Delaware

Judge Sets Mandatory Civility Course for Lawyers on Holiday Weekend Sunday, Says to Bring ‘Jammies’

It didn’t take long for another jurist to top a mandatory “kindergarten party” invitation made by a federal judge in Texas to apparently squabbling attorneys. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks scheduled the kindergarten party (since canceled) in his Austin courtroom on Sept. 1, a Thursday. But Del. Superior Court Judge…

Sep 2, 2011 7:57 PM CDT

Heirs of Frank Sinatra Step Up to Plate, Seek Role for Season Ticket Holders in Dodgers Bankruptcy

A judge overseeing the Delaware bankruptcy case of the Los Angeles Dodgers now has a new issue to resolve, reports Reuters: Should season ticket holders, to whom the heirs of Frank Sinatra, a famous fan of the baseball team, have added their voice, be allowed to speak for themselves in…

Aug 16, 2011 11:33 PM CDT

Thorp Reed Opens New Office, Its 5th, in Wilmington, Del., With Bankruptcy Focus

A venerable Pennsylvania-based business law firm has opened a new office in Wilmington, Del. It is expected to have a bankruptcy focus, a law firm press release announces. It will be the fifth office for the 100-attorney Thorp Reed & Armstrong, which was established in Pittsburgh in 1895. Thorp Reed…

Aug 15, 2011 6:53 PM CDT

Police Find $838K in Storage Locker of Disbarred Lawyer Who Sued over Past Cash Stash

Delaware police say they found $838,000 and two guns in a disbarred lawyer’s storage locker and $12,000 in his Chevy Tahoe on Saturday. The former lawyer, 66-year-old John Kennedy, was arrested at a Motel 6 after Wilmington police learned he was wanted in Texas on a charge of practicing law…

Aug 15, 2011 12:11 PM CDT

Embattled Widener Law Prof Suspended for 1 Year Without Pay, Ordered to Get Psychiatric Treatment

Twice exonerated by faculty panels of making racist and sexist statements, a Widener University law professor was, however, found by the second panel to have retaliated against the students who made the accusations against him. Now Lawrence Connell, who taught at the school for 26 years, has been suspended for…

Aug 9, 2011 2:46 PM CDT

‘Adult Supervision’ Lacking in UK Paper’s Phone-Hacking, Del. Suit Says, Blaming Board

As a popular United Kingdom tabloid newspaper ceases publication after allegations of widespread hacking into thousands of individuals’ telephone messages—including the account of a missing British 13-year-old who was later found murdered—what one newspaper describes as “toxic fallout” is raining down. Shareholders on Friday amended a prior complaint (PDF) in…

Jul 11, 2011 6:35 PM CDT

Suit: Lord’s Prayer at Start of Council Meetings Treats Non-Christians Like ‘Second-Class Citizens’

Delaware residents looking to enforce the divide between church and state have sued their local county council, aiming to end its practice of beginning each public meeting with the Lord’s Prayer. The plaintiffs, who include a retired Lutheran pastor, maintain that by reciting an explicitly Christian and Protestant version of…

Jul 5, 2011 3:14 PM CDT

Wyoming Home Is a ‘Little Cayman Island’ for Shell Companies

A 1,700 square-foot home in Cheyenne, Wyo., has an outsize impact. The home is the headquarters for Wyoming Corporate Services, an enterprising business that helps set up shell companies that can be used to hide assets, Reuters reports. The house “serves as a little Cayman Island on the Great Plains,”…

Jun 28, 2011 4:09 PM CDT

Del. Gov Nominates Leo Strine as New Chief Judge for State Chancery Court

The governor of Delaware has nominated a sitting Court of Chancery judge to replace retiring Chancellor William B. Chandler III as the top judge on what many consider the top business court in the country. Leo Strine Jr. was tapped for the judicial leadership job by Gov. Jack Markell, but…

Jun 8, 2011 6:53 PM CDT

Delaware Chief Judge to Join Wilson Sonsini

Wilson Sonsini Goodich & Rosati has hired William B. Chandler III, who is retiring as chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery, the New York Times’ DealBook blog reports. After more than two decades on the country’s most important corporate law court, Chandler’s high-profile opinions include decisions on Walt Disney’s…

May 19, 2011 4:45 PM CDT

William Chandler, Chief Judge of Delaware Chancery Court, to Retire After 25 Years on Bench

The chief judge of what may be the nation’s most renowned business court has announced his retirement after 25 years on the Delaware Chancery Court bench. Chief Judge William B. Chandler III, who is now 60, says it is time to move on and pursue other opportunities in corporate law…

Apr 25, 2011 9:59 PM CDT

Scathing Complaint Blames Baker & McKenzie, Ex-Partner for Collapse of Corporate Client

Baker & McKenzie and a former partner have been sued in what the Am Law Daily describes as a scathing complaint (PDF) over their alleged roles in a corporate stock scheme that played a role in the collapse of Industrial Enterprises of America. The Pittsburgh-based IEAM is now in bankruptcy…

Apr 12, 2011 12:38 PM CDT

Widener Law Prof Whose Hypothetical Involved Dean’s Murder Now Sues Her in Real-Life Defamation Case

A tenured associate law professor at Widener University School of Law has sued the dean over statements she made during an earlier battle over a controversial classroom hypothetical. Lawrence Connell contends that dean Linda Ammons falsely characterized him as racist and sexist in administrative proceedings when she sought to oust…

Apr 8, 2011 5:25 PM CDT

DLA Piper Opens Wilmington, Del., Office With 10-Lawyer Team from Edwards Angell

It isn’t easy for out-of-state lawyers to get admitted to practice, even temporarily, in Delaware. So, tired of hiring local counsel on a regular basis, megafirm DLA Piper is opening a Wilmington office with a 10-lawyer team from Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, reports the Am Law Daily, relying on…

Mar 17, 2011 12:11 AM CDT

Panel Says Law Prof Shouldn’t Be Fired Over Hypothetical Involving Dean’s Murder

A panel of faculty has recommended that Widener University School of Law not dismiss an associate professor who allegedly used a hypothetical in a criminal class that involved the dean’s murder. They said, however, that an effort to dismiss Lawrence Connell, 58, should be concluded without prejudice, leaving open the…

Mar 11, 2011 12:26 AM CST