National Bankruptcy Conference

National Bankruptcy Conference
Name	National Bankruptcy Conference
Formation	1920s
Type	Nonprofit organization
Headquarters	United States
Focus	Bankruptcy law reform

Contents

National Bankruptcy Conference The National Bankruptcy Conference is a longstanding assembly of lawyers, judges, academics, and bankruptcy trustees devoted to reform of United States bankruptcy law. It convenes experts from institutions such as the American Bar Association, Federal Judicial Center, Brookings Institution, Columbia Law School and Harvard Law School to draft proposals, testify before United States Congress, and engage with federal agencies including the Department of Justice and the United States Trustee Program. Historically associated with landmark legislation and judicial appointments, the Conference intersects with entities like the American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges.

History

The Conference traces roots to interwar legal conversations among participants from Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, University of Chicago Law School, and Columbia Law School and was active during the drafting cycles that produced the Bankruptcy Act of 1898 reform debates and later the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978. Key historical interactions included collaboration with congressional committees such as the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, and influence on statutory changes responding to crises like the Great Depression and the Savings and Loan crisis. Prominent jurists and scholars from institutions like Georgetown University Law Center, New York University School of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School, and firms such as Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom have shaped its trajectory. Over decades it maintained ties with agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve System when bankruptcy reform intersected with financial regulation.

The Conference prepares model legislation, policy reports, white papers and testimony for bodies such as the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, and files amicus briefs in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States and circuit courts like the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Activities include symposia with participants from Brookings Institution, Hoover Institution, Cato Institute, and presentations at conferences hosted by the American Bar Association Section of Business Law. It consults with agencies including the Department of the Treasury and interacts with bar associations like the New York State Bar Association and regional groups from the Ninth Circuit and Third Circuit. The Conference publishes proposals that influence legislative texts alongside analysis from think tanks such as Urban Institute and Tax Policy Center.

The Conference operates through committees and working groups drawn from law faculties at Stanford Law School, University of Michigan Law School, Vanderbilt University Law School, and practitioners from firms including Latham & Watkins and Jones Day. Governance typically includes an executive committee, chaired at times by deans or professors affiliated with University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Duke University School of Law, or Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. It coordinates with the Federal Judicial Center for research support and with advisory input from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Meetings are often held in Washington, D.C., with participation from offices of the Chief Bankruptcy Judges of various districts.

The Conference has influenced chapters and provisions of the United States Bankruptcy Code, testified before the House Judiciary Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee, and coordinated briefings for congressional staffers from offices such as those of Senator Orrin Hatch and Representative John Conyers. It has provided expertise during reform efforts connected to the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 and earlier revisions. Collaboration extends to agencies like the Federal Trade Commission where consumer insolvency rules intersect, and to the Internal Revenue Service on tax-treatment issues. The Conference works with organizations like the American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges to present unified positions or competing recommendations in rulemaking before the Judicial Conference of the United States.

Scholars and members of the Conference have contributed to drafting legislative language later adopted in the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 and have submitted amicus briefs in prominent cases before the Supreme Court of the United States including disputes implicating chapters under the United States Bankruptcy Code; members have weighed in on appellate matters in the Second Circuit, Third Circuit, and D.C. Circuit. The Conference's proposals have affected corporate reorganizations in high-profile matters like restructurings involving firms influenced by decisions from judges such as those of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Its members have been cited in opinions referencing statutory interpretation debates that reached the Supreme Court of the United States.

Critics, including public-interest groups like Public Citizen and scholars from New York University School of Law and University of California, Berkeley School of Law, have alleged industry capture when members from large firms such as Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins participate, arguing potential conflicts amid engagements with the American Bankers Association and debtor-interest organizations. Debates have emerged over positions taken during major reform efforts like the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, with commentators from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and academic journals at Harvard Law Review critiquing perceived bias. Questions about transparency and representation have prompted comparative commentary referencing international insolvency frameworks in jurisdictions such as United Kingdom and Canada.

Category:Legal organizations in the United States