Reading ComprehensionDifficulty: Easy

PT156 S1 P3 Q19 ExplanationBankruptcy Tradeoffs

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

TopicsParagraph PurposeLaw

Keep going in LSAT Lab

  • Save & drill this skill build targeted practice sets from questions like this one

  • Video walkthroughs watch every question solved step by step

  • 81 official LSATs as questions, timed sections & full-length tests

Full official LSAT questions are available through LawHub. This page provides LSAT Lab's explanation, strategy, and review tools without republishing the full official question.

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

Paragraph Purpose

Your task

Pin down exactly what the question asks about the passage — a detail, the author's view, the structure, or the main point — before looking at the choices.

Common trap

Answers that restate a true detail from the passage but don't answer the specific question being asked.

Winning move

Anticipate the answer in your own words from the passage, then find the choice that matches that prediction.

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

The question
19.

The primary purpose of the final paragraph of the passage is to do which one

Answer choices, explained

  1. Correct90% picked this

    provide criticisms of the position described in the

    Why this is right

    The 3rd paragraph discussed Korobkin's approach, and the 4th paragraph is where the author discusses the significant weaknesses of Korobkin's approach, so "provide criticisms of the 3rd paragraph's position" seems great.

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

  2. Too Strong: better served by traditional2% picked this

    offer evidence that the two principles discussed in the third paragraph are better served by traditional bankruptcy laws

    The author never indicates that she prefers Jackson's approach (or any of the traditional ones). The fact that she calls Korobkin's approach "more equitable" may mean that she actually wants us to move away from the traditional approach. She is just unsatisfied with Korobkin's alternative. She needs a more detailed roadmap for how we can modernize bankruptcy by widening the net of interested parties affected by a bankruptcy. It would be pretty incoherent for her to argue that the traditional approach (which only worries about creditors) better serves the principle of inclusion (that all parties affected have their claims considered).

  3. Too Strong: refute Wrong Objection6% picked this

    refute the argument attributed to Korobkin in the

    Saying that an approach has significant weaknesses is not nearly as strong as refuting it. Also, the weaknesses the author cites have more to do with Korobkin's plan for how to deal with bankruptcy, laid out in the 3rd paragraph. The 2nd paragraph is where Korobkin speaks to the problems with Jackson's plan for how to deal with bankrupcty. The author never defends Jackson or refutes Korobkin's criticisms of Jackson / the traditional model.

  4. Out of Scope: alternative way1% picked this

    offer an alternative way of solving the problems discussed in the

    The author doesn't propose her own bankruptcy solution in the 4th paragraph. She just critiques Korobkin's proposal.

  5. Out of Scope: suggest refinements1% picked this

    suggest refinements to the modern bankruptcy laws described in the

    The 4th paragraph was not circling back to the 1st paragraph in some neutral way about modern bankruptcy. It was specifically evaluating Korobkin's approach and listing out its weaknesses.

Continue the review in LSAT Lab

Save this question, watch the video walkthrough, and drill similar questions in your LSAT Lab account.

LSAT Lab

Turn this review into a targeted study plan.

Save this question, drill more like it, watch the video walkthrough, and track your progress in your LSAT Lab account.

Start practicing free