Kathaleen McCormick

McCormick was born in Dover, Delaware, and grew up in Smyrna, Delaware.^[3] She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Harvard University,^[when?] and received her J.D. from Notre Dame Law School.^[4] She began her career as a legal aid lawyer. She then went into private practice at Wilmington law firm Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, where she became a partner. At Young Conaway, she specialized in corporate and alternative entity law.^[4][5]

In September 2018, Governor John Carney nominated McCormick and Morgan Zurn to two new vice-chancellor positions on the Delaware Court of Chancery. These appointments raised the total number of judges on the court from five to seven, the first such expansion since 1989.^[6] Carney noted that McCormick's experience would make her "an immediate asset to the court."^[5] She was confirmed by the Delaware Senate on October 3 and took office on November 1.^[7][8][9]

In April 2021, she was nominated by Delaware Governor John Carney as Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery, following the mid-term resignation of the former Chancellor Andre Bouchard. The Delaware Senate confirmed McCormick, and she began her 12-year term on May 6. McCormick is the first woman to lead the court since it was established in 1792.^[10][11][9]

On April 30, 2021, McCormick issued a post-trial decision in Snow Phipps Group, LLC v. KCake Acquisition, Inc.^[12][13] The case was among the first "busted deal" cases that emerged as mergers and acquisitions buyers sought to avoid closing mergers after the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the businesses of many merger targets.^[14] The plaintiffs were Snow Phipps Group, LLC a private equity firm, and DecoPac Holdings, Inc., the parent company of KCake, a cake decorations company.^[12] After the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted KCake's business, the defendant, Kohlberg & Co., sought to avoid its contractual obligation to complete a $550 million acquisition of KCake.^[12] McCormick rejected Kohlberg's arguments that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a material adverse change or a breach of the ordinary course of business covenant in the merger agreement by the plaintiffs, then held that Kohlberg had breached its contractual obligation to use its "reasonable best efforts" to obtain financing for the transaction.^[12] McCormick then ordered Kohlberg to close the transaction.^[12]

On July 13, 2022, McCormick was assigned to adjudicate the merger dispute between Twitter, Inc. and Elon Musk, Twitter v. Musk.^[15] Over Musk's objections, McCormick granted Twitter's motion for expedited treatment of the lawsuit and set a trial date for October 2022.^[16] Twitter asked the court to enter an order of specific performance, effectively forcing Musk to close the deal.^[17] Observers noted that in the KCAKE case in 2021, McCormick had granted the same relief that Twitter sought, forcing the buyer in that case to close the transaction.^[17] With many legal commentators opining that Musk would lose the lawsuit, Musk agreed to close the transaction.^[18] The deal closed on October 28, 2022.^[19] Commentators praised McCormick's "no-nonsense approach" as having been instrumental in resolving the dispute.^[20]

In January 2024, in Tornetta v. Musk, et al, McCormick voided Musk's $55 billion pay package from Tesla following a lawsuit brought by a shareholder. In her ruling, McCormick described the package as "excessive".^{[21][needs update]}