WILMINGTON — In a rare move, the Delaware State Bar Association (DSBA) has publicly announced its support of the Delaware Court of Chancery against “unfair attacks” on one of its chancellors.
The DSBA, which represents scores of attorneys that practice law in the First State issued a statement that condemns the unjust attacks with “increasingly polarized rhetoric that goes far beyond any scholarly critique” of rulings and written opinions.
“It is extraordinary that in this State (and Nation) of democratic laws that these words must be said, but it is perhaps a symptom of the constant antagonism and conflict that now permeate all facets of modern American life,” the statement reads. “In Delaware we have always sought to find common ground to promote and maintain policies for the greater good. The Delaware Bar seeks to uphold the time-honored tradition of civility and cooperation among our ranks, and in our courts, for litigants and lawyers alike.”
While it does not specify what spurred the statement, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has spent days using X, formerly known as Twitter, blasting Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick to his 206 million followers after she upheld her previous ruling from earlier this year rejecting his record-breaking $56 million compensation package. The DSBA Executive Director Karl Randall referred the Delaware Business Times back to the statement upon request for comment.
McCormick wrote the second ruling on Dec. 2. At least one shareholder sued Musk, claiming that he had outsized influence with the Tesla Board of Directors when shaping the plan.
Eight days after Musk took to social media to condemn McCormick, more than one hundred corporate lawyers and scholars sent a letter to the DSBA’s Committee Response to Public Comment, urging for quick action. The letter drew parallels to the attacks McCormick and former Chancellor Andre Bouchard faced during the resolution of the bitter dispute of two partners of TransPerfect, a translation service company.
“That scenario is now playing out again with substantially higher stakes: the disappointed litigant is Mr. Musk, the world’s richest man and the owner of one of the world’s most prominent social media websites,” the letter reads.
The accusations that Musk had made on social media, including insinuating that McCormick is an activist posing as a judge, “are dangerous, defamatory and 100% false,” the letter continues.
As a chancellor, McCormick is prevented by the state Code of Judicial Conduct from speaking out. But Charles Elson, who founded the University of Delaware’s Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, said the hope was that the DSBA would stand up for her.
“[Their response] is what anyone could have hoped for. It’s appropriate, they’re right and that’s what the bar should be doing when someone issues attacks against the judiciary because they’re disappointed with the results. It’s highly inappropriate and very damaging to our system,” Elson told DBT.
Elson was one of the several scholars and lawyers who signed the letter urging the DSBA to act. As one of the premiere experts on corporate governance matters, he said it was not common for the state bar to issue such statements, but the nature of the attacks warranted a strong support.
“I can’t think of a better response for those who wrote the letter,” he added. “This isn’t political, and [Musk] is suggesting that it was politically-motivated. We’re a nation of law, and no one is above the laws. We must have a neutral system of justice.”
