The long-running legal saga born of a bankruptcy judge’s secret romance with a Biglaw partner may finally be winding down… for the price of $15 million.
For those just tuning in: David R. Jones, the (now former) federal bankruptcy judge for the Southern District of Texas, was romantically involved with Elizabeth Freeman, the (now former) bankruptcy partner at Jackson Walker, and continued to hear cases involving Freeman and her firm without recusing or disclosing the relationship. That ethical lapse cost Jones his seat on the bench and kicked off years of litigation that has been equal parts legal ethics seminar and daytime soap opera. (The texts alone — “We are keeping this down loooooooowww” — could carry a season.)
The U.S. Trustee, the Justice Department’s bankruptcy watchdog, sued Jackson Walker back in November 2023, aiming to vacate the orders that approved the firm’s retention and fees, and to disgorge up to $23 million the firm collected in cases connected to Jones and Freeman. After the parties couldn’t reach a deal in mediation and the matter headed toward trial, the firm has now agreed (according to a settlement term sheet filed Sunday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas) to pay $15 million to make it all go away.
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And, in a move that will surprise absolutely no one who has been following this thing, Jackson Walker isn’t admitting it did anything wrong. Instead, we get this masterpiece of the non-apology, “JW acknowledges, while not admitting fault, that it could have approached this matter differently.”
Yeah, a partner was in a years-long relationship with the judge approving the firm’s fees — the two owned a home together! “Differently” is doing an Olympic amount of work in that sentence.
Extensive discovery in the case turned up text messages showing that at least two Jackson Walker attorneys knew about the romance back in 2021 and were chatting about the potential fallout. This is also, worth remembering, the firm a federal judge accused of defiling “the very temple of justice.” So “could have approached this matter differently” is one way to put it.
The settlement still requires court approval, and it isn’t quite the end of the road. There’s also Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Eduardo V. Rodriguez’s recommendation to approve nine separate private settlements, worth roughly $4.8 million, between Jackson Walker and individual bankruptcy estates. As part of the $15 million deal, the firm also agreed to beef up its conflict-screening and disclosure procedures, which, given how we got here, seems more than fair.
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Freeman left the firm in late 2022; Jones resigned in 2023 and took the Fifth more than 100 times when asked about the romance. Multiple settlements and almost $20 million dollars later, the controversy is finally ending. As sagas go, it’s not the most fulfilling ending, but like the soap operas this whole affair has evoked from the start, the resolution was never going to be as satisfying as the scandal itself.
Earlier: Controversy Over Judge’s Secret Romance Heads To Trial
Biglaw Firm Gets Hit With Lawsuit Over Partner’s Romance
Kirkland & Ellis Deeply Concerned Judge’s Romantic Scandal Is Going To ‘Tarnish’ Their Cases
Former Judge Gets Combative When Pressed On His Romantic Relationship
You Have To Read The Texts Uncovered In The Judge/Biglaw Partner Romantic Scandal
Who Knew What When? The Latest In The Judge/Partner Romantic Scandal Rocking The Legal World
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. 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 Bluesky @Kathryn1