Bankruptcy Judge Mulls Calls to Disgorge Jackson Walker Fees

A bankruptcy judge prodded lawyers to explain who would benefit if he forces a prominent Texas law firm to return some fees it earned while employing a lawyer in a previously undisclosed romantic relationship with another judge.

Judge Marvin Isgur’s questioning came in response to a challenge from the Justice Department’s bankruptcy watchdog to fees Jackson Walker LLP collected in 26 cases that former judge David R. Jones oversaw. The US Trustee’s office moved to disgorge the payments after learning that Jones failed to disclose a long-term relationship with a onetime Jackson Walker partner, saying the relationship threatened the integrity ...