I was eagerly watching the college football national championship game this week. I’m a big fan and have traveled far-and-wide to see Delaware’s team play over the years. While watching the game, I thought about next season and couldn’t help but feel happy for the folks over at TransPerfect. The company — almost disbanded by Andre Bouchard’s Chancery Court — will take a victory lap of sorts.
Next year, TransPerfect will begin sponsoring a Top 10 College Football Bowl Game, “The Music City Bowl”in Nashville, Tennesse. The game will see a Southeastern Conference (SEC) team take on a Big 10 Conference team, in what should be a strong matchup. If you’re going to put your company’s hard-earned money on the line, this is the way to spend it, rather than spending millions on Skadden Arps’ billings, which continue to this day, to the tune of nearly six figures, on average, each month.
In my opinion, it’s shameful how Skadden Arps is raiding the corporate coffers over at TransPerfect. The company has to pay the bills without seeing them. No itemization. Nothing. Everything’s hidden like it’s Russia. How these bills continue to this day, nearly two years after the case has been closed, is beyond me! That must be maddening for CEO Phil Shawe, CFO Steve Tondera and the other executives at TransPerfect.
Last year in Wilmington, I was able to meet some of the executives and employees of this privately-held, fast-growing company. The group’s energy and enthusiasm was that of a company far younger than its almost three decades in business. After everything they’ve been through at TransPerfect, with, as I see it, Bouchard and Skadden Arps, raking them over the coals, this festive bowl sponsorship and the accolades that go along with it couldn’t be happening to a more well-deserving group of people.
As I look to the coming year, it’s heartening to see good things coming for TransPerfect, despite being treated so poorly by Bouchard, Skadden, and, in my view, some of our weak-in-the-knees Delaware legislators, who should be putting politics aside and making the needed law changes. Even well-known Reverend Al Sharpton has noticed something rotten at Skadden, writing a letter last week criticizing them for lack of diversity, especially in their Wilmington office!
As always your comments are welcome and appreciated.
TransPerfect lobbying group commits to tracking Court of Chancery
This is not one of my headlines. This is an actual headline in the Delaware Business Times this week!
It has to be embarrassing for our state government that a group of concerned employees are hiring a lobbying group to fight what the group views as continued “court-sanctioned looting” of their TransPerfect Global company. Bouchard’s brazen money grabbing, possibly corrupt operation has not stopped, as he continues to let his personal friends bill TransPerfect, even AFTER the case is over?! Sources in the accounting department at the company have confirmed to me that another $1 million has been bilked, under seal, with no accountability, and no record that any real work is being done. Court-appointed Custodian Robert Pincus retired 1-year ago!!! Why is Bouchard continuing to let this company get fleeced and robbed?!?
It’s one outrageous act stemming from our Chancery Court after another, and I didn’t think it was possible to make this stink more — but our Chancellor, in conjunction with his former law partners at Skadden Arps, have found a way. The antics, looting and lies from Chancery have now prompted a group of TransPerfect Global employees to rise up in order to battle what they believe is real Delaware corruption. It’s embarrassing for me to write that about our wonderful state where I was born and lived most of my life.
May I ask the obvious question, folks? Why is the legislature not policing this zero-experience, crony-loving, high-handed and suspicious member of our Judiciary? My understanding from reliable sources is that Bouchard made his money outrageously billing public companies involved in mergers and controversial cases where the lawyers make all the money and shareholders get virtually nothing. Why do we continue to trust this man, who I believe has shown himself many times to be a greedy, petty, pathetic, biased,and capricious liar? Why do we, as America’s First State, keep Bouchard in this powerful role?
Can the good old boy network of small-town politics really be so dominant that all in power in Delaware turn a blind-eye to years of what I believe, as do many others, absolute fraud by the court? To be clear, my overly-informed opinion is that Bouchard’s misconduct is far-reaching, and he has shown, time and again, that he is willing to (mis-)use the Chancery Court as a tool to enrich his personal friends and former Skadden law partners.
In my opinion, the evidence that Bouchard is completely out of bounds is irrefutable. If we all allow our government to stand by and do nothing in the face of obvious, suspicious activities in the Chancery Court — then we are partially to blame for Delaware’s demise. So many of my readers have contacted me who are outraged, that I encourage all of you to join the fight against the good old boys. How? It’s easy. Simply write and call your local state representatives and demand the court case and billing records get unsealed, in accordance with the law which Bouchard is supposed to be upholding — and not profiting from.
For your information, I have discovered that Bouchard’s improprietous group will be Boondoggling this weekend on your Tax Dollars in New Orleans — where I believe Bouchard and Kevin Shannon (of Potter Anderson) first hatched the plan for the TransPerfect heist — while inappropriately making public appearances together during the trial. The truth is so unbelievable here, you could not write it as fiction. I believe Bouchard’s created a $250 million billing-bonanza for his friends.
I don’t have the money Bouchard and his friends have made off of the TransPerfect case, but I do have my computer — and I will be fighting injustice and corruption as long as I do. I call upon Bouchard and Skadden Arps to stop billing TransPerfect, stop taking money otherwise better used for their loyal employees, and I once again demand the Chancery open its records to the public. Delaware’s image and reputation depend on it! Please read the article below!
By Alex Vuocolo March 5, 2019
Delaware Business Times
Citizens for a Pro Business Delaware (CPBD), the lobbying group that successfully fought to stop the break up of TransPerfect by the Court of Chancery, delivered the keynote address at the translation services company’s annual sales conference.
CPBD Campaign Manager Chris Coffey spoke to upwards of 300 employees about what he calls the “existential threat” posed by the Court of Chancery.
“Existential threats are threats beyond typical business competition that put successful businesses at risk, such as through government actions or hostile takeover attempts,” Coffey said. “Our organization stopped both types of efforts.”
In the address, Coffey outlined the history of the legal battle, which began in 2016 when the Chancery decided to break up the company following an irreconcilable dispute between its founders. A group of senior managers later approached Coffey, a New York-based consultant, about taking up their cause.
“We may have won the biggest battle over TransPerfect in Delaware, but if history has taught us anything – it’s that the same court agents and lawyers who made millions of dollars coming after TransPerfect are not going to stop now,” Coffey said. “That is why our members have asked us to keep organizing and fighting and that’s what we intend to do.”
“From meeting with elected officials to educating the public through a new campaign, we will ensure the Delaware government cannot be used to improperly occupy successful companies against the wishes of a majority of shareholders,” he added.
