As discussed in an earlier post, a vacancy for the position of Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery has opened up with the retirement of Chancellor William B. Chandler III.
It has been reported that the following candidates (in no particularly order) have confirmed that they have applied:
1. Bruce Silverstein (Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor)
2. The Honorable Mary Johnson (currently a Delaware Superior Court judge)
3. Richard Forsten (Saul Ewing)
4. Joel Friedlander (Bouchard, Margules and Friedlander)
5. Kevin F. Brady (Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz)
6. Richard E. Berl, Jr. (Smith Feinberg McCartney & Berl)
7. The Honorable Sam Glasscock (currently a Master in Chancery)
It has not been said whether that is the exclusive list of candidates or whether there may be others. Friedlander and Judge Johnson were two of the three finalists for the last Court of Chancery vacancy, ultimately filled by current Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster.
The Judicial Nominating Committee will select three of the candidates before it and forward their names to the Governor. This is anticipated to take place soon, within weeks.
While there is no geographic requirement in the Delaware Constitution for the position, previously each of Delaware’s three counties (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex) has had a Chancellor or Vice Chancellor associated with and sitting in that county. Retiring Chancellor Chandler is the only judicial officer from the Court of Chancery sitting in Sussex County. The majority of the state’s lawyers, and the majority of candidates on the above list, practice law in Wilmington, in New Castle County. But two of the candidates do have connections to Sussex County: Judge Johnson has a beach house in Bethany Beach and Master Glasscock sits in Georgetown.
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