The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Wednesday reversed a lower court in ruling that restructuring expert Jay Alix may pursue federal racketeering claims against rival McKinsey & Co. for allegedly concealing conflicts of interest in its corporate bankruptcy work.

The decision, from a three-judge panel of the Manhattan-based appeals court, found that Alix made an early showing to support claims that he and his former firm, AlixPartners, had lost out on bankruptcy advising contracts after McKinsey failed to disclose conflicts in 13 restructuring cases.