Legal scholars are urging Congress to appoint more judges to U.S. bankruptcy courts so they won’t be overwhelmed by large numbers of corporate failures stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Academics studying the economic crisis warned Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other top lawmakers on Thursday that negative economic indicators suggest there will be a surge in bankruptcies over the next 18 months. “We have every confidence in our existing bankruptcy judges, but we also fear that their courts may be overwhelmed by this flood of cases,” the academics said in a letter sent to congressional leaders. The letter was written by University of California, Hastings law professor Jared Ellias and signed by 34 other professors. In addition to bringing on more judges, the letter also urged Congress to increase budgets for current bankruptcy judges so that they can recall retired judges and hire more law clerks and other staff to handle a bigger caseload. Bolstering the U.S. bankruptcy system now would be a low-cost way for Congress to strengthen a key component of the nation’s economic infrastructure, the letter said, adding that more overhauls might be needed as the crisis continues. Read more.
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