Ethics

This panel uses hypotheticals to discuss the ethical problems facing counsel and their clients in § 363 sales including collusion, abuses during due diligence, and successor liability.

There have been significant challenges to the roles that counsel to debtors and creditors have played in chapter 13 cases since the enactment of BAPCPA, with little recognition that the success in completing a case through discharge is directly proportional to the efforts of the professionals involved in the proceeding, often in the face of contending with very difficult clients and circumstances. Many programs focus on the poor behaviors of counsel in an effort to provide examples or what “not to do.” This interactive ethics panel will require the panelists to take on role-reversals and encourage audience participation and debate about what can be done to support experienced professionals, and to avoid the continued diminution of the practice by having parties take on the challenges of the “other side.”

This interactive session will feature fact patterns and scenarios designed to engage the audience with real-world issues that illustrate ethical problems faced by bankruptcy professionals. The session will focus on identifying and resolving these issues before you find yourself in hot water. [Note: Please pardon the audio quality as there was a glitch in the recording process.]

Transparency is fundamental to the bankruptcy process, so it’s no surprise that a failure to disclose required information or identify conflicts of interest can lead to serious ethical issues. At the same time, the digital age in which we practice, and the pervasiveness of social media, raise the opposite problem: What happens when too much information is shared? This session will explore the ethical and professional considerations of both under-disclosing and over-sharing in bankruptcy cases by using illustrations from recent, real-life scenarios and interactive attendee participation. You may be surprised to learn what your obligations are, including with respect to policing what other people say or post.

This panel will address various ethical issues including conflicts, chapter 7 bundling and payment arrangements, and chapter 11 retention and fee applications. Learn how to identify potential conflicts, and discover strategies to deal with them. The panel will also discuss the negotiation of fee agreements before and the application for payment of fees during bankruptcy cases.