Biography Of Leo E. Strine, Jr.
Vice Chancellor, Delaware Court of Chancery
On November 9, 1998, Leo E. Strine, Jr. became a Vice Chancellor of the Court of Chancery. Since that time, Vice Chancellor Strine has written numerous opinions, particularly in the area of corporation law. Among the opinions Vice Chancellor Strine has authored are: In re Netsmart Technologies, Inc. Shareholders Litigation, 924 A.2d 171 (Del. Ch. 2007); Desimone v. Barrows, 924 A.2d 908 (Del. Ch. 2007); In re Lear Corp. Shareholder Litigation, 926 A.2d 94 (Del. Ch. 2007); In re Topps Co. Shareholders Litigation, 924 A.2d 951 (Del. Ch. 2007); Trenwick America Litigation Trust v. Ernst & Young, L.L.P., 906 A.2d 168 (Del. Ch. 2006), In re Cox Communications Inc., 879 A.2d 604 (Del. Ch. 2005); In re Toys “R” Us, Inc. Shareholder Litigation, 877 A.2d 975 (Del. Ch. 2005); Hollinger Int’l, Inc. v. Black, 844 A.2d 1022 (Del. Ch. 2004); Production Resources Group, L.L.C. v. NCT Group, Inc., 863 A.2d 772 (Del. Ch. 2004); In re Pure Resources, Inc., Shareholders Litigation, 808 A.2d 421 (Del. Ch. 2002); IBP, Inc. v. Tyson Foods Inc., 789 A.2d 14 (Del. Ch. 2001); In re Pennaco Energy, Inc. Shareholders Litig., Del. Ch., 787 A.2d 691 (Del. Ch 2001); Chesapeake Corp. v. Shore, 771 A.2d 293 (Del. Ch. 2000); In re Gaylord Container Corp. Shareholders Litig., 753 A.2d 462 (Del. Ch. 2000); Ace, Ltd. v. Capital Re Corp., 747 A.2d 95 (Del. Ch. 1999).
In addition, Vice Chancellor Strine speaks frequently on the subject of corporation law, at diverse forums such as the New York University Center for Law and Business; the University of Pennsylvania’s Corporate Law Conference; the Tulane Corporate Law Institute; Director’s Colleges at Stanford Law School, Duke University, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business; the San Diego Securities Law Institute sponsored by Northwestern University School of Law; and the Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. He has also authored several articles on business law topics in publications including The Business Lawyer, University of Chicago Law Review, Cornell Law Review, Delaware Journal of Corporation Law, Duke Law Journal, Harvard Law Review, Northwestern University Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, University of Southern California Law Review, Stanford Law Review and University of Toronto Law Journal.
Vice Chancellor Strine holds long-standing adjunct teaching positions at the Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, and Vanderbilt Schools of Law, where he has and continues to teach diverse classes in corporate law addressing, among other topics, mergers and acquisitions, the role of independent directors, valuation, and corporate law theories. Vice Chancellor Strine also serves as a Senior Fellow of the Harvard Program on Corporate Governance, as well as the Austin Wakeman Scott Lecturer in Law at the Harvard Law School. In 2005, he was the Regents’ Lecturer on Law at UCLA Law School. Since 2006 to the present, Vice Chancellor Strine has served as the special judicial consultant to the ABA’s Committee on Corporate Laws.
Immediately before becoming a member of the Court of Chancery, Vice Chancellor Strine was Counsel to Governor Thomas R. Carper of the State of Delaware. In that capacity, Vice Chancellor Strine was responsible for providing legal counsel to the Governor and in 1994 assumed responsibility for overall policy coordination. In those capacities, Vice Chancellor Strine played leading roles in, among other things, developing the legal strategy for litigating the New Castle County desegregation case unitary status motion, crafting the $200 million Delaware v. New York settlement, and drafting the welfare reform plan “A Better Chance.” He also drafted and spearheaded the Governor’s effort to secure passage of the State’s standards-based educational accountability, charter school and public school choice legislation.
Before becoming Counsel to Governor Carper in January 1993, Vice Chancellor Strine was a corporate litigator at the firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Prior to that, Vice Chancellor Strine was law clerk to Judge Walter K. Stapleton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and Chief Judge John F. Gerry of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Vice Chancellor Strine graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1988, and was selected as a member of the Order of the Coif. In 1985, he received his Bachelor’s Degree summa cum laude from the University of Delaware and was selected as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. While at the University of Delaware, Vice Chancellor Strine was awarded a Harry S. Truman Scholarship. He was also named to the Panel of Distinguished Seniors of the College of Arts and Science, and selected as the outstanding graduate in political science.
In December 2000, Governor Carper awarded Vice Chancellor Strine the Order of the First State. On October 11, 2002, President David Roselle of the University of Delaware presented Vice Chancellor Strine with the University’s Presidential Citation for Outstanding Achievement. From 2005 to the present, Vice Chancellor Strine has been named as one of the nation’s top lawyers and judges by Law Dragon magazine. Also, in 2006, he was selected as a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute.
Vice Chancellor Strine resides in Hockessin, Delaware, with his wife Carrie, who is an occupational therapist at the DuPont Hospital for Children, as well as his two young sons, James and Benjamin.
