Contract counterattack

Efforts to recover the value of nearly 200,000 derivatives transactions conducted with Lehman Brothers have been frustrated by a provision of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association master agreement. But the bankrupt estate is fighting back

The downfall of Lehman Brothers and the ensuing market mayhem may have led to massive redundancies across the globe. However, the aftermath of the biggest bankruptcy in US corporate history continues to create volumes of work for lawyers and derivatives experts.

"It raises a whole series of questions about the interaction between the provisions of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association master agreement and the provisions of the US bankruptcy code that have never been directly