2015 Northeast Bankruptcy Conference

Young lawyers frequently learn that they will be working on a new chapter 11 case when they are directed to start drafting pleadings. This session, spearheaded by members of ABI’s Young & New Members Committee, is geared toward gaining an understanding of what precedes that moment by (1) advising and educating the new(er) generation of bankruptcy professionals on the background and “big picture” of a chapter 11 case, and (2) advising and educating the newest generation of bankruptcy professionals on pre-filing strategies. The panel will explore and help identify operational, financing and litigation problems that may be faced by distressed companies, then will explore both short-term and longer-term strategies that can be pursued before a petition is filed.

Health care is a key industry in which restructuring work will likely continue to grow in the coming years. This panel will discuss issues unique to health care insolvency, including sales of assets to for-profit and not-for-profit buyers, compliance with applicable nonbankruptcy law (i.e., federal and state regulations, including all state attorney general requirements), regulatory concerns such anti-trust laws and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the liabilities surrounding the transfer of Medicare provider agreements and Medicare and Medicaid recoupment and setoff.

This program will explore techniques and issues in the drafting of effective settlement agreements both before and after a bankruptcy filing. Pre-filing drafting issues will include such “bankruptcy-proofing” matters as the risk of a paying party’s filing, including a preference or fraudulent transfer attack, the running of a statute of limitations, “bad-boy guarantees,” and the preservation of nondischargeability. Post-filing and general drafting issues will include governing law, conditions to effectiveness, completion mechanics, penalties, factual recitations, notice, scope of general releases, judicial involvement and follow-up mechanics.

The more things change with intercreditor agreements, the more they stay the same — or so it seems. The interpretation and enforcement of intercreditor agreements continues to take center stage in many cases (high-profile and otherwise), and each decision seems to equally shed more light and raise more questions about intercreditor agreements in the bankruptcy context. This panel will focus on the recent Momentiveand TXU decisions, including the enforcement (or not) of make-whole provisions, acceleration and de-acceleration, and the use of tender offers/settlements to effect the payoffs of first-lien lenders. The panel will also examine the current trends in drafting and enforcement of various provisions, including voting assignments, pre-bankruptcy waivers and more.

In the technology field, “Moore’s law” states that capacity doubles approximately every two years. This pace of change, the reduction in the use of paper and the corresponding increase in electronic data and “cloud storage” have given rise to a multitude of issues that significantly impact the everyday practice of law and must be considered by both law firms and lawyers. This session will cover best practices to minimize risks to clients and minimize malpractice risks to lawyers. Topics will include preservation or loss of the attorney/client privilege, the disclosure of confidential information or data protected by privacy laws, the use of multiple email accounts, forwarded and “reply all” emails, the use or prohibition of the use of social media, the encryption of documents, the scrubbing of metadata from documents, and e-discovery.

No bankruptcy lawyer can represent a high-tech debtor or a business that licenses consumer brands without understanding the interplay of intellectual property law and the Bankruptcy Code. For reorganizations with intellectual property issues, choice of venue is a critical early decision that can determine the outcome of a case. This program will review the circuit-level split over the Catapult doctrine and discuss contractual and litigation solutions for the reorganization of debtor businesses that are dependent on critical patent inbound licenses. The program will review the limits of protections for nondebtor patent and copyright licensees under Bankruptcy Code § 365(n) and will discuss the recent circuit-level split over the effect of contract rejection on the rights of nondebtor trademark licensees.

No business chapter 11 case gets resolved without some determination of value. This panel of valuation experts and lawyers will discuss complex commercial valuation issues, including: (1) the multiple approaches to value (i.e., discounted cash flow, comparable company) and how to reconcile those values; (2) how the purpose of valuation affects the selection of the valuation methodology; (3) the most common places to probe when challenging a valuation; and (4) standard of value (fair market value, investment value or something else) and premise of value (going concern vs. liquidation), and the implications on the valuation assignment. The panel will also discuss recent case law addressing valuation contests during the life of a case, including the timing of valuations and the impact of the differing values on secured parties’ rights in chapter 11 cases.

The determination of the amount of a secured creditor’s claim and related issues often have a significant impact on both junior creditor recoveries and the likelihood of a successful reorganization. Such cases as Gencarelli, School Specialty, Momentive Performance Materials and MPM Silicones regarding “make whole” or “yield maintenance” provisions, as well as cases like SW Boston relating to the calculation of oversecured or undersecured status, have led to further uncertainty in this area. These provisions are under increasing attack as debtors attempt to refinance high-yield debt in today’s lower-interest-rate environment. Finally, the recent decisions in Fisker Automotive Holdings, Free Lance-Star Publishing and RML Development have raised uncertainty in the area of credit-bidding.

This program will address the ethical challenges to practitioners when dealing with difficult clients, ranging from the bully client to a client with a questionable background or a client that is being less than truthful. In a tough legal market when work is needed, client selection sometimes gets overlooked. This program will address what to do with a difficult client once engaged — and when it’s time to part company and how to do so. Finally, the program will also cover the ethical boundaries that sometimes get blurred by overzealous clients.