LAW 439 - Bankruptcy in the Headlines: Current Cases & Controversies

Bankruptcy permeates the modern business cycle and current events. It is the unique area of law that involves aspects of all of the first-year law school courses with the gloss of a detailed federal statute and almost 50 years of case law since the enactment of the Bankruptcy Code in 1978. Americans are statistically more likely to encounter the bankruptcy court than any other court in the US. Most commercial case law in the US is developed in bankruptcy court, where prepetition transactions are tested in a zero-sum game.
This 2-hour course will examine current bankruptcy events and trends and notable cases, including Purdue Pharma and mass tort bankruptcy cases; the travails of Rudy Giuliani; FTX and crypto issues in bankruptcy; the discharge of student loans; President Trump’s pre-presidency bankruptcies; municipal bankruptcy; Chrysler, GM, and other bankruptcy sales; bankruptcy fraud; the Puerto Rico utility bankruptcy; and the chapter 11 venue competition. Reading materials will not involve a traditional textbook but are curated and customized by the professor. Occasional guest lecturers will include bankruptcy judges and experienced practitioners.
There are no prerequisites for the course.