Bankruptcy Research Database

UCLA law professor Lynn M. LoPucki's free Bankruptcy Research Database "provides data for much, if not most, empirical work" on the subject of large company bankruptcies, according to his faculty bio. Information on bankrupt firms includes debtor names, annual sales, assets, number of employees, the filing city, the disposition of cases and more.

Data quality in the WebBRD exceeds that available in any other business bankruptcy resource. Data are gathered from a variety of sources, the most important of which are the bankruptcy courts' files (on PACER) and the debtors' filings with the Securities Exchange Commission.

Data are carefully collected and checked according to Bankruptcy Research Database protocols. Since the founding of the BRD in 1994, I have personally checked each piece of data against its source at the time of entry.

On his frequently asked questions page he explains the database's purpose:

The database itself is an experiment in systems research. My theory is that improving the flow of information in any social system has a marked, positive effect on the operation of the system. If my theory is correct, wide availability of the BRD will change the manner in which the bankruptcy courts and professionals process the cases of large, public companies -- and the change will be an improvement. ... Also, I love to collect and explore good data.