law firm

Big Law Firms Accused of Hiding Bankruptcy Judge’s Romance (1)

A lawsuit alleging a former Texas bankruptcy judge improperly shielded a romantic relationship has been expanded to target his girlfriend, as well as law firms Kirkland & Ellis and Jackson Walker.

The amended complaint filed Thursday is part of the ongoing fallout of David R. Jones’ relationship with a former attorney at Jackson Walker, a Texas firm that regularly represented clients in Jones’ courtroom before he resigned in October.

Kirkland & Ellis, a behemoth in the restructuring community, and Jackson Walker filed “numerous misleading and dishonest federal court papers without disclosing the Jones-Freeman relationship,” plaintiff Michael Van Deelen alleged in an amended complaint filed Thursday in US District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Jackson Walker, which employed Freeman until December 2022, often served as local counsel to Kirkland & Ellis in large Chapter 11 cases.

The failure to disclose the relationship amounts to bankruptcy fraud, honest services fraud, mail and wire fraud, and obstruction of justice under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, Van Deelen said in the complaint.

“Debtors received favorable treatment and attorneys got rich in a bankruptcy system akin to shipping lettuce by rabbits,” the amended complaint said.

Van Deelen was a shareholder and

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January 14, 2024 by ATTORNEY

Ethics probe into Texas bankruptcy judge ends following resignation
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones, who announced he is stepping down from handling cases, is seen during a virtual interview with Reuters in December 2020

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones, who oversees more major Chapter 11 cases than any other U.S. judge, is seen in a screenshot from video shot during a virtual interview with Reuters done from Houston, Texas, U.S. December 11, 2020. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

  • 5th Circuit probe into former Bankruptcy Judge David Jones ends
  • DOJ’s bankruptcy trustee seeking return of fees from Jackson Walker

Nov 16 (Reuters) – A federal judicial ethics probe into former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones’ failure to disclose his romantic relationship with a lawyer whose firm regularly appeared before him has come to an end following the Houston judge’s resignation.

The chief judge of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Priscilla Richman, in an order on Wednesday said further action was “unnecessary” after Jones last month submitted his resignation as a Southern District of Texas bankruptcy judge.

Jones announced plans to resign on Oct. 15 after acknowledging to the Wall Street Journal that he had been in a years-long romantic relationship with bankruptcy attorney Elizabeth Freeman and shared a home with her.

Freeman until recently worked at Jackson Walker, a local law firm that worked on many corporate bankruptcy cases in Jones’ Houston courthouse.

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November 26, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Law firm tied to bankruptcy judge resignation says former partner lied
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones, who announced he is stepping down from handling cases, is seen during a virtual interview with Reuters in December 2020

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones, who oversees more major Chapter 11 cases than any other U.S. judge, is seen in a screenshot from video shot during a virtual interview with Reuters done from Houston, Texas, U.S. December 11, 2020. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

Nov 13 (Reuters) – Texas law firm Jackson Walker was deceived by a former partner who never disclosed she was living with a U.S. bankruptcy judge in Houston who was handling its cases, the firm said in a court filing on Monday.

Jackson Walker was told by former partner Elizabeth Freeman in 2021 that she had ended her relationship with then-U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones “well in the past” and it was unlikely to rekindle, according to a filing that appeared in multiple bankruptcy cases the firm had worked on, including that of J.C. Penney.

The 500-lawyer firm was responding to an effort by the U.S. Trustee, the U.S. Justice Department’s bankruptcy watchdog, to force the firm to return millions of dollars earned in cases presided over by Jones, who resigned in October after his relationship with Freeman became public.

Tom Kirkendall, an attorney for Freeman, declined to comment, as did spokespeople for Jackson Walker and

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November 15, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Law firm Foley Hoag sues New York lawyer over bankruptcy fees
reuters/3V3NF3S3GNMVJCT4MJHGS3HXII.jpg 1080w,https://www.reuters.com/resizer/g9HZ4NyBXZNhMPlva-fIU4CGRkg=/728×0/filters:quality(80)/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/3V3NF3S3GNMVJCT4MJHGS3HXII.jpg 1200w” sizes=”(min-width: 1024px) 560px, (min-width: 1440px) 700px, 100vw” width=”728″ height=”442″ alt=”U.S. one dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration”/

U.S. one dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing Rights

Oct 30 (Reuters) – A New York lawyer is facing claims that he owes more than $871,000 in unpaid attorney fees to a law firm that represented him for four years after his own firm went bankrupt.

U.S. law firm Foley Hoag sued Jeffrey Liddle on Monday in New York County Supreme Court, alleging that he has not made a payment on his balance since December 2022.

Liddle, who now practices at The Liddle Law Firm, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did a spokesperson for Foley Hoag.

Liddle’s practice is focused on employment and securities law, and typically represents clients who are involved in finance. His past clients have also U.S. law firms Seward & Kissel and Stroock & Stroock & Lavan.

In March 2019, Liddle filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Manhattan, stating he owed more than $10 million to his creditors, which included several law firms, including Kasowitz Benson Torres and Blank

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October 31, 2023 by ATTORNEY

The Lawyers Sam Bankman-Fried Once Trusted Are Drawing Criticism

Just before FTX collapsed in November, one of its outside lawyers at the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell emailed a colleague at another firm, insisting that the cryptocurrency exchange’s finances were stable.

Rumors of FTX’s demise were “silliness,” the lawyer, Andrew Dietderich, wrote. “FTX is rock solid, doesn’t use customer funds or take credit risk at all,” he said.

Four days later, FTX filed for bankruptcy. Mr. Dietderich quickly arranged for Sam Bankman-Fried, the exchange’s founder, to step down so that a new chief executive, John Jay Ray III, a specialist in corporate turnarounds, could lead the company. When Mr. Ray needed lawyers to manage the bankruptcy, a lucrative assignment, he asked a judge to appoint the same ones who had helped get him the job: Sullivan & Cromwell.

Now, with Mr. Bankman-Fried set to go on trial next month on fraud charges stemming from FTX’s failure, Sullivan & Cromwell’s tangled history with the exchange is drawing scrutiny — especially from Mr. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers and family.

For months, Mr. Bankman-Fried has attacked Sullivan & Cromwell in court papers and on social media, arguing that the firm’s lawyers set him up as the fall guy for FTX’s implosion while downplaying their

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September 24, 2023 by ATTORNEY
April 2024
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