Washington, DC principal Blair Jacobs was quoted by Delaware Law Weekly in relation to the transition underway at the District of Delaware as Judge Leonard Stark joins the Federal Circuit. Commenting on the likelihood that cases will move more slowly in the interim, Blair said, “When you’re not proceeding at a rapid clip toward trial dates that are definitive and firm and you know are going to stick, it disincentivizes, more often than not, a defendant to meaningfully engage in settlement discussions. That’s certainly one of the negative potential fallouts of this process, but this process really is the only process that a busy district like Delaware can implement when they lose a judge.”
Of the possibility of visiting judges having expectations that aren’t standard among District of Delaware judges, Blair observed, “As a party in district court litigation in Delaware, when you understand who your judge is, you can give your client good advice. So when you don’t know who your judge is going to be and you’re waiting for assignment, it can detract a little bit from your ability to provide full, informed guidance to your client.” Read the article here.