On November 30 Chief Justice Myron Steele will retire from Delaware’s Supreme Court. Delaware has had a large role in interpreting U.S. corporate law, according to Reuters. 68 year old Steele did not give a reason why he put in his resignation letter, but he served as chief justice since 2004, and his term would have been over in 2016. Chief Justice Steele has served on the state’s Superior Court as well as the Court of Chancer. He handles appeals from the business court and the Court of Chancery, handling many high-profile business disputes. Steele himself was not immediately available and did not comment on his retirement.
Most U.S. business incorporate in the state, and Chief Justice Steele, like Delaware judges before him would regularly attend legal conferences. He would “explain the state’s law and promote its courts.” Professor Hamermesh, of Widener University School of Law at Wilmington said that he is a “sort of ambassador of the state really, because what the courts do is so important.”
McCarter & English attorney Michael Kelley, commented, “he is smart and tough, and he will be sorely missed.” Speculation on who will succeed Mr. Steele starts, and questions on whether it will be the chancellor of the Court of Chancery, or the outspoken chief judge Leo Strine who will move to replace Chief Justice Myron Steele. Requests are being made so that the judicial nominating commission will begin the process of recommending a replacement before Mr. Steele leaves office.