Courses

    This course focuses on the legal and procedural aspects of handling the affairs of financially distressed individuals and corporations. Students will gain a basic understanding of U.S. bankruptcy law and procedure while examining bankruptcy implications for employee benefit programs. The course will examine the basic structure and procedural aspects of individual and corporate bankruptcy law; the impact of bankruptcy law on qualified and nonqualified ERISA plans (defined benefit, 401(k), health & welfare, executive compensation) and payroll practices; and the role of various parties in a bankruptcy proceeding (the debtor, creditors, the court, bankruptcy trustee, employees/retirees, unions, government agencies (including the DOL, IRS and PBGC)). Students will also examine the alternatives to bankruptcy (corporate workouts) and the legal requirements and constraints associated with avoiding bankruptcy. Students will be required to complete a short take-home writing assignment. Prerequisite Courses: None required, but students who lack a solid understanding of employee benefit plans (including executive compensation) are strongly advised to enroll for the course, "Introduction to Employee Benefits Law," during the first two weeks of the Fall Semester. This will count towards the Tax LLM, Securities LLM, and toward the EB Certificate