Business

ABC sponsored this October 22, 2020, session from the Insolvency 2020 Summit. The expert panel addresses the use of technology by bankruptcy professionals inside and outside of the courtroom. The panel materials include applicable Model Rules of Professional Conduct and feature a section on questionable lawyer behavior. The panelists also suggest best practices for fee applications.

This October 22, 2020 session from the Insolvency 2020 Summit addresses the use of technology by bankruptcy professionals inside and outside of the courtroom. The panel covers practicing in court in a pandemic, lawyers behaving badly, use of technology, lawyers and law firms as bankruptcy debtors, and best practices in fee applications.

This year's ABI Talks, presented in the style of the ever-popular TED Talks, will focus on four timely topics: The Rhetoric and Reality of Student Debt, Not Your Parent’s Loan, Energy in Bankruptcy, and Health Care in Bankruptcy.

Ensuring Conflicts are Transparent in 2020 Hidden conflicts of interest in bankruptcy are a stain on the integrity of the bankruptcy system. What should be done to better police the clear standards of disinterestedness and sanction misconduct? Intersection of Bankruptcy and Social Issues Bankruptcy has been largely been viewed as a solution to solely economic and financial concerns. Historically, scholarship related to bankruptcy’s intersection with social issues has focused on the social problems that may result from bankruptcy or the social issues of which bankruptcy may be a symptom. Over the last several years, however, bankruptcy has been a common thread in some of the largest social movements of our generation. This discussion centers around the intersection of bankruptcy and some of today's social issues, including the “#MeToo” movement, the Catholic Church and Boy Scouts of America abuse scandals, and the racial justice demonstrations regarding housing and policing. The ways in which bankruptcy practitioners and the bench have been asked to craft solutions to address social ills will be explored within the framework of the Bankruptcy Code, as well as the ways in which bankruptcy will continue to play a part in addressing social issues. Lasting Impacts of COVID-19 on Law Firm Operations and Legal Service Delivery No business or industry has escaped the impacts of COVID-19. In this session, seasoned bankruptcy attorney and law firm Chairman Robert Sartin will discuss how the modern global pandemic has changed the future of law firm operations. He’ll also examine the challenges of leading in a fluid and unprecedented environment, and review what many firm leaders are predicting as the new landscape of practicing law and delivering legal services.

Based on the TED Talks format, this year’s ABI Talks will focus on three discrete issues: (1) the coronavirus, namely the reaction of the market, what industries have been/are going to be hurt the most, and the potential short-term and long-term financial implications of the outbreak, including bringing otherwise-healthy industries into the bankruptcy discussion (such as airlines, oil companies, cruise lines, etc.); (2) the changing public perceptions of bankruptcy, looking at the way history has moved from imprisoning debtors to bankruptcy being such a commonly accepted tool to address debts that even the President has used it; and (3) social issues in bankruptcy, such as the #MeToo movement and the Catholic priest and Boy Scouts scandals.

Based on the incredibly popular “TED Talks” format, these ABI Talks will address the impact that five recent Supreme Court decisions (in some cases, pending decisions) have or will have on bankruptcy practice.

With courthouses shutting their doors due to COVID-19, trials across the country have been put in an indefinite holding pattern. Certain state and federal courts, bar organizations and private groups have begun pilot-testing courtroom innovations, procedural reforms and presentation technologies to convert jury and bench trials into an online format. This session will address the bench's and bar’s current conversation on if, how and when to conduct trials online. Particular emphasis will be paid to testimonial, documentary and legal decision-making issues germane to bankruptcy trials.

You learned about it in law school, but have never seen it since. In light of the COVID-19 effects on business operations, this panel will discuss the general applicability of force majeure provisions in contracts, how they excuse or suspend performance, and exceptions to a boilerplate contract provision that we rarely see enforced until recently. The panel will also discuss business interruption insurance in the context of the Pandemic.