UT Law students’ chapter 11 bankruptcy case studies reach thousands of readers worldwide

More than 22,000 individuals on six continents have downloaded the work of students at the University of Tennessee College of Law studying chapter 11 bankruptcy cases.

The students’ work is completed in the “Reorganizations and Workouts” seminar taught by George Kuney, the Lindsay Young Distinguished Professor of Law and director of the college’s Clayton Center for Entrepreneurial Law. Students have covered bankruptcy cases involving major corporations such as Six Flags, Borders, Blockbuster, and Hostess. In the past year alone, their work has been downloaded more than 10,000 times.

“The readership levels for our students’ reports indicate their relevance to researchers and other professionals around the world,” Kuney said. “For example, one former student was contacted by the FBI for her insights about the bankruptcy of an allegedly fraudulent real estate development scheme.”

The seminar consists of an examination of reorganization under chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code from petition date to confirmation of a plan of reorganization or other disposition, as well as coverage of the use of extensions, compositions, workouts, and other non-bankruptcy methods of adjusting the rights or parties to business transactions.

Students, working in small groups, select a chapter 11 case and research it, including reviewing all substantive documents on its docket. They then summarize the procedural and substantive history of the case in a report, which also includes the results of secondary source research from the business and financial media. The resulting case studies—which contain links to all source documents—are useful in understanding the actual practice of corporate reorganization in chapter 11.

“This is real work telling the story of real-world chapter 11 cases,” Kuney said. “It shines a sophisticated spotlight on details that are seldom covered by the traditional business press while also giving UT Law students knowledge and experience in a practical, true-to-life context.”

View the case studies and a map of recent downloads at the Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange.