Reading ComprehensionDifficulty: Easy

PT156 S1 P3 Q15 ExplanationBankruptcy Tradeoffs

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Reading Comprehension question.

TopicsMain PointLaw

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Passage

Traditionally, corporate bankruptcy law placed highest priority on the orderly discharge of debts; courts generally ordered failed businesses to pay all creditors a set percentage of the amounts owed. Modern bankruptcy laws, by contrast, allow insolvent companies to apply for "reorganization," which establishes a plan for satisfying liabilities while allowing the company argues, guarantees that claims will be fairly adjudicated and that the collection process will be efficient.

Donald Korobkin and others argue that Jackson's account fails to give due regard to the interests of other parties affected by a corporation's bankruptcy, such as suppliers, employees and their dependents, and the community at large—parties whose interests are not represented in the company's contractual debts. Jackson's position, Korobkin argues, calls for continue benefiting others by producing wealth, providing employment and tax revenue, and so forth.

Korobkin claims that fairness and acceptability to all interested parties, not just to creditors, can be achieved through the application of two principles. First, a principle of inclusion requires that all parties significantly affected by a company's failure be eligible to have their claims considered. Additionally, a principle of rational planning requires as a result of the bankruptcy be protected over the interests of those less badly affected.

But while Korobkin's approach is more equitable than Jackson's, it also has significant weaknesses. First, a fair accounting of the interests of other affected parties represents an increase in risk to creditors, since they are likely to recover less in the event of bankruptcy. Under such a regime, creditors charge more for retain their jobs; Korobkin fails to provide a way of deciding when such trade-offs are warranted.

What this question is testing

Main Point

Your task

Capture the passage's overall primary point — the claim everything else supports.

Common trap

Answers that are true but too narrow (a single paragraph) or too broad (beyond the passage's scope).

Winning move

Summarize the whole passage in one sentence first, then match it to a choice.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question
15.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of

Answer choices, explained

  1. Not Author's Position6% picked this

    According to Korobkin, Jackson's conception of bankruptcy law does not adequately balance the competing needs of all who are affected by

    We could stop reading this three words in. The job of the Main Point answer is to give us the author's main point, assuming the author made an appearance. This author spends the whole final paragraph evaluating the Jackson vs. Korobkin debate, so the main point needs to sound like her takeaways in the final paragraph. We're not going to like a main point answer that just says what Korobkin thinks is true.

  2. Correct88% picked this

    Korobkin's approach to protecting the interests of people affected by corporate bankruptcy is fairer than the traditional approach favored by Jackson, but

    Why this is right

    This nicely summarizes the author's wrap-up in the final paragraph. The opening sentence establishes that the author likes Korobkin's approach for being more equitable, but still thinks it has significant weaknesses. "Equitable" is referring to the fact that with Korobkin's approach, it's not just creditors who are considered when thinking about the impact of a corporate bankruptcy.

    Skill tested: Main Point · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

  3. Missing the Author's Position2% picked this

    Korobkin opposes Jackson's conception of bankruptcy law because it fails to provide a rational plan for compensating the employees, as well as

    This answer just reports on Korobkin's beliefs, but since our author gave her own evaluation of this Jackson vs. Korobkin debate in the final paragraph, we need the main point to sound like her takeaways in the final paragraph. This doesn't convey the author's sentiment that Korobkin's approach is more equitable but still has weaknesses.

  4. Missing the Author's Position1% picked this

    Korobkin argues that the traditional bankruptcy laws advocated by Jackson needlessly extinguished corporations that were still capable of

    This answer just reports on Korobkin's beliefs, but since our author gave her own evaluation of this Jackson vs. Korobkin debate in the final paragraph, we need the main point to sound like her takeaways in the final paragraph. This doesn't convey the author's sentiment that Korobkin's approach is more equitable but still has weaknesses.

  5. Wrong Compliment / Objection2% picked this

    Korobkin's vision of bankruptcy law is more popular among policymakers than Jackson's approach, but the long-term economic costs of Korobkin's

    Unlike (A), (C), and (D), this answer does actually offer what sounds like the author's evaluation of Korobkin vs. Jackson's bankruptcy debate. But the author's compliment for Korobkin was that his approach is more equitable, not that it's more "popular among policymakers". The author's qualms with Korobkin's approach was that it seems to mean a worse deal for creditors and it doesn't provide a clear roadmap for how to judge the tradeoffs between different stakeholders, not that "it's long-term economic costs outweigh its short-term benefits".

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