Purdue Pharma Law Firm Builds ‘Ethical Wall’ to Shield Ex-Judge

Skadden, after hiring the judge who approved a $6 billion opioid settlement for its client Purdue Pharma LP, will bar him from matters involving the OxyContin maker and block him from company fees.

There’s an “ethical wall” between Purdue and retired Judge Robert Drain, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom said in a filing last week at the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court. Skadden made the filing a day after it said Drain will join its corporate restructuring group in New York as of counsel.

Drain in March 2022, three months before he retired, approved an opioid ...