Business

This panel will present a lively discussion of key issues decided in business and consumer bankruptcy cases throughout the country over the past year.

This panel will address various plan-confirmation issues, including third-party releases, equitable mootness, post-confirmation trusts, and the impact of cases such as Sunnyslope and Millennium Labs.

Creditor and equity committees have an important role in maximizing recoveries chapter 11 cases. Both formal and ad hoc committee can dramatically influence the course of a chapter 11 and the ultimate shape of a chapter 11 plan. This panel will explore legal tools and practical strategies available to committees in seeking to deliver better results for their constituents, as well as the risks involved and the likelihood of success.

Have you ever had your expert sink your case with the wrong words? This no longer needs to be the case. Learn how to get the best testimony out of nonprofessional witnesses, including business owners and CFOs. This panel will discuss various evidentiary matters, including the use of affidavits, how to get hearsay in, special rules for business owners (valuation testimony and how to make it credible), direct testimony and business records.

Hosted by the Asset Sales and Secured Credit Committees

Recent court decisions will impact future commercial restructuring. The panel will provide an overview of the four most pressing issues in commercial restructuring over the past year, including debt recharacterization, third party releases, cram down interest rates, and rights of dissenting bondholders in out of court workouts. In each instance, our expert panelists will provide an overview of the issue at hand, recent case law developments, and considerations of their impact on future restructurings.

This session will cover a number of recent confirmation hot topics, including refinancing of secured loans in bankruptcy (BOKF NA v. Momentive Performance Materials Inc..); rights offerings and unfair discrimination (In re TCI 2 Holdings LLC); substantive consolidation with nondebtors (In re Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis); and per plan, not per debtor, confirmation (In the Matter of Transwest Resort Properties Inc.).

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.

There has been an increasing trend toward using creative structures to transact around limitations in debt documents in order to raise debt, sell assets and/or distribute value to certain stakeholders, including transferring assets to unrestricted subsidiaries, sale/leaseback transactions and FILO loan structures. Take a look into the resulting litigation surrounding these transactions (e.g., Windstream, iHeart, J.Crew) and discuss how the credit default swap market is affecting financing structures.