When
Texas
bankruptcy
judge David
R.
Jones
hid
his
romantic
relationship
with
a
Biglaw
partner
and
continued
to
hear
cases
involving
that
partner/law
firm,
it
led
to
a
legal
ethics
conundrum
that
is
still
ongoing.
Jones,
the
(now
former)
federal
bankruptcy
judge,
was
involved
with Elizabeth
Freeman,
the
(now
former)
bankruptcy
partner
at
Jackson
Walker,
and
somehow
didn’t
recuse
himself
from
cases
involving
Freeman.
As
a
result,
Jones
resigned
from
the
bench.
Plus,
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.
And
this
week,
Jackson
Walker
is
facing
another
lawsuit
because
of
this
mess.
As
reported
by
Bloomberg
Law,
former
client
JCPenney
filed
a
lawsuit
earlier
this
week
seeking
the
disgorgement
of
$1.1
million
in
fees.
The
retailer
alleges
the
firm
failed
to inform
JCPenney
“at
any
time”
about
the
relationship
before
it
became
public
in
October
2023,
despite
the
firm
and/or
some
of
its
attorneys
knowing
about
the
relationship
sooner.
The
complaint
alleges
the
firm
“consciously
and
deliberately
made
the
economic
decision
to
breach
its
duties”
to
its
client.
The
complaint
further
alleges
Jackson
Walker
took
“half-hearted”
and
“inadequate
actions
in
an
attempt
to
address
the
issue.”
Making
none
too
fine
a
point
on
the
rationale
for
disgorging
the
fees
the
firm
collected,
“Simply
put,
the
revenue
from
appearing
in
front
of
Jones
outweighed
[Jackson
Walker’s]
view
of
its
professional
obligations.”
Jackson
Walker
has
not
commented
on
the
complaint.
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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