To Protect Their Interests

The Invention and Exploitation of Corporate Bankruptcy

Stephen J. Lubben (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

408 Seiten

2026
Columbia University Press (Verlag)
978-0-231-21310-3 (ISBN)

Noch nicht erschienen (ca. Januar 2026)
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Chapter 11 corporate bankruptcy proceedings are commonly thought of as a tool to protect the broader economy from the failure of large firms, even though the biggest players reap the greatest rewards. In the conventional telling, modern corporate reorganization began in the 1890s, with J. P. Morgan leading a noble effort to protect bondholders from the depredations of corporate insiders. What does this story leave out, and how do the true origins of bankruptcy law shed light on its present-day uses and abuses?

To Protect Their Interests is a groundbreaking historical account of how corporate bankruptcy became what it is today—a forum for battles between well-heeled insiders. Stephen J. Lubben strips away the myths surrounding the history of corporate restructuring, showing that it emerged a decade before Morgan, when the robber baron Jay Gould strove to keep control of his railroad by working out a compromise with a handful of wealthy investors. The 1885 restructuring of Texas and Pacific Railway set the pattern for future corporate reorganizations: insider dealing, elite manipulation of the legal system, and judicial deference. Lubben traces the evolution of the bankruptcy system through a series of major cases involving companies such as W. T. Grant and Toys “R” Us, demonstrating that it has always been a way for the powerful to maintain power. Revealing the sordid origins of bankruptcy law, this book also considers the limited prospects for reform.

Stephen J. Lubben holds the Harvey Washington Wiley Chair in Corporate Governance and Business Ethics at Seton Hall University School of Law. He is the author of The Law of Failure: A Tour Through the Wilds of American Business Insolvency Law (2018). Lubben previously practiced bankruptcy law with a major global firm and wrote a column for the New York Times’ webpage.

Introduction
Part I. Foundations
1. The Early Days of Corporate Reorganization and Texas Railroads
2. Jay Gould and the Texas and Pacific
3. The Start of Corporate Bankruptcy
Part II. Refinements
4. The Bankers Take Charge
5. The Statutes Arrive
6. The End of an Era
Part III. Modernization?
7. The Deregulation of Corporate Bankruptcy
8. The Always Evolving Chapter 11
Part IV. Reform?
9. Modern Chapter 11 and the Ghosts of the Past
10. Chapter 11 Going Forward
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Notes
Index

Erscheint lt. Verlag	20.1.2026
Zusatzinfo	44 figures, 7 tables
Verlagsort	New York
Sprache	englisch
Maße	156 x 235 mm
Themenwelt	Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Wirtschaftsgeschichte
	Recht / Steuern ► EU / Internationales Recht
	Recht / Steuern ► Wirtschaftsrecht ► Bank- und Kapitalmarktrecht
	Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Finanzierung
ISBN-10	0-231-21310-7 / 0231213107
ISBN-13	978-0-231-21310-3 / 9780231213103
Zustand	Neuware