Consumer

Consumer Track: The Appellate Process This panel will explore recent issues in appellate practice that are of interest to both consumer and business practitioners, including the ability to bypass intermediary appellate courts and take appeals directly to the circuit courts.

This panel will address a multitude of issues relating to the attorney client privilege that can arise in a bankruptcy case. These include: a general review of the privilege and client confidentiality; whether the privilege applies to the disclosures that a debtor makes to his or her attorney, or to the attorney's advice to the debtor, in the course of preparing the schedules; the case law on whether the trustee can control the privilege after a bankruptcy is filed, for example, in obtaining information from the debtor's pre-petition personal injury attorney; whether the privilege applies in a hearing under § 329; whether the privilege applies to disclosures required in an attorney fee application or to disclosures requested by the court in a hearing on an application; and the scope of the crime-fraud exception to the privilege in Michigan, and when that exception might apply in apply in bankruptcy cases.

This single plenary session will feature a policy-oriented panel discussing the reasons for municipal insolvency nationally, with a particular focus on the New England Region. The panel of highly-experienced government officials, municipal receivers and thought leaders will review and debate the challenges faced by state and local leaders in their efforts to address the financial stress facing many of our cities and towns. Among the issues to be addressed are: the pressures of labor contracts, legacy benefits, and pension and retirement plans on municipal budgets; creditor and bondholder relations; sections of the code that impact these issues; and trends arising from the most recent cases. The panel may also touch on needed Chapter 9 reform. Lawyers, lenders, insolvency specialists, as well as those interested in the future of our cities and towns, will be interested in this program.

Claims Resolution Rules 3001 & 3002.2, claim amendments, lien-stripping and mortgages.

Consumer Track: Individual Conundrum—Chapter 7, 11 or 13? Deciding on the appropriate chapter for an individual contemplating a bankruptcy filing can be daunting. This panel will explore the considerations that guide the practitioner in advising individual clients in making this decision.

This panel will discuss the update on mortgage relief programs; litigation between homeowners and lenders; intersection with bankruptcy and motions for relief from stay.

A session designed for new(er) attorneys or those looking to brush up on the basics of a Chapter 13. The esteemed panel will discuss the Chapter 13 process from inception to discharge (or as much as they can get done in an hour). Topics will include: Initial consultation issues; Confirmation of the plan, including, how to prepare the plan and how to address objections to confirmation; Loan modifications, including how to properly request one and how to deal with an approved/denied modification; Post-confirmation plan modifications—what you can, should, and can’t do; What’s next when the Debtor passes away; and Getting to the finish line (discharge). View Materials

Beyond the basics, the panel will discuss topics of importance to the practitioner who is interested in revisiting some of the most common questions and issues in Chapter 7 practice, including: unusual titling of assets and related exemption issues – is it or isn’t it mom’s house; resolving matters before getting to the courthouse; how did that amended Schedule B and C to add a bank account result in an objection to the cat? Can the Trustee even do that?; and to round it all out, a little bit of ‘horseshoes, hand grenades, and….voluntary petitions? (also known as: how accurate is accurate-enough?)’