Judge William Chandler to retire

Gov. Jack Markell has announced that Chancellor William B. Chandler III will be retiring from the Court of Chancery. The Chancellor announced that his retirement, after almost 26 years of judicial service, will be effective June 17.  The chancellor said his service on the court “has been, and likely always will be, the greatest honor and privilege of my life, and I am profoundly grateful and thankful to all who made it possible.”

“Chancellor Chandler is known throughout Delaware and beyond for helping make the Court of Chancery one of the most responsive and best regarded courts in the country," Markell said. "His corporate law decisions will be studied in law schools and corporate board room for decades to come. But here in Delaware, what we will remember about the Chancellor is how he treated everyone, whether a high-priced lawyer in his courtroom or a stranger at the coffee shop, with that same Delaware courtesy and respect."

The Court of Chancery is Delaware’s court of equity and the nation’s leading forum for resolution of business law disputes.  As vice chancellor and chancellor, Chandler has helped build the court’s worldwide reputation in the corporate law community.

Chandler joined the Court of Chancery in 1989 after four years on the Superior Court. He was elevated to chancellor in 1997. In 2009, Markell re-appointed Chandler to a second term as chancellor. He received his law degrees from the University of South Carolina School of Law and the Yale Law School and his undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware.  Before his appointment to the bench, Chancellor Chandler was an associate with Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell and he served as legal counsel to former Gov. Pete duPont.

To ensure an orderly transition, Markell expects to move promptly on a nomination to fill the vacancy caused by the chancellor's retirement. Applications will be accepted by the Judicial Nomination Commission until May 13. The political balance requirements of the Delaware Constitution require the nomination of a Republican as chancellor or, if one of the current vice chancellors is appointed, as vice chancellor.