Bankrupt NRA: A Conversation w/ Judge Bruce A. Markell

Good Law | Bad Law

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by former bankruptcy Judge and current Northwestern law professor, Bruce A. Markell, to discuss the recent NRA bankruptcy filings and just how extraordinary this story is, as well as bankruptcy law and the bankruptcy system in general.

In today’s conversation, Aaron and Judge (Bruce) Markell breakdown the evolving story on the NRA’s (the National Rifle Association) recent bankruptcy filings and why this story is so exceptional. Judge Markell offers his opinion and explains what, why, and how things may play out for the NRA. Professor Markell and Aaron discuss senior and junior claims, the bankruptcy mechanism, assuming liabilities, shady corporations and business practices, for profit business requirements vs. non-profit requirements, and more. Is the NRA running away from NY? Why? And what will happen next? Aaron and Judge Markell explore these questions and others as they touch on the notions of “bad faith,” malpractice, reorganization, the bankruptcy code, and debate what possible consequences may result from this developing story.

Judge Markell was appointed the Professor of Bankruptcy Law and Practice at Northwestern in 2015. From 2013 to 2015, Professor Markell was the Jeffrey A. Stoops Professor of Law at Florida State University School of Law, and before that he was a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Nevada. Before taking the bench, Judge Markell practice bankruptcy and business law in Los Angeles for ten years (where he was a partner at Sidley & Austin), and was a law professor for fourteen. After graduating from UC Davis with his JD, Professor Markell clerked for then-judge Anthony M. Kennedy on the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Judge Markell is the author of numerous articles on bankruptcy and commercial law, and is a co-author of four law school casebooks. He has been a visiting professor at, among other schools, Peking University School of Law in Beijing, and Harvard Law School. Professor Markell contributes to Collier on Bankruptcy, and is a member of Collier’s editorial advisory board. He is a conferee of the National Bankruptcy Conference, a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, a charter member of the International Insolvency Institute, and a member of the American Law Institute. Judge Markell also consults with the International Monetary Fund on insolvency-related issues, and was the primary drafter of Kosovo’s current bankruptcy law. He is an associate editor of the Bankruptcy Law Letter, and regularly contributes articles to that publication.

Listen now!

To learn more about Judge Markell, please visit his bio at Northwestern here.

Host: Aaron Freiwald

Guest: Judge Bruce A. Markell

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