Bloomberg Law: Alfredo Perez to be Next SDTX Bankruptcy Judge
If approved, Perez would join his former Weil Gotshal law partner, Judge Christopher Lopez, as one of the bankruptcy judges handling big cases in Houston.
Jackson Walker Offers 2021 Memo as Proof Partner Lied About Relationship with Bankruptcy Judge
The former McDermott International shareholder who exposed the secret relationship between a former Jackson Walker partner and the Houston bankruptcy judge who handled the McDermott restructuring is a “professional litigant” with a history of “perjured testimony and falsification of evidence” who has no legitimate legal claims against Jackson Walker. Those arguments were part of a 46-page document filed Friday by Houston trial lawyer Rusty Hardin, who represents Jackson Walker, seeking to dismiss the federal racketeering and fraud lawsuit filed against his client and others by McDermott investor Michael Van Deelen who seeks millions of dollars in damages, alleging the firm hid and profited from the romantic relationship between Elizabeth Freeman, a Jackson Walker bankruptcy partner between 2018 and 2022, and former Bankruptcy Judge David Jones.
Elizabeth Freeman: Secret Relationship with Bankruptcy Judge Jones Had No Impact on McDermott Restructuring Case
The decision to keep secret the relationship between then-U.S. Bankruptcy Chief Judge David Jones and Jackson Walker bankruptcy partner Elizabeth Freeman was made by Judge Jones in 2020 at the start of the multibillion-dollar corporate restructuring of McDermott International, a lawyer for Freeman stated in court documents filed late Monday in federal court in Houston. Prominent Houston corporate bankruptcy lawyer Tom Kirkendall, who represents Freeman in the ongoing litigation related to Freeman’s relationship with Judge Jones, wrote that neither Jackson Walker nor Kirkland & Ellis were aware that the couple were living together or were romantically involved and that the federal lawsuit against them should be dismissed.
Kirkland Hires David Beck, Seeks Dismissal from Judge Jones Bankruptcy Romance Lawsuit
Kirkland & Ellis lawyers had no knowledge that former Houston Bankruptcy Judge David Jones was having a secret romantic affair with a former partner at a Texas law firm that served as its co-counsel in dozens of corporate restructurings and that Kirkland cannot be held accountable for the ethical lapses of the judge in those cases, according to court documents filed Friday. Lawyers for Kirkland, which include David Beck, argue that the Chicago-founded law firm should be dismissed from a federal racketeering lawsuit that accuses Kirkland and its co-counsel at Dallas-based Jackson Walker of exploiting the relationship between Judge Jones and former Jackson Walker partner Elizabeth Freeman. Jackson Walker has hired Rusty Hardin and Judge Jones is being represented by McKool Smith.
Jackson Walker: Zero Evidence That Any Bankruptcy Decisions Were ‘Influenced by Secret Intimate Relationship’
Lawyers for Jackson Walker contend that the U.S. Justice Department “fails to plead any plausible allegations” in its effort to claw-back legal fees paid to the firm for its work on 26 different corporate bankruptcies and to have sanctions levied against the firm.
The Dallas-based corporate law firm argues that there is no evidence that then-U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones’ intimate relationship with then-Jackson Walker partner Elizabeth Freeman influenced any of his decisions and that Jackson Walker should not be penalized because it only learned about the relationship after many of the cases raised by the U.S. trustee had been concluded.
U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee: Jackson Walker Acted in “Bad Faith,” Should Return $11M in Fees
Jackson Walker violated lawyer disciplinary and federal bankruptcy disclosure rules when it failed to disclose the romantic relationship between one of its lawyers and the judge in several high-profile bankruptcies, and the firm should be sanctioned and required to return more than $11 million it was paid in those cases, according to the U.S. trustee for the Southern District of Texas.
Dallas Financial Restructuring Partner Joins Baker Botts
With the firm’s third lateral partner hire in Texas in 2024, Baker Botts added depth to its financial restructuring practice with Travis McRoberts from Squire Patton Boggs.
Duane Morris Keeps Growing Dallas Office, Hires James Billingsley from Polsinelli
Billingsley joins as a partner in the firm’s business reorganization and financial restructuring practice group, where he says he’ll be able to expand his practice nationally. Billingsley talks to The Texas Lawbook about Chapter 11 bankruptcy venues and what’s ahead in 2024 in the world of complex Chapter 11 cases.