Business

The Frank W. Koger Lecture was established by Frank W. Koger, UMKC JD '53, and Mrs. Jeanine Koger to enhance the understanding of commercial and bankruptcy law among students at the UMKC School of Law. Judge Koger was appointed as a bankruptcy judge for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri in 1986. In 1996, he was appointed to the newly formed Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit, and served as its first Chief Judge until his death in 2003.

This panel will analyze the impact of recent decisions on investment strategy, including the use of restructuring support agreements and federal and state law remedies, as well as the litigation risk of recoveries absent a bankruptcy filing; the acceleration of debt maturities and redemption/“make whole” premiums; and the scope of § 546(e) “safe harbor” provisions.

The panelists will discuss the various issues that have been raised in the Energy Future Holdings bankruptcy, including make-wholes, the unimpairment opinion, the pre-plan settlement appeal, and interaction with state regulators and the bankruptcy court.

Poker players look for tells. Polygraphs measure physiological indicators. Movies suggest that there is some magic to looking somebody in the eye. In court, though, judges and lawyers are left to their own devices to determine whether a witness is lying. A clinical psychologist and a former attorney general of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will join experienced trial lawyers and judges to discuss lying and the limits of detecting lying, including verbal and nonverbal cues that aid in assessing the credibility of statements.

This panel will focus on the uses and limits of Bankruptcy Rule 2004 discovery, including e-discovery pointers, the impact of the latest amendments, jurisdictional and scope (“fishing expedition”) limits on discovery, keeping results confidential, using Rule 2004 examination transcripts in later proceedings, and various “nuts and bolts” practice points. The discussion will be based on a fact pattern presenting these various issues.

This session will discuss motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment, plus discovery and evidentiary motions, and tips on how to use motions practice to your advantage in adversary proceedings and contested matters.

Join this nationally renowned speaker for an overview of our national economic outlook, along with some possible risk factors that could impact the forecast, and household balance sheets in particular.

This panel will provide an overview of the oil and gas industry, including a cash flow framework, ownerships and interests and chapter 11 considerations in energy bankruptcies.

This panel will examine the strategies for dealing with unknown claims in chapter 11, the limits that due process places on those strategies, and the impact that the Second Circuit’s recent decision in In re Motors Liquidation may have on those strategies going forward.