the court-ordered sale of TransPerfect Global, Inc. and unanimously affirmed the $7.1 million sanctions award in favor of Paul, Weiss client Elizabeth Elting. Elting and Phillip Shawe are the co-founders and co-CEOs of Transperfect, one of the world’s largest document-translation and discovery-services companies. Since 2014, they have been in litigation in Delaware and New York over the control of the company. Elting is represented by Kramer, Levin, Naftalis & Frankel and Potter, Anderson & Corroon in the corporate-control battle.

In late 2014, Elting tapped Paul Weiss when Shawe revealed that he had secretly accessed Elting’s lawyer-client communications. Paul Weiss then uncovered that Shawe had attempted to destroy files on his laptop, had failed to safeguard and produce text messages on his cell phone, which he claimed was destroyed when it fell in a cup of Diet Coke, and had repeatedly lied under oath about his conduct. Paul, Weiss tried the two-day sanctions hearing and represented Elting in her successful post-hearing briefs and in defending against Shawe’s sanctions appeal.

The Paul, Weiss team included litigation partners Eric Stone, Robert Atkins and Stephen Lamb, of counsel Gerard Harper and counsel Robert Kravitz.”

SEE VIDEO LINK BELOW…

My onsite coverage of the “Citizens for Pro Business Delaware” 100+ person press conference has paid off for Coastal Network readers. From an anonymous source, I have obtained a video of the entire July 10 event held right in front of Bouchard’s Chancery Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

It was an energetic and well-attended press conference, presided over by anti-corruption activist Chris Coffey, the campaign manager of “Citizens for Pro Business Delaware.” Others spoke too, including Donna White, an African-American woman who was terminated from her job at the Chancery Court for sending an email asking if Mark Zuckerburg would look at her App!!?? Meanwhile Kevin Shannon and Chancellor Andre Bouchard golf together during the case, travel to New Orleans together during the case, and I believe decided this case at the Country Club. It certainly wasn’t decided in the court room with no witnesses appearing for Shannon’s side, folks. That’s how I clearly see it.

As Coffey puts it, Bouchard and his cronies in the Delaware Old Boys Club “get away with murder” each and every day compared to what Donna White did, yet she was escorted out of the building and treated like a criminal–given only 10 minutes to collect her belongings and to say goodbye to co-workers of 7 years!?!

The double standard, hypocrisy, and potential racism here only rivals the ageism, sexism and contempt that Chancellor Bouchard and 4 out of 5 justices on the Supreme Court (all the male judges) showed litigant Shirley Shawe in the TransPerfect debacle. How could it be that female, senior citizen, Shirley Shawe’s only victory in the first 5 years of this entire case was from a woman jurist, Delaware Supreme Court Justice Valihura? It’s mathematically impossible that this is a coincidence, as the Good Ole Boy cronies would have us believe. They are making millions off innocent shareholders with their back-room Country Club deal, scratching each other’s backs, and trading favors with their rich and powerful friends. And what happens to Chancery’s real life victims like Donna White? She has been denied health insurance and unemployment benefits! I’m telling you folks, I believe Andre Bouchard is not only corrupt, but also sadistic–and, in any case, lacks any shred of the ethical fiber required to fill the Chancellor position. The great state of Delaware deserves better. Listen to the press conference, where Donna takes the podium and tells her story here…

https://videopress.com/v/xHHMEsRd?preloadContent=metadata

I asked a question of Coffey during the press conference, which I wrote about in my last column. You will see that here, as well as other suggested anti-corruption reforms that appear like common sense to this journalist. The Delaware Citizens group now fighting for reform has 2,700 members which includes TransPerfect employees who were negatively impacted by Bouchard’s decisions along with other concerned Delawareans.

By the way, I commend the Delaware Business Times for covering the major events of July 10th, and I wonder which Ole Boys Club member or creepy Skadden Arps friend of Bouchard called the News Journal to get them to kill the story? Brent Celek from the Philadelphia Eagles and Colin Jost from Saturday Night Live came to Wilmington and joined those calling for Chancery reform at the Hotel DuPont. How is it you can Google the News Journal’s entire site, and read nothing about this important day at the Chancery Court? Mark my words, Bouchard and the “Limousine Liberals” who run this state and prey on its citizens are powerful, so powerful, they are dangerous to Delaware, to anyone who incorporates here. But fear not, the Coastal Network cannot be intimidated into killing stories or masking the truth–stay tuned here folks, for coverage on Chancery actions and other injustices in Delaware.

As of press time, I know of no other media outlet who has obtained this tape. Enjoy watching the coverage and share it with folks who may want to see it.

https://videopress.com/v/xHHMEsRd?preloadContent=metadata

I had the unique experience of covering an unusual day for Delaware and the Coastal Network, on Wednesday, July 10, in Wilmington, Delaware. It involved a rousing and heavily attended press conference, a fascinating hearing in the Court of Chancery with Andre Bouchard presiding, and a fabulous party and TransPerfect summer celebration at the Hotel DuPont later that night. The activities began about 12:30 PM with a Press Conference — in 90 degree heat that felt like 105 degrees with unbelievable humidity — in front of the Delaware Court of Chancery which was organized by the “Citizens for Pro Business Delaware.” This group, led by articulate activist Chris Coffey, has 2,700 members, made up of TransPerfect employees who were negatively impacted by Bouchard’s decisions along with other concerned Delaware citizens. The group now appears to be dedicated to making changes to modernize the controversial rules governing Delaware’s Chancery Court. Having covered the TransPerfect case for years, and Andre Bouchard for even longer, I was pleased to take the opportunity to observe all these players face off live and in person. During the press conference on the front lawn of the Chancery Court, yours truly, like a dummy, chose to wear a dark suit — and the Delaware establishment almost had their wish for my complete demise, as I was about to pass out from the heat. Weather and wardrobe aside, I was extremely impressed with Coffey’s platform and passion. It is unquestionable that this group shares my desire for increased transparency in the Court of Chancery, as they are proposing much needed common sense reforms. In my opinion, the legislature cannot act quickly enough to decrease perceived (or actual) corruption surrounding the Court’s activities. The obscene and disgraceful court-ordered looting of TransPerfect continues!!! Skadden Arps gets paid more in a month for secretive and undisclosed “legal services” than normal people make in a year. It appears to me that Skadden and the judges are truly modern day Pharaohs, living extravagantly off the sweat of the thousands of innocents. I believe without a doubt that these (potentially, colluding, former law partners, “Bouchard and Strine”, both Skadden alumni) are truly a biblical plague on Delaware’s reputation. During Bouchard’s tenure, our once-great state has dropped to a dismal 48th out of our 50 U.S. states in overall business confidence, and after 15 years as the undisputed #1 in business litigation, we fell to #11. I challenged Coffey with the following direct question, “Sir, do you think the fact that Chancellor Bouchard engaged in “boondoggle”, travel excursions with one-side’s attorney during the decision-making phase of the TransPerfect case actually created a conflict of interest and an appearance of an impropriety?” Coffey’s answer was firm and unequivocal, “Absolutely-YES!” Folks, for those of you that couldn’t hear Chris Coffey’s speech live, I am telling you his answer and his entire speech sounded statesman-like and remarkably credible. I believe this group represents the best chance Delaware has for reform, positive change, and a fresh start — but, they must defeat a well- off Bouchard and his establishment, “good old boys” club to get it done. Make no mistake, there will be a significant battle for Delaware’s; future playing out in the 2020 election! Buckle up!!! I then observed the Chancery Court argument. Former TransPerfect co-CEO Elizabeth Elting’s attorneys (after Bouchard handed them a $400 million check) are arguing for another $200,000. With each side lawyered up, according to the TransPerfect employees I interviewed at the Court House, this hearing will cost over $500,000 for each litigant. What judge allows $1 million to be spent to argue over $200,000??? So again, I expect payola is responsible for why this Chancellor would even have this hearing at all. In my view, it might be because his lawyer buddies could bank yet another payday on the backs of the dedicated, TransPerfect employees. It’s shameful and disgraceful!!! In a packed courtroom, with many TransPerfect employees who believe they are all victims of Bouchard’s corruption staring at the Chancellor, I had two observations worth mentioning that won’t be found in any other transcript: 1) Bouchard appeared judicial and didn’t even resort to his biased name-calling. 2) His best pal Kevin Shannon of Potter Anderson said ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and left via a secret exit to avoid my questioning. If someone hadn’t seen Bouchard in action before this hearing, they may have mistaken him for actually being an ethical judge on this specific day. I guess when there are a courtroom full of antagonistic folks staring you down, it must engender self-reflection. Like the many TransPerfect employees, I will wait for the ruling — but having seen Bouchard’s judicial antics for years, I’m not sure this subjective Judge will ever rule against his best buddy, Kevin Shannon, no matter what facts are presented. Then the fun began with a huge TransPerfect party with a fancy sit-down dinner at the Hotel DuPont. At least 300 people packed the place to celebrate that TransPerfect had survived Bouchard’s “DISSOLUTION” order, and despite these trials and tribulations, is still doing quite well as a company. (Never did their revenue slow, not even during the case.) Besides TransPerfect employees, participants included concerned Delaware citizens, a great band, the winning legal team ( including Alan Dershowitz), Villanova basketball star Kris Jenkins, Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles tight end Brent Celek, Cindy Green – Registrar of Wills office in Sussex County, Delaware Senator Colin Bonini, Sam Waltz of The Delaware Business Times, and to top it all off, a great show by Saturday Night Live star Colin Jost. TransPerfect CEO Philip Shawe gave a gracious speech, praising all of his employees for their dedication and loyalty. Without a doubt, this man has earned the love and respect of an army of people over his 27 years in business. No one should spend their whole life building a company, and have court corruption seize it and try to auction it off to a competitor. These employees were great, happy, and thankful to still have jobs. During the evening, it really hit home to me how much Bouchard’s obvious lies and defamatory name-calling must have hurt these families over the Chancery’s 5-year occupation of TransPerfect. Bouchard called these hard-working normal folks “Dysfunctional” — In my view, this grotesque misrepresentation, was made so he could take over the company and enrich his friends. Its just unacceptable!!! Make no mistake folks, what happened to TransPerfect in Delaware wouldn’t even happen in Russia — it’s disgusting. Regardless, I saw a company on Wednesday night that had overcome perceived corruption, while keeping the American Dream alive for themselves, and hopefully for entrepreneurs all over the world. Delaware’s business future however, will be in the hands of our Elected Officials. Lastly and on a personal note, it was gratifying for me, as I was actively acknowledged by the employees — many who felt they were silenced and oppressed by Chancellor Bouchard and Skadden Arps Custodian Bob Pincus. They felt that I have helped give them a voice through my reporting. I told them I am honored to shine a light on injustice and corruption, and that I will continue to do so for my readers. As always your comments are welcome and appreciated. Yours truly, JUDSON Bennett-Coastal Network

Why have evidence or witnesses to make your case in Delaware’s $250 million TransPerfect fiasco? When your name is Kevin Shannon, and your friends are wearing the robes, in my opinion, you don’t need evidence or witnesses — cause you have the game rigged in your favor.

If this isn’t illegal, it surely ought to be. Frankly, I see this as a disgusting and disturbing view into how our Chancery Court apparently now works?

After following Andre Bouchard’s first couple of years, which I viewed as suspect, followed by his mismanagement of the TransPerfect Global case, I decided to Google the names of the folks involved in the case to see if my suspicions were correct. Were there actual conflicts of interest and personal connections?

Folks, please look at the boondoggling schedule I was able to come up with by doing that digging on Google: Kevin Shannon of Potter Anderson, with Andre Bouchard (well-documented BFF) and Leo Strine, in and around the 5 years of shame related to the TransPerfect case.

I could write a serious diatribe about how corrupt this appears to be, just by referencing the Delaware Judicial Cannons, which are clear and on point, but I will let the dates and facts speak for themselves. How dumb these people must think the Delaware public is??!

Potter AndersonFolks, after looking at the facts, it is hard to fathom for me — and should be for any reasonable person — when seeing the incestuous relationships between these individuals and their conflicts of interest, that this judicial arrangement, which apparently is condoned by the Delaware Legislature, is just plain wrong!!! 

To add insult to injury, for Bouchard and Strine, this boondoggling is on the tax- payers’ dime.

Look for yourself:

Shannon / Bouchard / Strine Boondoggle Calendar

(and these are just the one’s we know about from Google?!?)

 


 

Berkley Boondoggle – Sept. 18, 2018

Shannon, Strine, and Bouchard

 


 

New Orleans Boonboggle – March 15, 2018

Shannon, Strine, and Bouchard

 


 

Berkley Boondoggle – Oct. 26, 2017

Shannon and Strine

 


 

New Orleans Boondoggle – March 17, 2016

Shannon, Strine, and Bouchard

 


 

Chicago Boondoggle – April 29, 2016

Shannon and Strine (and only 2 others)

 


 

Delaware Dinner – Dec. 5, 2014

Shannon, Strine, and Voss (works with Pincus at Skadden)

 


 

Boston Boondoggle – Nov. 13, 2013

Shannon and Strine

 


 

Re-living the Disney Case – May 16, 2018

Bouchard and Shannon’s Co-Counsel on the TransPerfect Case, Kramer Levin (Gary P. Naftalis) – The only non-Delaware person – Wonder why he was so motivated to come down?

 


 

There you have it folks — clear evidence of these incestuous connections and when you put these relationships together with the actions of the same players combined with the rulings from Bouchard and Strine and then add the former business partner from Skadden Arps, Robert Pincus, into the mix as the appointed Custodian in the TransPerfect case, all working in unison to seemingly profit from the case. I cringe at the obvious appearances of impropriety and the possible corruption. There should be no doubt about the integrity of these Courts. Unfortunately, they are suspect and it is right in our faces!

I urge you to contact your legislators and tell them about your concerns! This will be an issue in the 2020 election.

Breaking news folks, in a recent survey released by Slingshot Strategies LLC, confirms what I have been reporting on for years. 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.

Additionally, the Delaware citizenry apparently agrees that conflicts of interest clearly exposed, not sealed up by a judge who could be abusing his power, in regard to the appointments of custodians. Bottom line folks, the Delaware people, in my opinion and in my assessment of these poll results, are not happy with Andre Bouchard and the rampant cronyism that has defined his tenure.

Recently, folks demanding greater transparency from Bouchard in his Chancery Court at a Bar Association Brunch were forced to leave by security, not only the event itself, but the parking lot as well. Is this the Chancellor’s latest bid to thwart activities protected by the United States Constitution?

Frankly, these poll results are unfortunately gratifying in a way because, in my opinion, a vast majority of Delawareans believe that Bouchard’s shady, illogical rulings in the TransPerfect case — supported by his former intern Leo Strine — in a nonsensical majority opinion — are improper. Our once-renowned Chancery Court is now infamous for corruption in my opinion.

Delaware, having dissipated from #1 to #11 for judicial equity in a national survey conducted last year by the United States Chamber of Commerce — is losing corporations to Nevada because many business people are concerned about potential subjective rulings coming out of Delaware’s Chancery Court these days?

Yes folks, having watched Chancellor Bouchard very closely from the time he was appointing various people to the Deputy of the Register of Wills job (before he found one that could actually do the job), having read all the transcripts from the TransPerfect case, and having interviewed many people, I am convinced beyond a shadow of doubt, the longer Bouchard holds office, the worse off Delaware will be.

Please read the article below published by Yahoo Finance, citing “widespread dissatisfaction” with Bouchard’s Chancery Court.

Survey Reveals Widespread Dissatisfaction With The Delaware Chancery Court

A recent poll shows that Delaware voters align with Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware in their crusade for transparency in the Delaware Chancery Court

DOVER, Del., June 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — A staggering amount of Delaware citizens have expressed dissatisfaction with the Chancery Court’s proposed reforms and the state government’s transparency, according to a recent survey.

The survey, released in April by Slingshot Strategies, LLC., noted 79% of Delawarevoters and 77% of registered Democrats demand judges to disclose relationships with lawyers. In addition, about 70% of both Delaware voters and registered Democrats propose custodians to disclose conflicts of interests to the general public. The sweeping support for additional disclosure from the Chancery Court is heavily linked to the overwhelming frustration citizens have for the state government.

According to the survey, 92% of voters agree that the state government is dishonest and 58% believe it is nearly impossible to hold local politicians accountable for their actions. Almost 50% feel helpless in the fight for their voices and concerns to be addressed, due to political bias and nepotism in Delaware politics.

Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware have demanded more transparency, equity, accountability and freedom of speech from the Chancery Court, only to be denied such basic Constitutional rights. On June 14, 2019, Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware volunteers were forcibly removed from the Delaware Chancery Court after using their First Amendment rights to request transparency. While the group was denied the right to distribute information to those most closely associated with the Court system, Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware will continue to bring their push for accountability to the residents of Delaware through media advertisements in the News Journal, as well as other local media.

Influential leaders such as Chancellor Bouchard halt Delaware Chancery Court reform and Delaware’s reputation as a hub for headquarters and businesses are being negatively affected. Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is committed to exposing the clandestine processes of Delaware’s Chancery Court. “The long-standing corruption and white washing of justice in the Delaware Chancery Court is abhorrent and unethical,” said Miranda Wessinger, president of the Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware. “The citizens of Delaware deserve transparency and accountability from local political leaders. Our efforts to serve the Delaware people will not be impeded, regardless of the bureaucratic push back. We are determined to keep Delaware’s reputation as a thriving and profitable business state.”

Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 2,700 members including employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect, as well as concerned Delaware residents, business executives and others. They formed in April of 2016 to focus on raising awareness with Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the issue.

While their primary goal of saving the company has been accomplished, they continue their efforts to fight for more transparency in the Delaware Chancery Court. For more information on Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware or to join the cause, visit DelawareForBusiness.org.

Chancellor Andre Bouchard is now the subject of a Federal “Department of Justice” Investigation, according to an article published in a Spanish Newspaper.

All this writer can say at the moment is, “Wow… I hope this is true, because it is about time!”

If you’ll remember, TransPerfect has over 500 employees in Spain, where unemployment is very high. As I see it, Bouchard, by using his position improperly, tried to engineer a hostile takeover of TransPerfect by its largest competitor, HIG/Lionbridge. As a result, it seems since Chancellor Bouchard put so many Spanish jobs at risk, the international media there has been fervently following the case.

I called the U.S. Office of Public Affairs, which handles press inquiries for the U.S. Department of Justice, to find out more about this investigation and confirm that it’s ongoing. No comments were provided by press time.

As to the TransPerfect case, it is my understanding and in my personal view, it is now commonly accepted in business circles that Bouchard might have abused his power, and made absurd rulings that feathered the nests of Skadden Arps, his lawyer friends, and their combined cronies to the tune of $250 million in TransPerfect funds. Folks, in my opinion, there are truly the appearances of impropriety here and they must be investigated.

Please see the article below and ask yourself: Does Delaware need a judiciary that looks crooked enough to even make the Department of Justice consider launching an investigation? If this is true, what will that do to our reputation?

As always your comments are welcome and I will continue to follow the largest corporate case, and in my view, the largest heist by a judge, in American history — the public deserves answers, transparency, and accountability.


The TransPerfect case, investigated by the United States Department of Justice

The management of the TransPerfect case, led by the Supreme Court Justice of Delaware, André Bouchard, is being investigated by the US Department of Justice, according to a statement issued by the highest court in the United States.

BARCELONA, 29 (EUROPE PRESS)

The management of the TransPerfect case, led by the Supreme Court Justice of Delaware, André Bouchard, is being investigated by the US Department of Justice, according to a statement issued by the highest court in the United States.

The forced sale of this multinational, which has 600 jobs in its offices in Barcelona, ended in the courts of Delaware and now the US justice investigates the judicial team that managed the sale process of the company for alleged discrimination during 2017, when the company was under your control.

Associations of Delaware citizens say that as the investigation progresses it may also address other irregularities such as the $ 250 million that allegedly disappeared from the TransPerfect bank accounts while representatives of the Delaware Supreme Court controlled the company.

They emphasize “the opacity” with which Judge Bouchard has taken the case, arriving at not making public the judicial file months after the resolution, something contrary to the current US legislative framework.

They also denounce that one of the law firms that has benefited the most in the conflict has been a law firm of which one of its partners, Robert Pincus, was appointed judicial administrator of the company during the conflict.

However, the management of the case has called into question the neutrality of the judicial system of Delaware, according to a report by the US Chamber of Commerce.

TransPerfect closed the year 2018 with revenues of more than 600 million euros, 14.7% more than the previous year, and has offices in Barcelona, Madrid and Palma de Mallorca, Spain being the second country in the world where the multinational It has more employees, only behind the United States.

In 2014, after Bouchard helped install his former intern as our previous Chancellor, a National Review article tried to warn all Delawareans.

I implore you to carefully read the 2014 National Review article below entitled, “The Strine Strain: Some Judges Take a Toll on Justice.” As I’m sure you’ll remember from my articles (because no one else will cover it), Strine was BOUCHARD’S Intern. Many Delawareans I have talked with think this relationship is somehow OK (debatable) because it was the other way around. I’m telling you, it is not! When they were both at Skadden Arps, Chancellor Andre Bouchard was the big-boss-man over our Chief Justice/Intern Leo Strine — and, as you’ll see from this article, the apple didn’t fall far from the poisonous tree.

For those who think I am alone and whimsical in pushing for drastic judicial reforms, with “radical ideas” such as the disclosure of court-ordered bills as required by law, the random assigning of judges to cases, disclosure of relationships (like Bouchard and the infamous, Kevin Shannon of the TransPerfect case), and jury trials to put a check on the Chancellor’s sweeping power, which are so omnipotent that they are ripe for abuse. See the article below from The National Review in 2014. Please note, I’m neither condoning or condemning the controversial author, but he’s obviously highly-educated, articulate, and understands firsthand what I, and many of my readers view plainly as a pattern of corruption by Delaware Chief Chancellor Andre Bouchard.

He writes:  “After Strine enthroned others in control of our companies, his protégés enriched themselves obscenely and the companies eventually went bankrupt, wiping out $2 billion of shareholders’ equity dispersed among average people in every U.S. state and Canadian province.” Sound familiar, like another victim of the infamous Bouchard-Strine two-step tango that saw the court’s close friends at Skadden seemingly abscond with over $25 million in fees for “undisclosed services” as was implemented by the “court- ordered custodian” in the TransPerfect case.

When you read this, remember, this article is just about Bouchard’s Intern Strine. Bouchard was astonishingly permitted to help Strine elevate his personal career when Bouchard was on the Judicial Nominating Committee of the Bar Association. Then disgustingly, one hand washed the other, and Strine returned the favor by elevating Bouchard. Now, as I see it, the true Skadden Arps (puppet) master of enriching Delaware good ole boy cronies is now our Chief Chancellor, Andre Bouchard. God help us — absent judicial reform.


POLITICS & POLICY

The Strine Strain

By CONRAD BLACK |  February 19, 2014 9:00 AM

Some judges take a toll on justice.

The elevation of Leo E. Strine, the chancellor in Delaware’s Chancery Court, which is the principal corporate-law court of the United States, to chief justice of Delaware would not normally attract much comment. Delaware is one of the smallest and least populous states and is chiefly known as a place of incorporation and for the historic presence of the du Pont family and the DuPont chemical company. (Pierre S. “Pete” du Pont IV was a recent and well-known governor.) Because Delaware became the preferred place of incorporation as the American industrial and financial boom lifted off after the Civil War, it has had great importance as a commercial jurisdiction. Leo Strine — a well-connected Democrat and former aide to a Democratic governor, current U.S. senator Thomas Carper — served 15 years on the Chancery Court, three as head (chancellor) of it, and built a reputation that extended throughout the corporate community of the United States and beyond, as a sometimes controversial, outspoken, whimsical, and decisive judge.

None of these need be negative characteristics, but he is, in fact, a hip-shooter, who fancies himself a very blithe wit and feeds on the sycophantic laughter of counsel and their clients appearing before him. He follows cases closely, produces verdicts and judgments promptly, and clearly possesses a sharp intelligence, but he has periodically lapsed into discursive speculation on irrelevant subjects, including in one instance the religious affiliations of contending parties (without implying any bigotry, but with a distracted concern for matters unrelated to the case). He was rebuked by the court he will now head, when the state supreme court reminded judges not to use their positions in trials as “a platform from which to propagate their individual world views on issues not presented.” Strine frequently reveals himself as a fervent sports fan and engages in popular-culture references that do enliven his interventions and even decisions, as if to fortify his unprepossessing Mr. Peepers appearance.

There is not really anything wrong with any of this either, and judges could often do with a little loosening up, as they often affect undue severity in their dickies and robes and on their elevated platforms where they rule with almost unquestionable authority. In fact, complaints of this kind disguise the real problem with Strine: that, while he is intelligent and quick, he is a compulsive attention-seeker and often says injudicious things and produces bad and unjust judgments. He, like a significant number of judges, but more vividly than all but a few, is like a hyperactive version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s description of the rich drifters of The Great Gatsby: “They were careless people. . . . They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their vast carelessness . . . and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” As his spouting of contemporary pop-culture jargon portends, Strine is trendy, and combines Bacon’s famously disparaged “much-talking judge” with the contemporary description of much of the bench as “the Zeitgeist in robes.”

Readers will discern that I speak from experience. I testified in Strine’s court at length in a case where companies controlled by my associates and me were involved. He signaled clearly in the preliminary meeting with counsel that he had already determined the case against us and my counsel advised me to fold and act otherwise against our opponents. With no optimism about the outcome of the impending trial, I concluded that that would produce the same result with the additional appearance of cowardice on our part, and the case proceeded. He was perfectly courteous to me as a witness and we even exchanged a few quips and a bit of jaunty badinage, and he has subsequently referred to me quite politely, even with the affected comradeliness of a former adversary whom he bested. But he wrote a judgment that did extreme damage to the interests of tens of thousands of shareholders and was largely debunked in subsequent proceedings in various courts, including a four-month criminal trial. After Strine enthroned others in control of our companies, his protégés enriched themselves obscenely and the companies eventually went bankrupt, wiping out $2 billion of shareholders’ equity dispersed among average people in every U.S. state and Canadian province. The faction he upheld at trial — to Strine’s professed amazement, as any indication of his fallibility seems to amaze him — ultimately agreed to a $5 million (Canadian) settlement of my libel suit, by far the largest such payment in Canadian history, as part of an overall resolution, in my favor, of a complex of related lawsuits.

I certainly cannot blame Strine alone for the fact that I was wrongly convicted and sent to prison for three years, before the charges that he had helped to generate were abandoned, rejected by jurors, or unanimously vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court. Injustices occur, and given the correlation of forces between the U.S. government (and its Canadian Quislings) and myself, I did well to put it behind me as soon as I did. (Prosecutors were seeking life imprisonment and $140 million in fines and restitutions, and finally got three years and two weeks, and $600,000. And Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, the dean of all flippantly opinionated American judges, had to retrieve two counts to achieve even that for the prosecution Strine effectively solicited.) I am personally philosophical, found my time in prison quite interesting, and even enjoyed a few aspects of it, especially helping over a hundred students to matriculate from secondary school. It was completely unjust that I was there, but I tried to make the best and most of it; and the world is not a rose garden for anyone.

My point is not personal bitterness toward Strine and Posner, though my regard for them is not unlimited. My grievance is that these two, and an appreciable number of other judges, simply bang down their gavels, bring down resonant and histrionic decisions that are apt to be completely mistaken and to inflict injustice, and continue in their terminal self-absorption. When we first appeared before Posner, he seemed not even to have read our papers, and much of his fatuous judgment that would soon be shredded by the high court was a description, in reference to the so-called Ostrich Rule, of the habits of the ostrich. Strine acknowledged in his judgment against us that a reasonable person might find entirely differently, and reasonable people eventually did, though Posner, not being in that category, was not one of them. The U.S. Supreme Court was. But Strine and Posner and similarly wired judges just drive on, never apparently reflecting on the impact their capricious decisions have, or wondering if a little Solomonic deliberation might better serve society or even enhance their ultimate reputations as jurists.

Posner, at least, was frustrated in his ambitions to reach the highest court; he blamed this on his advocacy of legalized marijuana, though such brainwaves as his proposal to make the adoption of children straight financial auctions might have had something to do with it. He has, in his irritation, taken to public criticism of the U.S. Supreme Court, sometimes justly. But his complaint that the justices of that court interrupt counsel too much is a bit rich; at our first appearance before him, though my counsel was a very respected former deputy solicitor general of the United States, Posner allowed him to complete only 15 percent of the sentences he initiated. His manner was querulous, antagonistic, and boorish. Justice Scalia called him a “liar,” and in our case he was censured by the whole Supreme Court, in a judgment written by Justice Ginsburg, for “the infirmity of invented law.” No doubt he has had his moments, but he has been drinking his own bathwater for decades and he must subside soon.

Strine, who is approximately 50, cannot possibly imagine that his career ends in the highest court of the dollhouse state of Delaware. Both judges should wear bells on their heads like medieval lepers to warn the unsuspecting of their approach. They are a menace, not because of lack of ability, but because of helpless thralldom to their own self-worship. Strine claimed in his confirmation hearings that he wished to fortify Delaware’s status as America’s premier corporate jurisdiction. Doing so will require a miraculously successful lobotomy or the greatest revelation since Zechariah was struck dumb in the Temple. Failing such astounding developments, corporate America should decamp, to other countries, and certainly to other states, as Delaware will pay for his elevation.

— Conrad Black is the author of Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom, Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full, A Matter of Principle, and the recently published Flight of the Eagle: The Grand Strategies That Brought America from Colonial Dependence to World Leadership.

When it comes to corruption in Delaware’s Chancery Court, the public must now assume: where there is smoke, there is fire!

According to a recent complaint in Federal Court, TransPerfect’s #1 competitor was invited to participate in the “auction” — but instead the competitor seems to have used the Chancery’s “airtight” auction process as a massive platform to steal TransPerfect’s trade secrets. So much for the public expectation of Delaware’s Chancellor Bouchard to comply with his sworn duty to protect Delaware companies– APPARENTLY NOT!

Some conspiracies fly under the radar because they are too complicated to garner the appropriate attention, but remember folks, these judges, lawyers, and good old boy Delaware elitists are sophisticated actors — it’s no coincidence that $250 million was spent on lawyers and custodial fees.

Behold the following facts:

1. HIG/Lionbridge is TransPerfect’s #1 competitor.

2. Custodian Pincus of Skadden Arps allowed HIG/Lionbridge unfettered access to hundreds of thousands of corporate documents, including the most guarded secrets of TransPerfect.

3. HIG/Lionbridge is a client of the Skadden law firm.

4. HIG/Lionbridge is a client of Credit Suisse (but abruptly switched sides to “represent” TransPerfect for Pincus).

5. HIG had a loan with Credit Suisse, so IF Credit Suisse could have swung the auction results to HIG/Lionbridge, it would have helped Credit Suisse. They call this a “conflict of interest.”

6. The “conflict of interest” would normally have called for Credit Suisse to resign, but something made them feel protected enough not to resign.

7. Skadden Arps alumni include none other than: Chancellor Andre Bouchard, Custodian Robert Pincus, and Chief Justice Leo Strine (Bouchard’s former intern).

The above information is gleaned from my two years of research in following all the details of this case. If you think I may have the facts wrong, then please read the following link below: publicly available in a New York Supreme Court filing:

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=qvdJYpXr7_PLUS_7tMrkT9_PLUS_oWMg==

Is all this just coincidence? But folks, we must ask ourselves is the $250 million dollars spent and distributed among Bouchard’s cronies and former business partners (Skadden Arps Law firm) a legitimate situation?

Credit Suisse is also more likely to be paid back on their HIG/Lionbridge debt, if HIG/Lionbridge got a leg up in the competitive market for translation by getting its hands on all of TransPerfect’s trade secrets, including detailed client information, and including decision-makers and price lists.

Perhaps the alleged trade secret theft happened with HIG/Lionbridge acting on their own, but given all these connections, perhaps not. You decide!  Please read the article below and send me your feedback. Your comments are welcome and appreciated.


TransPerfect Hits Rival Lionbridge With $300M Secrets Suit

By Pete Brush

Law360, New York (April 15, 2019, 5:47 PM EDT) — TransPerfect Global has sued rival translation company Lionbridge Technologies and private equity firm H.I.G. Capital for $300 million, claiming in Manhattan federal court that they exploited a court-ordered sale of TransPerfect equity to lift trade secrets.

The Thursday lawsuit, pending before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote, claims that a unit of Miami-based H.I.G., H.I.G. Middle Market LLC, engaged in “fake bidding” during the $770 million sale of a 50% stake in New York-based TransPerfect to help Massachusetts-headquartered Lionbridge gain an unfair advantage.




“For H.I.G., losing the auction was not a defeat because it was able to accomplish its refocused goal to gain an unfair competitive advantage over [TransPerfect],” the suit says.


H.I.G. and Lionbridge had discussed a go-private deal in 2016 that could have seen the private equity firm take control of both companies and permitted Lionbridge to “solidify its position as the dominant translations services provider worldwide,” the suit says.


H.I.G. completed its acquisition of Lionbridge in early 2017. But, according to the suit, even though TransPerfect co-founder Philip R. Shawe later that year won the auction for the TransPerfect stake, H.I.G. and Lionbridge still profited by gaining access to secrets that were pilfered from what should have been an airtight process mandated by a Delaware business court.


Credit Suisse, which handled the auction and is not a party to the lawsuit, “failed to take meaningful steps to protect the company’s confidential information, and defendants were permitted to freely interview


[TransPerfect’s] management and downloaded [its] top client lists, pricing information, commission schedules, employee files, and sales strategies,” the suit says. The suit adds that Credit Suisse owns Lionbridge debt and was “incentivized” to help H.I.G. shore up that debt.


H.I.G.’s conduct also delayed completion of the sale to Shawe and disrupted the plaintiff’s business, the suit says.


The sale of TransPerfect assets stemmed from a dispute between Shawe and company co-founder Elizabeth Elting over how to run the company that dates to 2014. H.I.G. improperly contacted Elting during the asset auction and assisted her in objecting to the sale to Shawe, the lawsuit says.


Lionbridge continues to use TransPerfect’s proprietary information to compete unfairly, according to the suit. TransPerfect seeks injunctive relief as well as damages, including punitive damages, in excess of $300 million.


Requests for comment from Lionbridge and H.I.G. were not returned. A lawyer representing TransPerfect declined comment. Credit Suisse declined comment.


TransPerfect is represented by Andrew Goodman of Garvey Schubert Barer and Martin Russo and Sarah Khurana of Kruzhkov Russo PLLC.


The case is TransPerfect v. Lionbridge et al., case number 1:19-cv-03283, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.


–Editing by Amy Rowe.

The latest on the TransPerfect Global case is that the employees of the company apparently have no choice but to go on offense, because the injustice and corruption are so over-the-top that the company itself is powerless to take legal action, because it knows it will see no justice from Andre Bouchard, Leo Strine and their Good Ole Boys Club known as the Chancery Court in Delaware.   Understand folks, the problems here are dark and deep. The employees feel that the Chancellor has been and is continuing to steal from them. So much so, they have resorted to taking up the mantle for their own company because the money going to Bouchard’s friends at Skadden Arps is costing them their benefits and costing them their raises! Their lives and livelihoods are at stake as the Chancery Court’s approved looting has forced them to galvanize to battle this perceived corruption.   All that money is going to Skadden Arps. Andre Bouchard, Chief Chancellor of the Delaware Chancery Court, is ordering it and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. In fact, I’ve been told by contacts from within the company that these bills have been approved by Bouchard in 15 minutes or less! You’re hearing this right folks, the Chancery Court isn’t even looking over the very bills that they are ordering TransPerfect to pay. Given the intimate relationship between Skadden and Chancery, you would think they would handle them with extra care, instead they rubber stamp them!   Egregiously, this is all happening under court seal and Bouchard continues to hide it from public view! It has to stop! Our state legislators need to take action. Now the employees — who in my opinion are really the ones being robbed — are so rightfully disgusted by the Court’s action that they are mounting a challenge to see these bills.   Employees are demanding complete transparency from Bouchard’s Court and a release of all the documents, which is the law. These bills should be open to the public, by statue!   Please read the detailed article below. The Chancery Court irregularities are so brazen that the employees are rising up against Bouchard’s shady court system. I again implore our legislators to no longer sit idly by as the largest heist in American court history continues unabated.  
   

Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware (CPBD) to Mount Challenge to Rising Custodian Bills Totaling Over $26 Million in the Long-Ended TransPerfect Case

CPBD will also Launch Media & Lobbying Campaign this Spring, including Polls, Billboards, Digital Ads & Print Ads

Apr 11, 2019

WILMINGTON, Del., April 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ –18 months after the historic TransPerfect case was settled, the custodian in the case, Robert Pincus, has continued to bill TransPerfect every month for undisclosed services, including what his own $1,475 an hour role entails. His responsibility remains unclear, and any efforts to ascertain his work on behalf of TransPerfect has been met with silence. The Chancery Court has kept all invoices and description of services under seal – allegedly to protect the sale process, which ended in late 2017. The custodian’s spending is a matter of public record and public concern and employees deserve answers. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom has received a sizable amount of the 250 million that was spent on the case. Chief Justice Andre Bouchard previously worked at Skadden before joining the Chancery Court in 2015.

“Why these records are still under seal is a perpetual mystery for our members. Pincus and his company has spent over $1M on secret services since the company changed ownership and the case ended,” said Chris Coffey, Campaign Manager for Citizens for Pro-Business Delaware. “This means fewer resources for TransPerfect employees in the form of income and benefits. To have those records under seal is arbitrary and capricious and you can only get away with that kind of rubber stamping in the secretive boys’ club that is the Chancery Court and its network of cronies. We need transparency at long last.”

CPBD will begin an ad campaign this Spring to highlight efforts to get to the bottom of this secret spending. The efforts may also include a push for legislation to increase transparency at the Chancery Court in cases similar to this one. Indeed, TransPerfect has continued to set records for growth despite the factual inaccuracies spread by the Court about the health of the company. The campaign will include digital ads, billboards, polling, and the hiring of a lobbyist. David Walsh has been engaged in the work.

About Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware

Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 2,700 members including employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect, as well as concerned Delaware residents, business executives and others. They formed in April of 2016 to focus on raising awareness with Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the issue.

While their primary goal of saving the company has been accomplished, they continue their efforts to defend the TransPerfect employees and fight for more openness in the Delaware Chancery Court. For more information on Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware or to join the cause, visit DelawareForBusiness.org.

After Chancellor Andre Bouchard’s capricious and subjective rulings in the TransPerfect case, causing in my opinion, Delaware to drop from #1 in perceived equity and justice to #11 in a national survey, it is obvious to any true businessman and indeed many intimidated lawyers, that the Delaware law allows the judges in this court to exercise omnipotent rights to adjudicate any way they see fit — contrary to existing law or policy.   The bottom line is that the Delaware Court of Chancery has become way too powerful because of the incestuous relationships within the system, which allow it to operate accordingly. In the TransPerfect case where Chancellor Bouchard was so obviously biased and improper, in levying unprecedented sanctions on CEO Philip Shawe to the tune of $7.1 million dollars and ruling that the company had to be sold contrary to the “Takings” law of the 5th Amendment, was simply outrageous.   His actions and suspicious connections with the plaintiff’s attorney and former business partners at the infamous law firm of Skadden Arps (fined $4.6 million by the federal government for illicit lobbying activities), especially with his former associate Robert Pincus, who he appointed as TransPerfect’s custodian. Bouchard approved millions of dollars of unsubstantiated and un-itemized bills by Pincus, which made he and many of his cronies rich beyond anybody’s wildest dreams.   I consider this the Rip-Off of The Century, all tied up in a nice little package that was approved by the Supreme Court under Bouchard’s former intern and Skadden Arps partner- Chief Justice Leo Strine! This, along with the power given the Chancery Court and its Chancellors, makes the perceived equity in this once respected institution, now extremely suspect.   Bouchard has gone beyond the pale creating appearances of impropriety that are not acceptable! The court he oversees is way too powerful, which gives license to possible corruption and arbitrary decisions. Unfortunately it is all condoned by the legislature and the closely knit members of the Delaware Bar Association.   Invitation for Cronyism   Folks, there are simple ways we can begin fixing this broken system. First of all, we can have judges’ cases picked in a random method, as is done in the rest of the country, instead of the current system in Delaware, which allows the judges to look over the docket of cases and pick the ones that they wish to pick for whatever reasons they wish to pick a case. If that isn’t an invitation for cronyism, I don’t know what is.   Next, when a candidate is recommended by the Governor for any judicial position, complete vetting by the State Senate should be done instead of it being a rubber stamp. Bouchard’s Senate confirmation took only 15 minutes and no questions were asked.   Third, there have got to be some law changes. One was attempted, forcing a Chancellor to provide a cooling-off period before ordering a dissolution of a company. Unfortunately, there was no political motivation to make it happen and the incestuous Bar Association opposed it.   Limitation of Power   There has to be some limitation on the Chancellor’s power where true equity and justice is provided. Change is indeed necessary, however I am not optimistic. Delaware is moving into extreme territory with open late trimester abortion, socialism, eliminating voters rights, and even the idea of making Delaware a sanctuary state. Why would it want to change its method of operation when everything is controlled by the Democrats who for all intents and purposes seem to be anti-business.   Corporations are fleeing to Nevada and others are searching for any venue to incorporate other than Delaware! When Delaware completely loses its lucrative franchise taxes (which make up one-third of the state’s income) due to a lack of trust in the Chancery Court, then perhaps the State Legislature will implement change to inspire businesses to continue to incorporate in Delaware.   Famous attorney and law professor and Constitutional scholar Alan Dershowitz, stated after dealing with Supreme Court Justice Leo Strine in an appeal in the TransPerfect case where Bouchard’s decisions were wrongly upheld, “Any lawyer that recommends to his client to incorporate in Delaware would be tantamount to legal malpractice.” That folks is a serious statement by a true expert and should be recognized for the concern it clearly states.   There is something wrong with the Delaware Chancery Court and it should be fixed, but will it? Probably not is my educated opinion.   As always, your comments are welcome and appreciated. I would love to hear what you think of reforming the Chancery Court.  As I’m seeing fines and other crazy headlines roll in against law firm Skadden Arps, I can’t help but reflect on some of the injustices that happened in the TransPerfect Global case. The injustice jumps right out at me when I think about it in light of these new Skadden Arps developments. Let me tell you the latest and let’s see if it jumps out at you too! Delaware Chancery Court Chancellor Andre Bouchard, a former lawyer from Skadden Arps, an international law firm accused of criminal activity, AND recently fined $4.6 million, ruled subjectively and totally against TransPerfect CEO Philip Shawe in favor of his buddy Kevin Shannon, who represented the plaintiff, Elizabeth Elting, Shawe’s former partner. During the trial, and without evidence, Bouchard wrongly fined Shawe $7.1 million and awarded $1.4 million in legal fees, which were un-substantiated, to his good friend Kevin Shannon who I believe he potentially colluded with during the decision making period of the trial while in a forum together in New Orleans. Bouchard also appointed his former partner Robert Pincus (another Skadden Arps attorney) as the Custodian of TransPerfect, who then, in my view, ripped off the company to the tune of over $25 million — an unprecedented amount of money, again without substantiation or itemized consideration — all approved by Chancellor Bouchard. Then of course we have the appeal upheld by Delaware Chief Supreme Court Justice, Leo Strine, despite the fact the whole deal was an illegal “TAKING” under the 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution! Guess what? Leo Strine is another former Skadden Arps attorney! Chancellor Bouchard refuses to release the billings to the Public because, in my opinion, he is afraid of what might be established and perceived. As another aside, Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign manager, could probably get 19 years in prison for unrelated, process crimes created by the fact that a false document was filed, yet Skadden Arps only receives a $4.6 million dollar fine and a slap on the wrist to boot, for what I consider an outrageous illegal activity! There’s a HUGE INEQUITY here, folks! Skadden Arps could be corrupt in my opinion, and as I see it, possibly all of these Delaware attorneys (former Skadden Arps guys) could be corrupt as well. Could there be huge kickbacks to all concerned here?? It is all far too cute and convenient, and yes incestuous, for my comfort. Folks if there was ever the appearance of an impropriety, this is definitely one! And it needs to be investigated! I call for the FBI and the Department of Justice to start an immediate investigation, as federal crimes could have been purloined here? It looks to me as if the State of Delaware is protecting its own, so the feds need to get involved! How is it that Manafort goes to jail, while Skadden Arps escapes with a fine that is a drop in the bucket of their billions in revenue?! All while Bouchard, Pincus, and Strine — along with Kevin Shannon — could possibly be laughing all the way to an offshore-island bank ? WHERE IS JUSTICE, WHERE IS EQUITY? In my view there is no justice anymore in the State of Delaware! Shame! TIME FOR THE FEDS TO GET INVOLVED?! Please look over excerpts from the articles below to glean this nefarious information and background.  
   

New York Times — January 17, 2019

“WASHINGTON — A global New York-based law firm has agreed to pay $4.6 million to settle a Justice Department investigation into whether its work for a Russia-aligned Ukrainian government violated lobbying laws.

The investigation stems from work that the firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, did with Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman. The case overlaps with the investigation of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

As part of the settlement, the law firm agreed to register retroactively as a foreign agent for Ukraine in addition to paying the government $4.6 million, representing the money it earned from its work in Ukraine.

The settlement between the firm and the Justice Department, which was made public on Thursday, is the latest indication that Mr. Mueller’s inquiry and related investigations are fundamentally challenging the lucrative but shadowy foreign-lobbying industry that has thrived in Washington.

 
 

AXIOS — February 15,2019

 

Prosecutors for special counsel Robert Mueller said in a new court filing that President Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort should serve between 19.5 and 24.5 years in prison for the financial crimes for which he was convicted in a Virginia court last August.

“In the end, Manafort acted for more than a decade as if he were above the law, and deprived the federal government and various financial institutions of millions of dollars. The sentence here should reflect the seriousness of these crimes, and serve to both deter Manafort and others from engaging in such conduct.”

Why it matters: This would essentially be a life sentence for the 69-year-old Manafort. He is also facing a separate case in D.C., where a judge recently ruled that he had violated his plea agreement with Mueller and could therefore lose out on any potential leniency he might be offered.

 
 

NEW YORK TIMES — February 2, 2018

“Mr. Mueller’s inquiry threatens the delicate balance that Skadden has struck between lucrative sources of revenue. The firm has made huge profits from corporate work for image-conscious United States companies, while also representing riskier international clients, such as Russian oligarchs and companies with close ties to President Vladimir V. Putin and former Soviet states.

Skadden’s work advising controversial foreign clients was probably prompted by the same aggressive risk-taking that fueled the firm’s rise from scrappy upstart to top-grossing legal giant with a range of practice areas, said Lincoln Caplan, a research scholar at Yale Law School and the author of “Skadden: Power, Money, and the Rise of a Legal Empire.”

“The mentality is that Skadden wouldn’t be afraid of doing something like this, if there was a chance to utilize their skills and status to take advantage of what sounds like a very lucrative business, and they saw no legal or ethical proscription against their taking on the matter,” he said.

Skadden’s work is part of a trend in recent years of lobbyists and lawyers earning increasingly larger paydays by marketing their connections in Washington to foreign politicians, countries and companies willing to pay hefty fees to burnish their reputations in the United States and on the international stage

The recent article I posted concerning the law firm “Skadden Arps” getting fined by the feds a staggering $4.6 million dollars for illegally acting as a foreign agent (in my view, Skadden was aiding treason!) in relation to the Delaware’s Chancellor Andre Bouchard, Delaware’s Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Leo Strine, and the appointed (by Bouchard) Custodian at TransPerfect, Robert Pincus — who are all ex-Skadden lawyers.   It’s so incestuous, it stinks to high heaven! The rulings in favor of Kevin Shannon by Bouchard, when Shannon could not call a single fact witness, the upholding by Strine on appeal of the main case (and the largest individual sanction in the U.S. was affirmed on appeal without even a hearing!!!), and the billing by Pincus of TransPerfect to the tune of over $25 million, which is simply outrageous, brings this judicial outrage to another level entirely. TransPerfect Global CEO Philip Shawe was ordered to make TransPerfect pay $25 million in fees, but not Shawe, nor the public, nor anyone else gets to examine the bills. Neither the public, nor the payer (TransPerfect) gets to know what was paid for, or if this $25 million was legitimately billed… absolute insanity folks!   To go from the ridiculous to the obscene, we then have Kevin Shannon, Bouchard’s best buddy — who Bouchard hand-picked to join the St. Francis Hospital Board after he vacated his board seat. because he became the Chief Chancellor (without 1 day of bench experience, by the way) — got awarded $1.4 million in legal fees, also without any documentation, nor disclosure to the public!   Why wouldn’t a law firm, fined $4.6 million by the Feds for serious crimes, pad their bills to the moon??! Since there was no disclosure by Bouchard and no way to check if the bills were valid, just pay, pay, pay to Bouchard’s Delaware cronies whatever they ask. They scratched his back to become the Chancellor, now I think he is scratching theirs? Folks, is that how this is supposed to work? In my opinion, it reeks of corruption.   Again, I received an overwhelming response from the public about my last story of a 4-year injustice that would not have been tolerated in any third-world country, and damn sure should not be tolerated here. I say to you absurd cronies in the judiciary: You can fool people only so long, and then they start screaming from the tops of mountains! You are being exposed for suspicious activities, and if my readership has its way, you’ll be held accountable for these apparent improprieties.   Bouchard holds half the documents in the entire case, and ALL of his friend’s $26.4 million in non-itemized bills wrapped up tight as a drum, and he refuses to release them to the public. Why? Because they could possibly incriminate him or his cronies? There is a high price to pay if you line your pockets with court-ordered money from private citizens. I wonder why Bouchard and Skadden Arps appear in my opinion to act above the law in Delaware and apparently continue to get away with it? Or are they?? Based on your feedback, it’s clear this cabal is finally being exposed and the folks are beginning to understand this disconcerting reality??   Bouchard’s continued actions and failure to disclose documents to the public have cast a doubt on Delaware’s credibility, while destroying our business-friendly image — and negatively impacting our economy, plus casting a darker shadow over the First State’s once-honorable and respected institution, our Chancery Court.   As I often do when a story generates such significant outrage that something must be done, I have cut-and-pasted a sampling below from the many responses I have received. (The last names have been removed to protect these citizens from possible reprisals.)   Please enjoy the comments and please keep them coming! I appreciate your feedback.  
 

1) From Dawn

Thanks for expanding my mind and understanding of Delaware politics through the TransPerfect debacle… eye-opening. Keep up the good work!

2) From Allen

IMPEACH BOUCHARD!

3) From John

Jud, It is extremely disconcerting to realize the incestuous connections between the Skadden Arps law firm, Justice Strine, Chancellor Bouchard, Robert Pincus — then the cute relationship between Kevin Shannon and our Chancellor. I wouldn’t put anything past these rotten bastards. Skadden Arps is corrupt and it sure makes me wonder about Bouchard’s integrity. The records must be released. How come Shawe has not sued to have then released through a “Freedom of Information Request”? Thanks for your outstanding work in bringing all of this to light. You should get a Pulitzer award! All the best!

 

4) From Linda

OUTRAGEOUS!!!! Where there is smoke there is fire. Bouchard is a disgrace to judicial integrity. Love your articles, Judson.

 

5) From Peter

JUDSON — This is an extraordinary situation and most disturbing. Nobody should ever have to worry that our Chancery Court could be corrupt.

6) From Carol

Hi Jud, This is beyond an impropriety. Here we have a corrupt law firm (Skadden Arps) and then Strine, Bouchard, Pincus all from the same law firm. They should make a movie about this crazy situation. Everybody is way too cozy in the Delaware Judiciary. I know we have a small state, but come on. Wow — is all I can say!

7) From Don

Hey JUDSON, Read your article and this one really is impactful. You made your point big time. Corrupt law firm, fined $4.6 million by the Justice department and the head of the Delaware Supreme Court and the head of the Chancery are from the same law firm? Bouchard’s handling of the TransPerfect case has been terrible and now he is preventing documents from being given out to the public? This guy at the best should be removed as Chancellor and at the worst should not be reappointed. Hope you will be around to testify when that time comes ! Keep up the great work. Your political articles are amazing, but this TransPerfect stuff is sensational.

 

8) From Erin

Great stuff JUD. What an excellent article and expose of Andre Bouchard. He has got to go. Keep up the great work!

 

9) From John C.

JUDSON, It’s a Simple answer: Absolute arrogance and greed!

 

10) From Eric R.

You are a loose cannon stirring the pot! As your wife Maria used to say as you stomped your feet up the stairs to your office, “Who are you gonna piss off now, Judson?” Keep it up, we know you are right and appreciate your guts. Love you, brother!

11) From Eric B.

I really enjoyed your article. Thanks for continuing to peel off the layers of deceit manufactured by Bouchard. I feel sorry for Mr. Shawe and anyone else that has to come before Bouchard’s kangaroo court.

Chancellor Bouchard, what are you hiding? The law requires you to unseal these documents and let the public examine the court’s activities. If you aren’t covering your tracks and are not guilty of an impropriety, come clean and follow the law?   Sad to say, my loyal readers, that the black eye on Delaware is no longer confined to a local or national phenomenon, it has now gone global! Frankly, it is embarrassing for Delaware and it will further denigrate Delaware’s falling, former reputation as the best place for business justice.   Bouchard’s unlawful sealing of TransPerfect Global documents are indeed potentially damning to him and his Skadden Arps cronies (who I have been told were just fined $4.6 million by the DOJ for illegal activity that constitutes treason in my view) recently captures headlines in Barcelona, Spain’s second largest city, where I understand that TransPerfect has 500 employees.   Transparency is without a doubt required by the Courts.  Bouchard, you and your cronies cannot mask illicit activities in the dark of night — by ordering mass sealing of public documents! Who do you think you are? You sir are not above the law!   Where did the $250 million go Bouchard? I know repairs on your Bentley are expensive, but don’t you think this is a little overboard?? If you have done nothing wrong, you certainly have nothing to hide. So prove me wrong, unseal the case, and expose the documents for all to see.   Right now you are creating an acute appearance of an impropriety. Under no circumstances should the public ever have to even suspect irregularities in the Court of Chancery. As I see it, the Court’s reputation just a couple of years ago was beyond reproach and now it is not!   You are now under the global microscope of investigative reports from as far away as Spain! Chancellor Bouchard, you owe the good citizens of Delaware a specific accounting of exactly where your appropriation of these funds, by your orders, to whom they were paid and for exactly what?   These TransPerfect documents must be released to the public if the Delaware Court of Chancery is to have any credibility at all.   I will not stop investigating, and writing about this until Chancellor Bouchard gives the public the transparency the law requires.   Please see the article below.  
   

The details of the ‘Transperfect case’ are still hidden by order of the judge

Contrary to what US law dictates, Judge Bouchard has decided to prevent the public from accessing the records of the conflict that put 5,000 workers at risk, 500 of them in BCN

Delaware TransPerfect

The American justice dictates a resolution on the company Transperfect / FOTOMONTAJE CG

By IRENE BENAVENT

01.31.2019 00:00 h.

Nine months have passed since Phil Shawe took over 100% of the translation multinational Transperfect , which has one of its main international headquarters in Barcelona and a workforce of nearly a thousand companies. The takeover took place after one of the most mediatic business conflicts in the United States in the last four years. However, despite the resolution of the dispute, the judicial file of the case remains hidden from the public by decision of the Supreme Court Justice of Delaware, André Bouchard .

This new movement of the judge – the same that decreed the forced sale of the company founded in 1992 by Shawe and his ex-partner, Liz Elting – contributes to adding more opacity, if possible, to a shareholder conflict characterized by its lack of transparency and neutrality The dispute put at risk the future of more than 5,000 workers, 500 of whom are in the company’s offices in Barcelona, its most important international headquarters .

Opacity and obscurantism

The business conflict represented for the company an expense of 250 million dollars –214 million euros – in more than 30 law firms , global investment banks and entities specialized in M & A for the alleged resolution of the conflict. All these expenses had the approval of Judge Bouchard, who in turn, has maintained a long friendship with the leading law firms that have profited most from the forced sale of the multinational.

These benefited firms have been Potter Anderson and Skadden Arps , through the fees of their lawyers Kevin Shannon and Robert Pincus respectively. Sources close to Transperfect say that a large part of the money charged to the translation and dubbing company by these companies comes from invoices approved by Judge Bouchard that do not present details or justifications.

Out of the law

The decision of Judge André Bouchard goes against the current US legislative framework, which requires to make public the detailed information of the cases resolved.

In this sense, several civic associations of Delaware request that the works commissioned by Bouchard be investigated by the law firms, while they reject the judge’s decision to hide the details of the case, contrary to the provisions of the law. prevent the public and the media from accessing their records.

Delaware, exposed

The ‘TransPerfect Case’ has seriously damaged the prestige and neutrality of the State of Delaware, recognized in the world for its flexible and impartial judicial system. The imposition of a forced sale to a private company with positive results, the refusal to include in the bid strategic offers for the company or the opacity of the case demonstrated recently, have been some elements that have undermined the reputation of which it was one of the more attractive places for the American business ecosystem.

According to a survey prepared by the United States Chamber of Commerce, Delaware has fallen from the first to the eleventh position of the judicial neutrality ranking, after canvassing more than 1,300 general counsel, lawyers and senior managers. In turn, it is not surprising the decision of many companies to move their corporate headquarters to more competitive and neutral environments. This is what TransPerfect did to the state of Nevada at the end of 2018, as one of the first actions of Phil Shawe to restore stability to the company and its workers.

Sustained growth

Despite the fact that co-founder Phil Shawe had initially been removed from the sale of his company, in May 2018 the businessman put an end to the conflict by buying 50% of his partner and ex-partner for a value of 385 million dollars (330 million euros) thus doing so with 100% of the multinational.

Despite the grueling struggle for custody, TransPerfect closed 2018 with revenues of 705 million dollars – 621 million euros – 15% more than the previous year . This figure has remained positive for 26 years, which marks a clear upward trend in the sector , despite the fact that competitive threats such as Google and Microsoft are already approaching, which already offer translation services, where the results are often repeated awkward and errors in the translation of idioms or phrases.

Increase in employees

At the beginning of 2019, Transperfect hired its 5,000th employee. The company has more than 90 offices in cities around the world such as London or Sâo Paulo, however, its second most important headquarters – the first is in New York – is Barcelona, which has doubled its staff every three years.

In this sense, Phil Shawe predicts that the company could reach a thousand jobs in the Catalan capital by 2020.

For the those of you who haven’t watched “Game of Thrones” on television and aren’t eagerly awaiting the final season in April on HBO, perhaps I can explain this analogy. King Joffrey is a fictional character, who is the product of incest. He is corrupt to the core, and willing to do anything to vanquish his enemies. His ascent to the throne was illegitimate. He tortures innocent people for his own amusement. He is a pathological liar and abuses his power in unspeakable ways to better his own position and his allies. He is all powerful; everyone fears him, so they tell him what he wants to hear (versus the truth), and all the kingdom’s subjects truly know he’s not the man for the job, but are powerless to drive change. Other than being a product of incest, which I can’t opine on, in my opinion, Chancellor Bouchard is the spitting image of King Joffrey. I’m glad TransPerfect Global and its CEO Philip Shawe were willing to demand trial by combat, a Game of Thrones reference, and win a victory not only over Bouchard, but the cadre of, in my personal view, the many suspicious sycophants, he surrounds himself with such as (Bob Pincus, his former partner at Skadden Arps; Kevin Shannon, his BFF; and Leo Strine, his former Intern at Skadden Arps). Let’s hope Delaware is not powerless to stop this apparently sadistic man who, since he ran the Judicial Nominating committee, and used to employ Leo Strine, the Chief Justice, should in my opinion, have never been given this appointment. Just to give you some background and an outrageous example, Bouchard wanted to give his friend Kevin Shannon and his client (former TransPerfect Global co-CEO Elizabeth Elting) an artificial leg up in the case. I have read over 5,000 pages of the transcripts in great detail. Take my word for it, it’s all lawyer lies and hyperbole — sad — and all designed to make this $650 million industry-leader look unusual — Why? I believe it was so Chancellor Bouchard could justify using TransPerfect’s company coffers as a conduit to enrich his pals beyond belief. When I think about the $250 MILLION (verified by Crain’s Business magazine) that Bouchard ordered private U.S. citizens to spend, just to seemingly benefit his cronies, it truly makes me nauseated. There was nothing wrong with this corporation, except for a 50% passive shareholder and scorned woman (Elting) who wanted out – and I think this Chancellor saw a huge opportunity knocking to use his position to feather all his friend’s nests and I am sure his own as well. What would a non-corrupt judge have done? Elting could have sold HER shares, even with a Custodian. But the rub is, half of a company (Elting’s share) wasn’t worth as much as 50% of the whole company — so seeking to enrich his pals, Bouchard embarked on a non-sensical judicial result: the most long, arduous, illogical, expensive, ripe for abuse, tortuous to 4,000 employees, a government run public auction from a successful private company — which is without precedent in America. To do this, Bouchard performed an illegal taking (contrary to the Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment) of Philip and Shirley Shawe’s stock (50% of TransPerfect) and put their private property up for sale, against their will, at the same time, to give Kevin Shannon’s clients a windfall. So, Bouchard then seemingly makes up an endless series of outrageous lies to justify what I believe is the biggest business theft in American history, courtesy of the Delaware Chancery Court and its cronies. You might say, well Shawe bought it anyway at the public auction, so no harm no foul — Philip and Shirley Shawe got to keep their property. If you believe blackmail is a proper activity for Delaware judges to engage in, you would have a point. Bouchard pitted Shawe’s bidding against his largest competitor, HIG-Lionbridge, an off-shorer of U.S. jobs — so in effect, Bouchard extorted Philip Shawe into over-paying, as this was the only way Shawe could save 2,700 American jobs and keep his company. Back to what I believe, based on the evidence, is that the Chancellor outrageously misrepresented the facts. Much to Bouchard’s disappointment, the law and the constitution prevents him from issuing a fine without a jury (thank God). So how does a potentially corrupt judge get around the law? As I see it it’s in how he lies in his opinions and tries to damage his enemies, and enrich his friends. Bouchard wrote in his opinion that Shawe “did not deny” stalking Elting. Naturally, “stalking” is a criminal offense that would be picked up by the newspapers, and would hamper Shawe’s ability to get financing. This ridiculous lie was blown up by Chief Justice Strine during the appeal, who also falsely refers to it as an undisputed fact. I have talked with 100 employees and Shawe never stalked anyone, and Bouchard himself must now agree, since he eventually awarded Shawe the company. From what I’ve read, here is what I see as the EVIDENCE Bouchard relies on from the trial, and again Bouchard said publicly “Shawe did not deny” this, back in 2015 to set these wheels in motions… A HUGE NEFARIOUS FABRICATION !!!! ELTING ATTORNEY: … Now, Mr. Shawe, you’re also fond of stalking Ms. Elting, aren’t you? SHAWE: No, not in any way, shape, or form. Bouchard should go to jail for the reputation damage of this outrageous lie alone. But the whole case is a grotesque misrepresentation which I believe was engineered by Bouchard for the benefit of his friends, and in my opinion, himself. Here is what Bouchard himself wrote when Shawe requested an itemization of legal fees on November 10th, 2015: “It is customary, after a sanction is imposed, to take evidence on the itemization of the amount.” But I guess if you are the judge’s best friend, Kevin Shannon of Potter Anderson, you get $1.4 million dollars of TransPerfect money and these rules don’t apply to you. Shannon did not have to justify or itemize anything! The Coastal Network will offer a reward to anyone who can find Shannon’s itemized bills on the $1.4 million Bouchard forced Shawe/TransPerfect to pay in the record. I cannot. And don’t get me started on Bob Pincus’s $25 million share of the $250 million in pirate’s booty. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!! Lastly to close on the point of who is worse, Chancellor Bouchard or King Joffrey from Game of Thrones, it’s a close call. Bouchard tortured thousands of employees for 4 years — innocent hard working Americans who were forced to delay weddings, put off having children, put off sending kids to college — all because of Bouchard’s, in my opinion, illicit scheme. Further, Shawe’s lawyers during the legal battle, were forced to pussyfoot around the issue of the Chancellor’s possible improprieties. This is from an actual legal document:

Delaware is a small state with a small bar. The Plaintiff, however, resides in New York, which is a large state with a large bar, so he raises that the context of the relationship between the presiding judge in the Chancery Action and Shannon lends color to this appearance. Although the Court of Chancery’s decisions concerning the Defendants’ conduct at issue does not preclude this action or control concerning the validity of Plaintiff’s claims, Plaintiff provides a few anecdotal facts regarding the relationship of Shannon and Chancellor Bouchard. Shannon and Chancellor Bouchard, upon information and belief, have known each other since they represented aligned clients in In re Walt Disney Co. Derivative Litigation, 907 A.2d 693 (Del. Ch. 2005) approximately twenty years ago. Both served on the board of St. Francis Hospital. They have appeared as co-panelists at the annual Tulane Law School Corporate Law Institute in New Orleans, Louisiana (including while the Chancery Action was pending). Plaintiff understands (and has been assured by counsel) that these facts are not necessarily indicia of impropriety. The Court of Chancery’s failure to require Potter to submit itemized records like its co-counsel, coupled with Shannon’s relationship with the presiding judge, does however engender speculation, even if unwarranted.

This makes me sick, look at this weak presentation from the defense, even Shawe’s lawyers felt they had to walk on egg shells, when battling Bouchard’s insidious operation. The inevitable conclusion is: There is just too much power centered in the Delaware Judiciary, and this is not what our forefathers intended. Perhaps, back when the Delaware Chancellors were honorable and the Chancery Court was a nationally respected institution, this wasn’t a life or death issue for the state of Delaware. Regardless, in my view after doing more research than anyone else, I am certain that Chancellor Bouchard’s handling of the TransPerfect case, his appearances of impropriety, the innumerable irregularities, and his unusual and unprecedented decisions were not just a product of gross incompetence, but something far darker. While King Joffrey is the product of familial incest, King Chancellor Bouchard is the product of his incestuous relationships within the Delaware legal system — and even though he’s the most powerful man in our kingdom, he is not above the law and must be held accountable for his actions. Delaware’s financial future, and thus the financial future of it citizens depends on it! Delaware Lawmakers, I again call upon you for change and reform.  If you are one of my 6,000 Delawarean subscribers, you likely have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season. We live in the greatest democracy in the world. For the most part, threats to that democracy and freedom are taken head on. While it happens all over, there are now relatively few cases where the rich, the powerful, the politically connected get to prey on hard working men and women of our society. In Delaware, the only place where too much unchecked power has led to what I perceive as utter corruption is in the leaders of our judiciary. Chancellor Bouchard, bolstered by having his former intern as Chief Justice (Leo Strine), has in my view, created an environment where possible corruption and mismanagement is more than tolerated, it is both feared and exalted.   The combination of these two factors leads to a situation where no Delawarean will take action to even investigate Chancellor Bouchard, who in my opinion and in the opinion of hundreds of TransPerfect employees and perhaps thousands of onlookers, indirectly allowed $250 million to be moved out of a successful company to what appears to be the enrichment of those who the Chancellor has admitted having and established as long term friendships: Kevin Shannon of Potter Anderson and Bob Pincus of Skadden Arps, among others. While hundreds of members of the public scream for Bouchard to be at minimum, investigated, why does our legislature do nothing?!   From what I’ve heard, the Bouchard’s have Bentleys, Porsches, huge mansions in fancy neighborhoods, their kids fly around in private jets, and for this I hope they are grateful this holiday season. I demand justice for the countless employees, shareholders, officers of corporations and members of society that all pay a small “tax” to support Bouchard’s disgraceful operation, and because we do so without realizing it, the tables of every Delawarean are not as bountiful. Perhaps those who can do something about Bouchard apparently turn a blind-eye because they are making money as well? Or perhaps because they are too afraid to speak out against the Chancellor for fear of reprisal? All we read is nonsensical platitudes, no matter how crazy and unpredictable his actions. Believe me, it’s not because people in Delaware don’t know or suspect Bouchard has created appearances of impropriety!   Perhaps the most frustrating thing I have learned through my investigation and coverage of the TransPerfect case, is that many citizens feel the Chancellor is somehow operating in a suspicious and wrongful manner, but yet just shrug; “That’s the Delaware Way.” In my educated opinion, some cases could be decided while drinking expensive scotch in the country club conservatory. Indeed it’s enough to dishearten any patriotic American!   To the legislature; to the voters; and to members of the Delaware Bar Association who I see as acting as the front group supporting the Chancellor blindly, I think George Orwell may have said it best: “A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves and traitors are not victims… but accomplices.” Orwell is right to an extent. If we want what I consider the Chancery Court corruption to stop, Delaware has to be willing to scrutinize the powerful. The cost of not doing so will be our reputation (which has already been compromised), our incorporation business, and our overall economy. I will have a simple plea I will make to our legislature: If you won’t begin an investigation, then, at minimum, make Bouchard unseal the case and make him show the public his friend’s bills he nefariously ordered paid with no examination.   There are literally thousands of employees who were irreparably harmed by Chancellor Bouchard seizing a situation — applying a corrupt and non-nonsensical remedy without precedent in the U.S. (maybe Russia?) — and engaging in the largest, single, I believe illegal wealth transfer in business history from honest hardworking TransPerfect employees into the pockets of the Chancellor’s elite country club friends. The case remains under a court-ordered seal. Hundreds, maybe into the thousands, of hours were billed that accounting employees claim were never worked! Apparently there is no itemization whatsoever?   My sources tell me that mainstream media sources have requested the sealed bills and files be opened, yet Bouchard refuses?! I say to our Chief Chancellor directly: “Unseal the records and let the public see what you and your friends have been up to. If you have done no wrong, you should have nothing to hide, no tracks to continue to cover. Open up the documents and invoices for scrutiny.”   Guess what your honor, the sale process is over, yet you still refuse to unseal the records?! Why??   The law supports unsealing the case when over, yet it seems that you continue to believe you are above the law, that you can play not only judge, but also jury and executioner — to thousands of employees at one of American’s most successful companies — and you and your cohorts think you can operate without full disclosure. It’s enough to make me, and any red-blooded American that cares about capitalism, property rights, and justice, sick.   If there is the slightest hint of corruption or even the appearance of corruption in the judiciary — it cannot stand. It cannot become the new norm. The cost to society, our children and our children’s children is too high. I believe you are not the man for this job, but while you are still in office, consider this the official request of the Coastal Network on behalf of my loyal readers. We formally request that you open the entire TransPerfect file. Why not clear the air Chancellor Bouchard and restore the public faith in your position, because the people of Delaware are skeptical?? Please prove my concerns wrong and show us these forced payments by TransPerfect under your authority and direction were justified and legitimate.   Again, while everyone is enjoying their holiday season, do not forget these many TransPerfect employees, many of whom make less than $50,000 per year, who are the ongoing victims of what I consider a possible $250 million fleecing!   It is the working employees and their families that are the true victims here. Folks, they scream for justice this holiday season. Unsealing and carefully scrutinizing these, definitive, court documents, that are public record by law anyway, is the least the Chancery Court can do. After 4 years of what I and many view as serious misappropriations and improprieties at the hands of a Delaware Chancellor, we owe these employees, and the public at large, complete transparency and closure.One of my readers sent me a note pointing out a comment that I missed made at the bottom of a Washington Post article. While the year-old article itself is the usual establishment rhetoric, the thorough comment under the article, which I’ve included below is spot on. I’m focusing on this public Washington Post link because I want Delawareans to know that people outside of our humble state are also seeing that there’s something rotten in our state’s judiciary. Even folks in our nation’s capitol are seeing that our suspect judiciary under Andre Bouchard (and his former intern at Skadden, Leo Stine) are the ones that are causing our incorporation and business confidence stats to plummet. There appears to be plenty of people out there who get it. If you want to know who benefited from destroying Delaware’s business-friendly image, and in turn, Delaware’s economic prosperity, one needn’t follow the complex money trail — that in my view, would eventually lead to Bouchard’s luxorious Bentley — we can look no further in my opinion. I would say just look at Skadden Arps’ and Potter Anderson’s bank accounts. Chancery Court favoritism and corruption has bled our state’s reputation dry, while seemingly to me simply feathering the retirement nests of Bouchard’s unscrupulous henchmen, Robert Pincus and Kevin Shannon. And just so you think I’m not the only one who is seeing things this way; this Washington Post piece has been up for a year — capturing the nation’s frustration with Bouchard’s nefarious actions in America’s First State.   I’ve written about the handling of the TransPerfect Global case, which has dragged down the reputation of our fine state — remember TransPerfect didn’t need “saving” — it was the largest, fastest-growing, and most profitable company of it’s kind.   Bouchard — with his clerk and now cushy Skadden job holder Mary Toscana ( possible payola!) – wrote what I believe are 105-pages of unsupported lies to justify the government take over of this company — and bleed it dry. The Chancery Court still seeks to mask the money trail from the public – One prominent lawyer mentioned to me this case has the most sealed documents in Delaware history. Make no mistake, there’s no reason for these court records to be sealed; they are simply evidence of how much cash was siphoned from the TransPerfect company coffers by those firms which I believe Bouchard empowered to run the company while he guaranteed them judicial immunity (no matter how corrupt). Again, the Chancellor is not above the law, and the public has a right to know.  
  Washington Post Letter writer, nearly one year ago today:  

“Stephen Gandel failed miserably in writing this garbage article. The courts in Delaware aren’t the saviors of this company – they’re actually a corrupt group of attorneys stealing a company from an owner and employees who want to keep it alive. Please report how the judge, Bouchard, handed the case to his friend and plaintiff’s attorney, Kevin Shannon. Report on how Bouchard appointed his former colleague, Robert Pincus, as the custodian to force the sale of the company. Report how the Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice, Leo Strine, who affirmed Bouchard’s forced sale of the company, is a former colleague of Bouchard. Report how Bouchard, Pincus and Strine all worked/work for law firm Skadden Arps, and now Pincus bills TransPerfect $1,400 per hour to hire his firm’s friends to fleece the company. Report how Skadden’s clients, HIG who owns Lionbridge – TransPerfect’s largest competitor, is “bidding” on the company. Report how Credit Suisse, who owns the debt for Lionbridge/HIG, is consulting for Skadden on this forced sale. Report how Bouchard rubber stamps Bouchard’s bills to TransPerfect for millions of dollars, without letting the public see those bills – while cutting benefits for the TransPerfect employees, which has caused dozens of high-level execs to leave the company in the last two weeks. The “story” is that the court decided to force the sale of the company to “save” the company from the two owners’ bickering. The reality is that the court’s forced sale will ultimately dismantle the company and move thousands of american jobs offshore, so Skadden’s client, HIG/Lionbridge, will be able to service the debt owed to Credit Suisse when HIG “bought” Lionbridge. This is a scam perpetuated by shady lawyers, and the Delaware legislature is doing nothing. Delaware may be the smallest state in the union, but it is making NJ and IL look small time when it comes to corruption and cronyism. Where is the DOJ? Here’s your career case! Just look.”

-John Bruce Dont

  As the letter writer stated, he sees this as a scam put forth by sophisticated and dishonest lawyers – how long can our elected leaders sit by and do nothing, as hardworking Delawareans, certainly seem from my perspective, to lie on a bed of Bouchard’s corrupt weeds growing up to choke us. When will the Chancellor have to answer for his actions? The establishment protecting men in robes from their obvious improprieties didn’t work out so well for the Catholic Church — I’m not sure why legislators believe the Chancery Court is any different.   Check out the old, fallacious, and misleading article that the Washington Post letter writer went after.      I was thinking about judges and confirmation hearings after recently watching the Senatorial process in the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh as a United States Supreme Court Justice. As I’ve been writing about the TransPerfect Global case, it got me thinking about Delaware’s confirmation process in confirming Andre Bouchard as Delaware’s Chancellor, or lack thereof.   Justice Brett Kavanaugh had a total of 7 FBI investigations, was put through the ringer answering countless questions on uncorroborated allegations, his reputation was tattered, and finally only after completing a nightmare of a process, he was confirmed by the legislative branch.   Did Chancellor Andre Bouchard face any questions about his past judicial decisions? No. About whether he would follow the law faithfully? No. About whether he’d respect the U.S. Constitution given that he’s Canadian by birth? No. About whether he’s even read the U.S. Constitution? No. About whether it is an inherent problem that Chief Justice Leo Strine was his intern at Skadden Arps, and now must judge him on appeals? No.   How do I know this? Because in contrast to Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing, Chancellor Andre Bouchard’s hearing lasted a total of 13 minutes and he had to answer a whopping ZERO questions from our state legislature — much like his time on bench. In my view folks, his confirmation hearing was a complete sham!   And after all of that, we’ve seen his true character as a judge coming out over the past few years. As most of you know by now from reading my coverage the past few years of the TransPerfect Global case, Bouchard’s life-long friend, who represented former TransPerfect co-CEO Elizabeth Elting in the trial, attorney Kevin Shannon of Potter Anderson, was given every possible consideration beyond normal reason. Additionally, you also know that Shannon’s windfall victory was tainted by the fact that ZERO witnesses testified against Shawe — and ZERO witnesses corroborated Kevin Shannon’s self-serving story. This alone exposes in my opinion the seemingly dark underbelly of the Delaware elites like Chancellor Bouchard. But there’s another ZERO that perhaps you didn’t know… ????   I would say that your elected officials, and especially Senator Greg Lavelle among others who opposed fixing the inequities in the Chancery Court, surely acted irresponsibly in this situation, because there was no scrutiny whatsoever for Bouchard in the vetting process. The position of Chief Chancellor was/is simply too important a position for Delaware to entrust with a man who has been handed everything in his life based on a privileged upbringing and political favors vs. being the right man with the right character for the job. And, now all of Delaware is paying the price for what can reasonably be viewed from my view as Bouchard’s corruption. In my opinion, Bouchard believes paying people back who supported him in his ZERO-bench-experience ascension to Chancellor is his now job. The $250 million which I believe was stolen from TransPerfect to enrich his elite friends, is the prime example of his abusing his position. Delawareans deserved a confirmation hearing with some level of scrutiny on Andre Bouchard from Mr. Lavelle and our other elected officials. Delawareans deserved a real confirmation hearing — and Delawareans deserve better than Andre Bouchard.   In fact, Bouchard, having no experience as a judge, was lazily confirmed in just 13 minutes by the Delaware Senate, after his appointment by the Governor. It’s glaring and he was not properly vetted! Don’t just take my word for it……   Here’s a quick recount of the hearing from Celia Cohen’s April 10, 2014 Delaware Grapevine story “SPEED-VOTING FOR CHANCELLOR” written just after Bouchard’s appointment: “Thirteen minutes were all it took for Delaware to get a new chancellor…Buying a new pair of shoes has been known to take longer.”   Digging into Bouchard’s past, it doesn’t surprise me that he got this job with no scrutiny whatsoever. In fact, since I have followed the case and witnessed the most biased, ludicrous, mismanaged, and outrageous decisions in Delaware judicial history resulting in fleecing and looting of a healthy Delaware company — it actually makes more sense to me now knowing that Bouchard had a ZERO question confirmation. But that doesn’t make it right!   His tenure as Chancellor is a pathetic embarrassment to the State of Delaware; from his fiasco managing the Sussex County Register of Wills office, where he made 3 inadequate political appointments for Chief Deputy — instead of listening to the best and most experienced person, Cindy Green, the elected Register of Wills.   Unlike Brett Kavanaugh, who was deeply investigated, Bouchard’s past is unknown. I wonder if we really got into it, what we might uncover? Of course, we do know he was a member of the Skadden Arps law firm, which is under investigation by the Feds for various possible violations. Kind of makes Bouchard suspect I think, doesn’t it? By the standards now, it seems that people in esteemed offices are deemed guilty until proven innocent. Brett Kavanaugh was considered guilty by every Democrat Senator except Senator Mansion from West Virginia. Yet there was absolutely no corroborating evidence. (This probably wouldn’t bother Bouchard, because Bouchard needs no witnesses corroborating Kevin Shannon’s story — handing Shannon a windfall and ruling against TransPerfect in the most draconian way: Corporate Dissolution!)   Thank God our country has as part of our obligatory system, “a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.” As a result, Brett Kavanaugh is a Supreme Court Justice and Andre Bouchard will probably remain a Chancellor. But as least Kavanaugh can say he lived through the scrutiny of a tough confirmation, and succeeded. Bouchard cannot. And Delaware will be paying the price for years to come.One might believe the legislature needn’t pass SB 53, because it already did such incredible vetting of Andre Bouchard before placing an attorney from private practice, with zero bench experience, into one of the most powerful jobs in the world; way too powerful in my opinion. Except, they’d be wrong. After watching Senator Elizabeth Warren’s endless ripping up of Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch before his confirmation, I thought it would be interesting to see what diligence the Delaware legislature did in confirming Bouchard as Delaware’s Chancellor?? Why should TransPefect Global owners and employees have been worried about how Bouchard would legislate this case? They assumed this judge would rule fairly because he was supposed to be well-versed in the law, judicial ethics, the Constitution, and his Chancery Court powers?? Ahead of his approval to the bench, was Bouchard asked the following questions?: Would you apply the law fair and impartially? No he was not asked! Will you govern your decision by U.S. Constitution? No he was not asked! Was he asked whether he was familiar with the Constitution? No, he was not! Did anyone even ask him if he read the Constitution?! No! Was he asked how he would apply what he knew about the Constitution? 
No! Was he asked about his politics and if he would remain impartial? No! Was he asked about how he saw his role as head of Delaware’s Court of Equity? No! Did anyone ask him ANY tough questions at all? Not a single question! Was he asked what he knew about being a judge? No. How do I know the answer is no to all these questions? Folks, there were Zero questions in his 13 minute hearing — I can prove it. Now is the chance to make this right, by contacting your Delaware State Senators! Please get involved and help pass SB 53! Mistakes and mis-judgements like this only matter if we don’t take action in the present. I’m appealing to our lawmakers in Delaware… now is the time to help! There have been hundreds of articles in the U.S. and around the globe about how this case has been mishandled and may hurt jobs at TransPerfect and hurt Delaware too! Plea with your legislators to help now. Folks, now is the time where we can make this right! It took just 13 minutes for Chancellor Bouchard to get rubber-stamped by the Senate’s Executive Committee in 2014. Unanimous vote. Can you see the cronyism that exists at a high-degree in America’s First State. Buying a new pair of shoes has been known to take longer! Please look at this story below from just two years ago by Celia Cohen about our esteemed Chancellor of Delaware’s equity court, the Court of Chancery, which is famous for its fair decisions, which is one of the reasons Delaware is the nation’s incorporation leader. Read about Bouchard’s 13-mintues below, and see for yourself my friends:  

SPEED-VOTING FOR CHANCELLOR

By Celia Cohen

Posted: April 10, 2014

Grapevine Political Writer

 

“Thirteen minutes were all it took for Delaware to get a new chancellor.

Seven minutes for a confirmation hearing by the Senate’s Executive Committee, another six minutes for consideration by the full Senate for a unanimous 21-0 vote on Wednesday in Legislative Hall in Dover, and that was that.

It put Andy Bouchard a swearing-in ceremony away from the most storied judgeship in the state as the chief of the Court of Chancery, the famed forum for corporate law.

Buying a new pair of shoes has been known to take longer. A lot longer.

It went so fast that Greg Lavelle, the Republican minority whip, felt compelled to explain the rapid roll call, almost sheepishly, to a visiting delegation of lawmakers from Kenya.

“For our guests, sometimes this is worth repeating, there’s a nominating process for all these positions, a lot of vetting, a lot of interviews and discussions. While there are not any questions here today, the questions have been asked on the front side of these proceedings,” Lavelle said.

Without the words to the Kenyans, Bouchard could have been out of there in twelve minutes.

Still, Lavelle had something there. This is the way it goes in a small state, where everybody knows everybody else or at least they like to think they do. Even the official nominating channels — with candidates passing from the Judicial Nominating Commission to the governor to the Senate — seem to hold less sway than the informal evaluation that goes on.

Bouchard, who will be leaving behind a corporate practice at Bouchard Margules & Friedlander, is a well-regarded presence in legal circles. If he was not a unanimous choice for chancellor among the bench and bar — and who would be? — there was certainly a consensus he was up to it.

The downside to the small-state familiarity that makes a known quantity out of its judicial candidates is the coziness that goes with it.

Ever since Myron Steele announced shortly after Labor Day he would be stepping down as chief justice, it was regarded as a foregone conclusion that Leo Strine Jr. would be elevated from chancellor to chief justice with Bouchard in line to take over in Chancery.

While there was nevertheless a robust pool of applicants for chief justice, the sense of inevitability prevailed by the time it came to choose a chancellor, and the Judicial Nominating Commission was left to beg for candidates not named Bouchard.

Bouchard has 30 days from his confirmation to take his judicial oath for a 12-year term.

He is a graduate of Salesianum, Boston College and Harvard Law, and he chaired the Judicial Nominating Commission until he left it to apply himself. He was a regular contributor to Democratic campaigns, although those contributions have to stop now, with checks going to Jack Markell, the governor who appointed him, as well as the vice president and the congressional delegation.

Another reason for the speed-voting on Bouchard may well be judgeship fatigue.

The Senate had to plow through nine confirmations for judges last year, and it has handled the nominations for chief justice and chancellor, the state’s premier judicial assignments, this year.

Nor is it done yet. Not only is there a Superior Court opening, but Jack Jacobs, a Supreme Court justice, unexpectedly announced his retirement as of July 4.

Since Jacobs is departing four days after the legislature’s regular session ends on June 30, the Senate will have to return for a special session, probably in August or September, just as the campaign season is coming on.

If Jacobs’ replacement is drawn from a lower court, it would mean yet another special session.

At least Bouchard comes from private practice, so nobody has to be nominated to replace him.”

Famous law professor and trial lawyer Alan Dershowitz said of the Strine-Bouchard duo, “Any attorney who advises his client to incorporate in the State of Delaware is tantamount to legal malpractice!” Delaware has now dropped from 2nd place to 27th place nationally for being business friendly according to the “Thumbtact Small Business Survey.” Folks this is extremely detrimental for the future of Delaware’s economy. One third of all of Delaware’s revenue comes from corporate franchise fees. This comes after Delaware dropped from a significant #1 to a pathetic #11 for Judicial fairness from the National Chamber of Commerce survey. Delaware’s formerly esteemed Chancery Court has lost its great reputation which is why Delaware was the incorporation capital of the world in the first place. It is obvious that Bouchard’s actions in the TransPerfect case were part of the reason. These are two, separate, gigantic drops, folks and Delaware will definitely feel the pain.    It’s no coincidence that the large drops for Delaware have come as the TransPerfect Global case was making headlines over the past couple of years! The Chancery Court and its assigned players operating the TransPerfect Global case under the auspices of Delaware’s Chancellor has seemingly turned out to be terribly detrimental for the state of Delaware.    The TransPerfect adjudication by Chancellor Andre Bouchard was completely outrageous and unprecedented. The way it was handled should be totally unacceptable to any reasonable litigator. Millions of dollars were wrongfully forced to be spent by a Chancellor who legislated from the bench while making unprecedented and inequitable rulings. Equity is what is supposed to happen in the Delaware Court of Chancery, not the incessant and apparent feathering of nests for the benefit of the Chancellor’s good buddies and his former law partners?   Consider that in a 4-year TrasnPerfect litigation, Co-CEO Elizabeth Elting called zero fact witnesses, and had zero affidavits, which is the least evidence in a Delaware civil trial that I am aware of ever being offered by the Plaintiff? Co-CEO Philip Shawe called all 10 witnesses in the case, all testifying on his behalf. He had 43 more waiting to testify and had over 120 affidavits. Then, in front of a hundred employees per day that traveled down to Wilmington to support Shawe, Bouchard found for Elting in 2015 and ordered the company dissolved and sold. This crazy ruling shocked the TransPerfect employees beyond belief, and that’s when the wave of Delaware corruption rumors began circulating like wildfire.   In my opinion, Elting got the auction result she asked for in 2015; not because it was the right solution, indeed it was certainly without precedent, but because this allowed a vehicle, for what now appears, the moving of large sums of capital from TransPerfect’s coffers to that of a Court appointed Custodian who was a former business partner and friend of Delaware’s Chancellor. Folks, I am talking about over $25 million billed dollars that were not itemized and were approved for payment anyway by Chancellor Andre Bouchard. If there ever was the appearance of an impropriety, in my opinion this was it !   Elting’s lawyer, Kevin Shannon, is a life-long friend of Chancellor Bouchard’s. Bouchard has admitted he was friends with his appointed Custodian Robert Pincus and folks– Pincus comes from Bouchard’s old law firm. Bouchard traveled to New Orleans, and made a public appearance with Shannon, during the decision-making phase of the trial. Beyond any doubt, this is an appearance of an impropriety. Every other lawyer was made to itemize their fees, making them subject to challenge. Which lawyers didn’t have to? You guessed it.    Shawe won in the end. His winning “auction bid” was $385 million, but he’d offered $300 million publicly half-way through the litigation, 2 years ago. $250 million has been the widely reported estimated legal cost (I estimate higher), this means that roughly, the Chancery Court spent an extra $125 million of shareholder money (and took an extra two years of employees lives), only to get an $85 million dollar increase in value. This was not really “value maximizing” to the shareholders was it Chancellor Andre Bouchard? Whose value did you maximize, I wonder? Another Appearance of an Impropriety ?   There is no doubt in my mind, that Delaware has recently dropped from #1 to #11 in Judicial fairness, and a devastating drop from #2 to #27 for Delaware being friendly to small businesses, has happened in my view, because of the shady way the TransPerfect case was handled. At least when Delaware economics sinks further and further into the red, we’ll know who to point our fingers at. I guess that’s something, but it’s not enough, there should be an investigation.    Most importantly, I feel it is time for the General Assembly to act by responding to these significant drops in national recognition with necessary changes in the law — changes that will restore faith in Delaware’s judiciary so that businesses will continue to incorporate in Delaware and prosper accordingly. Please read the article below.        

Delaware slips from second to 27th in Thumbtack small business survey

By Delaware Business Now

August 16, 2018

Delaware saw its No. 2 ranking head south in the Thumbtack 2018 small business survey.Small business owners surveyed by Thumbtack, gave Delaware a B- this year, ranking 27th in a survey of business friendliness in all 50 states.Thumbtack is a website and app that finds local professionals.

That’s 25 spots lower than last year when the state ranked second and received an A+. Delaware scored higher than New Jersey (D+), but lower than Maryland (B+).

State leaders had been taking note of the positive 2017 findings from Thumbtack as surveys from CNBC and others gave Delaware low business rankings.“The biggest slip this year for Delaware was in its training and networking programs. In 2017, it received an A grade, with 27 pecent of our respondents saying that they or their business had benefited from a training or networking program,” Thumbtack economist Lucas Puente, stated in an Email message. “However, this year, only 10 percent of the small business owners we heard from had used such a program. This drop in usage led the state to get an F for its training and networking programs this year.”

Another noticeable decline came in tax regulations Puente noted Last year, 45 percent said that tax-based regulations were friendly towards small businesses; this year, only 34 percent did.

Its 2018 Small Business Friendliness Survey, ranked all 50 states and 57 cities based on factors that included licensing requirements, tax regulations, and labor and hiring regulations. With over 7,500 small business owners surveyed, it’s the largest continuous study of small business perceptions of local government policy in the U.S, according to a release.

Based on the evaluations in surveys, Thumbtack also assigned eight policy-specific grades to evaluate how easy local governments make it to start, operate, and grow a small business. For more details about the report and the full set of results for Delaware, please visit Thumbtack.com/DE.

So what happens when TransPerfect is permitted to operate its business without the court-ordered, hand-picked custodian, employment of countless attorneys, needless consultants, and Delaware elites? All installed as a result of Delaware and Chancellor Bouchard’s over-reaching and needless court decisions that tried to sell the business from under its founders. Ordinarily, I bet you would have wait years to find out?

 

Just months after Andre Bouchard and Leo Strine ended their 3-years of court-ordered “hands in the till” — which was, according to Delaware Supreme Court Justice Karen Valihura, an unlawful seizure of TransPerfect’s fast-growing and profitable business — the reins have now returned back to the always-rightful owner (Philip Shawe) and the original management team who built the company.  And what has happened by returning TransPerfect to the private sector? 

 

Revenues are now up 19% for the year!!! 200 NEW AMERICAN JOBS have been created and TransPerfect is now returning to its former glory as its industry’s largest and fastest-growing company. The fact that our Chancery Court System engineered a THREE-YEAR, $300 MILLION government take-over by a Skadden Arp’s attorney, who billed $1,475 an hour. Where both Bouchard and Strine both “coincidentally” happened to have worked before they got their political appointments. The thought continues to make my blood boil.

 

Delaware legislators, I said it before and I’ll say it again: There is no checks-and-balances on the cozy, back-scratching, incestuous relationship, which YOU allow to exist between the attorneys’ special-interest group (The Bar Association) and the Judiciary in Delaware. Our founding fathers required serious over-sight for all government operations and your lack of action is inconsistent with your oaths of office in my humble opinion.

 

Nothing puts our current crisis, and the dire need for legislative reform, more into focus than the TransPerfect case. In my opinion, new legislative reform must curb the Chancery’s unchecked power to takeover an entire business, and order excessive payments from the company with no limits, no supervision, and absolutely no accountability.

 

It is your job General Assembly members to protect the system. You were elected to lead. I and many of my readers are imploring you to take action to prevent outrageous tragedies such as the TransPerfect situation from ever happening again.

 

In my opinion, this is the only way out of our downward spiral in business confidence, in judicial impartiality rankings, and the only way to reverse the current economic crisis in all of Delaware. These wounds were self-inflicted on our entire state by the unprecedented actions of Chancellor Bouchard for reasons still unknown and still very suspect, but regardless, we need to learn from our mistakes — Delaware’s reputation cannot continue to be one of “corruption” — we need reform and we need change.

 

So, what has happened since? It’s amazing what happens when private property is in the hands of private citizens and private sector managers and not in the hands of government officials and their cronies.

 

But don’t take my word for it, please see the following article on TransPerfect’s business from last Friday’s New York Post.

 

TransPerfect business booming after years-long ‘custody’ battle

By Post Staff Report

July 13, 2018 | 6:42pm

Modal Trigger

Elizabeth Elting and Philip Shawe

Phil Shawe is proof you can survive a breakup with your business partner — even if the partner is your ex.

Shawe gained control of the “family” business, TransPerfect, earlier this year after a nasty, “War of the Roses”-type court battle with his fiance — and tells The Post business has hardly been better.

The privately held firm is going to report this week that profits in the first half of 2018 jumped 19 percent — and that revenue for the year is projected to surpass $700 million.

“The company has enjoyed six months of certainty,” Shawe said from TransPerfect’s New York City headquarters. “The last time we grew like this we were a $100 million company.”

Shawe and his then-fiancee, Liz Elting, started TransPerfect in 1992 out of an NYU dorm room. When they split, each controlled 50 percent of the firm and neither had the right to buy the other out.

When the battle for control of the language translation company began in 2014, Elting partnered with private equity firm H.I.G. Capital, which owns Lionbridge, a rival service, in a bid to buy out Shawe.

Shawe didn’t partner with anyone in his attempt to buy out Elting.

In February, the four-year battle ended when the Delaware Chancery Court ruled in favor of Shawe — who outbid Elting, and agreed to retain virtually all the 4,000 full-time employees.

The deal closed last month.

Shawe said he has added 200 net jobs this year. TransPerfect has made one acquisition since the court’s ruling and plans to look for other opportunities, Shawe said, including possibly buying Lionbridge if it comes up for sale.

Shawe said he has not had a conversation with Elting, outside of board meetings, for a few years.

Just when we thought the amazing, legal saga of the TransPerfect Global case was over, the seemingly money-obsessed “woe-is-me” plaintiff, Elizabeth Elting is not only appealing Chancellor Bouchard’s recent 72 page decision to sell the company to Co-Founder Philip Shawe, but she has also started a new multi-million dollar lawsuit in Delaware’s Chancery Court. According to my sources at the company, instead of taking her $385 million dollar pay-day she was never entitled to in the first place, Elting and her attorney, Kevin Shannon of Potter Anderson, have chosen to bite the hand that has fed them millions, by accusing both the Chancellor and the Custodian of abusing their discretion. And why? Hold onto your seats… it’s for not selling TransPerfect to its largest competitor HIG-Lionbridge, which bid less, and which has a vast history of shipping U.S. jobs to China and India?!?   What’s most interesting here is, after winning practically every aspect of her case including a failed interim appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court by defendant Philip Shawe (Strine vs. Dershowitz I), Elting is now unhappy with the very result she clearly sought in the first place and is appealing Bouchard’s decision to the Delaware Supreme Court. Why? Well, it’s not because she didn’t get the auction she asked for, as she got everything she asked for, but it seems it’s because it was her partner and ex-fiance, Shawe, who bid the highest and won the auction. The twists and turns in this case are astonishing, yet true.   Please see the article below by Tom McParlan of “Delaware Business Court Insider.” McParlan also notes that it appears the watchful eyes of the legal and business communities worldwide will be robbed of Strine vs. Dershowitz II, as the Delaware Supreme Court may choose to decide this appeal without seeing the parties or their attorneys in court.   Interestingly, here’s what Chancellor Bouchard had to say in his decision: “Elting never put together a bid approaching what Shawe was willing to pay for the company,” he wrote last month. Bouchard also defended the auction result, “the Custodian deftly and firmly handled a challenging assignment to create a competitive dynamic that maximized the value of Elting’s shares while simultaneously preserving the Company as a going concern to the fullest extent possible.” He also refuted Kevin Shannon’s endless four-year fairytale that his client was, yet again, a victim, by saying “Elting forged her own path.”   Elting gets a boatload of money, the maximum possible, with no jobs lost as the company is being sold, yet she’s somehow unhappy with Bouchard’s decision. The employees were right all along to be worried about their jobs, but they are safe for now, or so it seems!   Even though she’s due to receive $385 million, she’s not happy with the auction result and the decision to affirm it, and now she appealed?! Huh?! She claims Custodian Pincus could have sold the company to HIG-Lionbridge and she could have made more shekels, while putting potentially thousands out of work. As much as I’m critic of the Chancellor, I give him credit for realizing Elting has used the court system enough already, pulling this ‘Delaware Gravy Train’ case feeding an entire ecosystem of lawyers and consultants into the station, and finally looking out for the 4,000 employees and their families.   According to Chancellor Bouchard, if he is affirmed, then Elizabeth Elting will receive $385 million ($287 million dollars after taxes), Shawe will get the company, and employees will enjoy job security for the first time in years. And yet, she objects?! Appeals?! AND starts a new lawsuit?! Custodian Pincus said that Shawe’s bid was highest, had the least strings attached, had the greatest chance to close, and was the safest for the employees. Boo-hoo Ms. Elting. Our heart bleeds for you now that you’ll have more money than you deserve !   Folks, the amount of money spent on this case is now approaching $250 million, it has blackened Delaware’s eye, and no purpose is served by continuing it other than paying a king’s ransom to army blood-sucking lawyers and consultants.  For once, I find myself on the same side of an issue as Chancellor Bouchard, who emphatically wrote in his legal decision that he hopes, “all concerned can move on with their lives.”   Please read the article below from “Delaware Business Court Insider” by Tom McParland which explains in detail what is happening. As always your comments are welcome and appreciated.      

Del. Supreme Court Eyes April Decision in TransPerfect Appeal

  The Delaware Supreme Court said Tuesday that it plans to reach a decision in April on Elizabeth Elting’s challenge to the Delaware Court of Chancery-ordered sale of TransPerfect to her rival on the company’s board. By Tom McParland | Feb 28, 2018 The Delaware Supreme Court said Tuesday that it plans to reach a decision in April on Elizabeth Elting’s challenge to the Delaware Court of Chancery-ordered sale of TransPerfect to her rival on the company’s board. In a two-page order, Chief Judge Leo E. Strine Jr. granted Elting’s motion to expedite her appeal, after Chancellor Andre G. Bouchard earlier this month approved the $770 million sale of the profitable translation-services company to co-founder and CEO Philip R. Shawe.   Fast-tracked briefing is scheduled to begin March 7, with a final decision expected the following month. “The matter will be scheduled for decision by the court on the basis of the briefs on April 18, 2018,” Strine wrote. Elting’s appeal could finally mark the end to nearly four years of tumultuous litigation over the company that Elting and Shawe launched from a college dorm room in 1992. Elting prevailed in her bid to have the company sold amid intractable deadlock stemming from deep personal rifts between its two founders. But she was handed a bitter defeat on Feb. 15, when Bouchard approved a court-appointed custodian’s plan to sell her 50 percent stake to Shawe following a modified auction.   Elting had tried to unravel the agreement and force Robert B. Pincus, the custodian in charge of the sale, back to the negotiating table. She argued that Shawe’s conduct throughout the case had compromised Pincus’ impartiality and caused him to ignore a better offer from an outside party. Bouchard, however, said there was no merit to the claims, and he noted the irony in Elting’s opposition to the result of an auction that she had requested in the first place. “The undercurrent of her opposition reflects an apparent, deep-seated frustration with the fact that the winner of the auction was Shawe—who Elting has battled for years and who seems to engage in litigation as a way of life,” Bouchard wrote in a 70-page memorandum opinion. “But Shawe also is the person Elting chose to go into business with when she formed the company and, as much as Elting might wish it were otherwise, Shawe was a core part of TransPerfect’s operative reality when Elting asked that the company be sold.” According to the ruling, Elting is expected to receive $287 million in net proceeds after taxes in the deal. Elting filed her appeal to the Supreme Court on Feb. 21. Shawe did not oppose Elting’s request for expedited proceedings, but asked for an even shorter timeline, citing an already substantial delay between Pincus’ recommendation on Dec. 1 to Bouchard’s ruling more than two months later. Shawe said there was still work to be done before the deal’s June 30 closing date, and he emphasized that the “continued uncertainty of this nearly four-year-old litigation is taking its toll on [TransPerfect], which needs to be relieved as soon as possible.” On Tuesday, Strine accepted Elting’s proposed schedule, giving Shawe two weeks to answer her opening brief. Elting’s final round of briefing is due April 4, according to the order. An attorney for Elting did not return a call seeking comment on Wednesday, and Shawe’s spokesman did not immediately provide comment on the appeal process. The case, on appeal, is captioned Elting v. Shawe.
 Whoops, not so fast Robert Pincus, the Bouchard-crony and former law partner who Delaware’s Chancellor Andre Bouchard appointed to be Custodian of this profitable company, TransPerfect Global — in the wake of erroneously forcing its sale to the highest bidder — may not work out as planned. A Georgia Court has ordered that an employee’s lawsuit — demanding that the company and Ms. Elting issue the shares he was promised — should move forward, and that TransPerfect Global should be added as a party in the lawsuit. If the company is forced to keep its promise, and issue his corporate stock share, this would give SVP Kevin Obarski not only the share he was promised in order to work, but also the power to break any log-jams from Bouchard’s alleged “deadlock”. Could this change the direction of TransPerfect’s future, and take it out of the hands of Bouchard’s cronies, and back into the hands of an employee who built it? Who is more deserving… the SVP of Sales, or Bouchard’s biking buddy, Robert Pincus, from Sadden Arps? Being one of the most heartfelt, born and raised, patriotic, former Lewes, Delaware men on this planet, it pains me to say this, but justice simply cannot be found in our state’s Chancery Court any longer. Thank goodness these people only control Delaware’s Chancery Court and it doesn’t bleed into any other states! The incestuous noose of corporate fleecing, irregular and biased rulings, and a plethora of what I and many others perceive as suspicious and improprietous activities by Delaware’s judicial Bonnie and Clyde (Bouchard and Strine) are indeed coming home to roost in this amazing case. The company is in disarray because the employees want no part of what they view as Bouchard’s and Pincus’s rigged auction toward Lionbridge — their largest competitor. Indeed, many TransPerfect employees have reported to me that the auction is a sham — and the only meetings the Custodian’s consultant, Joel Mostrom, even attends, are for the Lionbridge executives. Lionbridge is a well-known outsourcer of Amercian jobs, and I will personally call the President, the U.S. Attorney General, and the FBI if Bouchard’s profiteering cronies eliminate 4,000 jobs from this successful American company to line their own pockets. Conflicts of all kinds abound in this absurd case within and without, both past and present. The connections between the Judges, the Plaintiff’s lawyers, and the Custodian are so far reaching it boggles the mind. The apparent and seeming collusion between law firms in their legal representation of the parties, pirating of intellectual properties, ex-parte communications, paranoid and dictatorial rulings by the custodian, violation of civil rights, top executives resigning (one wrote in his letter of resignation a clear expose of Pincus’ possible nefarious activities) are raising eyebrows throughout the state of Delaware. The billing and ordered payment by Chancellor Bouchard of $25 million dollars in undocumented and unexplained fees from TransPerfect’s coffers by Pincus is unbelievable. It is incessant corruption in my opinion with Chancellor Andre Bouchard at the center of it all. I find it very interesting that both Pincus and Elting use the exact same phrasing when addressing the recent departures — they have a “deep bench” of talent… from Pincus’ quote in the “Crain’s New York” article, and Elting’s quote from the “Slator” article. This is clear evidence of collusion, if anymore was needed. Co-CEO Liz Elting emailed to Slator that “the recent departures of these few technology employees represent a very positive, not negative, development at TransPerfect, as I have long regarded each of them as underperformers. We have a deep bench of extremely talented and dedicated employees in our technology department who are more than capable of continuing to build on our success. There will now be more opportunities for each of them. In addition, we will soon be making some very exciting leadership announcements in our technology department, which will help take TransPerfect to a billion dollars in revenue and beyond.” Meanwhile Custodian Robert Pincus is going ahead with the sale. He said, according to “Slator”, in a phone call “the business is strong due to the strong entrepreneurial culture of the employees. We are supplementing and enhancing the management of the technology group in a manner that will help facilitate continuity pending the consummation of the sale. Efforts to confuse, delay, and deter the sales process have accelerated as we get closer to a culmination of the sale process.” Well folks there are now a bunch of legitimate flies in the ointment and these avaricious actors may not get what they want. Heck, some of them might even go to jail if what I suspect could be proven? Follow the money! Please see the article below, urge your legislators to stop these obscene, monetary commissions that Bouchard’s cronies stand to gain from “auctioning” off this company to its largest competitor, disgorge their ill-gotten fees, and save TransPerfect.  Legislative investigations in both the Delaware House and Senate would be appropriate and are necessary. However, I won’t hold my breath.  

EQUITY IN TRANSPERFECT IN DOUBT AS GEORGIA COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF TRANSPERFECT EMPLOYEE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, November 6, 2017

EQUITY IN TRANSPERFECT IN DOUBT AS GEORGIA COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF TRANSPERFECT EMPLOYEE

Delaware custodian purportedly will still take bids for sale of TransPerfect even as court joins TransPerfect into the employee’s case for equity shares in the company. Employee contends his equity owed is the swing vote on alleged deadlock, and thus carries enormous value.

Dover, Delaware (November 6, 2017) – Georgia courts grant procedural ruling moving TransPerfect employee’s case for equity in the company forward. The plaintiff, Kevin Obarski, serves as Senior Vice President at TransPerfect’s Atlanta office where he negotiated and executed contracts for the company. Obarski was promised ownership in the company through equity shares for his success in building revenue. The Georgia court granted joinder, which will allow TransPerfect and Elting to be added as defendants in Obarski’s lawsuit against the company to acquire his promised shares.

The decision in favor of TransPerfect employee, Kevin Obarski, coincides with the due date for bidders to send their offers for TransPerfect to Delaware’s court-appointed custodian this week. The custodian is aware of the favorable ruling that adds doubt to the equity in TransPerfect, but there have been no signs of slowing the sale. “We continue to urge Delaware legislators to rein in the reckless actions of the court-appointed custodian. Pincus is charging forward even as state courts across the country shed doubt upon the basis of the Delaware court ruling,” said Miranda Wessinger, President of Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware. “Other states have consistently ruled in favor of TransPerfect employees and against the volatile allegations of co-CEO Liz Elting. Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware will not stop fighting for job security for more than 4,000 TransPerfect employees here in the United States.”

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 of 2016 to focus on raising awareness with Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the issue.

 Folks, beyond destroying, in my opinion, Delaware’s reputation for business, Chancellor Andre Bouchard may cost Delaware plenty of cold hard cash. Like I said back in February, Delaware’s Chancery Court’s Chancellor Andre Bouchard has put himself squarely in the crosshairs of Shirley Shawe who owns 1% of TransPerfect. While it would appear that her shares are only 1/100th of the company’s value, this does take into account that she is the swing vote! Therefore, her share isn’t worth 1/100th, but more like 20 percent of the value of the firm. Think about it this way, Elting should have had to pay Shirley Shawe to get the vote required for a sale, which experts may value as high as $50 million. But Chancellor Bouchard, by wanting to give all of Shirley’s value to Elting and his 20-year buddy, Kevin Shannon of Potter Anderson for free, has forced the sale of the whole company, per Shannon’s request. Putting aside that the “public use” requirement is not met, the State of Delaware also has a “just compensation” requirement. Delaware is responsible for transferring “market value” to the owner at the time of any “taking”, if this taking is deemed legal — so I logically believe Delaware tax payers will likely have to pay at the very least another $30 million plus to Ms. Shawe. The moment Bouchard steals her share against her will, she will undoubted file what is known as a “just compensation” case and it can be easily proven (I’m told by legal experts) that Shirley’s “swing vote” is worth 10- to 20-times what a normal share would be. I’m also told by folks close to the case that it is open and shut. If Bouchard operated in the real world of honest business people, Elting would have to pay Ms. Shawe somewhere around $50 million to $100 million for her share to get the control premium and dictate the exit strategy. In my view Chancellor Bouchard is robbing this 76-year-old retired mother of an absolute fortune! If this is proven, Delaware tax payers will then have to pay for his mistake!!! Think about it this way… if Shirley Shawe sues and wins, Delaware tax payers will owe her not her 1% stake, because that is not the value of the swing vote, Delawareans will have to pay 10% to 20% of the value of this company. And, for what? Why should Delaware tax payers have to pay for the arbitrary and capricious actions of a rogue judge? Bouchard is not only responsible for dropping us from #1 to #11 in the minds of corporate America, but mark my words, he also could cost our state millions of dollars for jilting Ms. Shawe! The press will have a field day writing about Bouchard’s age-discrimination against this female senior citizen (as well they should!). Folks, this assumes everything is on the up and up — but we all know better. In short and in my opinion, Bouchard is a horror show, and Delaware is buying tickets for everyone to watch. The problem is the tickets are extremely expensive!!! If TransPerfect co-CEO Elizabeth Elting wanted to take control of the company and sell it, she could have paid Ms.Shawe for her stake and taken control. Instead, she found a lawyer who was Chancellor Andre Bouchard’s buddy who was able to convince him to rule in her favor in an unprecedented illegitimate “taking” based on no evidence. Delaware may be on the hook to pay the price if Ms. Shawe sues and wins. I again call upon the General Assembly to pass SB-53 and restore integrity to our judiciary! See the story below which discusses Bouchard’s approved fleecing of TransPerfect’s coffers which has the appearance of nothing more than payola to his friends. It is hurting Delaware’s reputation and economic future. It must be stopped and respect and confidence restored to the Delaware judiciary. As always your comments are welcome. Respectfully Submitted, JUDSON Bennett-Coastal Network  

TransPerfect Mom Wants To Investigate Custodian’s Expenses

Source: Law360 By Matt Chiappardi Law360, Wilmington (October 2, 2017, 8:53 PM EDT) — Shirley Shawe, mother of one of the co-founders warring over control of the legal translation firm TransPerfect, launched a books and records demand to investigate the $21 million expense bill for the custodian appointed by the Delaware Chancery Court to sell the company. The lawsuit is another chapter in the ongoing saga of the business divorce between TransPerfect co-founders Philip Shawe and Elizabeth Elting. Chancellor Andre G. Bouchard ordered TransPerfect sold under court supervision in 2015 to break bitter infighting and a deadlock between the pair that the chancellor said threatened the profitable company’s financial future. Philip and Shirley Shawe have both staunchly opposed the decision, and in her records demand Shirley Shawe, a 1 percent shareholder in the company, is seeking to investigate “potential wrongdoing, mismanagement and corporate waste” connected to the custodian stemming from what she claims is “a lack of any meaningful oversight” over his invoices. Shirley Shawe claims the custodian, Robert B. Pincus of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, refuses to provide detailed invoices for his or his law firm’s time spent as custodian over the TransPerfect sale process, and has provided the court with contradictory reasons why, as well as falsely claimed that no group has raised objections or made allegations of abuse of discretion. “The custodian’s steadfast refusal to provide the requested information in spite of the extraordinary costs being incurred, and the attempts to prevent disclosure of the information, including through his counsel’s incorrect statements to the court, presents more than ‘some evidence’ to suggest a ‘credible basis’ for at least the following potential wrongdoing: mismanagement and corporate waste by the directors and officers of the company, related to, at least, a lack of any meaningful oversight of the invoices being paid vis-à-vis the services being rendered,” Shirley Shawe said in the demand. Philip Shawe told Law360 in an emailed statement Monday that Pincus would not allow any transparency into his “enormously large” itemized bills. “To my mother and I there is nothing more disheartening than seeing the court-sanctioned looting of our company,” Philip Shawe said. “The combined cost to the company and the parties, of the legal and custodian-related fees in front of Chancellor Bouchard, have now surpassed the $150 million mark. In my view, this provides the perverse motivations and incentives that driven the whole Delaware process.” Pincus and his counsel did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday. Under Delaware law, shareholders can seek to have the Chancery Court compel a company to hand over records if they can show a “proper purpose” for doing so, usually to investigate a credible suspicion of wrongdoing. Shirley Shawe’s demand is the latest in a long line of court actions in multiple forums she and her son have filed after Chancellor Bouchard’s 2015 sale order, which was affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court in a 4-1 decision. U.S. District Judge Gregory M. Sleet last week threw out a lawsuit Philip Shawe filed in Delaware federal court claiming the sale order violated due process and the takings clause in the U.S. Constitution, ruling it was an improper attempt to appeal a state court’s decision. The younger Shawe also sued Pincus in New York federal court, claiming the custodian was trying obtain authority to restrict him from the sale process. Shirley Shawe had filed a Chancery lawsuit to force a TransPerfect stockholder meeting where she said she would break the deadlock by voting her 1 percent stake with Elting’s 50 percent stake to Philip Shawe’s 49 percent. Elting had refused the overture because of what she said were strings attached that would alter the structure of TransPerfect’s board, and Chancellor Bouchard ruled any such meeting would be futile. Shirley Shawe’s bid for interlocutory appeal was denied by both Chancellor Bouchard and the Delaware Supreme Court. Elting and Philip Shawe have been locked in a very public battle over TransPerfect since at least 2014, when Elting petitioned the Chancery Court to break their deadlock. The pair founded the company in a New York University dorm room roughly 25 years ago and grew it into a global powerhouse that takes in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue annually. The two were once engaged to be married, before breaking off romantic ties in the late 1990s. They remained business partners until a spectacular falling out that resulted in a tangle of messy litigation and accusations, some deeply personal. Shirley Shawe is represented by Jeremy D. Eicher of Eicher Law LLC. Pincus is represented as custodian by Jennifer C. Voss of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP. The new case is Shawe v. TransPerfect Global Inc., case number 2017-0679, in the Delaware Court of Chancery. The other Chancery cases are In re: TransPerfect Global Inc., case numbers 9661, 9686 and 9700, and Shirley Shawe v. TransPerfect Global Inc., case number 2017-0306. The Delaware federal case is Shawe et al. v. Pincus et al., case number 1:17-cv-00277, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The New York federal case is Shawe v. Pincus, case number 1:17-cv-06673, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. –Additional reporting by Ryan Boysen, Jeff Montgomery and Chelsea Naso. Editing by Marygrace Murphy.
Please note new e-mail address, [email protected] Please note new Twitter account, https://twitter.com/Judson_Bennett

Question: What do all of these have in common?

    Answer:  Law firm- Skadden Arps.    As Bouchard’s handling of the TransPerfect case melts the main driver of Delaware’s economy (incorporating businesses), it also appears the ice may be melting beneath the feet of legal giant, Skadden Arps.   As I have been calling for an investigation into Bouchard, Bob Pincus and Skadden’s outrageous billing of TransPerfect, The New York Times reported this past Thursday that Skadden Arps is under investigation for potentially corrupt payments from the Ukraine.  I hope the investigation spreads to the Wilmington office of Skadden—God knows what they might uncover?  I always wondered where Bouchard learned his tradecraft? Bouchard’s alma mater and Pincus’ current employer were just featured in the New York Times.  Apparently, some of Skadden’s fees were shady enough to catch the eye of the Justice Department.  And, in my opinion, nothing could be shadier than the Custodian’s TransPerfect bills, which are now rumored at the company to exceed $500,000 per month?!   Here is an actual picture from a Spanish Newspaper of Bob Pincus drowning in money !  
Robert Pincus

Robert Pincus, lawyer partner of the firm Skadden and judicial administrator of Transperfect / FOTOMONTAJE CG

    Robert Pincus,   Below is the story as it ran in The New York Times.  I’m sure it’s all just an innocent coincidence—or is it?   Your comments are welcome as always, JUDSON Bennett-Coastal Network
Skadden, Big New York Law Firm, Faces Questions on Work With Manafort By KENNETH P. VOGEL and ANDREW E. KRAMER SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 The New York Times  WASHINGTON – Five years ago, Paul Manafort arranged for a prominent New York-based law firm to draft a report that was used by allies of his client, Viktor Yanukovych, the Russia-aligned president of Ukraine, to justify the jailing of a political rival. And now the report is coming back to haunt it. The Justice Department, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation, recently asked the firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, for information and documents related to its work on behalf of Mr. Yanukovych’s government, which crumbled after he fled to Russia under pressure. The request comes at a time when Mr. Manafort, his work for Mr. Yanukovych’s party and for Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs as well as the handling of payments for that work have become focal points in the investigation of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, and connections between Russia, Mr. Trump and his associates. It’s unclear if the Justice Department’s request to Skadden, as the firm is known, is part of Mr. Mueller’s inquiry. But the interest from prosecutors in what Skadden did for the Ukrainian government is one indication of the wide-ranging nature of the inquiries related to Mr. Manafort. It also highlights the risks associated with advising authoritarian governments overseas, a lucrative sideline among Washington lawyers, lobbyists and public relations consultants. Mr. Manafort played a central role in the effort to shield Mr. Yanukovych from international condemnation, according to consultants involved in the effort. He devised the strategy and recruited lobbyists, lawyers and public relations consultants from across the political spectrum, but left the day-to-day implementation of the campaign to others. Skadden’s report was one element of that strategy. Its conclusions provided a counterpoint to international critics who said that Mr. Yanukovych’s government had prosecuted and convicted the former Ukrainian prime minister, Yulia V. Tymoshenko, on corruption charges in 2011 for political reasons and without sufficient evidence. That kind of international consulting by American firms traditionally has not drawn much scrutiny from regulators or the media, but that has changed in the last year, thanks largely to Mr. Manafort’s role as Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman in 2016 after years collecting multi-million-dollar paydays  from Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs and political parties. As part of Mr. Mueller’s investigation, prosecutors last month issued grand jury subpoenas seeking testimony from officials from at least two lobbying and public relations firms that worked on the team Mr. Manafort assembled to plead Mr. Yanukovych’s case in Washington – Mercury Public Affairs and the Podesta Group, according to two people with direct knowledge of the subpoenas. The firms were paid more than $1.1 million each to try to rally support among American policy makers and opinion leaders for Mr. Yanukovych, and the firms’ lobbyists cited the findings in Skadden’s report to quell mounting concerns about his leadership. The subpoenas for Mercury and Podesta – which followed an earlier round of subpoenas to the firms for documents and information related to their Ukraine work – focused on “Manafort’s money – where it came from, how he got it, what he did with it,” according to a person familiar with the inquiries. Officials at Mercury and the Podesta Group did not respond to requests for comment. Through a spokesman, Mr. Manafort declined to comment. Federal agents raided his Virginia home in July, confiscating documents and copying some of his computer files. Shortly afterward, prosecutors working for Mr. Mueller told Mr. Manafort they planned to indict him. The Justice Department’s request for information about Skadden’s Ukrainian work came after Ukrainian prosecutors asked their American counterparts for assistance in pursuing an inquiry into alleged illegal spending by Mr. Yanukovych’s government. That inquiry included payments to Skadden, though the Ukrainians have not accused the firm of any crime. The Ukrainians nonetheless requested that the Justice Department question Mr. Manafort and Skadden’s lead lawyer on the case, Gregory B. Craig, who had served as President Barack Obama’s White House counsel. Mr. Manafort’s team hoped that the involvement of Mr. Craig, who maintained deep connections to Washington’s Democratic establishment, might win Mr. Yanukovych a more favorable reception with the Obama State department, according to the consultants who worked on the issue. Yet they said that even employees of Mercury and Podesta regarded the report as a “whitewash” that did little to address valid concerns about Mr. Yanukovych’s government. The report was concluded in September 2012 – just before one of Mr. Manafort’s daughters started work as an associate at Skadden – and released in December 2012. The day after its release, Victoria Nuland, a State Department official at the time, called it “incomplete,” at a department press briefing, saying that it “doesn’t give an accurate picture.” She said the State Department was concerned that “Skadden Arps lawyers were obviously not going to find political motivation if they weren’t looking for it.” In a recent interview, John E. Herbst, a former United States ambassador to Ukraine, went further. He said that Skadden “should have been ashamed” of the report, calling it “a nasty piece of work.” Mr. Craig declined to comment. Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or F.A.R.A., anyone engaged in lobbying or public relations for foreign governments must register with the Justice Department. But in a statement this month, Skadden contended that “none of our attorneys engaged in any activity that required them or the firm to register under F.A.R.A.” The firm also asserted that its report “did not opine about whether the prosecution was politically motivated or driven by an improper political objective” – an assertion that narrowly avoids directly contradicting the report’s conclusion that “Tymoshenko has not provided clear and specific evidence of political motivation that would be sufficient to overturn her conviction under American standards.” Rather, the firm’s statement said that Ms. Tymoshenko “was denied basic rights under Western legal standards,” was “improperly incarcerated during the trial” and that “in the West, she would receive a new trial.” In June, Skadden refunded $567,000 to the Ukrainian government – about half of the total it was said to have been paid by Mr. Yanukovych’s government. The firm suggested in a statement that it returned the cash because the money had been placed “in escrow for future work” that never took place. Less than a year and a half after the release of the Skadden report, Mr. Yanukovych fled the country amid street protests over his government’s corruption and its pivot toward Moscow. Under the government that succeeded Mr. Yanukovych, the country’s general prosecutors office – Ukraine’s version of the Justice Department – opened criminal corruption investigations into Mr. Yanukovych and members of his government, including his justice minister, Oleksandr Lavrynovych. Court documents in the case against Mr. Lavrynovych alleged that Mr. Manafort “designed a strategy” to enlist Skadden to “confirm the legality of the criminal prosecution of Yulia Tymoshenko and … reject any political motives of such prosecution.” Mr. Lavrynovych’s lawyer, Yevgeny V. Solodko, rejected the charges against his client, characterizing the case as a politically motivated crackdown on officials from the former government. The general prosecutor’s office, under a mutual legal aid agreement with the United States, began asking the Justice Department and the F.B.I. for assistance with the investigation into Mr. Lavrynovych starting in late 2014. But neither the Justice Department nor the F.B.I. had responded to the requests as recently as March, when the F.B.I. director at the time, James B. Comey, was asked during a congressional hearing why the Ukrainian requests for assistance had gone unheeded. More recently, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Yuriy Lutsenko, acknowledged in written responses to The New York Times that his office had begun working with the Justice Department to investigate the payments from the Ukrainian Justice Ministry to Skadden. Asked whether Ukrainian prosecutors are assisting in Mr. Mueller’s investigation, Mr. Lutsenko’s office was coy. In a statement, it said that it had not publicly disclosed any such cooperation, but it also noted that not all international judicial cooperation can be disclosed. Representatives for Mr. Mueller’s team and the Justice Department declined to comment. Kenneth P. Vogel reported from Washington and Andrew E. Kramer from Moscow. Charlie Savage contributed reporting, and Kitty Bennett contributed research. Kenneth P. Vogel reported from Washington and Andrew E. Kramer from Moscow.  
Please note new e-mail address [email protected]
Delaware judiciary rating plunge self-inflicted, says Alan Dershowitz

Delaware judiciary rating plunge self-inflicted, says Alan Dershowitz

St. Francis-Gate

As you’ve been reading, I’ve been writing about what I see as obvious cronyism between Chancellor Bouchard and attorney Kevin Shannon of Potter Anderson here in the TransPerfect case in Delaware. The biased nature of Bouchard’s decisions through out the case are real and unquestionable. It’s not easy to dig up new information and I don’t exactly have the tools at my disposal that an investigative journalist a major media outlet has, but I have just learned about the most insidious tie I’ve learned of to date between Chancellor Bouchard and Shannon (the lead attorney for co-CEO Liz Elting of TransPerfect) that, of course, was never disclosed before trial. I call it “St. Francis-Gate.” Records have already shown Chancellor Bouchard, while in private practice, not only worked with Kevin Shannon on several matters over the years beyond the infamous Disney case. But perhaps most shockingly to me, Bouchard, when he was a senior officer on the Board of Directors at St. Francis Hospital, hand-picked Kevin Shannon for the prestigious Board seat vacancy that he left, when Bouchard had to give up his seat to become a judge. Let me tell you , this is breaking news, and it stinks. It is no coincidence that Kevin Shannon, who has been bestowed windfall after windfall by Bouchard from the Chancellor’s chair, was moved up to take Bouchard’s prestigious St. Francis board seat vacancy. The law is clear: Delaware’s Judicial Code of conduct requires that a judge is to disclose any potential conflicts of interest to the litigating parties including what could amount to the appearance of impropriety so that any of the parties can exercise their right to move for the judge’s recusal. This statute was designed to protect not only the litigants but the integrity of the judicial system in Delaware. Want more proof? Relationship Science is an independent site that tracks people with common business and social interests. Part of their slogan is: “We bring science to the art of business relationships.” Check out the science of Kevin Shannon.

Relationship Science

Relationship Science only connects Shannon to just 34 other people and, among his closest 34 personal connections, you guessed it, Chancellor Andre Bouchard: Let me take a small victory lap for uncovering St. Francis-Gate and the Bouchard-Shannon Board Seat, seemingly payola connection. I have been building reliable information sources in Delaware for over 50 years, and I want to thank them for providing me with vital leads to run down. I knew there was something wrong here, and the more I dig, the more it becomes painfully obvious that Bouchard’s agenda does not appear to be justice. Clearly Bouchard and Shannon have a long history of close connections together and in my learned and informed opinion, if we were in any other State but Delaware, this Chancellor never would have stayed on this case. The blatant disregard for ethics and corruption in Chancery is beyond belief, as I see it! Although now living in Palm Beach, I will always be a concerned Delaware citizen at heart. I am indeed concerned about the reputation of the Delaware Court System. This Chancellor, also as I see it, unethically did not disclose his friendship or former business connections with Shannon. He even made a public appearance with, and co-paneled together with Shannon, on a New Orleans legal boondoggle, during the decision stages of the litigation in the TransPerfect case last Spring.

Justice Leo Strine

So Leo Strine picks Bouchard to fill his Chancellor vacancy, in turn Bouchard picks Shannon to fill his St. Francis Board seat vacancy. According to various sources, Bouchard was socializing with both Shannon and Judge Leo Strine (who affirmed Bouchard and ran out Shawe’s attorney team clock at oral argument) at the Tulane legal boondoggle last year. By the way, I hear Kevin Shannon is not appearing on the Tulane panel for the first time in recent history, so this too could be tacit admission of his misdeeds last year? Bouchard never disclosed his relationship, hoping an investigative writer like me would not find it. Well I’ve been sniffing and I’m smelling smoke here. Then, predictably he proceeded to rule against Philip Shawe, although zero witnesses testified against him, in the most draconian rulings ever made in U.S. history. According to my sources, Bouchard did not allow email evidence on the company’s public server of a plot to manufacture deadlock by Elting and her attorneys, to be presented in Court. As seen below the Code of Judicial conduct is clear.

DELAWARE JUDGES’ CODE OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT 2008 CANON

1. A judge should uphold the integrity, independence and impartiality of the judiciary. RULE 1.1 Compliance with the Law. A judge should respect and comply with the law, including this Code of Judicial Conduct. Comment: Deference to the judgments and rulings of courts depends upon public confidence in the integrity and independence of judges. The integrity and independence of judges depends in turn upon their acting without fear or favor. Although judges should be independent, they should comply with the law, as well as the provisions of this Code. Public confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary is maintained by the adherence of each judge to this responsibility. Conversely, violation of this Code diminishes public confidence in the judiciary and thereby does injury to the system of government under Rule l RULE 1.2 Promoting Confidence in the Judiciary. (A) A judge should act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary and should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities. Comment: Public confidence in the judiciary is eroded by irresponsible or improper conduct by judges. A judge must avoid all impropriety and appearance of impropriety. A judge must expect to be the subject of constant public scrutiny. A judge must therefore accept restrictions that might be viewed as burdensome by the ordinary citizen, and should do so freely and willingly. The prohibition against behaving with impropriety or the appearance of impropriety applies to both the professional and personal conduct of a judge. Because it is not practicable to list all improper acts, the proscription is necessarily cast in general terms that extend to conduct by judges that is harmful, although not specifically mentioned in the Code. Actual improprieties under this standard include violations of law, court rules or other specific provisions of this Code. The test for appearance of impropriety is whether the conduct would create in reasonable minds, with knowledge of all the relevant circumstances, that a reasonable inquiry would disclose, a perception that the judge’s ability to carry out judicial responsibilities with integrity, impartiality and competence is impaired. In conducting such activities, the judge should act in a manner consistent with this Code. (B) An independent and honorable judiciary is indispensable to justice in our society. A judge should participate in establishing, maintaining and enforcing high standards of conduct, and should personally observe those standards, so that the integrity, independence and impartiality of the judiciary may be preserved.”
It’s time for the legislature to appoint a special commission to investigate this whole situation. It is clear to me that this case was poisoned for the Shawes before they even walked in the courtroom. This explains why Kramer Levin, Elitng’s primary counsel in New York chose as their Delaware counsel, Kevin Shannon since they had all served as co-counsel in the Disney case, one of the biggest cases in the history of Delaware and of course Bouchard was co-counsel as well. Delaware’s reputation was called into question this week by an article that came out on March 20 in The Wall Street Journal. The article, “Dole and Other Companies Sour on Delaware as Corporate Haven,” notes that Delaware’s business-friendly reputation is no longer justified. The last thing Delaware needs now is the Chief Chancellor being allowed to engage in unchecked judicial action which in my opinion can easily be construed as corruption. The judicial branch is the least democratic of all of our government, and a recent poll showed 70% of Delawareans disagree that the Court should have the power to force the sale of a profitable company. I again call upon the legislature to act. Stay tuned. Best regards, JUDSON Bennett Please note new e-mail address, [email protected]
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 Network