Laura B. Bartell
Laura B. Bartell
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Biography
Professor Laura Bartell joined the Wayne Law faculty in 1996 after 17 years of private practice in New York.
After graduating from Harvard Law School, where she was an officer on the Harvard Law Review, she clerked for Judge Alvin B. Rubin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans. She then entered practice in New York, where she became a partner in Shearman & Sterling, specializing in bank financing and bankruptcy work.
In 2017, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts appointed Bartell associate reporter of the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules to the Judicial Conference of the United States. She is former dean of faculty of the American Board of Certification, a national organization that certifies bankruptcy and consumer rights specialists. She is on the executive committee of the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, a member of the American Law Institute and American Bankruptcy Institute, and a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
She has published numerous articles on bankruptcy topics and has been interviewed and quoted extensively by local, national and international media as an expert on the Detroit bankruptcy.
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Degrees and Certifications
J.D., Harvard Law School
B.A., Stanford University
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Courses Taught
Advanced Topics in Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights
Effective Oral Communication for Lawyers
Property
Secured Transactions -
Selected publications
Bankruptcy and the Deceased Debtor: Rule 1016 in Practice, 94 Am. Bankr. L.J. 523 (2020)
Tax Foreclosures as Fraudulent Transfers – Are Auctions Really Necessary?, 93 Am. Bankr. L.J. 681 (2019)
Stern Claims and Article III Adjudication - The Bankruptcy Judge Knows Best, 35 Emory Bankr. Dev. J. 13 (2019)
Section 707(b) Standing for Parties in Interest - Who Cares, 93 Am. Bankr. L.J. 241 (2019)
Section 704(b)(2) - The Back Door into Chapter 7 for the Above-Median Debtor, 92 Am. Bankr. L.J. 489 (2018)
Very Special Circumstances -The Almost Irrebuttable Presumption of Abuse Under Section 707(b)(2), 91 AM. BANKR. L.J. 393 (2017)
Book Review, Kevin M. Ball, Adversity & Justice: A History of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Mich. Hist. Rev. 100 (2016)
The Unconfirmable Modified Chapter 13 Plan – The Disposable Income Test of § 1325(b) and Plan Modifications, 90 Am. Bankr. L.J. 427 (2016)
Motions to Withdraw the Reference – An Empirical Study, 89 Am. Bankr. L.J.397 (2015)
Stay Imposed - The Failed Policy of Section 362(c)(4), 89 Am Bankr. L.J. 165 (2015).
Motions to Withdraw the Reference - An Empirical Study, 89 Am Bankr. L.J. 397 (2015).
Extinction and Creation of Property Interests Encumbered by Liens – The Strange Legacy of Farrey v. Sanderfoot, 87 Am. Bankr. L.J. 375 (2013)
Pension Plan Loans and Means Testing – The Pernicious Endurance of Villarie, 87 Am. Bankr. L.J. 89 (2013)
Bankruptcy Court Adjudication by Consent After Stern, 2012 Norton Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law 5 (2012)
Making Assumptions About the Individual Debtor’s Right to Assume Under § 365(p)(2), 85 Am. Bankr. L.J. 265 (2011)
The Appeal of Direct Appeal – Use of the New 28 U.S.C. § 158(d)(2), 84 Am. Bankr. L.J. 145 (2010)
Straddle Obligations Under Prepetition Contracts – Prepetition Claims, Postpetition Claims or Administrative Expenses, 25 Emory Bankr. Dev. J. 39 (2008)
Awards of Costs in Bankruptcy Court, 17 Norton J. Bankr. L. & Practice 869 (2008)
- Social Science Research Network
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Books
Visualizing Secured Transactions 2007
Law students, perhaps more than the population at large, tend to be visual learners. Visualizing Secured Transactions takes the text of Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (and related statutes) and puts them into the form of easily-understandable charts to facilitate comprehension of this technical commercial subject.
The Law Clerk Handbook (Federal Judicial Center) 1989 revised edition with Alvin B. Rubin
This handbook provides an overview of chambers operations and the work of the federal courts; it does not provide detailed procedures on every aspect of a law clerk's daily tasks or review the procedures of each individual court (this is in large part because the duties of law clerks vary from judge to judge).
A Guide to the Judicial Management of Bankruptcy Mega-Cases, 2nd edition (Federal Judicial Center) 2009 update of the 2007 version
Building on the 1992 first edition, this guide pools the knowledge of bankruptcy judges and clerks of court experienced in handling mega-cases in a written resources for others. It describes the general time line of a mega-case, issues that are likely to arise, and how other judges have approached those issues. The revised guide reflects management strategies currently set by statute, case law, local rules and general orders, and employed by individual judges. It expands coverage of topics that have gained prominence since the guide was first published.
Visualizing Bankruptcy (LexisNexis) 2011
This unique study guide uses visual aids such as charts and diagrams to foster student understanding and application of the law governing bankruptcy.They are organized not by chapter of the Bankruptcy Code (for the most part) but chronologically by the normal course of a bankruptcy case. Some visual aids cover a single provision or concept while others summarize several bearing on a single topic. The overarching goal is to help students see the organizational structure and create visual clues for remembering content.
Visualizing Secured Transactions, 2nd edition (LexisNexis) 2013
Visualizing Secured Transactions takes the basic areas covered by Article 9 and creates a visual aid for the statutory provisions typically assigned in connection with those areas. Some visual aids cover a single section while others summarize a number of sections bearing on a single topic. The overarching goal of Visualizing Secured Transactions is to help students see the organizational structure and create visual clues for remembering content. This unique book, updated to reflect changes in the law since the first edition was published in 2005, uses visual aids such as charts and diagrams to foster student understanding and application of the law governing secured transactions. The organization of the material tracks the outline and scope of traditional Secured Transactions casebooks and covers Article 9 of the UCC and related UCC provisions and sections of the Bankruptcy Code.
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Recent courses taught
Winter Term 2025 (future)
Fall Term 2024 (current)
Winter Term 2024
Fall Term 2023
Winter Term 2023
Fall Term 2022
