LAW 5364: Advanced Bankruptcy - 2184

Advanced Bankruptcy
Class Term:
Spring Term 2017-2018
Catalog Number:
5364
Class Number:
27631
Class Schedule:
Thursday
9:20 am
12:20 pm
Room:
Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy Room
Professor(s):

Professor

Type:
Lecture
Credits:
3 (3 Contact, 0 Field)
Graduation Requirements:
"W" Writing
Professional Skills
Experiential Learning
Priority:
Limited Enrollment - 3rd Year Priority
Full Year Course:
No
Category:
Standard Courses

Additional Information

1 – Most classes will take place at the law school but some may be in offices in downtown Pittsburgh. Other locations will be announced during class.
2 – Students who have not attended the section 341 meeting of creditors may be required to do so to gain the necessary understanding of that process.
3 – Enrolling in the Bankruptcy Inn of Court is encouraged. Information will be provided during class.

Grading Details

Students will be required to read and analyze the Bankruptcy Code and Rules and relevant case law, to draft assigned pleadings and to write papers or legal briefs on assigned topics. There will be four or five written assignments of increasing complexity. There will be no final examination. All assignments will be filed on the Bankruptcy Court's electronic filing system test data base or exchanged via email if the test data base is not available. Class participation will be 15% of the grade. All papers other than the last will be equally rated as a percentage of the grade. The last written assignment will constitute 25% of the grade and will be to prepare a pleading supported with a legal brief on a topic relevant to the discussion, in lieu of a final examination. Grades will be entirely derived from class participation and from the written assignments.

Prerequisites

Description

Lectures on chapter 11 issues and procedures will set the stage for what is going to happen in the class. Practicing attorneys or other professionals will be invited when the issues involve direct participation with a client and decisions that must be made from the business or legal side of the case. Lectures will cover the theoretical underpinnings to the Bankruptcy Code and Rules, as applicable, and illustrate the points with appropriate case law. Discussion will cover the nature of chapter 11 reorganization, kinds of relief available in business cases, need for cash, why certain motions are needed early in the case whereas others wait, how the business issues interplay with the bankruptcy case, pre and post filing issues, solicitation of creditors committee, plan negotiation process and more. Students will be required to read and analyze the relevant statutory text and rules and relevant cases. They will be assigned certain drafting work and/or papers to write regarding the issues involved. "Papers" may take the form of legal briefs. Each student will be required to argue on behalf of a "client" an assigned topic. To simulate the practice of law, students will file all assignments on the Bankruptcy Court's test data base for electronic filing.

Advanced Bankruptcy