Bankruptcy attorney referrals: where data licensing fits in chapter 11, 7 and ABC matters

Where data licensing fits in a bankruptcy practice

Bankruptcy attorneys can introduce a debtor, trustee or assignee to SourceX when the company's operational records, such as email, CRM, support tickets, engineering history and finance data, may be licensable to AI labs and data buyers. You meet companies at the point when those records are most at risk of being wiped or cancelled, and when every possible recovery is being counted.

Your existing work already surfaces the facts that matter: the first-day declaration describes the business and headcount, Schedule A/B and the statement of financial affairs list software vendors, cash collateral budgets show which systems are still paid for, and bid procedures define what a buyer takes. Data licensing is one more line to test against those documents, not a new workstream.

Which client companies are worth screening?

Screen for scale, history and rights rather than industry. The test SourceX applies has four parts: a US company with 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history of several years, rights to license the records, and someone authorized to sign; in a case, that is the debtor's authorized officer, the trustee or the assignee.

B2B software, IT services, professional services, engineering, logistics and distribution debtors tend to screen well; see the guide on trucking company bankruptcies for one industry in detail. A company's status does not disqualify it: operating, sold or wound down, it can qualify if the data still exists.

The privacy screen: section 363(b)(1) and the consumer privacy ombudsman

Personal information is where a data deal in bankruptcy gets hard, so settle it early. Under 11 U.S.C. section 363(b)(1), if the debtor disclosed a privacy policy prohibiting transfer of personally identifiable information to unaffiliated persons, and that policy was in effect when the case began, the trustee may not sell or lease that information unless the sale is consistent with the policy or the court approves it after a consumer privacy ombudsman is appointed and notice and a hearing are held. Section 332 has the US trustee appoint a disinterested ombudsman no later than 7 days before that hearing.

The scrutiny is real. In 23andMe's 2025 bankruptcy, the appointed ombudsman recommended that any transfer of customers' genetic or personally identifiable data be prohibited without renewed opt-in consent. SourceX focuses on operational business records rather than consumer datasets, and redaction rules agreed before any work begins can take personal information out of scope. Where PII would remain, plan for the section 363(b)(1) process with estate counsel rather than around it.

Check your ethics rules before registering

Whether you may accept a referral reward depends on your jurisdiction's rules of professional conduct, your role in the matter and your firm's policy. Nothing on this page says you may, and SourceX does not decide that question for you.

• The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct include Rule 1.5 on fees, Rule 1.8 on specific conflicts, Rule 5.4 on professional independence and Rule 7.2 on communications about a lawyer's services. They are a template; each state adopts its own version.
• Model Rule 1.8(a) allows a business transaction with a client only if the terms are fair and reasonable and disclosed in writing, the client is advised in writing to seek independent counsel, and the client gives informed consent in a signed writing. Start there if you would hold a financial interest connected to a client matter.
• An ABA GPSolo article on Rule 5.4 and professional networks explains how paying marketing firms based on fees collected from referred clients can become impermissible fee sharing. A payment from a third party for a business introduction is a different arrangement, but it still has to be evaluated under your state's rules.
• State versions of the solicitation and referral rules differ from the Model Rules, as the ABA's chart of state differences shows.

Estate professionals work under court-supervised retention and disclosure requirements, so treat any connection to SourceX as something to disclose and analyze, not something to discover later. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your state bar, ethics counsel or firm general counsel before acting.

How to introduce a client or estate

Your role ends at the introduction. You never export, upload or describe the company's records.

1. Register as a partner, then send the authorized officer, trustee or assignee your referral link to sourcex.si/apply, or enter the company in the referral form.
2. SourceX qualifies the company on peak headcount, operating history, data breadth and rights, and confirms who holds authority in the case.
3. The company or estate completes a data inventory of its systems, history and exportable records.
4. Price and terms are agreed directly with the company or estate, including redaction rules and a screen that keeps privileged communications with counsel out of scope.
5. AI labs and data buyers then evaluate it; a deal-ready company typically hears back within about two weeks.
6. The license is signed with whatever approval the case requires, data is delivered, and the company or estate receives a one-time payment.

Other professionals in the same cases can introduce too. Compare the playbooks for bank special assets and workout teams and distressed and special situations funds.

What to say to a trustee or debtor's CFO

How rewards work for attorneys

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company. Rewards are payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee, and a lead, meeting or signed agreement alone does not trigger payment. The reward is a share of SourceX's fee and is never deducted from what the company or estate receives. Read this section together with the ethics section above and the program terms.

When not to bother

• The debtor's value is mainly consumer data governed by a restrictive privacy policy.
• The records are mostly protected health information without authorization or de-identification.
• The company's records belong to its clients, as at many agencies and outsourcers.
• Peak full-time headcount, contractors excluded, never got to 50.
• The archives were deleted or the accounts already lapsed.
• The debtor previously licensed this data for AI training.

Next step

Screen your current matters against the company fit checker and the chapter 7 trustee's checklist of overlooked intangible assets. Once your ethics question is answered, register as a partner, or have the authorized officer, trustee or assignee apply directly at sourcex.si/apply.