The
wild
ethical
scandal
birthed
via
Texas
bankruptcy
judge
David
R.
Jones’s
romantic
relationship
just
keeps
on
getting
bigger.
Jones,
the
(now
former)
federal
bankruptcy
judge,
was
involved
with
Elizabeth
Freeman,
the
(now
former)
bankruptcy
partner
of
a
major
law
firm
—
Jackson
Walker
—
but
he
continued
to
hear
cases
involving
that
partner/law
firm.
That
led
to
his
resignation
from
the
bench
and
a
whole
mess
of
legal
issues.
Now,
the
Department
of
Justice
is
suing
Freeman’s
former
firm
to
try
to
disgorge
up
to
$23
million
in
fees
it
collected
in
cases
overseen
by
Jones.
As
part
of
that
case,
Kirkland
&
Ellis
partner
Joshua
Sussberg
gave
a
deposition
where
Jones
had
a
“lapse
in
judgment.”
Which,
honestly,
seems
like
an
understatement.
As
reported
by
Bloomberg
Law,
during
the
deposition
he
made
it
clear
what
Kirkland
would
have
done
if
they
knew
what
was
going
on
—
for
the
record
Sussberg
said,
“We
were
absolutely
shocked,”
when
news
of
the
relationship
became
public.
“To
the
extent
that
we
were
aware
of
an
actual
financial
relationship,
I
can’t
tell
you
exactly
what
it
was
we
would
have
done,
but
we
absolutely
would’ve
made
certain
that
that
was
out
in
the
open
for
fear
of
disrupting
an
existing
case
or
go
forward
cases,”
Sussberg
said.
Kirkland
worked
extensively
with
Jackson
Walker
on
bankruptcy
matters
in
Texas.
And
Sussberg
said
during
the
deposition
that
had
he
known
about
the
Freeman/Jones
relationship,
he
would
have
blown
the
whistle.
Not
*necessarily*
out
of
a
higher
ethical
standard
but
because
Kirkland
has
“reputation
and
a
brand
that
it’s
protecting.”
Sussberg
went
on
to
note
that
even
if
the
bankruptcy
regulations
do
not
specifically
mandate
disclosure
of
the
Jones/Freeman
relationship,
Kirkland
errs
on
the
side
of
disclosure.
“There’s
all
sorts
of
different
legal
rules,
regulations,
and
ability
to
challenge,
and
remedies
and
the
like,
but
I
would
absolutely
say
that
I
do
believe
it
tarnishes
all
these
cases,”
Sussberg
said.
“And
that’s
a
great
concern
from
our
perspective.”
Jackson
Walker
maintains
Freeman
misled
the
firm
about
the
nature
of
her
relationship
with
Jones.
The
disgorgment
case
is
slated
to
go
to
trial
in
April.
Earlier:
Former
Judge
Gets
Combative
When
Pressed
On
His
Romantic
Relationship
Who
Knew
What
When?
The
Latest
In
The
Judge/Partner
Romantic
Scandal
Rocking
The
Legal
World
You
Have
To
Read
The
Texts
Uncovered
In
The
Judge/
Biglaw
Partner
Romantic
Scandal
Federal
Judge
Slams
Biglaw
Firm,
Says
Firm
‘Defiled
The
Very
Temple
Of
Justice’
Biglaw
Firm
Still
Paying
The
Price
For
Former
Partner’s
Romantic
Scandal
Scandal-Ridden
Former
Federal
Judge
Seeks
To
Squash
Lawsuit
That
Started
It
All
The
Wild
Ethical
Lapse
That
Led
To
The
Resignation
Of
A
Top
Bankruptcy
Judge
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
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