Bankruptcies filed in the region that includes Orange County totaled 27,410, a 134% increase in the first six months of 2008, compared to the same period a year ago.

That’s according to AACER, an Oklahoma City bankruptcy data and management company that gathers information from all federal bankruptcy courts in the United States.

The spike reflects the expanding financial woes that started in the mortgage and housing industries, tighter credit standards and high fuel and food prices.

The number of U.S. businesses that sought bankruptcy-court protection in 2007 climbed to the highest level in two years as an era of easy credit came to a jarring end, new federal court data show.

In all, 28,322 businesses slumped into bankruptcy, an increase of more than 40% from 2006, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The ranks of businesses initiating liquidation proceedings swelled by more than 50%, totaling 18,751. And 5,736 businesses sought Chapter 11 protection to reorganize, an increase of nearly 24%.

Business bankruptcy filings in the United States increased 49 percent in April from a year earlier, the biggest increase so far in 2008, as the slowing economy prompted more companies to shut down or seek protection from creditors.

Business petitions rose to 5, 173 during the month, according to statistics compiled from court records by Jupiter eSources LLC in Oklahoma City.

As the credit crisis deepens, law firms across the country are betting that bankruptcy work will be their most-promising avenue of growth, and are accelerating their recruitment of restructuring specialists.

A survey of more than 300 attorneys from the country’s largest law firms found that a plurality — one out of every four — expects bankruptcy law to be the fastest area of growth in the next 12 months. That number exceeds the tally of attorneys who think litigation or corporate governance will be hot growth areas.

Amid a global credit crunch that has hurt businesses and individuals alike, new data show that U.S. businesses are seeking bankruptcy protection at a faster rate than consumers this year.

From January through March, 13,155 businesses filed for bankruptcy, according to Automated Access To Court Electronic Records, a database that tracks the numbers. That’s an increase of nearly 45% from the 9,103 business bankruptcy filings in the first three months of 2007.