The Delaware Chancery Court case that was like ‘TMZ on steroids’

In 2014, the New York translation services company TransPerfect became the center of a national business scandal when its two founders and co-CEOs, Liz Etting and Phil Shawe, turned to the legal system to negotiate issues with its ownership. The case became as much about personal issues as business issues — the two CEOs were a once-engaged couple, and it soon broke down, with accusations of abuse and fraud, among other things.

The suit eventually landed, as many corporate disputes do, in the Delaware Chancery Court, where Chancellor Andre Bouchard ruled that a third party would sell off shares of the company in a public auction.

The ruling sent shockwaves throughout the New York business community, with some even suggesting that it would cause irreparable harm to the Court’s reputation. A dramatic appeal followed.

If it sounds like a juicy case, it was — and it’s the subject of October’s Wilmington History Society event, “A Deep Dive into the TransPerfect Case.”

From the event listing:

When two ex-lovers from Manhattan remain co-CEOs of a company doing a half-billion in sales, what could possibly go wrong? That was the subject of a major Delaware trial that drew international attention, and not to mention, a shouting match between celebrity lawyer Alan Dershowitz and the Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. What does the outcome mean for the future of the Delaware legal industry? Our October speaker will be Jacob Jeifa, a UD graduate, soon to be law student, and researcher for Charles Elson at the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance.

The free event will be held at the Chelsea Tavern Basement Bar in Wilmington from 6–8 p.m., including networking happy hours before and after the speaker.