Financial Crisis/Restructuring Law

Course Information

Registration Information

Meeting Times

Day Time Location
TUE, THU 3:30 - 5:00 pm CBA 4.324

Description

Financial Crisis & Restructuring (the "Course") is a real world course that will prepare business and law students for the challenging and rapidly changing 21st Century world of corporate restructuring. The Course will teach students about the complex and complicated business and legal issues that they will confront during corporate financial crises, and test their abilities to respond to such crises in real time. The Course will begin by analyzing the difficult ethical issues confronted by business leaders as financial crises arise and cause a company to spiral into insolvency. Students will then be introduced to a seemingly healthy, fictional company and its operations before the company encounters financial distress. As the crises unfold, students will learn about the multitude of issues that executives operating the company, and lawyers advising the company face as the healthy company enters the zone of insolvency, and then bankruptcy. Students will also be tested on their ability to timely address issues in real time when they receive sporadic, unpredictable email blasts that simulate real world business developments that can significantly change the character and course of the crises. Through the bankruptcy process, students will learn the critical business and legal challenges that confront a corporate debtor and the special tools provided by the bankruptcy code to restructure the company in order to maximize the return to the debtor's creditors. Such tools include (i) selling some or all of the company's assets under Section 363 (as used in the Lehman Brothers, Chrysler, and GM cases); (ii) assuming or rejecting executory contracts under Section 365; and (iii) clawing back certain payments to creditors and the value of assets fraudulently transferred before bankruptcy under Chapter 5. After learning the intricacies of the 363 sales and reorganizing a company under the bankruptcy code, the students will form teams and prosecute motions to sell assets and plans of reorganization in mock trial format. Students will work in teams with business students testifying and law students examining and cross-examining. The business students will testify on the business issues like valuation and cash flow projections while being examined and cross-examined by their law school counterparts. In addition to being taught through a simulated real world corporate financial crisis, students will also gain the invaluable real world insight and perspectives of leading restructuring and insolvency professionals who will guest lecture. By understanding the different roles that these professionals play in a restructuring case, students will learn about the many different career opportunities within the restructuring profession.

Instructors

Headshot of Finley, Arley D Finley, Arley D
Headshot of Vanhorn, Eric M Vanhorn, Eric M
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