2020 Insolvency Summit

This session will highlight several of the Rules of Professional Conduct, including RPC 1.5 (Fees); the Alix/McKinsey litigation; RPC 3.3 (Candor to Tribunal); RPC 4.1 (Truthfulness to Others); the U.S. Trustee guidelines concerning retainers; RPC 7.1 (Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services); overbilling, RPC 8.4 (Misconduct); fee examiners, RPC 1.3 (Diligence); disclosures, Bankruptcy Rule 2014; RPC 1.7 (Conflict of Interest); and RPC 7.3 (Solicitation of Clients).

Listen in on 2 Debates argued by bankruptcy judges and experts in the industry on the following topics: Debate 1: Resolved - Trustees can claw back transfers by and between foreign transferees. Debate 2: Resolved that the current Code provisions regarding Committees preclude true parties in interest and largest constituents from participating

This panel will focus on the removal and consolidation of tort claims, including those against nondebtors (e.g., Imerys); the aggressive estimation of tort claims for voting purposes (e.g., PG&E and the one-dollar estimation effort); third-party releases (e.g., the effort we are likely to see in BSA to get releases for local councils); channeling injunctions outside of the asbestos context (being used increasingly, but will the bench eventually push back?); the impact of criminal proceedings on a mass tort debtor’s ability to reorganize (e.g., PG&E and some of the pharma cases); the need for multiple committees (e.g., creditors + victims in BSA; the UCC and TCC in PG&E; and the failed effort to appoint a public entities committee in cases); notice and due process issues (e.g., notice to fire victims in PG&E); proposed trust structures; class actions in chapter 11; and Garlock.

Should § 363 sales occur early in a case? Should the Federal Foreclosure Act be invoked? The panelists will discuss these issues, as well as sales in confirmation; circumstances under which a court may preclude or limit credit bidding under § 363(k); whether to push for dismissal, conversion, or a liquidating trust; mootness and appeals; Rule 9019 settlements combined with sales to make them harder to appeal; whether Fulton will further increase the power of secured creditors; and extraordinary changes in the economy (delay or convert?).

This panel will offer a unique take on Chapter 11 issues. Join our panelists as they walk through hot topics and other thorny territory in the Chapter 11 landscape.

The NYIC sponsored this October 22, 2020, session as part of the Insolvency 2020 Summit. The panelists provide an overview of subchapter V and its key provisions, discussing the various perspectives in subchapter V, cash collateral and DIP financing in subchapter V, and general trends in subchapter V cases.

This panel will explore some of the more difficult aspects of cases under subchapter V, including the considerations that debtors face when making the election to proceed under subchapter V and a discussion of the earliest decisions interpreting the new statute.

The economic catastrophe created by the Coronavirus is unique. In the past, recessions have been prompted by sustained periods of high interest rates. This recession has been caused by a virus and it is hitting the United States and world economy already saddled with record levels of debt. Almost all businesses are dealing with the prospect of sudden ends to cash flow, yet a relatively new generation of companies, "zombies" who earn too little to make even interest payments on their debt are faced with the ultimate challenge. The level of debt in America's corporate sector amounts to 75% of the country's gross domestic product, breaking the previous record set in 2008. Debt burdens are precariously high in numerous industries that are now taking a direct hit from the Coronavirus. Join us for a fascinating fireside chat with Professor Troy McKenzie of New York University School of Law, Jamie Sprayregen or Kirkland & Ellis and Jennifer Hagle of Sidley. They will explore and discuss strategies to use in this unique time in economic history. Is the Bankruptcy Code useful, are there strategies outside the Code which are helpful and how can professionals work to benefit their clients in a world like we have never experienced?

Unregulated and nontraditional capital providers are sources of end-to-end liquidity from origination through chapter 11 and from middle-market to mega cases. This panel will consider the motivations and aims of these market participants, and how they are likely to change the character of the next restructuring cycle.

IWIRC sponsored this October 14, 2020, session as part of the Insolvency 2020 Summit. The expert panel discusses trustees' powers in various foreign courts and the challenges they face. The panlists also provide tips for hiring foreign counsel and recovering offshore assets.