Ex-Bankruptcy Judge Got Combative in Secret Romance Questioning

Former Houston bankruptcy judge David R. Jones made his frustration clear while being deposed in a Justice Department civil probe related to his once-secret romance with a local attorney, often appearing combative or refusing to answer questions.

Jones’ words during a deposition last year will take center stage when a trial kicks off in April to determine whether Texas law firm Jackson Walker LLP will have to disgorge as much as $23 million for failing to disclose the romance between one of its former partners, Elizabeth Freeman, and Jones.

The deposition transcript, obtained by Bloomberg Law, offers new details amid the legal troubles surrounding the firm, which frequently represented clients before the judge, and Jones, who resigned from the bench in 2023 after admitting to his longstanding relationship with Freeman. She left Jackson Walker at the end of 2022.

During the sprawling nine-hour deposition on Sept. 19, a sometimes-recalcitrant Jones was asked a wide range of questions about the relationship and his legal reasoning for keeping the romance under wraps.

The deposition, conducted as part of the Justice Department bankruptcy unit’s quest to claw back fees Jackson Walker earned in cases involving Jones while it employed Freeman, come as Jones and others face a federal criminal investigation related to the ethics scandal.

When asked if he cared whether the relationship was publicly known, Jones said he didn’t. But when asked if he took precautions to make sure it wasn’t public, Jones said: “I’m a private person.”

Jones and his attorneys didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Hardest Thing to Lose

The ex-judge cited his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination more than 100 times during the deposition, including in response to questions about his highest level of education and whether he’s licensed by the Texas bar.

Jones cited his Fifth Amendment right when asked if his romantic relationship with Freeman started while she was at the Texas firm Porter Hedges LLP. He again cited the Fifth Amendment when initially asked if he and Freeman had a financial relationship, but also said no such arrangement existed.

Jones declined to answer questions about an anonymous letter that eventually led to the romance becoming public. However, Jones said the relationship “has not always been intimate.”

Jones also declined to answer whether his former colleague and friend, Judge Marvin Isgur, was aware of the relationship, but noted he hadn’t spoken to Isgur since he resigned.

“That was one of the hardest things to lose,” Jones said of his friendship with Isgur, who is still a bankruptcy judge in Houston.

Isgur didn’t ask Jones any questions before presiding over a March 2021 hearing related to the anonymous letter accusing Jones of having a relationship with Freeman, the ex-judge said. Any conversation with Isgur over the substance of that hearing, which addressed a shareholder demand that Jones recuse himself from a contentious bankruptcy based on the letter, would have been inappropriate, he said.

Pressed by a government attorney over whether Isgur would’ve wanted to know Jones’ relationship status before presiding over the recusal request, Jones demurred.

“That was irrelevant,” he responded.

Jones was at times combative under questioning. He accused the government of “crawling through his personal life” and had more than one testy exchange.

Intimate Relationships

When asked about his thoughts on disclosure rules for attorneys seeking court approval to represent a company in bankruptcy, Jones said the requirements don’t include disclosing connections with the court.

Jones’ interpretation of the rule came into play in late 2022 when he invited Freeman’s colleague and Jackson Walker bankruptcy partner Matthew Cavenaugh into his chambers after a hearing.

During the one-on-one conversation with Cavenaugh, Jones said he alone was required to disclose the relationship with Freeman—not the firm. He gave Cavenaugh a proposed disclosure that described Freeman as Jones’ former law clerk and said they maintained a “close personal relationship” but didn’t acknowledge the romance nor their shared ownership of a home.

Jones said if Cavenaugh was going to disclose a connection between the judge and Freeman, he wanted it to be “complete.” Jackson Walker ultimately declined to use Jones’ suggested language.

Jones said he was trying to prevent Cavenaugh from “getting himself in trouble by making a disclosure about Freeman and not making a full disclosure about everyone.”

“In retrospect, I never should have done it,” Jones said. “I was trying to help.”

The former judge also said that during the 2022 conversation, he “in a joking manner” may have told Cavenaugh that if he were to forced to disclose anyone he “ever slept with, that could be a problem.”

“I probably did say something like that, probably totally inappropriate,” Jones said. “But I probably said something like that because I thought this was ridiculous.”

A government attorney asked if Jones had intimate relationships with others who appeared before him in court. Jones cited his Fifth Amendment rights in response.

Jones also said he didn’t believe he had a “household” relationship with Freeman that would require him to recuse himself in cases involving her or Jackson Walker, despite putting her on the deed to their home. Jones said he found no definition of “household” in judicial canons, so sought other definitions.

“I was not required to take any action,” Jones said.

‘Never Favored Anybody’

Jones said the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit “violated its own practice” by publishing its October 2023 complaint against Jones that led to his resignation.

“I was hoping that that would simply be enough, sort of pound of flesh, if you will, for everyone,” Jones said. A Fifth Circuit spokesman declined to comment.

The ex-judge also defended himself against questions over whether he favored Jackson Walker over other firms because of his relationship with Freeman.

“I never favored anybody over anything,” Jones said. “I did what I thought was right.”