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Brook E. Gotberg

Visiting Faculty

Brook E. Gotberg

Visiting Professor of Law

Biography

Brook Gotberg is a scholar of bankruptcy, contracts, debt, and other commercial law subjects. Her academic work focuses primarily on debtor and creditor relations, both in and out of bankruptcy. She has published articles on the impact of bankruptcy provisions on small and medium-sized enterprises, the treatment of preferential transfers in the bankruptcy code, and more generally on the laws and policies shaping business reorganization in the United States. Professor Gotberg has also presented extensively on current developments in bankruptcy law, including legislative policy affecting consumer borrowers.

Prior to joining the law faculty at Brigham Young University, Professor Gotberg was a tenured professor for the University of Missouri Law School in Columbia, Missouri. Professor Gotberg also practiced commercial law with Sullivan & Cromwell in Los Angeles, California. She has litigated a variety of cases, from large antitrust suits to minor contract disputes, and has represented both debtors and creditors in bankruptcy court.

Professor Gotberg teaches courses and seminars on contracts, bankruptcy and reorganization, and secured transactions.

Education and Experience

Education

Harvard Law School

JD, 2008 cum laude

Brigham Young University

BA in Political Science, 2005 magna cum laude

Experience

Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School

Professor (2020 – present)
Academic Fellow (2012 – 2014)

University of Missouri School of Law

Associate Professor (2016 – 2020)

Brigham Young University, Marriott School of Business

Instructor (Spring 2014)

United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California

Law clerk to the Honorable Thomas Donovan (2011-2012)

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Law clerk to the Honorable Milan D. Smith, Jr. (2008-2009)

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Los Angeles, CA

Litigation Associate (2009-2011)

Presentations
  • Strengthening Insolvency Systems in Asia and the Pacific, Manila, Philippines; Avoidance Actions (December 15, 2022)
  • BYU Law Winter Deals Conference, Park City, UT; The Sound and the Fury: Bankruptcy Venue Reform (March 11, 2022)
  • Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference, Denver, CO; Avoidance Actions – Emerging Theories and Recent Case Law (January 28, 2022)
  • American Bankruptcy Institute Mid-Level Professional Development Program, Delivered Online; Mid-Level/Mid-Career Decisions (November 9, 2021)
  • National Business Law Scholars Conference, Delivered Online; Reluctant to Restructure: Small Businesses, the SBRA, and COVID-19 (June 17, 2021)
  • Midwestern Virtual Bankruptcy Institute, Frank W. Koger Memorial Lecture, Delivered Online; Bankruptcy as a Social Safety Net: Policy Considerations in a Time of Pandemic (October 29, 2020)
  • National Business Law Scholars Conference, Delivered Online; Bankruptcy & COVID-19: Saving Small Businesses (June 19, 2020)
  • BYU Law Winter Deals Conference, Park City, UT; Creditor Voting in Chapter 11 (March 5, 2020)
  • Southeastern Association of Law Schools New Scholars Workshop, Boca Raton, FL; Creditor Voting (July 31, 2019)
  • 2019 Annual Bankruptcy Institute for the Missouri Bar, Columbia, MO; Case Law Update and Current Developments (March 20, 2019)
  • St. Louis Chapter of the JRCLS Meeting, St. Louis, MO; Bibles and Bankruptcy (February 22, 2019)
  • Iowa Law School Faculty Colloquium, Iowa City, IA; Relational Preferences in Chapter 11 Proceedings (February 8, 2019)
  • Young Scholars’ Bankruptcy Workshop, New York, NY; Relational Preferences in Chapter 11 Proceedings (October 12, 2018)
  • Chicagoland Junior Scholars Works in Progress Conference, Chicago, IL; It Cuts Both Ways: How Preference Avoidance Actions Can Harm Business Relationships Between Debtors and Creditors (October 5, 2018)
  • Washburn University School of Law Faculty Colloquium, Topeka, KS; It Cuts Both Ways: How Preference Avoidance Actions Can Harm Business Relationships Between Debtors and Creditors (September 27, 2018)
  • 2018 Annual Bankruptcy Institute for the Missouri Bar, Columbia, MO; Case Law Update and Current Developments (March 23, 2018)
  • University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School Faculty Colloquium, Kansas City, MO; Optimal Deterrence and the Preference Gap (Feb. 2, 2018)
  • Saint Louis University School of Law Faculty Colloquium, St. Louis, MO; Optimal Deterrence and the Preference Gap (Nov. 10, 2017)
  • Southeastern Association of Law Schools New Scholars Workshop, Boca Raton, FL; Well-Behaved Creditors: How Bankruptcy Law Can Positively Shape Debtor/Creditor Interactions (Aug. 4, 2017)
  • J. Reuben Clark Law Society Faculty Conference, San Francisco, CA; Deterring Bad Behavior in Trade Creditors Through Preference Litigation (Jan. 3, 2017)
  • 20th Annual Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference, Denver, CO; Constitutional/Jurisdictional/Standing Issues (Jan. 22-23, 2015)
  • American Bankruptcy Institute 32nd Annual Spring Meeting, Washington, DC; Student Loan Update (Apr. 26, 2014)
  • J. Reuben Clark Law Society Faculty Conference, New Orleans, LA; Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction and the Larger Conundrum of Conflicting Purposes for Bankruptcy Courts (Jan. 4, 2013)

Additional Activities

Awards and Honors

  • Student Bar Association Second/Third Year Professor of the Year: Award presented by BYU law students to recognize excellence in teaching. (March 30, 2023)
  • Francis R. Kirkham Professorship: One-year professorship appointment to recognize exceptional achievements in scholarship, teaching, or citizenship. (May 9, 2022)
  • Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP Excellence in Research Award: Presented each year to the full-time faculty member who demonstrates excellence research based on a published article from the previous year (Feb. 28, 2020)
  • ABI 40 Under 40: Selected as one of 40 top industry professionals under age 40 and recognized at the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Annual Leadership Conference (December 5, 2019)

Grants

American Bankruptcy Institute Anthony H.N. Schnelling Endowment Fund: Consumer Bankruptcy and The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Placebo or Panacea? with Michael D. Sousa, University of Denver Sturm School of Law (2017 – present)

Service

  • Clerkship Committee – BYU Law School: Liaison between students and judges; conduct mock interviews (2020-present)
  • Admissions Committee – BYU Law School: Review law school applications; attend recruitment conferences (2020 – present)
  • J. Reuben Clark Law Society Student Chapter – Missouri Law School: Faculty Advisor (2016 – 2020)
  • Credit Abuse Resistance Education Program (C.A.R.E.): Faculty Advisor and Presenter to college and high school student groups (2016 – 2017)

Languages

  • Proficient in Spanish.
  • Some Arabic.