ABLJ Symposium: Looking Back to Help Move the Law Forward
Friday, October 9th, 2026 – 8:45 AM – 10:00 AM
Speakers:
Bob Rasmussen, Melissa B. Jacoby, Brook E. Gotberg, Bruce A. Markell, John Pottow
Description:
In honor of the ABLJ’s 100th anniversary, the Symposium will consider the evolution of modern bankruptcy law and where it might be heading. To facilitate this conversation, the Symposium brings together five incredible bankruptcy scholars who have published with the journal in the past and asks them to reconsider their prior positions on various legal issues based on current practices and legal developments in bankruptcy cases. The conversation will also explore current trends and predictions for the future of bankruptcy law.
Bios:
Professor Rasmussen teaches at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. His courses include Contracts, Business Bankruptcy, Syndicated Lending and an undergraduate course on the Legal Profession. His scholarship touches on various aspects of corporate restructuring.
Melissa Jacoby is the author of Unjust Debts, a longtime faculty member at UNC-Chapel Hill, and a Faculty Fellow at UNC’s Center for Banking and Finance.
Brook Gotberg is a Professor of Law at BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School, specializing in bankruptcy and commercial law. Her scholarship addresses consumer and corporate distress, with a particular emphasis on small- and medium-sized businesses. She presents regularly to academic and professional audiences across the U.S. and internationally, contributing to policy and reform discussions on insolvency and restructuring.
Bruce A. Markell is the Professor of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, and Edward Avery Harriman Lecturer in Law at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. He writes and teaches in the area of contracts, commercial law and bankruptcy.