Here’s the pr
Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in 2021 dropped to the lowest number in a decade; case filing trends revealed the disparate effects of the pandemic on different Chapter 11 bankruptcies.
Menlo Park, CA — Lex Machina, a LexisNexis company, released its Bankruptcy Report. The report examines trends in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, which include the entire dockets in any bankruptcy proceeding filed in a United States Bankruptcy Court under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. It focuses on the five-year period from 2017 to 2021 and surveys emerging trends in case filings, courts, judges, law firms, parties, and timing metrics. The report often focuses on different sets of data, filtering cases in order to provide analytics on business debtors, individual debtors, involuntary petitions, confirmed plans, and bankruptcy cases sorted by total liabilities.
“This was a fascinating report to produce, both because it showcases data and analytics from our newest court system, but also because the analytics revealed some powerful insights and intriguing trends,” said Laura Hopkins, Lex Machina’s bankruptcy legal data expert and editor of the report. “Not only could we see the quantifiable effect the pandemic and its aftermath had on Chapter 11 proceedings, but our filters also highlighted the different effects the pandemic had on bankruptcy filings depending on the type of debtor and total amount of liabilities.”
Findings from the report include:
- After a brief spike in 2020, the number of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings filed in 2021 (4,526 cases) was the lowest number of any year in the past decade.
- The most active bankruptcy court for Chapter 11 proceedings over the last five years was the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
- The court with the most Chapter 11 confirmed plans in the last five years was the Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.
- Judge David R. Jones from the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas presided over the highest number of total Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings over the five-year period from 2017 to 2021.
- Jackson Walker represented debtors in the highest number of Chapter 11 proceedings over the past five years, while Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones represented creditor committees in the highest number of cases during the same period.
- The median time to plan confirmation was 393 days for Chapter 11 proceedings terminated from 2017 to 2021.
Lex Machina’s reports and software enable practitioners to devise data-driven litigation strategies. The metrics in this report may help readers decide who to pursue as clients, how long a matter may take, or what level of counsel experience you are facing. This research supplements traditional legal research and anecdotal data for a competitive edge in court.
Register here for a copy of the report: https://pages.lexmachina.com/2022-Bankruptcy-Report_LP.html
