Skip to main content
Support the Law School
Consumer Information
(ABA Required Disclosures)
Support the Law School Consumer Information
(ABA Required Disclosures)
Home Faculty»David Arthur Skeel
David Skeel

Papers on SSRN

David Arthur Skeel

S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law

David Skeel is S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

He is the author of True Paradox: How Christianity Makes Sense of Our Complex World (InterVarsity, 2014); The New Financial Deal: Understanding the Dodd-Frank Act and Its (Unintended) Consequences (Wiley, 2011); Icarus in the Boardroom (Oxford, 2005); Debt’s Dominion: A History of Bankruptcy Law in America (Princeton, 2001); and numerous articles on bankruptcy, corporate law, financial regulation, Christianity and law, and other topics.

Skeel has also written commentaries for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Books & Culture, The Weekly Standard, and other publications.

He has received the Harvey Levin award three times for outstanding teaching, as selected by a vote of the graduating class, the Robert A. Gorman award for excellence in upper level course teaching, and the University’s Lindback Award for distinguished teaching.

Featured Research

More Publications

Distorted Choice in Corporate Bankruptcy, 130 YALE L. J. 366 (2020).

Unwritten Rules and the New Contract Paradigm, 36 EMORY BANKR. DEV. J. 733 (2020)

The New Synthesis of Bank Regulation and Bankruptcy in the Dodd-Frank Era, in RESEARCH HANDBOOK ON CORPORATE BANKRUPTCY LAW (Barry E. Adler ed., Elgar 2020).

Divided by the Sermon on the Mount, 47 PEPP. L. REV. 495 (2020).

Notes from the Puerto Rico Oversight (Not Control) Board 34th Pileggi Lecture, 34 DEL. J. CORP. L. 529 (2019).

Bankruptcy’s Uneasy Shift to a Contract Paradigm, 166 U. PA. L. REV. 1777 (2018) (with George Triantis).

In the News

View All 
Articles

Articles

FTX’d: Conflicting Public and Private Interests in Chapter 11, Stanford Law Review (forthcoming)
Abortion Politics After Dobbs (Co-authored), Arizona Law Review (forthcoming)
Bankruptcy and the Macroeconomy: A New Paradigm for Governmental Response to Economic Crisis (Co-authored), Yale Journal on Regulation (forthcoming)
Credit Markets and the Visible Hand: The Discount Window and the Macroeconomy (Co-authored), Yale Journal on Regulation (2024)
Bankruptcy's Identity Crisis, University of Pennsylvania Law Review (2023)
Pandemic Hope for Chapter 11 Financing, Yale Law Journal Forum (2021)
The Corporation as Trinity, Seattle University Law Review (2021)
Taking Stock of Chapter 11, Syracuse Law Review (2021)
Distorted Choice in Corporate Bankruptcy, Yale Law Journal (2020)
Divided by the Sermon on the Mount, Pepperdine Law Review (2020)
Unwritten Rules and the New Contract Paradigm, Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal (2020)
Notes from the Puerto Rico Oversight (Not Control) Board 34th Pileggi Lecture, Delaware Journal of Corporate Law (2019)
Bankruptcy’s Uneasy Shift to a Contract Paradigm (Co-authored), University of Pennsylvania Law Review (2018)
The Empty Idea of ‘Equality of Creditors’, University of Pennsylvania Law Review (2018)
Reflections on Two Years of P.R.O.M.E.S.A, Revista Juridica de law Universidad de Puerto Rico (2018)
Foreword: Bankruptcy’s Old and New Frontiers (Co-authored), University of Pennsylvania Law Review (2018)
Bankruptcy on the Side (Co-authored), Northwestern University Law Review (2017)
The Bylaw Puzzle in Delaware Corporate Law, Business Lawyer (2016)
Governance and the Judicial Role in Municipal Bankruptcy (Co-authored), Yale Law Journal (2016)
Governmental Intervention in an Economic Crisis (Co-authored), University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law (2016)
Rediscovering Corporate Reorganization in Bankruptcy, Temple Law Review (2015)
What is a Lien: Lessons from Municipal Bankruptcy, Illinois Law Review (2015)
From Chrysler and General Motors to Detroit, Widener Law Review (2015)
When Should Bankruptcy be an Option (for People, Places or Things), William & Mary Law Review (2015)
Corporate Governance and Social Welfare in the Common-Law World, Texas Law Review (2014)
Is Bankruptcy the Answer for Troubled Cities and States, Houston Law Review (2013)
Bankruptcy Law as a Liquidity Provider (Co-authored), University of Chicago Law Review (2013)
Institutional Choice in an Economic Crisis, Wisconsin Law Review (2013)
Behavioral Economics in Corporate and Securities Law, Supreme Court Economic Review (2013)
Dynamic Resolution of Large Financial Institutions (Co-authored), Harvard Business Law Review (2012)
Transaction Consistency and the New Finance in Bankruptcy (Co-authored), Columbia Law Review (2012)
Hauerwasian Christian Legal Theory, Law and Contemporary Problems (2012)
States of Bankruptcy, University of Chicago Law Review (2012)
Inside-Out Corporate Governance, Journal of Corporation Law (2011)
Welcome Back, SEC?, American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review (2011)
Making Sense of the New Financial Detail, Liberty University Law Review (2011)
Bankruptcy or Bailouts? (Co-authored), Journal of Corporation Law (2010)
Assessing the Chrysler Bankruptcy (Co-authored), Michigan Law Review (2010)
Competing Narratives in Corporate Bankruptcy: Debtor in Control vs. No Time to Spare, Michigan State Law Review (2009)
Bankruptcy Boundary Games, Brooklyn Journal of Corporate Finance & Commercial Law (2009)
Governance in the Ruins: Fusing an innovative critique of the endowment perspective with a more traditional approach , Harvard Law Review (2008)
The Unbearable Lightness of Christian Legal Scholarship, Emory Law Journal (2008)
The Paths of Christian Legal Scholarship, Green Bag (2008)
Odious Debt or Odious Regimes? (Co-authored), Law & Contemporary Problems (2007)
Who Writes the Rules for Hostile Takeovers, and Why? — The Peculiar Divergence of US and UK Takeover Regulation (Co-authored), Georgetown Law Journal (2007)
The Promise and Perils of Credit Derivatives (Co-authored), University of Cincinnati Law Review (2007)
Recharacterization and the Nonhindrance of Creditors (Co-authored), European Business Organization Law Review (2006)
Christianity and the (Modest) Rule of Law (Co-authored), University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law (2006)
European Implications of Bankruptcy Venue Shopping, Buffalo Law Review (2006)
An Efficiency-Based Explanation for Current Corporate Reorganization Practice (Co-authored), University of Chicago Law Review (2006)
Redesigning the International Lender of Last Resort (Co-authored), University of Chicago Journal of International Law (2005)
Corporate Shaming Revisited: An Essay for Bill Klein, Berkeley Journal of Law and Business (2005)
"Sovereignty Issues" and the Church Bankruptcy Cases, Seton Hall Legislation Journal (2005)
Icarus and American Corporate Regulation, Business Lawyer (2005)
The Racial Dimensions of Credit and Bankruptcy, Washington & Lee Law Review (2004)
Inside the Black Box: How Should a Sovereign Bankruptcy Regime be Structured? (Co-authored), Emory Law Journal (2004)
Corporate Anatomy Lessons, Yale Law Journal (2004)
Employees, Pensions and Governance in Chapter 11,, Washington University Law Quarterly (2004)
The Past, Present and Future of Debtor-in-Possession Financing, Cardozo Law Review (2004)
Bankruptcy’s Home Economics, American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review (2004)
Avoiding Moral Bankruptcy, Boston College Law Review (2003)
Creditors’ Ball: The “New” New Corporate Governance in Chapter 11, University of Pennsylvania Law Review (2003)
Can Majority Voting Provisions Do It All?, Emory Law Journal (2003)
Corporate Ownership and the Evolution of Bankruptcy: Lessons from the U.K. (Co-authored), Vanderbilt Law Review (2002)
Virtual Privatization: Governance Strategies for Government-Owned Corporations, Journal of Corporate Legal Studies (2002)
The Lawyer as Confidence-Man, Columbia Law Review (2001)
What’s So Bad About Delaware?, Vanderbilt Law Review (2001)
Shaming in Corporate Law, University of Pennsylvania Law Review (2001)
Vern Countryman and the Path of Progressive (and Populist) Bankruptcy Scholarship, Harvard Law Review (2000)
Lockups and Delaware Venue in Corporate Law and Bankruptcy, University of Cincinnati Law Review (2000)
The Genius of the 1898 Bankruptcy Act, Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal (1999)
The Market Revolution in Bank and Insurance Firm Governance: Its Logic and Limits, Washington University Law Quarterly (1999)
Bankruptcy Lawyers and the Shape of American Bankruptcy Law, Fordham Law Review (1998)
Bankruptcy Judges and Bankruptcy Venue: Some Thoughts on Delaware, Delaware Law Review (1998)
The Law and Finance of Bank and Insurance Insolvency Regulation, Texas Law Review (1998)
An Evolutionary Theory of Corporate Law and Corporate Bankruptcy, Vanderbilt Law Review (1998)
Public Choice and Future of Public Choice-Influenced Legal Scholarship, Vanderbilt Law Review (1997)
The Unanimity Norm in Delaware Corporate Law, Virginia Law Review (1997)
A Reliance Damages Approach to Corporate Lockups, Northwestern University Law Review (1996)
The Economic Analysis of Corporate Bankruptcy Law (Co-authored), American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review (1995)
Some Corporate and Securities Law Perspectives on Student-Athletes and the NCAA, Wisconsin Law Review (1995)
Rethinking the Line Between Corporate Law and Corporate Bankruptcy, Texas Law Review (1994)
Practicing Poetry, Teaching Law, Michigan Law Review (1994)
Markets, Courts and the Brave New World of Bankruptcy Theory, Wisconsin Law Review (1993)
The Nature and Effect of Corporate Voting in Chapter 11 Reorganization Cases, Virginia Law Review (1992)
Notes Toward an Aesthetics of Legal Pragmatism, Cornell Law Review (1992)
The Uncertain State of an Unstated Rule: Bankruptcy's Contribution Rule Doctrine After Ahlers, American Bankruptcy Law Journal (1989)
Show 12 more...View all 87
Chapters

Chapters

Central Counterparties Insolvency and Resolution in the United States: Managing a Clearinghouse Failure in Financial Market Infrastructures: Law and Regulation (2021)
Bankruptcy for Banks: A Tribute (and a Little Plea) to Jay Westbrook in Bankruptcy's Universal Pragmatist: Festschrift in Honor of Professor Jay Lawrence Westbrook (2021)
The New Synthesis of Bank Regulation and Bankruptcy in the Dodd-Frank Era in Research Handbook on Corporate Bankruptcy Law (2020)
Christianity and Bankruptcy in Christianity and Market Regulation: An Introduction (2019)
Defending the (Delaware) Corporate Law Bastion in Regole del mercato e mercato delle regole : il diritto societario e il ruolo del legislatore (2016)
Financing Systemically Important Financial Institutions in Bankruptcy in Making Failure Feasible: How Bankruptcy Reform Can End "Too Big Too Fail" (2015)
Single Point of Entry and the Bankruptcy Alternative in Across the Great Divide: New Perspectives on the Financial Crisis (2014)
Bankruptcy and Economic Recovery (Co-authored) in Financial Restructuring to Sustain Recovery (2013)
A Dialogue on the Costs and Benefits of Automatic Stays for Derivatives and Repurchase Agreements (Co-authored) in Bankruptcy Not Bailout: A Special Chapter 14 (2012)
Criminal and Civil Law in the Torah: The Mosaic Law in Christian Perspective (Co-authored) in Law and the Bible: Justice, Mercy, and Legal Institutions (2011)
How to Rethink Sovereign Bankruptcy: A New Role for the IMF? (Co-authored) in Overcoming Developing Country Debt Crises Overcoming Developing Country Debt Crises (2010)
The Criminal law of Gambling: A Puzzling History (Co-authored) in Gambling: Mapping the American moral landscape (2009)
Shareholder Litigation: The Accidental Elegance of Aronson v. Lewis in The Iconic Cases in Corporate Law (2008)
Christianity and the Large Scale Corporation in Christianity and Law: An Introduction (2008)
Saul and David, and Corporate Takeover Law in Literature and Legal Problem: Law and Literature as Ethical Discourse Solving (1998)
Show 6 more...View all 15
Other

Other

Brief, Brief of Amici Curiae Bankruptcy Law Professors In Support of Neither Party 24-0961-cr second circuit), United States Court of Appeals (2024)
Interview, “A Fresh Start” ft. the University of Pennsylvania’s David A. Skeel, Jr. , Christian Scholar's Review (2024)
Book Review, ‘Default’ Review: When a Nation Goes Bust‘Default’ Review: When a Nation Goes Bust, The Wall Street Journal (2024)
Podcast, Debt, Forgiveness and the Nature of the Corporation, unSILOed with Greg LaBlanc (2023)
Book Review, Living in the Towers’ Shadow, The Wall Street Journal (2023)
Op-Ed, Purdue Pharma's Bankruptcy Heads to the Supreme Court, WSJ Opinion (2023)
Blog, Bankruptcy’s Identity Crisis , Oxford Business Law Blog (2023)
Podcast, On Background: A History of Bankruptcy in the US, Against the Rules (2023)
Report, The populist backlash in Chapter 11, Brookings (2022)
Report, Bankruptcy and the coronavirus: Part II, Brookings (2020)
Report, Bankruptcy and the coronavirus, Brookings (2020)
Show 2 more...View all 11