Disgraced Ex-Bankruptcy Judge Taps Star Lawyer David Boies (3)

Legal heavyweight David Boies will represent a former Texas bankruptcy judge accused of improperly concealing his romantic relationship with a local attorney.

Boies, chair and founding partner of Boies Schiller Flexner, entered an appearance on Wednesday on behalf of the former judge, David R. Jones, in a civil suit brought by the former CEO of petroleum barge company Bouchard Transportation Co. Inc.

Jones’ hiring of Boies, the famous litigator whose firm has worked for disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and controversial Theranos chief Elizabeth Holmes, is the latest development in the scandal related to Jones and his once-secret relationship with Elizabeth Freeman. She was Jones’ former clerk and a onetime partner at Jackson Walker, a law firm that regularly represented clients before him in court.

Boies’ storied career includes his representation of Al Gore against George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election legal battle, his win in the US antitrust case against Microsoft Corp., and representing victims of Jeffrey Epstein in a class action against JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Boies, who is poised to step down from his leadership position at the end of this year, was charging up to $2,110 an hour for his services as of September 2023, according to court documents.

His appearance in the Bouchard case comes after Jackson Walker last month said one of its bankruptcy partners was asked by Jones to file a potentially misleading court disclosure about his relationship with Freeman.

Boies didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment via email on Thursday. Boies Schiller partner Tyler Ulrich, a litigator based in Miami, also entered an apperance for Jones.

The revelations involving Jones, once the busiest judge overseeing large corporate Chapter 11s in the country, have cast a shadow on the Houston bankruptcy court Jones built to prominence, and have prompted a Justice Department unit to try to recover millions of dollars from Jackson Walker, Freeman’s former firm.

Litigating Romance

The former CEO of the petroleum barge company, Morton S. Bouchard III, accused Jones breaching his duties and deceiving the public by failing to disclose his relationship with Freeman. The suit includes allegations of fraud and violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Jones, who announced his resignation in October, presided over the Bouchard Transportation Chapter 11 case and removed Bouchard as CEO. The company, which filed for Chapter 11 in September 2020, was represented by Kirkland & Ellis and Jackson Walker.

Bouchard in February sued Jones, Freeman, Kirkland, and Jackson Walker, accusing them of conspiring to keep secret Jones’ relationship with Freeman.

Jones, Freeman, and the law firms are facing a similar lawsuit by a former investor stemming from the 2020 bankruptcy of McDermott International Inc., which Jones also oversaw. That suit, filed by shareholder Michael Van Deelen, accused Jones of living with Freeman for years and hiding the relationship. His complaint led to a series of revelations that made the relationship public.

Kirkland and Jackson Walker have both moved to dismiss the Bouchard case, and have called for sanctions against Bouchard and his counsel at Bandas Law Firm. Freeman has also sought to have the case tossed.

While the suit was brought in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the case is now being heard by Chief Judge Alia Moses of the US District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Facing similar allegations in the Van Deelen case, Jones has said he has judicial immunity against the litigation and in October asked the Justice Department to defend him in the matter. The government never responded to the request publicly.

In a hearing in the Van Deelen matter earlier this month, Moses said it was “mandatory” for Jones to disqualify himself on any case Freeman was involved in.

The case is Bouchard v. Jones, S.D. Tex., No. 24-cv-00693, 6/19/24.