There is a wide array of bankruptcy information available to researchers on the Web.
For practical information, including how to find an attorney specializing in bankruptcies and downloadable official bankruptcy forms from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the Debt and Bankruptcy section in Findlaw.com is excellent. The site also offers discussion groups, questionnaires, and checklists to help you organize the documents you'll need if you are contemplating filing for bankruptcy. Findlaw includes links to free full-text case law journal articles.
Statistical data on the number of bankruptcies filed in the United States can be found at Bankruptcydata.com. The site is maintained by New Generation Research, the publishers of the Bankruptcy Yearbook and Almanac.
Although the site has a paid subscription portion, it also provides a wealth of information for free. For example, there is a table of the fifteen largest bankruptcies since 1980, and a glossary of terms relating to bankruptcy and debt. It provides data on all publicly traded companies with total assets of $10 million or more that have filed for bankruptcy, defaulted on public debt, or proposed a distressed-exchange offer since 1986. You can search using company name, industry, or bankruptcy start date.
Once you locate a company, reports can be purchased. It costs $5 for a synopsis and up to $40 for detailed profiles. A detailed report typically includes complete information on the company, the bankruptcy filing, financials, news stories, and creditors. Bankruptcydata.com also offers a free feature where users are able to ask research questions of their staff of experts.
The Internet Bankruptcy Library has a newsletter service on large company insolvencies that covers significant activity in Chapter 11 cases. The newsletters are compiled by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service and include key dates, a copy of the company press release announcing the bankruptcy, the case numbers and courts handling the case, and a listing of the largest unsecured creditors involved in the action.
The Web site for the American Bankruptcy Institute, ABI World, is also informative. Some sections are restricted to ABI members, but the majority of the resources are free. This site includes both personal and business, since 1980. The data is further broken down by state and by judicial district. In addition to statistical data, ABI World offers links to bankruptcy laws from other countries, full-text bankruptcy decisions, fully searchable and sorted by state or federal jurisdiction. A library section contains analyses of significant cases written by ABI members.