Page 14 - Delaware Lawyer - Issue 2 - 2024

FEATURE | A MATTER OF MUTUAL RESPECT
recent high-profile (and unfair) attacks. The restraint shown and commitment to carrying on with the business of the courts is indicative of the Delaware Way.
The Bar must do its part in response to such attacks. We must protect the in- tegrity of our judiciary and stand up to those who unfairly criticize the courts. I applaud the DSBA for defending our judges when they are unable to do so themselves. In this highly charged po- litical year, it is all the more important that, in keeping with the Delaware Way, each of us speak out if necessary in sup- port of the Delaware judiciary.
The courts’ workload is another is- sue in which the Bar needs to be vigilant and to do its part. I am sure that many of you, like me, have had clients or cor- responding counsel that insist that their case is the “unique” one which de- serves to be heard quickly, and that is why they have come to Delaware. Simi- larly, litigants want their motions to be scheduled for argument promptly and always have plenty to say in (sometimes unnecessary) filings. Thankfully, our judges are remarkably adept at sniffing out when a case should be expedited, and the extent to which it should be accelerated, if at all. And it must be remembered that expedition comes at a cost. Limited judicial resources are expended and the personal lives of our judges are often upended by expedited matters. Fortunately for all of us, the judges make these sacrifices in pursuit of the Delaware Way. It is our responsibil- ity, however, to be judicious about the demands we place on the courts. This is becoming increasingly true as the courts’ dockets increase year after year and scheduling becomes more difficult.
And although litigation is inher- ently an adversarial process, the Dela- ware Way requires litigators to focus on the merits of their clients’ disputes, and work together to present the sub- stance of those disputes to the courts in an efficient manner. We are allowed to
disagree, but should strive to avoid be- ing disagreeable. It serves litigators best to explain the weakness of the other side’s positions, not to attack the ad- vocates themselves. Our judges can tell the difference.
The point is, if we want to continue to attract stellar candidates to serve on our courts, we need to do our part in making their lives tolerable. That means resisting efforts to secure expedited treatment of matters that don’t need to be expedited and, similarly, avoiding unnecessary or borderline unnecessary filings as well as aggressive, personal at- tacks on counsel. Remember, at some point, you are going to have a case that truly requires the court’s prompt atten- tion and time. It may not be available to you if we don’t all do our part to protect and respect our scarce judicial resources.
It is not only the professionalism flowing from the hard work and dedica- tion of the judges, but also the day-to- day interaction and pleasantries as well that set the tone for the Delaware Way. Our judges are accessible, never fail to thank visiting attorneys for their sub- mitted work-product or travel to Dela- ware, and they devote countless hours to promoting the Delaware courts. In my many years of practice, I have never seen any member of our judiciary dis- respect a litigant, and, following hear- ings, I am constantly told by out-of- town counsel how impressed they were with the presiding judge. All part of our courts’ embrace of the Delaware Way, I would suggest.
My Colleagues in the Delaware Bar
I am going to date myself here. I was a young partner when, in April 1997, a fire engulfed the 13th floor of the (then named) Delaware Trust Building, home to Potter Anderson’s newly renovated offices on the third and fourth floor. For weeks, we had no access to our
computers and, back then, largely paper files. But within days, the Delaware Way was on full display. The Supreme Court promptly suspended deadlines for mat- ters involving our firm and the firm now known as Bayard, P.A., also then locat- ed in the building. Adversaries reached out to me and other firm members, unsolicited, and offered extensions and copies of their own files to enable us to continue handling client matters until normalcy was restored.
Since then, not a week goes by that I am not reminded of the Dela- ware Way by my colleagues in the Bar.
12 DELAWARE LAWYER ISSUE 2 2024