Law Professors Talk Possible Jackson Walker Defenses in Bankruptcy Fee Litigation

A few weeks ago, and over ardent objections from the U.S. Trustee, a bankruptcy judge agreed that Jackson Walker can depose the leader of that office in its effort to suss out whether the bankruptcy watchdog knew about a secret relationship between a sitting judge and a bankruptcy lawyer that is now the basis of its efforts to claw back millions in fees awarded to the law firm. 

The order from Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of Texas, Eduardo V. Rodriguez, means Kevin Epstein, the trustee for Region 7, will have to answer questions about his knowledge of the relationship between former bankruptcy judge David Jones and Elizabeth Freeman. Jackson Walker has argued that if the attorneys in the U.S. Trustee’s office were aware of the relationship and failed to disclose it, there cannot be the “extraordinary circumstances” or “manifest injustice” that would allow the trustee’s office to claw back Jackson Walker’s fees.