Experience
Columbia Law School
Harvey R. Miller Professor of Law and Economics, 2009 – present
Professor of Law, 2007 – 09
Milton Handler Fellow, 2005 – 07
Associate Professor of Law, 2003 – 07
John M. Olin, Jr. Fellow, Center for Law and Economic Studies, 2002–03
University of Chicago Law School
Visiting Professor, Spring 2008
Hon. Antonin Scalia, U.S. Supreme Court
Law Clerk, 2001-02
Hon. Richard A. Posner, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Law Clerk, 2000-01
Other: Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, New York, NY, Summer Associate, 1999; Jackson & Kelly, Washington, DC, Summer Associate, 1995; Bureau of Economic and Business Research, Salt Lake City, UT, Research Associate, 1993-94
Education
University of Chicago Law School
J.D., with High Honors, 2000
Activities: Articles Editor, University of Chicago Law Review, 1998-99; Staff Member, 1997-98
Honors: John M. Olin Prize, 2000; Olin Foundation and Bradley Foundation fellowships for law and economics studies, 1995-96, 1997-00; Joseph Henry Beale Prize, for outstanding work in first-year legal research and writing, 1995
University of Chicago, Department of Economics
Ph.D., 2003; M.A., 1997
Thesis: Bankruptcy Decision Making: An Empirical Study of Small-Business Bankruptcies
Teaching: Assistant to Profs. Gary S. Becker, James J. Heckman and José S. Scheinkman
Honors: State Farm Foundation Dissertation Award, 2000-01; Bradley Foundation scholarship, 1997-99; Honorary Scholar, Univ. Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Economics, 2000–01
University of Utah
B.S., summa cum laude, in Economics and Accounting, with Honors Program Degree, 1994
Honors: Phi Beta Kappa; Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship, 1994; Honors Baccalaureate Scholarship, 1994; First Prize, Beta Alpha Psi undergraduate manuscript contest, 1993; Outstanding Scholar Scholarship, School of Business, 1993-94; Honors Foreign Study Scholarship in Greece, 1992; full-tuition scholarship, 1989-93
Teaching
Bankruptcy Law: Fall 2003, Spring 2004, Fall 2005, Fall 2007, Spring 2008 (University of Chicago), Fall 2008, Spring 2009
Contracts: Fall 2004, Fall 2005, Fall 2006, Fall 2008, Fall 2009
Current Issues in Corporate Reorganization: Spring 2004, Spring 2006, Spring 2009
International Bankruptcy, Spring 2009
Theory and Practice of Commercial Law, Spring 2009
Law and Economics Seminar: Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2008
Empirical Law and Economics Seminar: Spring 2008 (Univ. Chicago)
Law and Economics Workshop: 2004-05, 2005-06
Scholarly Publications
Articles: Is the Bankruptcy Code an Adequate Mechanism for Resolving the Distress of Systemically Important Institutions?, Temple L. Rev. (forthcoming 2009)
Bargaining around Bankruptcy: Small Business Distress and State Law, 38 J. Legal Studies (forthcoming 2009)
Creditor Control and Conflict in Chapter 11, 2 J. Legal Analysis 511 (2009) (with Kenneth M. Ayotte)
A New Proposal for Loan Modifications, 26 Yale J. Reg. 417 (2009)(with Christopher Mayer and Tomasz Piskorski)
Bankruptcy’s Rarity: Small Business Workouts in the United States, 5 Eur. Company & Fin. L. Rev. 172 (2008)
Bankruptcy Decision Making: An Empirical Study of Continuation Bias in Small Business Bankruptcies, 50 J. L. Econ. 381 (2007)
Serial Entrepreneurs and Small Business Bankruptcies, 105 Colum. L. Rev. 2310 (2005) (with Douglas G. Baird)
Financial Contracts and the New Bankruptcy Code: Insulating Markets from Bankrupt Debtors and Bankruptcy Judges, 13 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 641 (2005) (with Joerg Riegel)
Adversary Proceedings in Bankruptcy: A Sideshow, 79 Am. Bankr. L. J. 951 (2005) (with Douglas G. Baird)
Derivatives and the Bankruptcy Code: Why the Special Treatment?, 22 Yale J. Reg. 91 (2005) (with Franklin R. Edwards)
Bankruptcy Decision Making, 17 J. Law, Econ. & Org. 356 (2001) (with Douglas G. Baird)
Chapters: Who Needs Bankruptcy Law?, in 1000 Words or Less (Columbia Law School: Elizabeth Scott, ed.) (2008)
Timbers of Inwood Forest, the Economics of Rent, and the Irrelevance of Supreme Court Precedent, in Bankruptcy Stories (Foundation Press: Robert K. Rasmussen, ed.) (2007)
Derivatives and Systemic Risk: What Role Can the Bankruptcy Code Play?, in Systemic Financial Crises (World Scientific Press: Douglas D. Evanoff and George G. Kaufman, eds.) (2005) (with Franklin R. Edwards)
In Progress: Health Shocks and Bankruptcy (with Larry Cook, Heather Keenan, and Lenora Olson)
The Law and Economics of Mortgage Markets (with Christopher Mayer and Tomasz Piskorski)
Causes and Consequences of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy (with Richard Hynes)
Chrysler, GM, and the Future of Chapter 11
Outer Limits of the Safe Harbors
Economics of Bankruptcy, in Edward R. Morrison, ed., Economics of Bankruptcy (forthcoming, Edward Elgar Press)
Older work: Judicial Review of Discount Rates Used in Regulatory Cost-Benefit Analysis, 65 U. Chi. L. Rev. 1333 (1998)
Off-Balance Sheet Risks: What Are They and Why is Their Disclosure Important?, 11 J. Acct. Educ. 313 (1993)
Impact of the Salt Lake City Airport on the Utah Economy, 53 Utah Econ. & Bus. Rev. 1 (1993) (second author, Boyd L. Fjeldsted)
Government Report
“Small Business Bankruptcy and the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act of 2005,” commissioned by the Small Business Administration (Government Contract No. SBAHQ-06-A-0023), pursuant to the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-8 § 443 (Oct. 2, 2007)
Policy Work and White Papers
“A New Proposal for Loan Modifications” and “A New Proposal to Compensate Second Lien Holders” (with Christopher Mayer and Tomasz Piskorski), available at www4.gsb.columbia.edu/realestate/research/housingcrisis/mortgagemarket
Congressional Testimony
Testimony on “Promoting Bank Liquidity and Lending Through Deposit Insurance, Hope for Homeowners, and Other Enhancements” before the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives (Feb. 3, 2009)
Invited Presentations
American Color Graphics and Vertis: The First Dual Prepack Merger
Turnaround Management Association (TMA)/The Deal Distressed Investing Conference, January 2009
Special Protections for Capital Markets Transactions, and Is the Bankruptcy Code Capable of Dealing with the Next Round of Challenges?
Lawrence P. King and Charles Seligson Workshop on Bankruptcy and Business
Reorganization, September 2008
Lionel Revisited: Bankruptcy Sales … The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges Annual Conference/Commercial Law League of America Education Program, September 2008
Health Shocks and Bankruptcy
Harvard/Texas Conference on Commercial Law Realities, February 2008
Columbia Law School, October 2007
Creditor Control and Conflict in Chapter 11
Yale Law School, March 2009
Bonn University, Department of Economics, June 2008
University of Chicago Law School, May 2008
University of Virginia Law School, April 2008
University of Southern California Law School, March 2008
Case Western Law School, February 2008
Columbia Law School, November 2007
University of Pennsylvania School of Law, November 2007
Conference on Empirical Legal Studies (CELS), November 2007
Oxford University, October 2007
Triangle Law & Economics Conference, Duke University, April 2007
Harvard/Texas Conference on Commercial Law Realities, April 2007
Westpoint Stevens in Chapter 11: A Clash of Titans
Turnaround Management Association (TMA)/The Deal Distressed Investing Conference, January 2008
Financial Contracts and the Bankruptcy Code: Safe Harbors with Broad Scope and Uncertain Justification
Lawrence P. King and Charles Seligson Workshop on Bankruptcy and Business
Reorganization, October 2007
Columbia Law School, Deals Roundtable, October 2006
Bankruptcy’s Rarity: Small Business Workouts in the United States
European Company and Finance Law Review (ECFR) Conference, October 2007
Bargaining around Bankruptcy: Small Business Distress and State Law (and previous titles)
Stanford/Yale Junior Faculty Forum, May 2007
American Law and Economics Association (ALEA) Annual Meeting, May 2007
Fordham Junior Faculty Forum, March 2007
University of Toronto Faculty of Law, March 2007
Columbia Law School, Faculty Lunch Series, March 2007
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), March 2007
Columbia Law School, Contracts and Economic Organization Workshop, March 2007
University of Chicago Law School, February 2007
AALS Annual Meeting, January 2007
Northwestern University School of Law, November 2006
Georgetown University Law Center, April 2006
Harvard/Texas Conference on Commercial Law Realities, April 2006
Hedge Fund Failures
American Bankruptcy Institute Insolvency Symposium, February 2007
Serial Entrepreneurs and Small Business Bankruptcy
American Law and Economics Association (ALEA) Annual Meeting, May 2005
Harvard/Texas Conference on Commercial Law Realities, April 2005
University of Virginia School of Law, February 2005
Boalt Hall, November 2004
Columbia Law School, October 2004
Cornell Law School, October 2004
Derivatives and Systemic Risk: What Role Can the Bankruptcy Code Play?
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago International Conference on Systemic Financial Crises: Resolving Large Bank Insolvencies, September 2004
Bankruptcy Decision Making: An Empirical Study of Continuation Bias in Small Business Bankruptcies (and other titles)
Columbia Business School, April 2004
William & Mary School of Law, April 2004
University of Virginia School of Law, February 2004.
Harvard Law School, February & March 2003
Cornell Law School, January 2003
NYU School of Law, January 2003
University of Pennsylvania Law School, January 2003
Northwestern University School of Law, January 2003
Columbia Law School, January 2003
Yale Law School, December 2002
Georgetown University Law Center, December 2002
Vanderbilt Law School, December 2002
Theory and Evidence on the Costs of Damages Rules (and other titles)
American Law and Economics Association (ALEA) Annual Meeting, May 2001
University of Chicago Department of Economics, October 2000
Vanderbilt University Law School, October 2000
Bankruptcy Decision Making
University of Chicago Law School, May 2000 (with Douglas Baird)
American Law and Economics Association (ALEA) Annual Meeting, May 2000
University of Virginia School of Law, April 2000 (with Douglas Baird)
Commentary And Other Presentations
Commentator on Donald Morgan, Benjamin Iverson, and Matthew Botsch, Seismic Effects of the Bankruptcy Reform, Conference on Bankruptcy and Distress Resolution, Ghent University, Belgium, December 2008
Commentator on Paige M. Skiba and Jeremy B. Tobacman, Do Payday Loans Cause Bankruptcy?, Conference on Empirical Legal Studies, Sept. 2008
Commentator on Adair Morse, Payday Lenders: Heroes or Villains?, Conference on the Law and Economics of Consumer Credit, University of Virginia School of Law, February 2008
Commentator on Lynn M. LoPucki and Joseph W. Doherty, The Determinants of Professional Fees in Large Bankruptcy Reorganization Cases Revisited, Conference on Empirical Legal Studies, November 2007
Commentator on Kenneth S. Reinker and David Rosenberg, Improving Medical Malpractice Liability by Allowing the Insurers to Take Charge, University of Chicago Conference on Current Research on Medical Malpractice Liability, May 2006
Commentator on Katharina Pistor, Who is Tolling the Bells to Firms? Lessons from Transition Economies, Columbia Law School Faculty Lunch Series, September 2005
Commentator on Victor P. Goldberg, Alcoa v. Essex: Bad Contracts Can Make For Bad Law,Columbia Law School Faculty Retreat, November 2004
Moderator, Panel Discussion on Hedge Fund Regulation, Columbia Business Law Review 20th Anniversary Event, April 2006
Moderator, Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights II, American Law and Economics Association (ALEA) Annual Meeting, May 2004
Conference Organization
Member, Education Committee, National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, Las Vegas, NV, October 2009
Member, Scientific Committee, Conference on Bankruptcy and Distress Resolution, Ghent University, Belgium, December 2008
Organizer, Roundtable on Hedge Funds, Creditor Control, and Restructuring, Columbia Law School Transactional Studies Program, New York, NY, October 2006
Organizer, Federal Judicial Center and Columbia Law School Program for Bankruptcy Judges: Law and Business, Columbia Law School, New York, NY, April 2005
Service on Committees
Entry-Level Appointments: 2008-2011
Co-Chair, Clerkships & Judicial Relations: 2006-08
Resources and Development: Fall 2006, Fall 2007
Associates: 2004-06
Business Task Force: 2004-07, Fall 2007
Information Technology: 2004-05
Admissions and Financial Aid: 2003-04
Student Services: 2003-04
Other Service to Columbia Law School
Director, Leiden-Amsterdam-Columbia Summer Program in American Law, The Netherlands (Director, 2007-present; Co-Director, 2006; Instructor, 2004-05)
Member, Board of Directors, Columbia Business Law Review, 2005-present
Service to Columbia University
Member, Ad Hoc Tenure Committee, Spring 2008
Dissertation Committee Member for Stav Gaon, Ph.D. Candidate, Columbia Business School (Spring 2006)
Dissertation Committee Member for Nan Chen, Ph.D. Candidate, Columbia Business School (Spring 2004)
Professional Service
Conferee, National Bankruptcy Conference, 2007-present
Referee Work for Scholarly Journals
American Bankruptcy Law Journal
American Law and Economics Review
Harvard Law Review
International Review of Law and Economics
Journal of Empirical Legal Studies
Journal of Law and Economics
Journal of Legal Studies
Journal of Political Economy
Law and Social Inquiry
Yale Law Journal
AALS Administration
Chair, Law and Economics Section, 2008
Chair-Elect, Law and Economics Section, 2007
Secretary, Law and Economics Section, 2005
