Business

This panel will focus on perspectives from various constituents and factors for consideration.

Neither the Bankruptcy Code nor the Bankruptcy Code’s legislative history contains an exception to the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). As a result, bankruptcy courts grappling with whether to enforce an arbitration clause in bankruptcy have focused on whether there is an inherent conflict between the Bankruptcy Code and enforcement of arbitration pursuant to the FAA. The determination that arbitration is required could be the death knell for bankruptcy debtors. This panel will explore, in instances where arbitration is required, how to avoid jeopardizing the central objectives of the Bankruptcy Code that enable debtors to obtain a fresh start, as well as how to ensure uniformity of results to avoid what could be “wildly inconsistent” outcomes in arbitration that impact debtors on an individual and case-by-case basis.

Join a panel of technology experts as they explore how cutting-edge technology is impacting the practice of law in the bankruptcy sector. Panelists discuss the up-and-coming role of artificial intelligence in legal research and case analysis and issues of cybersecurity. The panelists next shift its focus to a discussion of how blockchain and virtual currency might influence your next case. Do not get left behind; come learn how the future has arrived for bankruptcy practitioners.

Various factors have combined to result in low crude oil prices that are not expected to rebound significantly and not to a point where OPEC countries will be able to cover their operating deficits. This panel will explore the issues facing the OPEC countries and discuss how these issues will impact the global economy and insolvency practice in the coming years.

Join experts from the Sixth Circuit and across the country as they debate which bankruptcy decision has been the most important since the U.S. Bankruptcy Code was adopted.

This panel of experts leave conference attendees with key takeaways that will help them know where to find their next opportunities. These experts highlight the financial and legal issues facing the distressed sectors of the industry that you need to know as you work through the restructuring issues facing these sectors.

The purchaser has bought all the assets, and management has a new boss. Who is left to clean up, and what are the tax, governance, potential claims against management and D&O implications that need to be addressed should the case convert? This session will address these issues and more.

Borrowers have been using relaxed credit agreement and bond covenants to “strip” assets from the collateral/asset pools that lenders think secure them. Neiman Marcus, J.Crew, PetSmart and BC Partners are recent examples. By focusing on these examples, this panel will discuss the covenant-lite structure of today, what the documents really say, who benefits and who gets hurt, and who influences the structure and outcome.