Hearing Set on Freeman’s Bid to Drop $258K Fee Request in IEH Bankruptcy

Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Eduardo V. Rodriguez has set a hearing to take place in two weeks on a recent unopposed motion filed by Elizabeth Freeman withdrawing her request for roughly $258,000 in legal fees for her work on the IEH Auto Parts bankruptcy. Freeman made the request on an expedited basis, citing an upcoming Nov. 25 deadline for the exchange of witness and exhibit lists.

Freeman is a former bankruptcy partner with Jackson Walker who left the firm in December 2022 after the firm’s partners at the firm became aware of her secret romantic relationship with a sitting bankruptcy judge she appeared before numerous times, David Jones. When the relationship was publicly reported in October 2023, Jones resigned from the bench, and the U.S. Trustee launched litigation seeking to claw back all fees awarded to the firm in 33 cases in which Freeman was involved and Jones served as mediator or judge.