Business

This session will discuss hot-button issues relating to claims trading, including the Supreme Court’s ruling of nonstatutory insider status as clear error, as opposed to de novo (In re The Village at Lakeridge LLC); eligibility to vote an assigned claim (In re ASHINC Corp. and In re LightSquared Inc.); disallowance of a transferred claim subject to preference challenge (In re K-B Toys); and other legal issues common to claims trading and litigation finance in bankruptcy.

What happens when you represent a brick and mortar retailer, a newspaper or perhaps a coal-producer? What might be your client’s exit plan be? Leaning on other recent dying-industry experience, the panelists will explore various strategies on how the tough times ahead for such clients can be addressed in a bankruptcy, whether through a restructuring or a wind-down and liquidation of the company.

This panel will explore the emerging cannabis industry in the U.S., with a particular focus on California and nearby states. The panelists will discuss the impact of the legalization of recreational use, as well as the opportunities and challenges that have been created for investors, attorneys and financial advisors.

This panel will discuss the process of developing and implementing post-confirmation trusts, including the transfer of litigation claims to a trust, claimant direct claims vs. company claims, trustee with discretion vs. board with veto power, voting by beneficiaries, reporting, distribution issues, funding, post-confirmation jurisdiction and involvement of the bankruptcy court, trustee liability, quasi-judicial immunity and indemnification, and interim and final distributions and tax considerations.

This session will discuss the implications of this Supreme Court decision, whether gifting is over, alternative avenues of distributions outside of a plan (e.g., pursuant to DIP order, Short Bark), and remand issues in Jevic.

In recent history, nuclear and coal power have been under attack while gas and renewables have been thriving. Has that now changed? Disruptions to this industry, and the related bankruptcies, seem to be one of the few certainties. Join our experts as they discuss the future power-industry issues that you are likely to encounter.

Join notable experts as they dive into royalty interests: real property or contract interest?, abandonment and environmental liabilities, the Uniform Assignment of Rents Act, are foreclosure sale purchases protected from avoidance under § 547?, circuit split: application of anti-modification clause to mixed-use properties, § 363(h): an oft-forgotten-yet-powerful tool for co-owners of commercial real estate, in the absence of default, are landlords entitled to attorneys’ fees as cure costs upon lease assumption and assignment?, the meaning of “surrendering” real property under § 521, does termination of a lease constitute a “transfer” under 11 U.S.C. §§ 547 and 548?, and adequate-protection issues.

"Hosted by the Ethics & Professional Development and Real Estate Committees The panel discussion will focus on scenarios grounded in real estate and ethics, including ethical issues surrounding initial interviews and conflict checks, ethically pursuing cases posing potential good-/bad-faith issues due to cannabis-related uses of real property, whether “zealous representation” is still a guiding principle, whether one may ethically use internet “information” as a litigant and judge, and how to appropriately raise potential judicial misconduct."

All types of hospitals — from acute care to highly specialized — are experiencing financial challenges. This is especially true for rural and nonprofit hospitals, which often rely heavily on slower and lower payments from Medicare and Medicaid. Often the best (or only) solution for a distressed hospital is a sale to a larger hospital operator or system. This panel will examine the unique challenges facing buyers and sellers in connection with such distressed hospital sales.

The restaurant industry, particularly the fast food and fast casual sectors, is under pressure from rising food and labor costs, the changing dining habits of millennials, and decreased foot traffic at retail shopping centers. This panel will examine those trends and explore potential strategies to maximize enterprise value, both in and out of bankruptcy court.