No CLE

Municipal bankruptcies are on the rise. This panel will discuss chapter 9 issues, including eligibility to file, recent developments, plan confirmation and cramdown issues, case-management issues, municipal bondholder claims, labor and pension issues, the role of mediation, alternatives to chapter 9, and the Detroit, Stockton, San Bernardino and Harrisburg municipal cases.

Challenges posed by lack of precedent on cramdown, good faith, etc.; recent developments/precedents arising out of Vallejo, Stockton, Central Falls, Jefferson County, etc.; labor, pension and OPEB issues (who owns pension plans and assets?); general obligations vs. dedicated revenues vs. secured interests; federal and state constitutional issues (contract modification, pension impairment, imposition of taxation, limitations on spending, etc); state alternatives to chapter 9; selling/privatizing municipal assets; post-confirmation enforceability of taxing and paying agreements (Jefferson County); Oppenheimer AMT-Free Municipals decision; possible updates on Puerto Rico, Detroit; possible discussion of consequences of recent developments to the future of the municipal finance market

Chapter 9 poses difficult challenges, in no small part because the relatively limited body of case law provides courts and litigants with insufficient guidance. The panelists will draw upon their insight and experience to discuss some of the most interesting current issues, including the use of chapter 9 eligibility litigation for tactical objectives, the adjudication of plan confirmation issues, the challenges of pension fund restructuring, and the role of mediation in municipality cases.

This panel discussion will include what you need to know about the National Plan Form, what’s new and different from the current EDMI plan form, and what you should watch out for.

Primary focus on voluntary hospitals (including health care issues); secondary focus on NYC Opera, CCRCs, schools, etc.; duties and liabilities of directors; avoidance issues; impact of philanthropic base; avoidance, solvency and deepening insolvency issues; possible focus on benefit corporations, low-profit limited liability companies (LC3s)

This panel will take an objective look at the viability and the purposes of the proposed national plan form and the amendments to the bankruptcy rules related thereto.

Extension of controlled group liability to fund investors (Sun Capital), foreign affiliates; U.K. pension claims asserted against U.S. debtors (Nortel, Reader’s Digest); allocation of liability among controlled groups; pre-petition vs. post-petition benefits and claim accrual (including withdrawal liability); standards for termination; multi-employer plan withdrawal liability/“last man standing”; Kodak

This panel is for participants who are either solo or small-firm practitioners and will include such topics as paperless offices, trust funds and accounting, managing workflow, and the implications on the office in the event of a natural disaster.

Texts, IMs, emails and metadata might contain information that could be helpful — or could be harmful to your client’s claims. You might want to obtain that information from your adversary, but you will undoubtedly also want to see your own client’s information before your adversary does. Where do you look? This expert panel will discuss and debate the myriad electronic discovery issues that exist and the challenges facing parties in bankruptcy cases, including asserting and avoiding claims of spoliation. It is a discussion you will want to be a part of — before your client hits “DELETE.”