Business

This panel will provide a consumer bankruptcy legal update on significant cases from 2020, and explore what's happened so far in 2021.

This panel will discuss the impact of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 on bankruptcy cases, the latest automatic stay cases, employment of professionals and fee applications, and § 363 sales in the Zoom era.

This panel will discuss several key and unique issues that have arisen in a national sampling of retail chapter 11 cases, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The panelists will explore the cases’ varied results, the processes employed to reach each conclusion, and the issues that arose along the way. Specifically, topics include “GOB” sale processes, consignments, sales of intellectual property, § 503(b)(9) claims, cash collateral and DIP lending, landlord/tenant disputes, and certain case-specific nuances.

Our Host will challenge the “deans” of bankruptcy and our esteemed contestants with riveting bankruptcy trivia.

The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 went into effect a mere few weeks before a worldwide pandemic unfolded, setting into motion unforeseen challenges and learning curves for the entire bankruptcy court system. This session consists of two mock presentations that will demonstrate the application of technology in the pre-trial practice and trial presentation of a subchapter V virtual trial. Included in these presentations will be virtual depositions and document preparation and organization, as well as the nontechnical challenges these cases can face, such as feasibility, projected-income issues, best practices assuming a nonconsensual plan, and cramdown. During the mock presentations, a team of technology experts will interject real-time, practical tips on the risks, benefits and potential ethical pitfalls of technology use in virtual trials, and much more. Mock Trial Schedule: 1:00-2:30 p.m. — Pre-Trial: Preparation, Organization, Depositions, Direct Examination (with tech experts offering best practices throughout) 2:30-2:50 p.m. — Short Break - Breakout rooms available for networking! 2:50-4:15 p.m. — Mock Trial: Cross-Examination, Cramdown (with tech experts offering best practices throughout)

This panel discussion will delve into a plethora of ethical issues pulled from today’s headlines, including litigation funding, professional compensation, protection and use of material nonpublic information, “connections,” Alix v. McKinsey litigation, and issues created by the pandemic and our remote-work environment.

This panel will examine creditors vs. creditors in liability-management transactions (Boardriders, Serta, Travelport, Trimark), collective actions and credit bidding (Speedcast, Alta Masa, Empire Generating, Allied), strict foreclosure in light of TIA 316(b) (CNH Diversified Opportunities v. Cleveland Unlimited), de facto claim-subordination (La Paloma), rights preserved for junior creditors under an intercreditor agreement (do the exceptions swallow the rule (Claires, Momentive)?), and practical considerations such as coordination agreements, unitranche facilities and CLOs in restructurings.

This panel will discuss the disposition of restructured equity, including § 1145 and other limitations and exemptions; selecting and managing post-restructured boards, and how to assemble a new board with a view toward maximizing value; issues attendant to the recruitment of pertinent and qualified directors; departures from rent-a-director; use of independent directors on a new board; granting of observer rights; perspectives of being a member of a well-run post-restructured board; shareholder voting and control considerations, including minority rights; incentivizing management through MIPs, KEIPs/KERPs and employment agreement considerations (e.g., CoC/severance); fostering long-term shareholder value; antitrust issues; and public vs. private emergence.

This panel will discuss common valuation challenges and responses, and provide insight into piecing together multiple valuation techniques. The panelists will also touch upon identifying reasonable comps for similar companies and precedent transactions, reliance on/restating projections, and where valuation and liquidation analyses blend together, including non-cash-flowing assets.

COVID-19 severely impacted the way in which bankruptcy lawyers and judges handle litigation consistent with the needs of distressed companies. Learn what aspects of bankruptcy litigation were affected, procedurally and substantively, and what lessons we took away and are likely to keep for the future of practicing in this unique forum. Hear from experts who were on the bankruptcy front lines about what strategies were affected and in what ways. This panel also will cover topics ranging from access to courts, to the increased use of inherent judicial power, to virtual trials, to valuation and compromise in uncertain (unprecedented) times, to recent developments in avoidance actions.