Professor Ayotte joined Berkeley Law in 2014. From 2007-2014, he was a Professor of Law at Northwestern University. From 2002-2007, he was an Assistant Professor in the Finance and Economics group at Columbia Business School, where he won the Dean’s Award For Teaching Excellence. In 2023, Ayotte received the Rutter Award for Teaching Distinction from Berkeley Law.
Ayotte’s research interests are in the areas of bankruptcy, corporate finance, and law and economics. His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, such as Review of Financial Studies and the Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, as well as law reviews, including University of Chicago Law Review and Michigan Law Review. His paper “Bankruptcy or Bailouts?” with David Skeel, analyzing the role of bankruptcy law in financial crises, was chosen as a Top 10 article in corporate and securities law by the Corporate Practice Commentator.
Ayotte’s research uses financial and economic tools to better understand our bankruptcy system. His work investigates the role of creditor control in Chapter 11 and the use of debtor-in-possession financing to achieve this control. He is also interested in the study of complexity in contracting and how this affects debt contracting and corporate group structure. His working papers can be found on his SSRN page here (opens in a new tab)
Education
B.A., University of Virginia (1997)
Ph.D., Economics, Princeton University (2002)
Kenneth M Ayotte is teaching the following courses in Spring 2025:
• 251.5 sec. 001 - Corporate Finance
• 256.6F sec. 001 - Corporate Bankruptcy
Courses During Other Semesters
| Semester | Course Num | Course Title |  Teaching Evaluations | Fall 2025 | 251.5 sec. 001 | Corporate Finance | Spring 2024 | 217 sec. 001 | Law, Economics, and Business Workshop | View Teaching Evaluation | 251.5 sec. 001 | Corporate Finance | View Teaching Evaluation |
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