Ronnie Greene

May 1, 2024 | news.bloombergtax.com | James Nani |Ronnie Greene

Michael Van Deelen had been waiting nearly eight months for a hearing before Houston Judge David R. Jones when he opened his Spring, Texas, mailbox and found what he would call “a most disturbing communication.”Inside was an anonymous letter claiming Jones and lawyer Elizabeth Freeman were in a relationship and that her law firm, Jackson Walker, had gotten favorable treatment because of it.

Apr 30, 2024 | news.bloombergtax.com | James Nani |Ronnie Greene

At “Meatfest,” the judge and the lawyers were all smiles. Judge David R. Jones, who had worked for years to make Houston a destination for high-dollar bankruptcy litigation, can be seen in an October 2022 photo huddled at the barbecue with local attorneys who brought cases before him and also formed a cooking crew. Among them is Elizabeth Freeman, who had known Jones for years, clerked for him—and had an intimate relationship with him.