Free Sessions (no CLE)

How do you make a record with a judge who is not letting you? How do you ask to withdraw the reference, or file an interlocutory appeal, without burning your bridges with the bankruptcy judge? Hear our experts provide their views on how to survive these and other worst-case scenarios.

How can your client satisfy § 1129 of the Bankruptcy Code when most creditors seem only inclined to “just say no”? Join this panel of leading experts as they explore the best strategies to obtain confirmation of a plan, and hear the arguments that are favored by objecting creditors but create the most heartburn for debtors.

This year, the WLC opens with ABI Talks, one of our highest-rated programs ever! Based on the incredibly popular “TED Talks” format, ABI Talks address diverse and interesting topics. If you consider yourself a bankruptcy guru, or just want to be one, you will not want to miss this featured program!

Insolvency practitioners from the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and South America provide an overview of the most significant insolvency-related developments in their respective jurisdictions.

The recent insolvencies commenced by multiple shippers and oil and gas companies have raised several issues concerning the interplay of admiralty and insolvency law, especially in light of declining commodity prices and many shippers having either pulled their vessels out of service and/or decommissioned them. These issues include the adjudication of competing claims to assets that may be located either on the water, onboard the ships, or in containers, as well as the intersection of admiralty and insolvency law applicable to oil and gas insolvencies on the competing claims on the assets owned by these companies.

In an environment where business takes place largely without regard to borders, avoidance proceedings can catch suppliers off-guard. This panel will discuss the similarities and differences among local avoidance regimes and the challenges facing suppliers dealing across borders. The panel will also address the issues encountered in attempting to enforce cross-border avoidance judgments. The panelists will also examine the scope by which bankruptcy courts may (and may not) adjudicate avoidance actions under chapter 15, as well as how avoidance actions are administered pursuant to the European Insolvency Regulation and Canadian insolvency legislation.

This panel of judges and insolvency professionals from various jurisdictions will provide insight into inter-court communications and the challenges faced by judges dealing with cross-border insolvency proceedings. The panel will discuss the use of protocols, the American Law Institute’s Guidelines Application to Court-to-Court Communications in Cross Border Cases and more.

Recent court decisions on legal ethics of which you should be aware. Come join an interactive discussion on the latest examples of unethical behavior — you may be surprised by what you hear.

This panel will feature a roundtable discussion with bankruptcy judges from the Ninth Circuit and across the country. The judges will share their thoughts and perspectives, as well as take questions from the audience, on topics of current interest in both business and consumer cases.