Business

The panel will discuss how Puerto Rico can implement economic growth and fiscal stability measures and right-size its debt obligations, and the legal, political and financial tools that can be used to achieve an optimal outcome for Puerto Rico and its people, businesses and creditors.

How do hedge funds and other distressed investors think about the world? Our panelists know the answers! Come and learn how distressed investors examine opportunities in bankruptcy cases and how they think about pursuing their objectives during a bankruptcy case.

Commercial chapter 11 has suffered double-digit percentage decreases in in the number of filings in each of the past three years. This plenary session will be conducted by a law firm marketing expert, who will provide advice on obtaining market share in a down market. Jim Durham, chief marketing and business development officer at Littler Mendelson and author of The Essential Little Book of Great Lawyering and The Law Firm Marketer’s Guide to Survival, will provide marketing advice, including getting known, getting referrals, maximizing client satisfaction and increasing profit.

Valuation panels have generally focused on how to value debtors and their stock. But what about valuing debt, the other form of consideration that is generally issued under a bankruptcy plan? The session will discuss coverage ratios and other credit metrics, comparability, the impact of covenants and other terms, credit reporting and rating, and more.

This panel will be involved in an advanced discussion of the problems and opportunities that can arise in an individual chapter 11 case. The panel will discuss issues involving post-petition earnings, including voluntary assignments of future wages, and the effect of conversion to a chapter 7 proceeding; the “disposable income test”; §§ 1129(a)(15), 1129(b)(2)(B)(ii) and 1115(b); and the “absolute priority rule,” among other topics.

This panel will conduct a mock oral argument at the conclusion of a confirmation hearing in an individual chapter 11 bankruptcy case. Issues unique to individuals who file chapter 11 will be explored by counsel for the debtor and an objecting creditor, as well as by the three-judge panel.

This panel will explore the breadth and limitations of U.S. Bankruptcy Code and U.S. bankruptcy court reach in the international community. There will be no discussion of chapter 15; rather, the panel will cover such issues as whether it is possible for a debtor to create jurisdiction in the U.S., and if so, whether it can and should maintain that jurisdiction. The panel will use recent cases in the maritime industry, such as Excel Maritime, General Maritime and TMT Procurement, as well as in the hospitality industry, such as Baha Mar and Scrub Island, to explore the reach of U.S. jurisdiction and the practical limitations imposed on a debtor and a court when a subset of the creditors do not care, and have little reason to be concerned about, what the Bankruptcy Code or a U.S. bankruptcy court order says. The panel will also consider the practical limitations imposed by cross-border issues in cases where there is undeniably U.S. jurisdiction, including what “critical foreign vendor” relief might be available even in U.S. courts that reject the critical-vendor doctrine, whether it is possible for a chapter 7 trustee to realize value from offshore assets, and whether the automatic stay, avoidance powers and free-and-clear orders have any practical impact in the international arena.

Puerto Rico is burdened by over $70 billion in debt, as well as approximately $35 billion in pension underfunding. Once the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5278, the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), in early June and the Senate passed it on June 29, 2016, President Obama signed the bill immediately — and just in time to address a $1.9 billion payment that was due on July 1, 2016. PROMESA offers relief to Puerto Rico, its municipalities and municipal agencies following a 10-year economic recession. This panel describes the circumstances that led to the financial crisis, the failed effort of the Puerto Rican government to offer relief through a "state" statute that was found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, and the details of how PROMESA is designed to work. The session provides an opportunity to discuss these issues in a casual setting, including the way forward for Puerto Rico, and features a panelist who served as Hon. Steven Rhodes' expert on feasibility issues in the City of Detroit chapter 9 case.