This course is a multi-school offering taught by weekly live lecture in New York (Columbia Law School) simultaneously telecast to participating institutions (including Michigan). The lectures are given by leading insolvency practitioners, and satellite classrooms will be equipped with live question-and-answer capability. Professor Paul Hage will host the Michigan classroom, meaning he will contribute to the curriculum and exam as well as be responsible for assigning grades to the Michigan students. Because of the need to synchronize with other participating law schools, the schedule will be slightly different from other winter term courses; specifically, the course will meet beginning on Tuesday, January 16 and will end on Tuesday, April 10. On a date TBA, Michigan students will watch a recording of the class which will take place on Tuesday, February 27, during Michigan’s mid-winter break.
Students are strongly recommended to have completed a course in bankruptcy before or concurrently with this class. (Students who have not done so must contact Prof. Hage, [email protected], before enrolling.)
The fuller description that appears in the Columbia Law School course catalogue follows:
This course offers an introduction to some of the jurisdictional problems that arise when international corporations becomes insolvent. International corporations typically have assets and subsidiaries in multiple jurisdictions. When distress occurs, a troubled corporation and its subsidiaries may therefore file for bankruptcy in several different jurisdictions with significantly different bankruptcy procedures. It is therefore essential that modern bankruptcy lawyers have at least a basic understanding of the distinctive features of foreign bankruptcy regimes. Additionally, even if a corporation and its subsidiaries file for bankruptcy in a single jurisdiction, that jurisdiction’s court will often need the assistance of courts in foreign jurisdictions in order to help protect the corporation’s assets and consummate a successful reorganization (or liquidation). It is therefore important for modern bankruptcy lawyers to understand the opportunities for court-to-court cooperation.
The first half of this course identifies the basic contours of the world’s major bankruptcy regimes, including the laws of the United States, United Kingdom, China, Japan, Canada, and Latin American and Western European countries. During the second half, we study the major legal frameworks for court-to-court cooperation (Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and E.U. Insolvency Regulation). We also discuss the opportunities for foreign nationals to use U.S. Bankruptcy Law (particularly Chapter 11) to pursue a reorganization.
Instructors: Each lecture will be taught by one or two visiting instructors.
Technical Aspects: The course will originate at Columbia Law School and be telecast to at least eight other schools across the U.S. Students at the other schools will be able to see and hear the instructor and ask questions (in real time). These students will take exams prepared and graded by professors at their institutions.
At the end of the course, students will have: 1. Acquired a basic understanding of the contours of some of the world’s most important bankruptcy regimes. 2. Developed skill in comparative law analysis of legal institutions and the law. 3. Further developed skill in statutory and case law analysis.