Every
time
I
hear
about
an
update
to
the
scandal
involving
the
once-clandestine
romance
between former
judge
David
R.
Jones
and
attorney
Elizabeth
Freeman,
I
am
immediately
transported
to
my
grandmother’s
living
room,
watching
the
latest
episode
of
“Days
of
Our
Lives.”
There
are
just
so
many
twists
and
turns
in
the
whole
affair
that
saw
the
(now
former)
federal
bankruptcy
judge
involved
with
the
(now
former)
bankruptcy
partner
of
a
major
law
firm
—
Jackson
Walker
—
continue
to
hear
cases
involving
that
partner/law
firm.
The
hits
just
keep
on
coming
for
everyone
associated
with
the
scandal.
The
Justice
Department’s
bankruptcy
monitor,
the
U.S.
Trustee,
is
seeking
to
claw
back
$18
million
in
fees
paid
to
Jackson
Walker
in
33
cases
handled
by
Jones
while
he
and
Freeman
were
in
a
relationship.
The
latest
revelations,
from
Bloomberg
Law,
delve
into
some
of
the
communications
between
Freeman’s
colleagues
when
they
caught
wind
of
a
potential
relationship
between
the
pair.
We
already
know
Freeman
shared
some
insights
on
what
Jones
might
think
of
cases
brought
by
particular
firm
clients.
But
this
latest
tranche
of
documents
is
also
eye-opening.
In
2021,
a
disgruntled
shareholder
of
Jackson
Walker
client
McDermott
International,
Michael
Van
Deelen,
caught
wind
of
the
Jones/Freeman
relationship
—
via
anonymous
letter
because
of
COURSE.
Van
Deelen
reached
out
to
Jackson
Walker
partner
Matt
Cavenaugh
about
the
allegations.
Cavenaugh
texted
his
colleague
Veronica
Polnick,
on
May
20,
2021,
that
Freeman
and
Jones
had
“been
very
careful”
and
had
“taken
a
lot
of
steps.”“But
the
fact
that
they’ve
taken
so
many
steps
makes
it
problematic
from
a
pr
standpoint,”
Cavenaugh
said.“Right,”
Polnick,
who
was
previously
a
briefing
attorney
for
Jones,
responded.
“They
saw
this
coming
10
years
ago.”
These
backchannels
continued.
Two
days
after
Van
Deelen
told
Cavenaugh
about
the
anonymous
letter,
Polnick
texted
Cavenaugh
that
while
there
would
be
“some
embarrassment”
she
felt
it
would
“be
ok,”
and
that
they
could
“cover”
until
things
passed.
But
Van
Deelen
sought
to
have
Jones
recused
from
a
matter
he
was
pursuing
against
McDermott,
based
on
that
anonymous
letter.
Cavenaugh
called
Van
Deelen’s
allegations
“defamatory
statements,”
and
wanted
the
letter
sealed
by
the
court.
That
matter
was
referred
to
Jones’s
colleague,
Judge
Marvin
Isgur.
(Who
would
get
real
mad
when
all
the
details
of
the
scandal
came
out.)
Cavenaugh
confided
that
he
barely
slept
the
night
before,
partially
because
he
spent
three
hours
rereading
all
of
his
declarations
in
prior
cases.
Cavenaugh
often
signed
the
firm’s
sworn
bankruptcy
court
declarations
requiring
professionals
to
disclose
connections
to
others
parties.Isgur
allowed
the
letter
to
remain
sealed,
and
wouldn’t
allow
the
substance
of
the
letter’s
allegations
to
be
discussed,
calling
it
inadmissible
hearsay.By
September
2021,
Jones
would
also
grant
Jackson
Walker’s
motion
to
keep
the
letter
sealed.
Though
the
firm
averted
crisis
(and
Jones’s
recusal),
there
was
still
animosity
at
the
firm
over
what
went
down.
With
the
letter’s
allegations
defused
and
the
hearing
behind
them,
Cavenaugh
turned
his
ire
at
“400,”
Jones’
nickname
stemming
from
the
number
of
his
Houston
courtroom.
Jones
had
a
“selfish
attitude”
and
needed
“independent
advice,”
he
said.“Between
you
and
me,
I’m
very
angry
at
400,”
Cavenaugh
said
in
a
text
to
Polnick.
“Not
because
of
what
happened,
but
because
of
the
dismissiveness
of
the
issues.”Attitudes
like
Jones’
“can
only
end
in
bad
results
for
our
friend,”
and
while
Jones
would
be
fine,
Freeman
wouldn’t,
Cavenaugh
told
Polnick.
Of
course,
Jones
would
also
be
out
of
a
job
when
the
scandal
broke,
though
it
seems
Cavenaugh
was
unaware
of
the
scope
of
it
at
the
time
he
made
these
statements.
A
representative
from
Jackson
Walker
maintains
the
firm’s
position
that
they
were
misled
about
the
Freeman/Jones
relationship,
saying,
“Everything
that
has
come
out,
including
the
more
than
30
depositions
taken
in
this
case,
thousands
of
pages
of
documents
produced,
and
Ms.
Freeman’s
own
statement
to
the
US
Trustee
has
consistently
demonstrated
that
she
misled
Jackson
Walker
management
about
this
relationship.”
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
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@Kathryn1 or
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