No CLE

Video and Materials Coming Soon! If you are newer to chapter 13 practice, you won’t want to miss this panel. Join a judge, chapter 13 trustee, and debtor and creditor counsel as they show you how to navigate a chapter 13 case from both debtor and creditor perspectives. The discussion will include plan drafting and modification, claims filing, objecting to confirmation, dismissal, conversion, and getting paid in chapter 13 cases, as well as an overview of the tools you must take advantage of to make a chapter 13 work.

Three bankruptcy judges present difficult issues they have faced and ask you to step into their shoes; to discuss the issues in small groups discussions; and to decide what you might have done in their shoes. What you learn from your colleagues and what the judges then reveal will be interesting, educational, and revealing.

Please join a distinguished panel of Squire Patton Boggs professionals, including former House Speaker John Boehner and current senior U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), who will share their thoughts on how best to safely and gradually re-open business across America. In addition, they will provide first-hand insight and guidance regarding the existing stabilization programs (CARES Act, Main Street Lending, PPP), the important role that U.S. Treasury is playing during the pandemic, and the most recent flurry of funding initiatives, including the $3 trillion HEROES Act that has been proposed in Congress in an effort to manage the far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 crisis.

What trends for consumer bankruptcy practice have emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic? What will consumer practice look like going forward? Join a panel of four experienced bankruptcy counsel as they discuss safety, case law trends and practical actions to take going forward. Some of the topics the panel will discuss include: Actions chapter 13 trustees are taking to hold down costs while continuing to assist debtors. Debtor counsel updates on practices that have developed due to the pandemic, including suspension of plan payments. Creditor counsel initiatives, including notices of forbearance and agreed orders, so debtors may stay in their homes. Variables that have caused consumer filings to drop precipitously due to the pandemic and what filing trends will look like moving forward.

Sponsored by: SRS Acquiom Inc. Join us for a roundtable discussion on current trends in the distressed-debt market: how we got here, what we're seeing, and how today's market compares to other distressed times. Hear from industry experts and differing viewpoints on how COVID-19 is turning lending markets upside-down, and gain tips on your best response.

Hosted by The Legislation Committee Given the huge increase in filings lately and the increase in the debt limit after the passage of the Family Farmer Relief Act, the webinar would like to provide more information to consumer and small business lawyers who might be interested in expanding into Chapter 12 practice.

This panel will discuss whether liens are available on unencumbered assets like avoidance actions, credit bidding issues, equitable subordination/ recharacterization concerns, committee challenges to liens and bidding procedures.

Presented by the Real Estate and Unsecured Trade Creditors Committees This panel will explore the myriad legal conundrums landlords have been facing in bankruptcy cases across the country since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. Discussion points will include landlord rights to assumption/rejection and timing, the ability of debtors to defer rent payments to landlords for lengthy periods of time, and the impact of force majeure clauses in these disputes.

For two years this group has studied the influence of a judge’s gender on the processing and outcomes in bankruptcy cases. Leveraging several studies in non-bankruptcy cases on whether gender influences judicial decision making, this study has looked at 837 student loan discharge opinions and compared the outcomes of those cases based on the gender of the judge and the gender of the debtor. The results demonstrate a statistically significant difference in the way men and women decide such cases. The study now expects to examine survey results from male and female judges to assess discernible patterns. This panel will present the results of this study and will discuss some or all of the following questions: Does gender affect case management? Does gender affect the perception of witnesses? Implicit bias and gender Should counsel tailor case, trial and argument based on the gender of the judge? If so, how can counsel do so? Does the gender of a party ever play an appropriate role in judicial decision making? What can judges do to ensure that gender plays an appropriate role in case determination?

This panel will discuss areas in which debt-collection laws and the bankruptcy system treat service members, veterans and their families (especially disabled service members and their beneficiaries) differently from civilians. The panel will also discuss such recent legislative changes as the Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need (HAVEN) Act and the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Extension Act, the work of the ABA and other various volunteer bar organizations, issues that can arise when representing service members, veterans and their families, and how you can assist veterans on a pro bono basis. *This program is in memoriam to Hon. Nancy Dreher, who served as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge in the District of Minnesota for many years and who wrote about and spoke on the importance of pro bono services.