Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Elizabeth Freeman and her law firm filed the 54-page dismissal motion, which includes more than 1,000 pages of exhibits, on Tuesday. The bondholders had filed suit in June, alleging she was among a group of individuals working “together to prey upon distressed entities for their own financial gain.”
The federal government’s bankruptcy court watchdog asked a federal judge Friday to reject efforts by Jackson Walker to individually settle claims against it involving the law firm’s critical role in the secret romance scandal between one of its partners and former Houston Bankruptcy Judge David Jones.
GWG Holdings bondholders call for U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur to step away from the case, alleging he is protecting David Jones, a former bankruptcy judge, and Elizabeth Freeman, a former Jackson Walker partner with whom Jones had an undisclosed romantic relationship.
Information technology company Sungard AS New Holdings has asked the court to approve a $385,000 settlement it reached with Jackson Walker that would end its bankruptcy fee dispute with the Dallas-based law firm. This marks back-to-back weeks companies involved in the bankruptcy fee dispute have asked the court to approve settlements with the firm.
Seadrill Partners and Seadrill Limited — the offshore drilling rig operators whose bankruptcy proceedings are among the 33 cases where the U.S. Trustee’s Office is trying to claw back millions in fees awarded to Jackson Walker — asked the court on Friday to approve its $485,000 settlement with the Dallas-based law firm.
Fueled by financial distress in the healthcare and hospitality industries, a record number of businesses filed for bankruptcy in the Northern District of Texas federal courts during the first six months of 2025. New Texas Lawbook data shows that 622 companies and their affiliated businesses sought protection to restructure under Chapter 11 in the Texas bankruptcy courts between Jan. 1 and June 30 — more than any other state by a large margin. A half-dozen leading business bankruptcy experts provide their insights.
The Texas Lawbook interviewed seven of the top business bankruptcy lawyers in Texas about trends and developments in their practices during 2025. The experts include Sidley Austin partner Duston McFaul, Godwin Bowman partner Sid Scheinberg, O’Melveny & Myers partner Lou Strubeck, Haynes Boone partner Charles Beckham, Ross & Smith partner Frances Smith, Bradley Arant partner Jarrod Martin and Bracewell partner Trey Wood.
The liquidating trustee overseeing the Sorrento Therapeutics Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed an adversary proceeding this week against the company’s directors and officers, alleging their breaches of fiduciary duty caused the company’s creditors to suffer at least $100 million in damages.
The U.S. Trustee’s Office has told Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses that Jackson Walker “has no substantive right to a jury trial” in the case where it is trying to claw back millions in fees awarded to the law firm in 33 cases where former bankruptcy judge David Jones served as a mediator or judge.
The multimillion-dollar dispute between Jackson Walker and the U.S. Trustee over legal fees paid to the law firm involved in the Houston bankruptcy court romance scandal looks like it is heading to trial. Lawyers for Jackson Walker informed federal court officials Tuesday that efforts to resolve the litigation through mediation had failed.
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