Reed Smith lawyers must hold 'Please See Me' signs at courthouse after failing to provide hearing notice
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A Delaware judge has ordered Reed Smith to station two lawyers at the courthouse Tuesday with “Please See Me” signs, after the law firm failed to provide notice of a hearing, causing it to be rescheduled.
Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster said the lawyers should be available to answer questions for shareholders of the ODP Corp., formerly Office Depot Inc., who show up at the courthouse expecting to attend the now-rescheduled settlement hearing, Law360 reports.
Reed Smith represents the ODP Corp., the corporate parent of Office Depot and OfficeMax, in a shareholder lawsuit.
Laster said one lawyer should stand in the courthouse lobby and another by elevators on the 12th floor, where chancery courtrooms are located. The lobby sign should be printed in a large, readable font with the message: “Settlement Hearing for ODP Corporation: Please See Me.” The other sign should contain a similar message.
“Each lawyer will ask any individual they see if the individual intended to attend the settlement hearing,” Laster said in a Saturday letter to counsel cited by Law360. “If the answer is yes, then the lawyer will explain that the hearing has been postponed and provide the new hearing information.”
Reed Smith will also have to pay the travel costs for shareholders who arranged to attend the hearing, which had been listed on the court docket.
A Reed Smith lawyer had informed Laster on Saturday that it didn’t provide the notice required by the settlement agreement “due to an internal miscommunication.”
