Melissa B. Jacoby
Graham Kenan Distinguished Professor of Law, Emerita

Areas of Expertise
- Bankruptcy Law
- Commercial Law
- Contracts
- Law and Social Sciences
- Secured Transactions
Biography
Selected Publications
23andMe's Bankruptcy Raises Concerns About Privacy in the Era of Big Data (with S. Gerke and G. Cohen) BRIT. MED. J. (2025).
Document Link
Bankruptcy, Genetic Information, and Privacy
(with S. Gerke and I. G. Cohen)
, 392 N.E. J. MED. (Mar. 1, 2025).
Document Link
UNJUST DEBTS: HOW OUR BANKRUPTCY SYSTEM MAKES AMERICA MORE UNEQUAL (The New Press, 2024).
KF1501 .J33 2024
Fake and Real People in Bankruptcy, 39 EMORY BANKR. DEV. J. 497 (2023).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | SSRN | Hein | BEPress
Sorting Bugs and Features of Mass Tort Bankruptcy, 101 TEX. L. REV. 1745 (2023).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | SSRN | Hein
Unbundling Business Bankruptcy Law, 101 N.C. L. REV. 1703 (2023).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | SSRN | Hein | BEPress
Other Judges' Cases, 78 NYU ANN. SURV. AM. L. 39 (2022).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | SSRN | Hein | BEPress
Shocking Business Bankruptcy Law, 131 YALE L.J. FORUM 409 (2021).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | SSRN | Hein | BEPress | Document Link
Consumer Protection After a Global Financial Crisis (with E. Balleisen), 107 GEO. L.J. 813 (2019).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | SSRN | Hein | BEPress
Corporate Bankruptcy Hybridity, 166 U. PA. L. REV. 1715 (2018).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | SSRN | Hein | BEPress
In the Media
- Unjust Debts was an NPR Book of the Day on November 22, 2024 (NPR)
- An Overlooked Path to a Financial Fresh Start (The Atlantic)
- American Bankruptcy Law Already Undercuts Accountability for Police Misconduct (The Nation)
- Best summer books of 2024: Economics (Financial Times)
- A judge orders Alex Jones to sell personal assets, but Infowars can continue for now (NPR)
- The case for reining in the perks of corporate bankruptcy (Marketplace)
- 'Unjust Debts' author on bankruptcy and the injustice baked in (Charlotte Talks)
- The Moral Limits of Bankruptcy Law (The New York Times)
- Fake People, Real Obligations: PW Talks with Melissa B. Jacoby (Publishers Weekly)
- Unjust Debts: How Our Bankruptcy System Makes America More Unequal Review (Publisher's Weekly)