2025 Harvey R. Miller Lecture with Douglas G. Baird

2025 Harvey R. Miller Lecture
"The Long, Dark Shadow of the Absolute Priority Rule"

The organizing principle of corporate reorganizations has long been the absolute priority rule. It entitles senior creditors to be paid in full before junior investors receive anything. The absolute priority rule permeates every facet of Chapter 11 practice even as its contours shift over time. This talk examines the many ways in which the absolute priority rule remains central to the story of corporate reorganizations and continues to shape both its substance and procedure. 

Douglas G. Baird
Harry A. Bigelow Distinguished Service Professor of Law, The University of Chicago Law School

With Opening Remarks from:
Daniel Abebe
Dean and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law, Columbia Law School

Ronit Berkovich
Co-Chair of the Restructuring Department, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Jerome Greene Hall, Case Lounge
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
5:30 - 7:30 pm
Reception will follow.

This event is open exclusively to Columbia Law students, alumni, faculty, staff and invited guests.

We are grateful for the support of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, its lawyers, staff, and Columbia Law School alumni who have helped make the Harvey R. Miller Lecture possible.

For inquiries, please contact Anina Gayla, Director of Donor Relations and Gift Administration.