No CLE

Is there too much emphasis on reducing student loan debt, including through bankruptcy, and not enough about the real causes of skyrocketing college costs?

Hosted by the Asset Sales Committee This webinar will discuss the benefits and disadvantages of conducting a sale of assets pursuant to section 363 of the Bankruptcy Court compared to an out of court sale. The webinar will provide a general introduction to these issues as well as provide experienced practitioners with a nuanced high level discussion regarding applicable case law, hot button issues, pitfalls to avoid and war stories from the trenches. Speakers: Dawn M. Cica Mushkin Cica Coppedge; Bruce I. Goldstein Amherst Partners; Matthew J. LoCascio Equity Partners HG View Materials

There have been a number of recent bankruptcy filings by large and high profile healthcare providers, such as the filings of Verity Health System of California, Inc., in Los Angeles (the second largest hospital bankruptcy case in American history), Hospital Acquisition LLC and 25 related debtors d/b/a Promise Health and American Academic Health System (Hahnemann University Hospital and St. Christopher Hospital in Philadelphia) in Wilmington, Delaware, and Astria Health in Yakima, Washington. Additionally, EmpowerHMS owned or helped manage a rural hospital empire that encompassed 18 facilities across eight states. After funding from a controversial lab-billing venture dried up, 12 of the hospitals entered bankruptcy and eight closed their doors. There has also been a steady stream of lower profile cases, including Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park, Illinois, Penobscot Valley Hospital in Maine, and Springfield Hospital, Inc., in Vermont, and it appears that there are more filings in store. The webinar will discuss (i) the reasons for this growing trend of healthcare cases, (ii) the unique challenges in those cases, which involve not only the typical payment of creditor claims, but also the care of patients, (iii) the particular issues that arise uniquely in this class of cases, including jurisdiction over the Medicare and Medicaid Programs, treatment of provider agreements, the intersection of nonprofit law and bankruptcy law, and treatment of medical malpractice claims, and (iv) whether this trend of healthcare filings will continue.

We will take a deeper dive into some of the more interesting and unique local rules that practitioners should be aware of when completing assets sales in various districts. The panelists will also discuss the need for local rules, differences across jurisdictions, and the process for revisions and implementation.

The automotive industry has been relatively stable since the crisis ten years ago. But there are disruptions within the supplier base as platforms change and technology evolves. With declining volumes and the stress of trade wars, are we approaching another downturn in the automotive industry? Are we better prepared to manage through potential automotive distress now than ten years ago, or have supplier operations and financing structures and agreements become more complex? This webinar will explore these issues and more.

The automotive industry has been relatively stable since the crisis ten years ago. But there are disruptions within the supplier base as platforms change and technology evolves. With declining volumes and the stress of trade wars, are we approaching another downturn in the automotive industry? Are we better prepared to manage through potential automotive distress now than ten years ago, or have supplier operations and financing structures and agreements become more complex? This webinar will explore these issues and more.

Panelists will discuss ethical issues relating to due diligence and debtor and creditor actions online as well as practice pointers for engaging in social media.

Join our panel in exploring the intersection of bankruptcy and IP. Panelists will discuss the rights of a licensee when a licensor files for bankruptcy, the rights of a licensor when a licensee files for bankruptcy, and how such rights can impact secured creditors. Discussions will include copyright licenses, patent licenses and trademark licenses, including the Tempnology case that was recently granted certiorari by the Supreme Court. Where are there areas of litigation that is most likely to arise in bankruptcy? What about sample language for license agreements? Or issues that can arise in the context of distressed M&A? Join us to find out!

On May 7, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) issued its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking related to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the “FDCPA”). The CFPB has proposed several updates to the FDCPA, including: regulations regarding the use of emails and text messages; exemptions from the FDCPA for limited content messages; limitations on the number of telephone calls a debt collector can make per week; model notices and disclosures; and prohibitions related to time-barred debts and credit reporting. However, the proposed amendments do not address the confusion caused when a creditor subject to the FDCPA is required to communicate with a consumer that has filed a bankruptcy case.