Delaware Chancery Court Nominee Is Magistrate, Skadden Alum

The newest nominee for the Delaware Chancery Court has longstanding ties to the venue crucial to corporate governance for much of the Fortune 500.

Bonnie W. David, who must be confirmed by the Delaware Senate, will replace retiring Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III, according to a statement emailed late Friday from the office of Gov. John Carney (D). Currently serving as a Magistrate in Chancery, David’s confirmation hearing will come during a special Senate session that Carney has called for Dec. 16.

In January 2023, Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick appointed David as a Magistrate in Chancery, a position that helps manage the court’s increasingly busy docket of books-and-record lawsuits as well as contract disputes, trusts, estates, and guardianships. David’s caseload has included disputes involving Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank and internal files at Amazon.com Inc.

The Senate wasn’t scheduled to meet again before the next regular legislative session begins Jan. 14. Carney, who is term-limited as governor, is pushing through his nomination before he begins his new job as the mayor of Wilmington. New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer (D) will be inaugurated as Delaware’s next governor on Jan. 21.

David clerked for Glasscock, then litigated before the Chancery Court for Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. She graduated from Boston University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Like Glasscock, David would be based at Sussex County’s Chancery courthouse in Georgetown, Del.

The Chancery Court bench consists of one chancellor and six vice chancellors; all serve 12-year terms after being nominated by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. Five Magistrates in Chancery appointed by the chancellor will also serve the court next year, overseeing a caseload involving books-and-records demands, trusts, estates, and guardianships.

Delaware is the nation’s epicenter for business incorporations, with almost 70% of Fortune 500 companies registered in the state. The Chancery Court is highly regarded for its extensive corporate case law history and for its jurists, who are recognized as business law experts who can quickly hear corporate litigation without a jury.