See all Profiles
a photograph of Professor Matthew Bruckner's head and shoulders
Faculty
Faculty

Matthew Bruckner

mbruckner@Howard.edu

Department/Office

  • Faculty, Law Department

Biography

Associate Professor of Law

J.D., 2007, New York University School of Law
B.A., 2000, Binghamton University

Contact:

mbruckner@howard.edu

202.806.8064

Biography

Matthew Adam Bruckner is an Associate Professor of Law at Howard University School of Law. He teaches a variety of business and commercial law courses, including Contracts, Consumer Finance and Bankruptcy. Professor Bruckner has previously taught at St. John’s University School of Law and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. His academic interests center on commercial and nonprofit bankruptcy issues. Professor Bruckner’s most recent work is focused on bankruptcy issues faced by institutions of higher education.

Prior to law teaching, Professor Bruckner was an attorney practicing in the areas of bankruptcy, bank regulatory, M&A, and other general transactional matters with Allen & Overy, LLP. Professor Bruckner also undertook a number of pro bono engagements for the Public International Law and Policy Group, where he led a team working on comparative constitutional law issues. After leaving Allen & Overy, Professor Bruckner clerked for the Honorable Allan L. Gropper of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. In a prior life, he was a stagehand at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

Professor Bruckner is a member of the New York Bar.

Selected Publications and Works-in-Progress

  • Who’s Down with OCC(‘s definition of “banks”)?  (work in progress).
     
  • Debtor-Creditor Issues with Basic Income Guarantees (work in progress).
     
  • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: The Opportunities and Challenges of Using Big Data (forthcoming 2021) (Oxford University Press - book chapter).
     
  • The Forgotten Stewards of Higher Education Quality 11 U.C. Irvine L. Rev. 1 (2020).
     
  • Special Purpose Municipal Entities and Bankruptcy: The Case of Public Colleges, 36 Emory Bankr. Developments J. 341 (2020).
     
  • A No-Contest Discharge for Uncollectable Student Loans, 91 U. Colorado L. Rev. 183 (2020) (with Brook Gotberg, Dalie Jimenez, & Chrystin Ondersma).
     
  • Preventing Predation & Encouraging Innovation in Fintech Lending, 72 Consumer Fin. L. Q. Rep. 370 (2019).
     
  • Letter to the Department of Education’s in response to the Department’s Request for Information regarding Evaluating Undue Hardship Claims in Adversary Actions Seeking Student Loan Discharge in Bankruptcy Proceedings (with Dalie Jimenez, Pamela Foohey, Brook Gotberg, & Chrystin Ondersma), reprinted in 21 J. of Consumer and Commercial L. 114 (2018).
     
  • Regulating Fintech Lending, 37 Banking & Fin. Services Pol'y Rep. 1 (2018).
     
  • The Promise and Perils of Algorithmic Lenders’ Use of Big Data, 93 Chi. Kent L. Rev. 3 (2018).
     
  • Terminating Tenure: Rejecting Tenure Contracts in Bankruptcy, 92 Am. Bankr. L.J. 255 (2018) (solicited).
     
  • Higher Ed “Do Not Resuscitate Orders, 106 Ky. L.J. 222 (2018).
     

Selected Presentations

  • Moderator and Discussant, Fintech Innovations Discussion Group, American Association of Law Schools, 2020 Annual Meeting.
     
  • Discussant, Regulatory Abdication & Student Loans, American Association of Law Schools, 2020 Annual Meeting.
     
  • Panelist, The Fate of Higher Education, The Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, May 2019 (invited panelist)
     
  • Discussant, Research Roundtable on the Future of Financial Regulation, Scalia Law School, Mar. 2019 (invited panelist)
     
  • Presentation, “The Insolvency of Chartered Fintech Lenders,” #FutureLaw3.0 [Duquesne Law], Nov. 2018
    • Also presented at (i) Governance of Emerging Technologies & Science [Arizona State University], May 2019; and (ii) Annual Meeting on Law and Society, May 2019
  • Presentation, “Bankrupt Public Colleges,” SEALS, Aug. 2018
    • Also presented at the American Association of Law Schools, Section on Nonprofits and Philanthropy Law, Jan. 2019; and (ii) Widener U. Commonwealth Law School Faculty colloquium, Apr. 2019
    • Interview with Professor Brian L. Frye on Ipse Dixit, Public College Bankruptcies (2018), (episode 68).
  • Presentation, “Preventing Predation & Encouraging Innovation in Fintech Lending,” SEALS, Aug. 2018
    • Also presented at the Howard University School of Law junior faculty workshop, July 2018
  • Presentation, “The Poor Man’s Basic Income Guarantee,” Organizing, Deploying, and Regulating Capital Workshop at Georgia State University School of Law, Apr. 2018
    • Also presented at: (i) SEALS, Aug. 2018; and (ii) Annual Meeting on Law and Society, June 2018 
  • Panelist, Giving Colleges a Fresh Start: Using the Bankruptcy Code to Retool Higher Education, National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, Oct. 2017 (invited participant)
     
  • Presentation, “The Promise and Perils of Algorithmic Lenders’ Use of Big Data,” Rise of the Automatons [Savannah Law], Sept. 2017
    • Also presented at: (i) #FutureLaw2.0 [Duquesne Law], Sept. 2017; (ii) SEALS, Aug. 2017; and (iii) University of Richmond School of Law Junior Faculty Forum, May, 2017
  • Faculty Colloquium, “Higher Ed ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ Orders,” University of Kentucky College of Law, March 2017
    • Also presented at: (i) Howard University School of Law, Feb. 2017; (ii) Sharing Scholars, Building Teachers [Albany Law], Feb. 2017; (iii) Brooklyn Law School, Young Bankruptcy Scholars' Work-in-Progress Workshop, Nov., 2016; and (iv) Howard University School of Law, junior faculty forum, June 2016
    • Interview with Professor Drew Dawson on the ABI Podcast, Examining Financial Struggles of Higher Education Sector (2017),(episode 198).

 

Service​

  • American Association of Law Schools, Jan. 2019 – present

    • Chair, Commercial and Related Consumer Law Section
    • Chair-elect, Commercial and Related Consumer Law Section
  • Tzedek DC, Washington, DC

    • Member, Advisory Council, May 2019 - present
    • Co-chair, Emerging Leaders Committee, Feb. 2018 – Dec. 2019
    • Member, Emerging Leaders Committee, Sept. 2017 – Feb. 2018
  • Howard University School of Law, Washington DC                     

    • Chair, Faculty Scholarship Committee, Aug. 2018 – present
    • Committee member, Clerkships, Aug. 2014 – present
    • Committee member, Faculty Scholarship, Aug. 2014 – Aug. 2018
    • Committee member, Bar Passage, Aug. 2014 – May 2015
       
  • Howard University Program Prioritization Task Force
    • Member, Mar. 2017 – May 2019
       
  • Black Law Students Association, Howard University School of Law 
    • Faculty advisor, Aug. 2016 – May 2018