2020 Mid-Atlantic Virtual Bankruptcy Workshop

The panelists will discuss the recent reemergence of SPACs and will elaborate on the public policy and restructuring implications associated with them. This discussion of creative financing structures will focus on financing in a distressed environment, including three mini-case studies and emerging issues in litigation financing.

This panel will discuss the various standing doctrines that apply in federal and bankruptcy courts, including constitutional (Article III) standing, prudential standing, statutory standing (“party-in-interest” status) and derivative standing, and will cover issues that arise both in chapter 11 cases and the consumer arena.

Retail was in the midst of a fundamental shift before the pandemic.  COVID-19 forced retailers to innovate or closes their doors forever.  This panel will discuss bankruptcy case and code developments during the pandemic, but we will also discuss the extent to which we believe the pandemic accelerated retail trends that were already underway or whether the changes reflect true evolution in the retail space.  This panel will ask the audience to share what they are seeing in retail near home, with a hope of gathering a current perspective on retail innovation and survival. 

This session will focus on professional retention issues in chapter 11 cases, starting with a brief primer on applicable Bankruptcy Code sections. The panelists will then delve into recent case law on such hot topics as disclosures, conflicts and retroactive relief.

This panel will provide an analysis of the current levels of financial distress across the hospital, skilled-nursing and home-health sectors using various measurements, including distributions by state.

This panel will discuss recent bankruptcy court decisions addressing the Delaware Court of Chancery’s decision in CML V LLC v. Bax, and how these decisions impact a creditors’ committee’s or any other creditor’s ability to bring derivative claims against third parties. The panelists will also provide examples of how committees and judges are solving this issue through financing orders and other methods.

The panel will briefly address the historical use of cannabis in America for medicinal purposes and the subsequent criminalization of cannabis, which was racially motivated. The panel will then discuss the challenges faced by corporate entities that seek to obtain bankruptcy protection when at least a portion of their income is derived from the sale or cultivation of cannabis, the lease of space to cannabis companies, or the sale or manufacture of products used in connection with a cannabis business. The panel also will discuss the nonbankruptcy options for these entities, as well as the financial hurdles faced by such entities. Finally, a representative from a community bank in Maryland will discuss the services that her bank is able to provide to cannabis dispensaries.

Based on the TED Talks format, this year’s ABI Talks will focus on three discrete issues: (1) the coronavirus, namely the reaction of the market, what industries have been/are going to be hurt the most, and the potential short-term and long-term financial implications of the outbreak, including bringing otherwise-healthy industries into the bankruptcy discussion (such as airlines, oil companies, cruise lines, etc.); (2) the changing public perceptions of bankruptcy, looking at the way history has moved from imprisoning debtors to bankruptcy being such a commonly accepted tool to address debts that even the President has used it; and (3) social issues in bankruptcy, such as the #MeToo movement and the Catholic priest and Boy Scouts scandals.