No recusal. Five years ago, Judge Winter, right before he took senior status, had a conversation with the member of a law firm about whether he would continue to serve on the bench or take senior status. The lawyer told Judge Winter that if he chose to leave the bench, his firm would be interested in discussing the possibility of employing him at his firm. Judge Winter chose to continue on the bench as a senior judge. There were no further conversations on the matter. Now, one of the firms (I suspect that it is Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw L.L.P., but I could be wrong.) is appearing in a case before Judge Winter. He has stated that he does not think this conversation five years ago warrants recusal. No kidding.

The decision in In re CBI Holding Co. (Bankruptcy Services, Inc. v. Ernst & Young) can be found at the Second Circuit website. If I find a better site, I will post it.