Jones Day Conflicted in Vanderbilt Minerals Case, DOJ Unit Says

Vanderbilt Minerals LLC’s choice of Jones Day as its lead bankruptcy counsel should be rejected because the law firm also represented the mining company’s parent, the Justice Department’s bankruptcy monitoring unit said.

Jones Day’s representation of Vanderbilt owner R.T. Vanderbilt Holding Co. before its Chapter 11 filing creates a major conflict because the parent company may ultimately benefit from the proposed restructuring, the US Trustee said in an objection filed Tuesday in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York.

The company’s unsecured creditors also objected to the Jones Day application, arguing the firm was still representing ...