Jackson Walker Denied Jury Trial in DOJ Romance Scandal Suit (1)

Jackson Walker LLP lost a bid for a jury trial tied to fee-related litigation brought by the Justice Department’s bankruptcy watchdog over the firm’s alleged concealment of an ex-partner’s romance with a judge.

The Texas-based law firm’s jury trial demand in the US Trustee’s challenge of more than $23 million in fees it earned was rejected because the surrounding issues are of equity rather than not common law, Judge Alia Moses of the US District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled on Wednesday.

The decision is a win for the US Trustee’s office, which asked the court to reject Jackson Walker’s push for a jury trial.

The US Trustee has challenged fees Jackson Walker earned in cases involving onetime partner Elizabeth Freeman and former Houston bankruptcy judge David R. Jones, who had been in a secret relationship for years. The watchdog unit said the firm, which regularly appeared before Jones in large Chapter 11 cases, breached its ethical duties by not disclosing the romance.

Moses also granted the US Trustee’s motion to consolidate 34 related bankruptcy fee disputes, saying they involve the similar facts of the undisclosed relationship.

Moses referred the issues back to Chief Bankruptcy Judge Eduardo V. Rodriguez of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Rodriguez must issue a report and recommendations, she ordered.

She removed the disputes from bankruptcy court in April in an effort to expedite the litigation. The order came shortly before a trial over the fees was set to begin in front of Rodriguez on May 12 in Houston. That trial was canceled following Moses’ transfer.

In Wednesday’s order, Moses also paused a slew of pending settlement motions related to Jackson Walker, calling them attempts to “circumvent the process” and “stymie the U.S. Trustee’s case” before core allegations of judicial misconduct are fully addressed.

The judge accepted the US Trustee’s argument that the Seventh Amendment guarantees a trial by jury in civil cases only for actions that are “legal in nature,” and that the “equitable” relief Jackson Walker sought doesn’t fall under that description. The DOJ unit said it only wanted to “restore the status quo” by disgorging the fees at issue.

Moses noted that the proceedings started in bankruptcy courts, which she said are courts of equity. She also found that even if the firm had a right to trial, it waived it by making its request nearly a year after the federal deadline.

Jones’ and Freeman’s romantic involvement—and co-ownership of a house—remained under wraps until October 2023, when an anonymous letter became public alleging the romance was influencing the judge’s rulings. Jones, once the most popular judge in the country for large Chapter 11 cases, announced his resignation shortly thereafter.

Jackson Walker is represented by Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP and Rusty Hardin & Associates LLP.

The case is In Re: Professional Fee Matters Concerning the Jackson Walker Law Firm, S.D. Tex., No. 23-04787, order 11/12/25.