Kirkland & Ellis has been sued for allegedly profiting from an undisclosed romantic relationship between a Houston bankruptcy judge and a local bankruptcy lawyer, a relationship that ultimately caused the judge to resign, Reuters reported. Plaintiff Michael Van Deelen, whose October lawsuit led former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones to publicly acknowledge a romantic relationship with bankruptcy attorney Elizabeth Freeman, expanded his lawsuit Thursday to add Freeman, her former law firm Jackson Walker, and Kirkland & Ellis as defendants. Van Deelen alleged that Kirkland profited from Jones and Freeman's relationship by frequently teaming up with Jackson Walker, which served as local counsel, to represent debtors in Jones' court, knowing that Jones would give favorable treatment to the law firm that employed his girlfriend. Van Deelen said that Kirkland and the other defendants "deliberately concealed" the relationship in order to continue placing their cases in front of a friendly bankruptcy judge. Kirkland said Friday that Van Deelen's allegations against the firm were "baseless and false."
