Philip Shawe, co-CEO of TransPerfect, a language and technology company, is offering grants totaling $100,000 to second and third-year law students who prepare the best argument for reversing the recently affirmed decision by the Court of Chancery that forces the sale of the company.
A group of retired judges and legal experts will decide the winners. Shawe, meanwhile, plans to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to reverse the Delaware decision.
The TransPerfect case was decided last year by the Court of Chancery and affirmed in January 2017 by the Delaware Supreme Court. The decision asserts that the company must be auctioned off if the owners, formerly husband and wife, cannot come to an agreement on their own. Shawe wishes to continue to lead the company, but Liz Elting, his former spouse, has not responded to his offers to buy her out.
Contestant must address the constitutional implications of the case, in particular looking at the takings and due process clauses.
Scholarships will be given to the authors of the top three briefs. First place will be awarded $65,000, second place $25,000, and third place $10,000.
