A federal judge has rejected Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check’s request to remove its former partner, Kimberly Justice, from her leadership post in the multidistrict litigation over alleged manipulation of the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index.

Justice, a prominent plaintiffs attorney in multidistrict litigation, left Kessler Topaz, where she was co-chairman of the antitrust practice group, to open an office earlier this month in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, for Freed Kanner London & Millen, a class action boutique based in the Chicago suburbs. That prompted Kessler Topaz, based in Radnor, Pennsylvania, to file an April 3 motion seeking to replace her, as co-lead counsel, with partner Sharan Nirmul.