On this episode of Legal Lens, legal analyst Aileen Ramia speaks with Judge Robert E. Gerber (ret.) to discuss his observed trends in bankruptcy over the course of his extensive career as well as his philosophies concerning bankruptcy generally. Judge Gerber served for 15 years as a United States bankruptcy judge in the Southern District of New York where he presided over a broad array of cases prior to his retirement in 2016. Presently, he is of counsel at Joseph Hage Aaronson LLC and is an adjunct professor of law at Columbia Law School, his alma mater, where he has taught Columbia’s Advanced Bankruptcy Seminar since 2012. He is a contributing author to Collier on Bankruptcy and a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.

In Part I of this series, Judge Gerber discusses bankruptcy trends he has observed over the last 50 years, including those involving market forces and capital structures, changes in case dynamics as well as developments in law and bankruptcy judges' ability to implement traditional bankruptcy policy. In particular, he takes a deep dive into the development of the "common law of bankruptcy," which goes to the ability of bankruptcy judges to craft solutions to effect bankruptcy policy where the Bankruptcy Code offers little guidance.

In Part II of this series, Judge Gerber discusses the rise of bankruptcy as a vehicle for addressing mass torts, the role of the “common law of bankruptcy” in these sorts of cases, and whether bankruptcy is still serving its purpose in light of the observed trends discussed. Relatedly, Judge Gerber will also share his views on whether bankruptcy should account for and help advance the “public good” or “public interest.”

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