The
once-secret
relationship
between
former
judge
David
R.
Jones
and
attorney
Elizabeth
Freeman
is
still
causing
reverberations
in
legal
circles.
The
federal
bankruptcy
judge
was
romantically
linked
with
the
bankruptcy
partner
of
a
major
law
firm
—
Jackson
Walker
—
and
continued
to
hear
cases
involving
that
partner/law
firm,
so
there’s
a
lot
of
ethics
issues
to
parse
through.
In
the
immediate
aftermath
of
the
romantic
entanglement
becoming
public,
Judge
Jones
resigned
his
position
on
the
U.S.
Bankruptcy
Court
for
the
Southern
District
of
Texas,
and
Jackson
Walker,
Freeman’s
now
former
firm,
is
still
dealing
with
the
backlash.
Judge
Marvin
Isgur
pulled
no
punches
in
telling
the
world
what
he
thinks
of
Jackson
Walker’s
handling
of
the
ethical
quandary.
Isgur
recently
recused
himself
from
a
fee
dispute
involving
Jackson
Walker
—
part
of
the
fallout
from
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.)
Isgur
is
gone
from
that
case,
but
not
before
he
sent
a
biting
letter
to
Chief
Judge
Randy
Crane
of
the
U.S.
District
Court
for
the
Southern
District
of
Texas
ripping
into
the
firm
and
recommending
discipline.
As
reported
by
Bloomberg
Law,
he
wrote,
“It
appears
that
Jackson
Walker
breached
its
own
ethical
duties
after
it
learned
of
the
relationship.”
Isgur
continued,
“Breaches
by
the
firm
itself
defiled
‘the
very
temple
of
justice.’”
Yikes.
Tell
us
how
you
really
feel.
Jackson
Walker
has
previously
said
that
Freeman
lied
to
the
firm
about
the
extent
of
her
relationship
with
Jones.
They
also
said
Freeman
claimed
the
relationship
was
over
in
2021,
and
they
found
out
otherwise
in
2022.
But
Isgur
slammed
the
firm’s
handling
of
the
information
it
did
have.
Isgur
on
Friday
said
Jackson
Walker
couldn’t
have
ethically
decided
that
the
facts
it
knew
should
be
hidden
from
its
clients.
The
failure
to
disclose
wasn’t
just
a
decision
of
one
lawyer
or
a
practice
group,
but
the
whole
firm,
Isgur
said.He
called
it
“inconceivable”
that
Jackson
Walker
didn’t
tell
its
clients
of
the
situation.“I
have
concluded
that
Jackson
Walker’s
deliberate
failure
to
inform
its
clients
was
an
ethical
breach
that
we
cannot
excuse,”
Isgur
said.Isgur
noted
that
when
Freeman’s
attorney
suggested
Jackson
Walker
disclose
the
relationship,
the
firm
still
didn’t
tell
the
court.
The
firm’s
silence
may
have
violated
Texas
disciplinary
rules
that
require
attorneys
to
assist
judges
from
violating
their
own
duties,
Isgur
said.“It
is
intolerable
that
Jackson
Walker
protected
the
Jackson
Walker
firm
to
the
exclusion
of
its
inherent
professional
responsibilities,”
Isgur
said.
The
disciplinary
matter
has
been
referred
to
Judge
Lee
H.
Rosenthal
for
the
U.S.
District
Court
for
the
Southern
District
of
Texas.
Jackson
Walker
has
not
commented
on
the
latest
development
in
the
scandal.
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
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to
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