Normative Bricolage: Informal Rule Making by Accountants and Lawyers in Mega Insolvencies

Abstract

The Maxwell bankruptcy was the first big international insolvency, one that moved into primary proceedings simultaneously in London and New York. This set up a battle between British administration and US Chapter 11. The intervention by certain individuals who had thought about the consequences of such bankruptcies, including lawyers and judges, enabled a private system of law to emerge to handle these incommensurable systems.

Keywords: globalization, bankruptcy, insolvency, chapter 11, administration, lawyers, accountants

JEL Classification: J44