This class offers an introduction to how business entities address financial distress and existential threats. By exploring preeminent bankruptcy cases – including Purdue Pharma, FTX, Boy Scouts of America, WeWork, Lehman Brothers, and Toys ‘R Us – we will connect theory to practice and illuminate the opaque world of corporate rehabilitation.
There are no prerequisites. The class includes an overview of the general principles and forms of relief offered by the federal Bankruptcy Code and discusses the options available to and strategy employed by corporate debtors. The class will provide students with an understanding of not only substantive legal rules but also the structure of the bankruptcy system and the policy goals that it seeks to achieve. Because bankruptcy law is statutory, we will focus on the Bankruptcy Code, supplemented by caselaw, and discussed in class through the medium of thought-provoking problems. Grades will be based on a final exam.