DOJ Objects to J&J Unit Hiring Jones Day as Bankruptcy Counsel

A Johnson & Johnson unit’s selection of Jones Day as its bankruptcy counsel poses a conflict of interest because the firm also orchestrated the legal maneuver that helped saddle the subsidiary with mass tort liabilities, a Justice Department arm said.

Jones Day, the architect of the “Texas Two-Step” legal tactic that aims to help corporations resolve widespread personal injury claims via bankruptcy, shouldn’t represent J&J unit Red River Talc LLC in Chapter 11, the Justice Department’s bankruptcy monitor, the US Trustee, said in an objection Tuesday filed in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The firm ...