The largest municipal bankruptcy in history has come to a close in Detroit after a year of proceedings, ending in a flurry of compromise.
Yet there was plenty of conflict in the last year, far more than could have been predicted. In November 2013, Detroit became the largest city in the country to file for bankruptcy. When the proceedings started, the negotiation of the settlement—and that is really what the bankruptcy became—was a discussion between an emergency manager, from a law firm dedicated to the financial sector, and the financial sector.