“Lawyers ready for a boom in bankruptcy”

Yeah, good news for lawyers & financial advisers maybe; other people not so much:

"Business bankruptcy filings are down by 45 percent and corporate debt default rates remain near all-time lows. Yet bankruptcy pros are buzzing with anticipation.

"While they don’t have crystal balls, call them cynical and firm believers in business cycles. Lawyers, consultants and financial advisers who work with troubled companies are getting ready for the next surge in business, which some predict may come as soon as the end of this year.

"’My experience over the last 20 years is that what goes up, must come down,’ said Jeff Marwil, a Chicago attorney who last month left Jenner & Block to join Winston & Strawn‘s larger bankruptcy practice. ‘Change is inevitable.’

[snip]

"To prepare, some big law firms have bolstered their bankruptcy practices by cherry-picking prominent attorneys from other firms. Marwil is one of four attorneys Winston & Strawn recruited. Kirkland & Ellis lured an attorney from rival Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York. Top-drawer New York firm Paul, Hastings Janofsky & Walker opened its Chicago office with two bankruptcy attorneys from Jones Day."