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The Fifth Circuit has formally ended a probe into a former bankruptcy judge at the center of an ethics storm related to his relationship with a local bankruptcy attorney.
The appeals court’s announcement Wednesday that it would drop the formal misconduct probe came the same day that Judge David R. Jones’ resignation from the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas went into effect.
Jones came under fire in October after he admitted to a long-term relationship with an attorney who worked at Jackson Walker, a top bankruptcy firm that regularly represented clients before him in court. The attorney, Elizabeth Freeman, left Jackson Walker in December.
Jones’ resignation, which he announced days after the Fifth Circuit lodged its complaint in October, means he’s no longer subject to disciplinary procedures of the court, Chief Judge Priscilla Richman of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said Wednesday.
“His resignation is an intervening event that makes further action on the complaint unnecessary, and the complaint against him is therefore CONCLUDED,” Richman wrote in the court release.
Freeman and Jones have been sharing a house together since at least 2017, according to the complaint.
Chief Judge Randy Crane of the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas confirmed in an email that Jones’ last day on the job would be Wednesday. Crane said Jones’ staff was offered buyouts, which they accepted, except one law clerk who chose to continue working for the court.
Crane also said he believes Jones will “be entitled to any benefits that he has earned to date.”
Jones regularly handled high-profile, complex Chapter 11 cases in Houston, a popular venue for corporate restructurings.
Though he’s no longer on the bench, the fallout of the relationship revelation has continued. The Justice Department’s bankruptcy monitoring unit is challenging around $13 million in fees Jones approved for Jackson Walker across several cases.
The firm recently claimed that Freeman lied to it about her relationship with Jones.
—Alex Wolf contributed to this report.
To contact the reporter on this story: James Nani in New York at jnani@bloombergindustry.com
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Maria Chutchian at mchutchian@bloombergindustry.com; Cheryl Saenz at csaenz@bloombergindustry.com
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