Business

This webinar will discuss recent developments related to distress in the agribusiness industry and agribusiness bankruptcies and provide insight on the unique legal, operational and public policy challenges facing large agriculture operations and their stakeholders as they restructure in the current environment from practitioners in the space, creditors and lenders.

This session features a panel discussion of recent developments in commercial cases involving insurance, trademark, WARN Act and marijuana issues.

Presented by the Health Care & Asset Sales Committees This panel will discuss various issues and challenges accompanying sales of health care assets, including factors to consider in determining whether or not a sale is the best alternative. Such factors include the role of regulatory authorities, political challenges, reimbursement issues, issues related to urban vs. rural facilities, the evolution of the health care business, and best practices in navigating such challenges.

The panel will briefly address the historical use of cannabis in America for medicinal purposes and the subsequent criminalization of cannabis, which was racially motivated. The panel will then discuss the challenges faced by corporate entities that seek to obtain bankruptcy protection when at least a portion of their income is derived from the sale or cultivation of cannabis, the lease of space to cannabis companies, or the sale or manufacture of products used in connection with a cannabis business. The panel also will discuss the nonbankruptcy options for these entities, as well as the financial hurdles faced by such entities. Finally, a representative from a community bank in Maryland will discuss the services that her bank is able to provide to cannabis dispensaries.

The panelists will discuss the state of the middle-market and commercial real estate industries, with a focus on the capital markets and current transactions. Topics covered will include a review of financing and M&A alternatives, how lenders are dealing with distressed companies and assets, key issues in lease restructuring, and the future of the office sector.

This panel of bankruptcy judges from the Eighth and Tenth Circuits will discuss several recent decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Eighth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals and Bankruptcy Appellate Panels, and elsewhere that are likely to impact your bankruptcy practice.

Intellectual Property assets present unique challenges in bankruptcy. Article 9 financing statements may or may not be enforceable, and, in some instances, may actually be to your client’s detriment. Can a debtor assume and assign IP rights? Revoke them by rejecting a license? How is a security interest in intellectual property perfected and enforced? How you define the intellectual property assets can greatly impact your client’s rights, and those rights are constantly changing. This panel will cover practical issues and problems, including how to document and value IP assets, to help you spot the issues and navigate your way out of the bankruptcy riptide, whether you represent a secured lender, debtor, or contract counterparty.

The healthcare industry in general, and hospitals in particular, have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in many respects. At its most basic level, the impact has been devastating financially. The restructuring of a healthcare entity, whether in or out of court, raises unique and significant issues, in large part because federal and state governments pay for the bulk of medical care in the United States and the industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the nation. This program will discuss several issues which, although not necessarily new, have been pushed to the forefront by recent decisions in bankruptcy cases in Delaware, New York and Los Angeles.

This panel will identify issues that could arise during discharge preparation and immediately post-discharge during your debtor client’s case, including judgment liens, comfort orders, nondischargeable debt, destruction of your client’s file, failure to comply with a Notice of Final Cure, credit report post-discharge and credit repair.

The US healthcare system is consolidating at an increasing pace. Healthcare systems tout the benefits of consolidation in the form of cost savings and other operational efficiencies. But consolidation also has its costs: independent providers are being disrupted by larger systems, the larger systems themselves face higher risks, and the consumer may not always benefit. This panel will explore the pros and cons of consolidation from the perspective of consolidated systems themselves, providers that choose to remain independent, and the healthcare consumer.