Federal Judge Slams Biglaw Firm, Says Firm 'Defiled The Very Temple Of Justice'
The judge holds nothing back.
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.
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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.
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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].
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