There
is
still
more
fallout
from
the
ethical
lapse
that
allowed
the
once-secret
relationship
between
former
judge
David
R.
Jones
and
attorney
Elizabeth
Freeman
to
go
unreported
for
years.
As
a
quick
recap,
the
(now
former)
federal
bankruptcy
judge
was
romantically
linked
with
the
(now
former)
bankruptcy
partner
of
a
major
law
firm
—
Jackson
Walker
—
and
continued
to
hear
cases
involving
that
partner/law
firm.
In
the
wake
of
the
scandal,
a
fee
dispute
involving
Jackson
Walker
emerged.
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.
Now
Bloomberg
Law
reports
on
text
messages
between
Freeman
and
her
colleagues
that
show
how
the
dynamic
between
the
bankruptcy
judge
and
bankruptcy
attorney
played
out.
Days
before
Jackson
Walker
filed
the
JCPenney
Chapter
11
case,
Freeman
texted
a
colleague,
“Talked
to
Jones.
He’s
got
us.”
And
that
seemingly
cued
legal
machinations
to
ensure
JCPenney’s
case
was
heard
by
Jones.
On
May
12,
2020,
three
days
before
department
store
retailer
JCPenney
filed
for
bankruptcy,
Freeman
texted
her
colleague
Veronica
Polnick
and
told
her
the
company
planned
to
file
its
Chapter
11
case
in
Corpus
Christi,
Texas,
according
to
texts
displayed
in
records
viewed
by
Bloomberg
Law.
Jackson
Walker
was
serving
as
local
counsel
to
JCPenney’s
lead
bankruptcy
lawyers
at
Kirkland
&
Ellis
LLP.Corpus
Christi
is
one
of
seven
court
locations
within
the
Southern
District
of
Texas
bankruptcy
court
district.
Under
the
local
rules,
a
filing
in
that
location
would
guarantee
that
Jones
would
be
assigned
the
case
if
it
wasn’t
immediately
designated
as
“complex”—and
JCPenney’s
wasn’t.Freeman
told
Polnick
on
May
12
that
there
were
“too
many
fights”
in
the
JCPenney
case
and
that
the
company
couldn’t
afford
a
“process
hawk,”
referring
to
Jones’
judicial
colleague
and
friend,
Judge
Marvin
Isgur.Isgur
would
instead
get
the
bankruptcy
of
Ultra
Petroleum
Corp.,
Freeman
told
Polnick.
Ultra,
which
was
also
represented
by
Kirkland
and
Jackson
Walker,
filed
for
Chapter
11
on
May
14,
the
day
before
JCPenney.
Ultra’s
case
ended
up
being
assigned
to
Isgur,
just
as
Freeman
said.“They
know
Jones
will
cut
through
the
bullshit,”
Freeman
told
Polnick
about
the
JCPenney
case.
“Not
so
much
a
case
of
dodging
Isgur.”
The
exchange
between
Freeman
and
Polnick
continued,
with
Freeman
saying,
“Jones
has
been
softening
up
for
this
for
a
month.”
And,
“We
are
keeping
this
down
loooooooowww.”
In
the
JCPenney
bankruptcy,
Jones
approved
~$1
million
in
legal
fees
for
Jackson
Walker.
Of
that,
~$286,000
came
from
Freeman’s
fees.
The
fees
in
the
JCPenney
bankruptcy
are
among
those
disputed
by
the
U.S.
Trustee.
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
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].