Joe Smith has seen a lot from his experiences with banking and financial crises. I always learn from him, and perhaps you will too.

Good news is made to be shared!

A red carpet question: to what extent can the Academy Awards restrict how winners use their Oscar statues via contract?
creditslips.org/2026/03/14/o...

creditslips.org/2026/03/14/o...

Two nonfiction books take critical views of bankruptcy and microlending systems | Book of the Day Two nonfiction books question the efficacy of financial systems that are meant to help lift people out of poverty. In Unjust Debts, law professor Melissa Jacoby argues that bankruptcy in the United St...

WKNO FM public radio just re-aired this NPR book of the day segment; new Unjust Debts readers welcomed! www.wknofm.org/book-of-the-...

Have you watched this yet? 17+ minutes on The Daily Show of substantive conversation about a serious book, The Middle-Class New Deal. Proud to know you, Professor Dickerson!

MISSION CREEP OR MISSION FAILURE? A Review of Melissa Jacoby’s Unjust Debts Bankruptcy law is not an area that most lawyers or law professors, much less the public, usually think about. Like death or taxes, we avoid worrying about such things until they stand at the gate. But...

I reviewed "Unjust Debts" by @mbjacoby.bsky.social for the American Journal of Law and Equality. It's a great book, and if you haven't gotten a copy, you really should! direct.mit.edu/ajle/article...

A Wall Street Journal podcast inspired me to start this blog post. Edgar Allan Poe and FirstBrands inspired me to finish it.

creditslips.org/2025/12/02/b...

The study on hospital collection lawsuits linked in this post is worth your time and attention.

A reasonable plea for accuracy in counting corporate bankruptcies from @boblawless.bsky.social

www.creditslips.org/creditslips/...

My contribution to this fantastic @brooklynlawschool.bsky.social symposium is here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers..... It's both too long (for the symposium) and too short (much more to say), but I think just the beginning.

New book alert!

Is the US Bankruptcy System Morally Bankrupt? - ProMarket Anat R. Admati reviews Unjust Debts: How Our Bankruptcy System Makes America More Unequal (2024) by Melissa B. Jacoby.

NEW: Anat R. Admati reviews "Unjust Debts: How Our Bankruptcy System Makes America More Unequal" (2024) by Melissa B. Jacoby.

www.promarket.org/2025/07/23/o...

Bankruptcy Law: Overview and Legislative Reforms WASHINGTON, D.C. - The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust will hold a hearing on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Join in livestream - tomorrow, July 15, 2025 at 10am Eastern
judiciary.house.gov/committee-ac...

Making Americans Bankrupt Again? How U.S. bankruptcy law deepens inequality—Melissa Jacoby’s Unjust Debts exposes a system that punishes the vulnerable and protects the powerful.

Prof. Melissa B. Jacoby argues that the U.S. bankruptcy system doesn’t just reflect inequality—it reinforces it. In Unjust Debts, she shows how bankruptcy law privileges corporations over people. politicsrights.com/making-ameri...
#bankruptcy @mbjacoby.bsky.social‬ #politicsandrightsreview

I've Spent The Last 20 Years Trying To Become A Mom. Today I Have Big News To Share. "Parenthood wasn’t just something I wanted — it became the definition of who I thought I was supposed to be."

An essay by my friend Stephanie Schantz that offers food for thought for everyone:
www.huffpost.com/entry/infert...

Debtor-creditor relationships are everywhere, including and especially in health care.

Glad to see new journalistic coverage of these medical credit products and their implications in the @prospect.org
@mirya.bsky.social

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Sharing Risk by Patricia McCoy - Hardcover Scholarship is a powerful tool for changing how people think, plan, and govern. By giving voice to bright minds and bold ideas, we seek to foster understanding and drive progressive change.

A new book: Sharing Risk, by Professor Pat McCoy, came out yesterday. I'll be reading it for sure.
www.ucpress.edu/books/sharin...

More on the bankrupt 23andMe, this time in the British Medical Journal

Were I in the DC area you would find me here. Book events at public libraries are a special thing. And opportunity to hear from a journalist with extensive experience reporting on student loans.

unSILOed with Greg LaBlanc: 538. Bankruptcy, Inequality, and the Quest for Fairness feat. Melissa B. Jacoby What are the broader implications of specialized bankruptcy courts on the U.S. legal system? How are bankruptcies being used and misused by debtors and creditors today?Melissa B. Jacoby is a profes...

As bankruptcy filings rise, here's a conversation with Greg LaBlanc(recorded in April, released today, May 9). @thenewpress.bsky.social
podfollow.com/unsiloed-wit...

Melissa Jacoby, Unjust Debts

Unjust Debts heading back to a bookstore on May 9 - Scuppernong Books, Greensboro, NC, in conversation with a former NC Supreme Court justice. Details below. scuppernongbooks.com/event/2025-0...

How 23andMe's bankruptcy led to a run on the gene bank : Planet Money Reporter Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi's Aunt Vovi signed up for 23andMe back in 2017, hoping to learn more about the genetic makeup of her ancestors. Vovi was one of over 15 million 23andMe customers who…

When 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March, the fate of its vast genetic database became unclear.

In today’s episode, we look at what might happen to the genetic data of 15 million 23andMe customers as the bankruptcy process unfolds.

23andMe bankruptcy currently has more active oversight than the federal government in the last 3 months. If members of Congress want to protect Americans' data privacy, they could hold DOGE accountable for its risky business.

Smallest Businesses Are Biggest Losers in Global Tariff War Uncertainty about President Trump’s tariffs is leading many small businesses to interrupt or halt production because they can’t absorb price hikes and lack leverage to negotiate.

Whether intentional or mere indifference, effect is the same...

www.wsj.com/economy/trad...

Why Johnson & Johnson is in bankruptcy court over its talc powder - Marketplace A federal bankruptcy judge has rejected Johnson & Johnson’s latest attempt to settle lawsuits that allege its talc baby powder caused cancer.

Johnson & Johnson tried 3 times to resolve talc suits in bankruptcy court. It didn’t work.

We get into it.👇

Inflicting too many outrages, in too many illegal ways, to fit on a sign was the strategy...and I'm on my way to a march in NC.

Having reread, want to emphasize that decision below is important read on lawyers' professional responsibility (and role of claims agent businesses) when firms represent large numbers of claimants.

Prof. Jacoby on X: "Link to court decision dismissing J&J talc bankruptcy #3 (aka Red River Talc) https://t.co/pjxscmjAGR" / X Link to court decision dismissing J&J talc bankruptcy #3 (aka Red River Talc) https://t.co/pjxscmjAGR

short thread on decision at other place ... x.com/melissabjaco...

Bankruptcy court in Texas says J&J's third bankruptcy to cap liability for talc harm must be dismissed. Here is decision: document.epiq11.com/document/get...