Justice Reeves resigns in preparation for Court of Appeals position
State Supreme Court Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves informed Gov. John Carney this week that she will be stepping down from the Delaware Supreme Court in early February 2023 in order to accept her nomination by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. to the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
“It has been an extraordinary honor and privilege to serve the people of Delaware for the past seven years,” wrote Justice Montgomery-Reeves in her letter, delivered to the Governor on Dec. 15, 2022. “I also am incredibly fortunate to have spent this time working with dedicated judicial officers and staff who are committed to the rule of law and to treating all who come before them with dignity and respect. I have learned so much from them, and their service to Delaware has inspired me…. I look forward to continuing to serve the people of Delaware on the federal court.”
The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Justice Montgomery-Reeves to the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Dec. 12. Her departure from the Delaware Judiciary will coincide with President Biden signing her commission to the U.S. Third Circuit, which has not yet been set but is expected in early February.
Montgomery-Reeves took office as a Vice Chancellor in Nov. 2015, after her appointment by Governor Jack Markell, she became the first black person) to serve on the Delaware Court of Chancery. She again made history when she was elevated by Governor Carney to the Delaware Supreme Court in 2019, becoming the first Black person to serve on the state’s highest court.
Prior to her appointment, Justice Montgomery-Reeves was a partner in the Wilmington, Delaware, office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, focusing on corporate governance, navigation of corporate fiduciary duties, stockholder class action litigation, derivative litigation, and complex commercial litigation.
Montgomery-Reeves graduated from the McDonnell-Barksdale Honors College at the University of Mississippi in 2003. She received her law degree in 2006 from the University of Georgia School of Law and served as a law clerk for Chancellor William B. Chandler.
. Chancery master retirement and addition
Loren Mitchell joined the Court of Chancery as Master in Chancery based in Wilmington.
Mitchell graduated cum laude from North Carolina Central University School of Law and received her BA from the University of Delaware.
Mitchell fills a newly funded Master in Chancery position. She began her career in private practice at the law firm of Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin in Wilmington. She then worked at Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in Wilmington, before entering the public sector as an Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Wilmington.
Immediately before her appointment to the bench, Mitchell was a Deputy Attorney General at the Delaware Department of Justice.
Patricia W. Griffin retired from the bench after serving for five years as Master in Chancery in the Delaware Court of Chancery. Her retirement caps a nearly 30-year career with the Delaware Judiciary. Master Griffin’s service to the Delaware courts began in 1993 at the Justice of the Peace Court where Master Griffin served as Chief Magistrate for 12 years, followed in 2005 by a 12-year stay in the Administrative Office of the Courts as State Court Administrator, until her appointment to the Court of Chancery in 2017.
Griffin’s replacement has not been immediately announced, but the court expects to name a new Master in Chancery to serve in Sussex County in the coming months.
Saul Ewing returns to former name
Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP announced today it has changed its name to Saul Ewing LLP, returning the firm to the moniker it used prior to its combination with Arnstein & Lehr in 2017. The firm launched a complete rebrand, including a new logo, tagline, website, interactive client and recruiting materials, and a digital company store. The firm has an office in Wilmington.
Managing Partner Jason St. John said of the rebrand, “Since our merger five years ago, we have successfully integrated across our offices, practices and departments, growing and thriving along the way. We have capitalized on the momentum from our 2017 merger and the opening of our new Minneapolis office in 2019 by expanding our client base and services and elevating our internal operations. Now, we are seizing the opportunity to celebrate all of these advancements with a rebrand to better reflect who we are today – one unified firm.”
Ninan wins national award
Emile R. Ninan, Co-Chair of Ballard Spahr’s national Finance Department has been named the private sector winner of the 2022 Freda Johnson Award for Trailblazing Women in Public Finance, presented by The Bond Buyer and Northeast Women in Public Finance (NEWPF).
The award recognizes two women—one in the public sector and one in the private sector.
Ninan’s legal practice has driven economic development through the financing of facilities for educational institutions, utility systems, manufacturing, affordable housing, and health care.
