The manual’s authors defined the term much the way the law does: Advisers can’t be a creditor, a shareholder or an insider of the bankrupt company. Nor can they “have an interest materially adverse to the interest of the estate,” meaning the court-controlled assets that will be used to repay creditors.

Truthful disclosures are supposed to give the courts, the parties and the government an understanding of the connections each professional brings to a case. Merely having connections is not disqualifying. But the connections have to be disclosed, in enough detail to permit the Justice Department to determine if they are relevant. McKinsey’s handbook said that includes both “direct” and “indirect” interests in the bankrupt company and its creditors.

McKinsey has a number of such interests. Its $25 billion hedge fund, MIO Partners, manages money for thousands of McKinsey employees, retirees and alumni. McKinsey has said the fund is independently managed and has no conflicts of interest, but nine of its 11 board members, who oversee the investments, are current or past McKinsey partners. According to government filings, the fund often invests in distressed debt — the same market the bankruptcy-advisory unit serves.

In announcing its settlement with McKinsey in February, the Office of the United States Trustee specifically mentioned McKinsey’s investments, saying the firm “lacked candor regarding its investments in entities that could create a conflict of interest.” It warned of “more far-reaching remedies” if McKinsey continued to provide inadequate disclosures.

“I don’t know that they’re intentionally crossing these lines, or if they have just gotten into so many different aspects of the business that they’re tripping over the lines,” said Larry Friedman, who led the Office of the United States Trustee from 2002 to 2005.

McKinsey’s disclosure practices had not been a major issue until Mr. Alix decided to raise them in a number of bankruptcies — including Westmoreland Coal in Houston, Alpha Natural Resources in Virginia, Standard Register in Delaware and SunEdison in New York. He has accused McKinsey of not only failing to follow the law, but perhaps using its lack of disclosures to hide nefarious activities, and filed a complaint under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

McKinsey has said Mr. Alix is trying to undercut the firm’s competitive position in order to help AlixPartners, the restructuring firm that he founded in 1981. Mr. Alix is retired, but he sits on the firm’s board and holds about a third of its stock.