No CLE

Are there limits to “free and clear” (GM)? This panel will discuss sales free and clear of leasehold interests, restrictive covenants and override royalties; conflicts between §§ 365 and 363(f) (lease- or license-stripping); assets free and clear of successorship in CBAs; selling free and clear of environmental liabilities (La Paloma, Exide); loan-to-own strategies; and the treatment of breakup fees (C&K Market, EFH).

This panel of lawyers and insolvency professionals with bankruptcy expertise will lead a roundtable discussion regarding investigation of debtors and recovering assets to enhance the value of a bankruptcy estate.

This panel of national consumer experts will provide you with the necessary tips for achieving great results in your consumer cases.

A professor of finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University, Aswath Damodaran will share his research interests in valuation, portfolio management and applied corporate finance. Prof. Damodaran will take you through several top themes of valuation, the biggest stories of the market in 2021 (so far), the price of risk and so much more.

This panel will discuss why understanding gender identity is important to your practice, with a focus on key concepts and terms, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation and pronoun usage, and how we can best implement gender identity/expression in our professional lives.

Mention “artificial intelligence,” and most people start rolling their eyes and making jokes about Skynet. But today’s A.I. is changing the way that many law firms operate. Rather than replacing lawyers, A.I. is taking over more and more of the grunt work that prevents lawyers from doing the higher-level work that is necessary for their practices — by streamlining case searches, brief-writing and a whole host of tasks you might not even have considered.

The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning is becoming increasingly prevalent in the practice of law. Lawyers are using AI to assist in a multitude of tasks, including document management and review, analytics, and legal research. This program will provide an overview of how AI is being used by lawyers today, the advantages and drawbacks in using AI, and the potential ways in which AI may be used now and in the future in bankruptcy practice.

This panel of ABC-certified judges will discuss the applicable rules of professional conduct and other authority implicated in electronic filing, the use of email, “phishing” scams and hacking, and technology issues raised by today’s pandemic practice. The panelists will also consider issues raised by the requirement that many professionals must file public fee applications in bankruptcy cases, as well as fee issues stemming from converted cases, insufficient content in the applications, and problems that arise when the results achieved and the fees sought bear little relationship to each other. Finally, the panelists will consider unique professionalism issues raised by attorneys and law firms as bankruptcy debtors, particularly involving clients and the use of IOLTA accounts, along with more general do’s and don’ts about practicing in bankruptcy court before, during and (hopefully) after the pandemic.

Sponsored by the Financial Advisors and Investment Banking Committee Three cryptocurrency industry experts — a lawyer, a technical consultant and an investment banker — will cover the complexity of valuing cryptocurrency and provide their expert views on the cryptomarket’s volatility, both currently and going forward. The presenters will also offer their insights into the adoption of cryptocurrency in the U.S. and globally, and will address regulatory changes in banking as they relate to cryptocurrencies.

Sponsored by ABI's Diversity and Inclusion Working Group Build a better law practice while building a more diverse and inclusive workplace! Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) leaders from the public and private sectors will discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion's impact on career trajectory, mentorship, and the bottom line, while providing tips and best practices to retaining and attracting talent. The session will begin with a plenary session, followed by breakout rooms staffed with a D&I expert and a bankruptcy judge. Confirmed participants in the Breakout Room Discussions: Hon. Christopher M. Alston, Western District of Washington Hon. Daniel P. Collins, District of Arizona Hon. Robert D. Drain, Southern District of New York Hon. Barbara J. Houser, Northern District of Texas Hon. Laurel M. Isicoff, Southern District of Florida Hon. Klinette H. Kindred, Eastern District of Virginia Hon. Christopher M. Lopez, Southern District of Texas Hon. Brendan L. Shannon, District of Delaware Hon. Sage M. Sigler, Northern District of Georgia Hon. Kathy A. Surratt-States, Eastern District of Missouri Hon. Deborah L. Thorne, Northern District of Illinois Kori Carew, Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer, Seyfarth Shaw LLP Mary Ellen Connerty, Director of Diversity & Engagement, O'Melveny & Myers LLP Carlos Davila-Caballero, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, LLP Maja Hazell, Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, White & Case LLP John Iino, Diversity & Inclusion Global Chair, Reed Smith LLP Sylvia James, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Winston & Strawn LLP Melique Jones, Director of Talent Pipeline, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Nimesh Patel, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP Peter Wilson, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Proskauer Rose LLP