Bankruptcy law governs the obligations and rights of creditors and debtors. It provides for the development of a plan that allows debtors – both individuals and businesses -- who are unable to pay their creditors to resolve debts by dividing the debtors' remaining assets among all of the creditors. Certain bankruptcy proceedings allow a debtor to stay in business and use revenue generated to resolve his or her debts. The bankruptcy system also provides overburdened individuals and businesses with an opportunity to resolve and reorder their financial affairs while providing protection for their creditors.
Bankruptcy law is controlled by a complex set of federal statutes known as the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Bankruptcy proceedings are supervised by and litigated in the United States Bankruptcy Courts. States may not regulate bankruptcy, although they may pass laws that govern other aspects of the debtor-creditor relationship. Debtor-creditor law governs situations where one party is unable to pay a monetary debt to another. Non-bankruptcy debtor-creditor law arises mainly from state statutory and common law.
Bankruptcy lawyers frequently work in private firms, both large and small. Large and mid-size firms may have departments that specialize in bankruptcy and debtor-creditors' rights. They may represent individual and corporate debtors, individual and corporate creditors, creditors' committees, and bankruptcy trustees. Bankruptcy lawyers who represent debtors guide their clients through the statutory framework that provides relief from the lenders to whom their clients are financially indebted. Bankruptcy lawyers who represent creditors attempt to protect their clients' interests by securing the maximum recovery possible from a debtor. Bankruptcy lawyers also work in other settings, including for the legal departments of large banks, for credit card companies, for the government, and even in public interest organizations.
Bankruptcy law is a blend of transactional work and litigation, thus bankruptcy lawyers must have both transactional and litigation skills. They must be good negotiators and must have excellent writing skills and strong oral advocacy skills.
Core/Foundation Courses
These are the entry level courses that -- at a minimum -- employers expect a student interested in this specialty to have .
Recommended Courses
Students interested in this practice area should consider including one or more of the following courses as electives.
- Accounting and the Law
- Business Organizations I
- Business Organizations II
- Evidence
- Negotiation/Mediation
- Payments Systems
- Trial Advocacy
Enrichment Courses
These courses deepen or broaden the skills and substantive information that a lawyer in this field needs and also provide advanced courses for students interested in a specialty within this area of practice.
- Business Planning
- Fundamentals of Business Transactions I
- Fundamentals of Business Transaction II
- Lawyering Skills: Oral Communications
- Selected Problems in Commercial Law
- Selected Problems in Creditor-Debtor Law
- Securities Regulation
- Real Estate Transactions
- Tax I (A or B)
(Note that whether a particular course is scheduled depends on faculty availability and student demand.)
Clinics, Internships, and Externships
Consumer
Law Litigation Clinic
The Consumer Law Litigation Clinic represents low- and moderate-income
consumers in individual and class action lawsuits in federal and state
courts. The Clinic operates year-round and is open to students who have
completed their first year of law school. The Consumer Law Litigation
Clinic trains students in all aspects of civil litigation.
Student Organizations and Related Activities
Business & Tax Law Association (BATLAW)
The University of Wisconsin Business & Tax Law Association
promotes and enhances the study and practice of business and tax law. The
BTLA also encourages high standards of academic achievement as well as
social interaction with other law students, faculty, and the professional
community. Several faculty members and some of the largest law firms in
Wisconsin are included in BATLAW's membership.
There are three student journals -- Wisconsin Law Review, Wisconsin
International Law Journal, and Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society -- that
give students an opportunity to assist with and contribute to the Law School's scholarly publications. These publications provide
invaluable training in legal research and writing. Published articles
sometimes concern environmental law.
Mock Trial
Mock Trial provides real trial experience at a competitive level.
Students participate in nationwide competitions that give them opportunities
to give opening and closing statements and direct- and cross-examine witnesses.
For the student interested in litigation it is an invaluable experience
to learn skills you may not get in the classroom.
Moot Court
Moot Court is a mock appellate advocacy program that provides invaluable
experience for students in brief writing and oral advocacy.
Faculty
In addition to our full-time faculty, the Law School's adjunct faculty members -- prominent practicing lawyers and judges -- bring their specialized knowledge and experience to the classroom.
