Community (legal) Resource Center Center Fair coming this month
The Second Annual Community Resource Center Fair is slated for Aug. 16, at the plaza in front of the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center (courthouse) at 500 King St. in Wilmington.
The event will run from 9 a.m. to noon. (The speakers will give presentations 9:45 a.m.)
Delaware Chief Justice Leo E. Strine, Jr., Labor Secretary Cerron Cade, Governor’s Policy Director Romain Alexander and Wilmington City Council President Hanifa Shabazz will be at the at the event.
This second year for the Community Resource Center Fair marks the official opening of the Community Resource Center in the law library on the second floor at the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center.
It also marks the start of early operations of the Wilmington Community Court. In addition to service providers’ informational tables on the plaza, there will be giveaways of donated backpacks stuffed with school supplies, popcorn and water ice. Visitors will be able to tour the Community Resource Center in the Justice Center.
The Wilmington Community Court will handle low-level offenses, with a goal of finding alternatives to fines and prison time in favor of sentences involving community service, employment programs, treatment programs or social services.
In August, the Court of Common Pleas will begin making its first referrals as part of the Community Court program and other courts will follow in the coming year. Ultimately, the Community Court will be located in new facilities being constructed on the 7th Floor of the courthouse.
While the Community Resource Center was designed to be a place in-house where a judge could refer defendants in need of treatment or services – including job skills, financial literacy, addiction and mental health treatment, youth services, literacy and legal help – it will also be open to the broader community.
Participating groups include Delaware Libraries, Contact Lifeline, Girls Inc. Literacy Delaware, Community Legal Aid Society, Inc., DE Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Delaware 2-1-1, APEX (Advancement through Pardon and Expungement), Brandywine Counseling and Community Services, Pace, Child, Inc., and others.
Morton named to Class of Fellows
Partner Mark Morton at Delaware law firm of Potter Anderson, Wilmington is expected to be elected into the American College of Governance Counsel (ACGC) as a member of its 2019 Class of Fellows.
The College is expected to choose 120 Fellows and Honorary Fellows this year from the ranks of lawyers in the U.S. and Canada who have displayed a high level of professionalism and commitment to the advancement of the governance practice through a combination of practice and thought leadership.
This marks the second fellow elected from Potter Anderson in its history.
Connolly Gallagher trust and estates team ranked by Chambers
In its 2019 guide, Chambers High Net Worth ranked Connolly Gallagher LLP for Private Wealth Law in Delaware. The guide reported the Trusts & Estates team “take a customer service approach to legal work and deliver an exceptional client experience.” Another source praises the team saying, “They are very knowledgeable and reliable.”
Four Connolly Gallagher attorneys appear in the individual rankings of leading Delaware Private Wealth Law lawyers.
- Chuck Durante is “a super smart guy.” An interviewee states, “He is a very well-known, long-standing member of the Bar with deep experience that is invaluable.”
- Scott Swenson is “responsive and technically sound.” One interviewee remarks “He is very high-quality, he really knows his stuff, he’s very smart.”
- Gregory Weinig is lauded as “a deep well of knowledge about Delaware cases and statutes.” With fellow attorneys reporting “he really analyses complex issues and breaks them down, achieving great results for the client –he’s very methodical.”
- Trisha Hall is known for her work on legislation regarding estate and trust planning administration. Sources say “she has really made a name for herself in this area of the law, a niche within a niche.”
Media buy from Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware
Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware plans to make a radio and television advertising buy in pressing for reforms to the state’s judicial system.
The group, comprised of employees from TransPerfect who were upset over Chancery Court’s handling of the sale of the company, is now focusing on changes in Chancery Court.
In coming weeks, the organization plans to make a large state-wide media buy, a release stated.
The group has noted that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce dropped Delaware 10 spots to number 11 in its business climate rankings.
It also reports that the Center for Public Integrity ranks Delaware 46th out of 50 states for judicial accountability. Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is committed to bettering the state’s judicial ranking and business climate by pushing common-sense practices that are clear, fair and publicly accessible, a release stated.
The organization wants the Chancery Court to use a randomized wheel spin for case assignments.
Currently, Chancery Court Chancellors are free to select cases based on their own interest. Along with demanding cameras in the courtroom for public records, the organization is also seeking publicly-accessible financial disclosure by Delaware judges.
The group will face a corporate legal community in Delaware that is wary of changes that might drive away cases from Chancery Court. Citizens and other critics claim that actions of the current court are doing just that.
They point out the battle over control of TransPerfect by its founders who had a 50-50 share of the company, is a rarity and should not be a reason to tamper with the independence of the court through legislation.
Following the TransPerfect Court case, which cost an estimated quarter of a billion dollars, the translation services company moved its state of incorporation from Delaware to Nevada.
“The organization has been advocating on behalf of the state’s citizens to bring transparency, equity, and freedom of speech to the Chancery Court. “The people of Delaware deserve better. The corruption in the Delaware Chancery Court has gone on for far too long and we have a platform to repair the system,” said Miranda Wessinger, president of the Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware. “In order to bring change, we have to organize and fight. We are committed to spending the necessary funds to expose the system and put Delaware back in good standing as a business-friendly state.”
