Philip Shawe Launches the $100,000 Law Student Scholarship Competition to Examine TransPerfect Delaware Case at the U.S. Supreme Court Level

NEW YORK, March 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Philip R. Shawe, co-CEO of TransPerfect, the world's largest privately held provider of language and technology solutions, announced The Philip R. Shawe Scholarship Competition, which will award grants totaling $100,000 to winning law school students who prepare the best argument to the United States Supreme Court for reversing the recently affirmed decision of the Delaware Chancery Court that forces the sale of a highly profitable $500 million+ company.

Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick, (Ret) Senior Associate Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, Justice Melvin Schweitzer, (Ret) New York State Supreme Court, Commercial Division, Professor Alan Dershowitz (also legal counsel to Shirley Shawe), and Joseph D. Hansen, former Director of Interns for Justice Schweitzer, New York State Supreme Court, Commercial Division will be deciding the winners of the writing and oral competition (the "Panel").

The TransPerfect case was decided last year by Delaware Chancellor Andre Bouchard, and it was appealed in January 2017 to the Delaware Supreme Court.  The appeal affirmed Chancellor Bouchard with one justice of five dissenting.  Shawe intends to petition the United States Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to reverse the Delaware decision.

The competition, open to all second- and third-year law school students, will focus on the TransPerfect case, (In re:  TransPerfect Global, Inc.," Civil Action No. 9700-CB and "Elizabeth Elting v. Philip R. Shawe, et al." Civil Action No. 10449-CB) in which the Delaware Chancery Court, to create a non-negotiated exit strategy for one of the company shareholders, is ordering the forced sale of the entire company against the will of the other two shareholders.

Contestants will write briefs on the U.S. constitutional implications (Due Process and Takings Clauses) of the Delaware courts' powers to adopt a forced sale remedy when shareholders of a highly profitable privately-held corporation are deadlocked. These briefs will be judged first by a group of experienced counsel from Lateral Link Group, Inc. to narrow the field. The top graded 25 briefs will then be ranked by the Panel, who will select the top three. The top three contestants will prepare their arguments as if they were going before the United States Supreme Court. The three contestants will present their oral arguments to the Panel. The Panel will rank the three oralists. Scholarships will be given to the top three ranked oralists in the following amounts: First place will be awarded $65,000, second place $25,000, and third place $10,000.

To enter, entrants must submit their briefs by April 20, 2017. For full competition rules and to enter, students can visit philshawescholarship.com or lawschoolchallenge.com email [email protected] after March 1, 2017.

SOURCE Philip Shawe