January 2005
Case
HBS Case Collection

Managing Failure: American Bankruptcy Law at a Crossroads

By: David A. Moss, Mary Oey and Jonathan Lackow

Format:Print
| Language:English
| Pages:24

Abstract

Introduces the core principles and challenges of bankruptcy law (both individual and corporate) against the backdrop of the early 1970s, when the U.S. bankruptcy system appeared to be failing. With personal bankruptcy filings at record levels and successful corporate reorganizations relatively rare, policymakers had to decide whether the time had come to overhaul the nation's bankruptcy law and, if so, how to structure the new system.

Keywords

Change; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Policy; Government Legislation; United States

Citation

Moss, David A., Mary Oey, and Jonathan Lackow. "Managing Failure: American Bankruptcy Law at a Crossroads." Harvard Business School Case 705-024, January 2005.