U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones, who oversees more major Chapter 11 cases than any other U.S. judge, is seen in a screenshot from video shot during a virtual interview with Reuters done from Houston, Texas, U.S. December 11, 2020. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
Nov 13 (Reuters) – Texas law firm Jackson Walker was deceived by a former partner who never disclosed she was living with a U.S. bankruptcy judge in Houston who was handling its cases, the firm said in a court filing on Monday.
Jackson Walker was told by former partner Elizabeth Freeman in 2021 that she had ended her relationship with then-U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones “well in the past” and it was unlikely to rekindle, according to a filing that appeared in multiple bankruptcy cases the firm had worked on, including that of J.C. Penney.
The 500-lawyer firm was responding to an effort by the U.S. Trustee, the U.S. Justice Department’s bankruptcy watchdog, to force the firm to return millions of dollars earned in cases presided over by Jones, who resigned in October after his relationship with Freeman became public.
Tom Kirkendall, an attorney for Freeman, declined to comment, as did spokespeople for Jackson Walker and