WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Last Friday, Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware (CPBD) hosted a farewell party to commemorate the retirement of Chancellor Andre Bouchard 5 years before the end of his appointed term on the Chancery Court.
The party came as Bouchard, in his last act as Chancellor, ruled to dismiss over $625,000 in unreasonable legal fees charged by court-appointed Custodian Robert Pincus and Skadden Arps over the course of the TransPerfect sale process. The fee reduction followed TransPerfect objections to unreasonable and excessive billing practices that cost the company millions of dollars.
Said Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware Campaign Manager Chris Coffey, “While we’re disappointed it took him this long to admit it, we’re glad that Chancellor Bouchard finally took a stand against excessive billing from Bob Pincus, the court-appointed Custodian of the TransPerfect sale, and his team at Skadden Arps. While the pain felt by TransPerfect’s employees will not fade quickly, this fee reduction is a step in the right direction in healing the trauma inflicted on the company and its hard-working employees by the Chancery Court and Skadden Arps.”
Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware marked Bouchard’s final day in office with a virtual party to commemorate the work done by CPBD to save TransPerfect, advocate for reforms to increase transparency and accountability in the Chancery Court, and fight to diversify the court’s ranks. CPBD Campaign Manager Chris Coffey was joined by legendary civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton and Pastor Blaine Hackett of St. John’s African Methodist Church.
Said Reverend Al Sharpton, “The Delaware courts are like the Rocky Mountains – the higher up you go, the whiter it gets. We need to rebuild our legal system from the ground up to reflect our true diversity, and we should start right here in President Biden’s home state of Delaware.”
The Chancery Court does not have a single justice of color, despite the state being made up of more than 35% people of color. Worse, people of color make up only 15% of Delaware’s top judges despite making up 60% of the state’s prison population.
Continued Chris Coffey, “While we’re excited for the opportunities to transform the Chancery Court made possible by Chancellor Bouchard’s retirement, we know our fight is far from over. Whether it’s allowing cameras in the courts, reforming the judicial nomination process to be more transparent, or creating a diverse legal pipeline to make Delaware’s courts representative of the people they serve, our work to restore trust in Delaware’s judiciary is just beginning.”
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 unprecedented forced sale of TransPerfect. 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.
