WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Following a Delaware Court of Chancery ruling to dismiss with prejudice a lawsuit that sought to vacate a 2014 ruling allegedly tainted by Chancellor Bouchard's work on the case before taking the bench while also representing the court in a separate lawsuit, Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware announced it would be launching a series of full-page print ads to run in the Delaware News Journal. The ads highlight the conflicts of interest and failures of transparency that plague the Chancery Court and elite Delaware law firms like Skadden Arps.
Said Chris Coffey, Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware's Campaign Manager, “It’s simply egregious that the Court has once again ruled in favor of Chancellor Bouchard’s former client, Roche Diagnostics, despite the obvious conflict of interest posed by his simultaneous representation of both Roche and Chancery Court Vice Chancellor Parsons before taking the bench himself. In any functional court system with checks and balances, Chancellor Bouchard and Vice Chancellor Parsons would have recused themselves from the Roche case. But of course, in Delaware’s court system, where nothing works like it should, that’s not the case.
Over and over again we have seen Chancellor Bouchard’s Chancery Court balk at even the slightest improvements to the judiciary’s ethics standards to restore trust in the state’s courts. This latest ruling makes crystal clear that the Chancery Court cannot be trusted to police itself when it comes to clear self-dealing and conflicts of interest.
“As long as the powerful elites in Delaware’s legal industry continue to enrich themselves at the expense of everyday Delawareans, we will continue highlighting their self-interest and corrupt dealings. Last week, we exposed the gross web of connections that tie the Chancery Court and Skadden Arps together and this week, we’re showing how the Court has failed to police its own judges. We won’t stop until meaningful reforms are made that shine a light on this gross corruption.”
The print ad will run in the Delaware News Journal on Friday, May 29th.
Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 5,000 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.