Disgraced Ex-Bankruptcy Judge Taps Star Litigator David Boies

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 the former Houston bankruptcy and his once-secret relationship with Elizabeth Freeman. She was his former clerk and a onetime partner at Jackson Walker, a law firm that regularly represented clients before Jones in court.

The former CEO of the petroleum barge company, Morton S. Bouchard III, has 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.

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