CreditSlips

The New Thing in Contract Research - The Contract Production Process

12/13/20

Cathy Hwang and Matt Jennejohn, two of the brightest young stars of the contract world, just put up a paper summarizing their view of one of the exciting new directions that contract research is taking. They describe it as the study of contractual complexity ("The New Research on Contractual Complexity", is their title). But I don't like the term "contractual complexity" at all, since I simply cannot take seriously the idea that anything that lawyers do is all that complex.  Convoluted, confused and obscure, yes.  But complex? Hell no.

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Fantastic SBRA Resource from Judge Bonapfel

12/11/20

As Credit Slips readers know, the Small Business Reorganization Act added subchapter V to chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code earlier this year. My go-to resource on subchapter V has been a thorough summary written by Judge Paul Bonapfel of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia. It is available for free on the court's web site, and with Judge Bonapfel's permission, I wanted to spread the word about the guide's availability.

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The Unconvincing Case for a Public Credit Registry

12/10/20
Public provision—whether public options or public monopoly—has become all the rage in some progressive circles. I’d like to claim early mover status in this regard—back in 2009 I wrote a piece calling for public provision in payments, and in 2013 I wrote a piece underscoring the importance of public options and public provision in housing finance.
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The Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020

12/09/20

Today Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and David Cicilline (D-RI) introduced the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020. This is the first major consumer bankruptcy reform legislation to be introduced since the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA).

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Puerto Rico News

12/08/20

The President today announced he was appointing the following people to the PROMESA oversight board. It is not immediately clear which slots these people are filling (that is, who nominated these people).  There are three open (presidential) slots at present, but one of the people below is already on the board:

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Restructuring Support Agreements and the "Proceduralist Inversion"

12/07/20

I'm usually fussing about bank regulation issues here on the Slips, but I do try to make time for my first love, business bankruptcy. Ted Janger and I have a short piece about restructuring support agreements out in the Yale Law Journal's on-line supplement. It's a response to David Skeel's excellent article about RSAs.

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Figure's National Banking Charter Application: Illegal and Bad Policy

12/07/20

It's not every day that I write a letter in opposition to the issuance of a bank charter. But that's what I just did. Here is my comment letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in opposition to the charter application for Figure, which is seeking to operate an uninsured national bank.

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Purdue's Poison Pill and the Broken Chapter 11 System

12/06/20

Jonathan Lipson and Gerald Posner have an important op-ed about the Purdue bankruptcy in the NYT and how the DOJ settlement with Purdue is likely to benefit the Sacklers. What's going on in Purdue is troubling, but not just for its own facts. Purdue illustrates a fundamental breakdown of the checks and balances in the corporate bankruptcy system.

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Commercial and Contract Law: Questions, Ideas, Jargon

12/01/20

In the Spring I am teaching a research and writing seminar called Advanced Commercial Law and Contracts. Credit Slips readers have been important resources for project ideas in the past, and I'd appreciate hearing what you have seen out in the world on which you wish there was more research, and/or what you think might make a great exploration for an enterprising student.

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Debt Relief on Day One

11/24/20

In a comprehensive review of existing student loan cancellation laws, Demos, the Student Borrower Protection Center, and the UCI Student Loan Law Initiative have compiled an impressive report and road map for the incoming Administration.

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