Latest news with #JacksonWalker
South Wales Argus
12-07-2025
- South Wales Argus
Look who's just been jailed from Newport and Caerphilly
We look at their cases. (Image: Jackson Walker) A TEENAGER drug dealer was caught red-handed with dozens of wraps of heroin inside a sock during a police raid at his grandparents' home. Jackson Walker, 18, from Newport threw the package out of a window just before he was arrested earlier this year. There were 34 wraps of heroin inside the sock in total with an estimated street value of £1,360, Cardiff Crown Court heard. Walker was sent to a young offender institution for 21 months. (Image: Kieran O'Connor) A sex offender has been jailed for hiding his mobile phone from the police after installing dating apps on it. Convicted paedophile Kieran O'Connor, 23, has persistently breached a sexual harm prevention order imposed in September 2020 after he contacted an 11-year-old girl. He was locked up for 20 months in December 2023 after sending sexual messages to underage girls on Facebook. O'Connor's latest offences took when his flatmate tipped off the police, prosecutor Hannah Friedman told Newport Crown Court. He was jailed for 10 months. (Image: Robert Mellon) A paedophile asked a '14-year-old schoolgirl' to send him naked pictures of herself in the bath after contacting her online. Serial sex offender Robert Mellon thought he was speaking to an underage child called Ella. But he was in fact chatting to paedophile hunters Dank Dragon carrying out a sting operation. The 57-year-old from Newport has been in and out of prison for more than two decades after committing a string of crimes. His was locked up for 32 months. (Image: Sinead Sandell) A hairdresser punched a woman in the head before stealing her mobile phone. Sinead Sandell, aged 37, attacked Sade Hughes as she walked along the street on Francis Drive in the Pill area of Newport. The defendant was charged with robbery but her guilty pleas to theft and assault were accepted by the prosecution. Sandell, of Stow Hill, Newport has 36 previous convictions for 94 offences on her criminal record. She was jailed for 34 weeks. (Image: Liam Murphy) Liam Murphy, 33, from Caerphilly, was jailed for supplying cocaine and amphetamine. He was locked up for two years and nine months. (Image: Lewis Harvey) A teen branded a 'high risk to the public' has been locked up after he caused serious injury to another man by careless driving. Lewis Harvey, 19, pleaded guilty to committing the offence against victim Declan Nisbeck-Jefferies on Elm Drive in Risca on Thursday, March 20. He also admitted failing to stop after a road accident, driving a motor vehicle otherwise than in accordance with a licence and driving with no insurance. Newport Magistrates' Court heard the 'offence was committed whilst he was subject to a community order and the defendant poses a high risk to the public'. Harvey, of Newport Road, Cwmcarn, Caerphilly also pleaded guilty to being in breach of a restraining order on Tuesday, September 24, 2024 and Sunday April 6. The defendant was sent to a young offender institution for 42 weeks and disqualified from driving for 26 months.
Reuters
10-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Clock ticks for Jackson Walker, US Trustee in ethics case involving ex-judge
July 10 (Reuters) - (Billable Hours is Reuters' weekly report on lawyers and money. Please send tips or suggestions to opens new tab.) An ethics scandal that rocked the corporate bankruptcy world nearly two years ago is ratcheting up again, with pressure mounting for law firm Jackson Walker and the U.S. Justice Department's bankruptcy watchdog to reach a deal or go to trial over efforts to claw back millions of dollars in legal fees from the firm. For months, the U.S. Trustee has demanded that Jackson Walker disgorge $11 million or more in fees that the firm was awarded by former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones, whose romance with one of Jackson Walker's partners threw his Houston court in turmoil when it became public and the judge resigned two years ago. U.S. District Judge Alia Moses in Houston this week gave, opens new tab Jackson Walker and Kevin Epstein, the U.S. Trustee for the Southern and Western Districts of Texas, until July 15 to reach a settlement after weeks of mediation in the trustee's case against the firm. If they fail at the mediation, which is being overseen by a retired bankruptcy judge, Moses said she will schedule the case for trial. Jackson Walker has acknowledged that it knew by March 2022 that its then-partner Elizabeth Freeman was in a relationship with Jones but told no one, a federal bankruptcy judge said in September 2024. The firm has argued it acted responsibly in its handling of the relationship. In December 2022, Freeman left the firm. Jones publicly disclosed the relationship and resigned from the bench in the fall of 2023. The trustee objected to fees Jackson Walker earned in at least 26 cases, arguing, opens new tab that Jones' failure to recuse himself from any case involving Jackson Walker tainted the fee awards the firm received from him. Spokespersons for Jackson Walker and the U.S. Trustee declined to comment. Legal experts watching the case say the stakes are high for both sides, and the settlement could hinge both on the size of any deal and the trustee's interests in policing the bankruptcy system. A purely financial settlement "lets people set the payment price for a failure to disclose," said Nancy Rapoport, a law professor at the University of Nevada focused on ethics and bankruptcy law. The U.S. Trustee is charged with overseeing the integrity of the bankruptcy system, said Robert Lawless, a law professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A "nominal" financial settlement could signal that corporate bankruptcy lawyers play by a different set of rules than everyone else, Lawless said. "What happened was very troubling," Lawless said. "From the U.S. Trustee's perspective, if there's no consequence to this, it's bad for the system." A trial on the trustee's claims would be a major event for the Houston bankruptcy bar, potentially airing internal firm communications, details about Jones' relationship and returning scrutiny to the parties' actions in long-closed bankruptcy cases. That could be averted even if Tuesday's mediation deadline passes without a deal, Rapoport noted, since the firm and the trustee could still hammer out a settlement on their own. -- Quinn Emanuel has escalated its fight for $30 million in legal fees the firm says it's owed by a former client, 3D printer Desktop Metal, after it prevailed in litigation that forced Israeli tech firm Nano Dimension to follow through with a planned merger with the company. Quinn Emanuel on Tuesday sued, opens new tab Nano Dimension and its CEO Ofir Baharav in Massachusetts state court, alleging that Nano and Baharav, now in charge of the merged company, are refusing to pay. "Now under Nano's control, Desktop Metal is employing the same playbook of delay, deception, and sharp tactics against Quinn Emanuel that Nano previously deployed against Desktop Metal itself," the firm said in its lawsuit. The lawsuit said the firm could receive triple damages from Nano and Baharav. A Quinn Emanuel spokesperson had no immediate comment. A spokesperson for Nano and Baharav did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Quinn Emanuel is pursuing litigation over the same fees against Desktop Metal in New York state court, and is in arbitration with its former client. -- Leading U.S. and international law firms jostled for market share as global M&A activity rose in the first half of the year, despite uncertainties stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war, high interest rates and broader geopolitical tensions. The value of global M&A deals announced during the first half of 2025 hit $1.98 trillion, a 33% increase compared to the first half of 2024 and the "strongest opening period for deal making since 2022," the London Stock Exchange Group said in its rankings of M&A legal advisers released last week. But the volume of deals has hit a five-year low, LSEG found. More than 24,000 deals were announced during the first half of the year, a 10% decline compared to the first half of 2024. Latham & Watkins, the second highest-grossing U.S. law firm by revenue, was the top principal adviser on global M&A deals in LSEG's rankings for the period by deal value, working on 372 global announced deals worth $257 billion. The firm said in a statement it was grateful to clients for trusting its lawyers on major deals. Latham was followed by New York law firm Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, which served as principal adviser on 55 deals worth $204 billion. Wachtell's lawyers are "quite busy across a wide range of industries, and with some large deals in the pipeline as well," said Andy Nussbaum, the co-chair of Wachtell's executive committee. Wachtell served as a legal advisor to U.S. Steel, which was acquired by Japan's Nippon Steel in a politically sensitive $14.9 billion deal that closed last month. Nussbaum said in an email the firm was pleased to see that deal close. Wachtell and Latham are serving as legal advisers to Charter Communications and Cox Communications, respectively, for Charter's $34.5 billion acquisition of the privately held Cox. The deal is the largest of the year, according to LSEG. -- Kellogg Hansen and other firms have asked a U.S. judge in California to award them nearly $20 million in fees after they prevailed at trial in May against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Biosense Webster. Plaintiff Innovative Health in 2019 accused Biosense Webster of anticompetitive practices focused on clinical services tied to Biosense's cardiac mapping catheters. Innovative alleged it was being excluded from the market. The jury awarded damages, opens new tab of $147 million that were automatically trebled under antitrust law to more than $442 million. The 100-lawyer Kellogg Hansen firm jumped into the litigation last year as lead trial counsel. Kellogg Hansen's Derek Ho was the firm's highest biller, opens new tab at $1,795 an hour. Ho did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kellogg Hansen, Berger Montague, Theodora Oringher and the other firms for Innovative said the complexity of the case and risk of taking it on justified their fee request. Biosense had denied any wrongdoing. Johnson & Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Read more: Litigation funders get a boost in budget bill drama, court wins How much does Hunter Biden's lawyer charge? Litigation funder fires back at Tyson Foods over settlement interference claims Mike Scarcella contributed reporting from Washington. D.C.
Reuters
15-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Settlements mount against law firm caught up in bankruptcy judge's secret romance
May 15 (Reuters) - (Billable Hours is Reuters' weekly report on lawyers and money. Please send tips or suggestions to opens new tab) Houston-based law firm Jackson Walker agreed this week to pay $100,000 to one of its former bankruptcy clients, marking its latest proposed payout to resolve claims that it failed to disclose and profited from a romantic relationship between one of its partners and former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones. The settlement, opens new tab between Jackson Walker and the trustee overseeing the bankruptcy estate of Brilliant Energy, a Houston-based electric utility, is the third such deal the law firm has struck since April. Jackson Walker is already poised to pay back $1.5 million in fees across the three settlements in bankruptcy cases where Jones approved the firm's fee requests while he was in a romantic relationship with Elizabeth Freeman, who was a bankruptcy partner at Jackson Walker until December 2022. A spokesperson for the firm said more settlement deals were in the works, but did not comment further. Brilliant Energy's Chapter 7 trustee Randy Williams did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the U.S. Trustee, the Justice Department's bankruptcy watchdog, declined to comment. For months, the trustee has been trying to force Jackson Walker to disgorge millions of dollars in legal fees that Jones approved in at least 30 bankruptcy cases filed by the law firm. The proposed settlements require approval by U.S. District Judge Alia Moses in Houston, who began overseeing the case in April. Moses has set a status hearing for May 22. Jones was once the busiest bankruptcy judge in the U.S. and presided over the bankruptcies of JCPenney, Neiman Marcus, Party City and Chesapeake Energy, among many others. He resigned from the bench in October 2023 after admitting to sharing a home with Freeman. The firm has said it was deceived by Freeman into thinking her relationship with Jones had ended in March 2020. After being confronted by Jackson Walker two years later, Freeman admitted that she and Jones had rekindled their relationship, the firm said. A U.S. bankruptcy judge said in September that Jackson Walker knew Freeman was in the relationship and told no one, and instead billed $11 million in fees in cases where Jones was the judge or mediator. After U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur withdrew an ethics complaint against the firm in February, Jackson Walker said in a statement that "the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that Jackson Walker acted responsibly and appropriately at all times under the circumstances." -- Law firms Cotchett Pitre, Robins Kaplan and Susman Godfrey have asked a U.S. judge in Michigan to award an additional $94 million in legal fees, opens new tab for their work on automotive antitrust settlements valued at more than $1.22 billion. The firms said that as of March they had devoted a combined 388,956 hours into pursuing claims that auto parts makers conspired to fix prices on a large variety of products. The new fee request covers legal work since 2019 and would push the firms' total awarded to $363 million. The attorneys said the settlement amount "is believed to be the largest amount ever obtained on behalf of indirect purchasers in the history of U.S. antitrust litigation." -- A U.S. judge in Chicago on Monday approved an unusual nationwide class-action settlement resolving privacy claims against facial recognition company Clearview AI without any immediate and specific monetary payout for victims. The settlement resolves claims that Clearview scraped billions of facial images from the web and sold information without consent, violating an Illinois biometric privacy law. Clearview has denied any misconduct. U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman also signed off on the settlement's unique attorney fee award — instead of getting a payout up front, Chicago-based Loevy & Loevy would receive 39.1% share of a theoretical future settlement amount, based on Clearview's value if the company goes public through an IPO or is liquidated through a merger or sale. Coleman held that the 39.1% share is in keeping with "Seventh Circuit caselaw, where courts have routinely provided fee awards of 30% or greater of a common fund." Read more: Amazon, Apple seek legal fees as sanction in US consumer lawsuit Epic Games' Cravath team wins fees in Apple contempt ruling US lobbying firms see early revenue boost in Trump's second term
Business Wire
09-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht Joins Jackson Walker
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jackson Walker is proud to announce that the Hon. Nathan L. Hecht, former Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, has joined Jackson Walker as a partner in our Austin office. Justice Hecht brings to Jackson Walker a distinguished judicial career spanning more than four decades, marked by his unwavering commitment to the rule of law, access to justice, and the modernization of Texas courts. 'We are honored to welcome Chief Justice Hecht to Jackson Walker,' Managing Partner C. Wade Cooper said. 'His legacy of leadership, integrity, and innovation in the Texas judiciary is unmatched. Justice Hecht's experience and vision will be invaluable to our clients and our firm as we continue to serve clients across Texas and around the world.' On his decision to join the Firm, Justice Hecht said, 'I am honored to join Jackson Walker and to work alongside so many talented attorneys who share my commitment to excellence and service. Throughout my career, I have been dedicated to upholding the rule of law and ensuring access to justice for all Texans. I look forward to contributing my experience to the Firm and its clients, and to continuing to advance the legal profession together.' An Unparalleled Judicial Career Justice Hecht's tenure on the Supreme Court of Texas is unparalleled. He served on the Court for 36 years – longer than any other justice in the Court's history – before retiring on December 31, 2024. Justice Hecht led the Court's efforts to expand access to civil legal services for Texans of limited means and oversaw significant revisions to the rules of administration, practice, and procedure in Texas courts. Nationally, he served on the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules of the Judicial Conference of the United States and was the longest-serving president of the Conference of Chief Justices. 'Chief Justice Hecht's deep understanding of the law, commitment to fairness, and dedication to improving the administration of justice have set the standard for all of us,' said partner Charles L. 'Chip' Babcock, who worked alongside Chief Justice Hecht while he served as a member and then Chair of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee. 'I am thrilled to welcome him as a Jackson Walker partner.' Litigation partner David T. Moran added, 'Chief Justice Hecht's arrival is a tremendous asset to our appellate section and the entire Firm. He has seen and done it all over his distinguished career, and he will make us all better.' Before his judicial service, Justice Hecht was a partner in a Dallas law firm, clerked for Judge Roger Robb of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve Judge Advocate General's Corps. Justice Hecht received a B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. from the SMU Dedman School of Law. Meet Jackson Walker Since Jackson Walker's founding in 1887, our attorneys have represented some of the most influential companies and business leaders in the world. Today, we remain firmly rooted in Texas while serving clients around the globe. With more than 500 attorneys, we are the largest firm in Texas and have been recognized by Law360 as a 'Texas Powerhouse' and an 'elite law firm' that regularly provides counsel to industry-leading clients. Jackson Walker's trial group is one of the largest in the Southwest, comprising about 30% of the firm's more than 500 attorneys. To learn more, visit the Trial & Appellate Litigation practice page.
Reuters
01-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Bankruptcy judge defeats ethics complaint over knowledge of colleague's relationship
May 1 (Reuters) - A federal bankruptcy judge in Houston has been cleared of wrongdoing over allegations that he failed to report that another judge in his court had been in an undisclosed romantic relationship with an attorney at the law firm Jackson Walker. U.S. Circuit Judge Edith Jones dismissed a judicial misconduct complaint filed with the 5th Circuit Judicial Council against a jurist matching the description of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur citing a lack of evidence that he had "reliable" information about former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones' relationship before it became public. While the decision does not identify either judge by name, the ruling's details and descriptions of the judges match those of Isgur and Jones, who himself had been the subject of a judicial ethics probe that ended after he left the bench. Those details include a quote from a presentation Isgur gave and business records detailing his listing as a registered agent on a business filing for an entity owned by the judge's adult child, which the complaint described as a "political persona." Isgur did not respond to a request for comment. Jones resigned in 2023, days after acknowledging that he had been in a years-long relationship with bankruptcy lawyer Elizabeth Freeman, who had worked at Jackson Walker, a firm that handled cases before the judge, and shared a home with her. Before his resignation, Jones had been the busiest bankruptcy judge in the United States and presided over the bankruptcies of JCPenney, Neiman Marcus, Party City and Chesapeake Energy, among many others. The resulting scandal prompted a criminal investigation into Jones and litigation by the U.S. Trustee, the Justice Department's bankruptcy watchdog, to force Jackson Walker to disgorge millions of dollars in legal fees Jones approved in at least 35 bankruptcy cases involving the law firm. Isgur, whose daughter is the conservative legal media commentator Sarah Isgur, had been a onetime mentor and law partner with Jones, whom he described in a 2023 speech as his "stubborn adopted son." The complaint filed with the 5th Circuit was lodged by an unnamed individual litigating a case without a lawyer in an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court that the complainant claimed Isgur should have recused himself from. The complainant claimed Isgur should have done so as the proceeding concerned a fraud upon the court perpetrated by a law firm that employed a partner the judge had described as a friend. The complainant noted how Isgur and Jones had spoken publicly about their close professional and personal relationship and argued it was likely Isgur attended social events at which Isgur and Freeman were present. Exact details on the allegations were not clear. The 5th Circuit, as is its custom with judicial misconduct cases, did not make the original complaint public. A provision of the Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings provides that cognizable misconduct by a judge can include failing to report "any reliable information reasonably likely to constitute misconduct." But Jones said the complainant lacked evidence Isgur had reliable information about Jones' relationship, and when she contacted Isgur as part of an inquiry into the allegations, he denied having any knowledge about the relationship before it became public. Read more: Ethics complaint against law firm over secret judge romance withdrawn US seeks return of fees from law firm tied to bankruptcy judge resignation Ethics probe into Texas bankruptcy judge ends following resignation
