No CLE

Hosted by the Mediation Committee Mediators are akin to psychologists, using skills of diplomacy and psychology to attempt to bring divergent people to a consensus. At ABI's 2022 Annual Spring Meeting, Dr. Bruce Rabin discussed how nearly two years of remote work has taken a psychological toll on people. From the standpoint of legal practice in general and mediation in particular, this has impacted everything from how we do business and how we relate to legal adversaries to how both mediators and mediation parties interact with each other and make decisions. As a follow-up to Dr. Rabin’s presentation, this webinar will discuss further the impacts, pros and cons, of remote mediation, which has forced mediators to adapt their skills to an environment where the parties never get in the same room. What difficulties does remote mediation present? What observations have been made on how remote mediation has affected the decision-making process? Does remote mediation pose unique challenges to obtaining a settlement? What has been made easier using remote technologies? This webinar will also report on the results of a survey the Mediation Committee conducted regarding members' thoughts and comments about remote mediation, and whether it is here to stay in some hybrid fashion.

Sponsored by the Commercial and Regulatory Law Committees Our panel of experts will discuss strategies for effectively working with State Attorney General Offices to resolve hot-button commercial bankruptcy issues.

Sponsored by ABI's Real Estate Committee According to Trepp, $109 billion in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loans was issued in 2021. These loans are popular among income-producing-property investors for a variety of reasons, including favorable rates, attractive loan-to-value ratios, a streamlined underwriting process and more. However, given their structure as investment vehicles, technical nuances come into play in workout and restructuring situations because of the special servicers and trustees involved. While bankruptcy filings are rare because filing typically violates a loan covenant known as a “Bad Boy provision," for some borrowers this path makes sense. This program will focus on these issues and more to prepare attorneys, financial advisors and other professionals for future restructuring assignments in this unique space.

Hosted by the ABI's Asset Sales Committee The panel will discuss potential pitfalls to avoid when navigating the bidding process, the auction and the sale. The panelists will provide practical, real-world advice based on sales they have been involved in, and will discuss § 363 sales and other distressed sales.

Sponsored by ABI's Real Estate Committee The private and for-profit college, university and school sector continues to be challenged due to decreasing enrollment, cost structures and increased competition from community colleges, area technical schools and online offerings that students turned to during the pandemic. It is estimated that there are hundreds of these real estate-heavy institutions, which can have campuses with substantial improvements having been made, or they can operate solely in leased space. This program will focus on how the real estate footprint of these institutions can be utilized in connection with other turnaround strategies to achieve a turnaround or restructuring. The discussion will include public/private partnerships for parking, dormitories and more, sale-leasebacks and bridge financing, lease restructurings, monetizing surplus real estate, developing owned real estate, and marketing closed campuses for repurposing or redevelopment.

ABLJ Symposium: Arbitration & Bankruptcy - You Got Questions, We Got Answers presented by the American Bankruptcy Law Journal, American Bar Association and American College of Bankruptcy (CLE)

Which contract counterparty rights survive rejection, and what can be done when negotiating a contract at the front end to plan for or defend against the rule of Tempnology? This panel will discuss these issues and more.

This panel will discuss a number of difficult chapter 13 issues, including post-petition creditor fees; consumer vs. nonconsumer debtors in chapters 7 and 13 and the impact of the designation; the effects and timing of vesting; automatic-stay issues, debt-limit issues and the impact of contingent debt, guaranty debt and partially secured claims; “fee-jumping” and other absolute-priority rule violations; and discharge in light of mortgage default due to COVID-19, forbearance or modification.

The panel will address developing law on exemption planning.

We all deal with fraudulent transfers, but sometimes issues that don’t come up in routine fraudulent-transfer cases might get overlooked. Do insurance policies cover fraudulent-transfer claims? Can a group of fraudulent-transfer plaintiffs assert a class action against a defendant? In terms of an actual fraud fraudulent transfer, what if a defendant has a mixed intent, part of which is impermissible and part of which is permissible? When can a fraudulent-transfer defendant use the “identity of interest” and “common enterprise” defenses? How can unjust enrichment be used as an alternative to a fraudulent transfer? How do the events of the past three years impact valuations, solvency opinions and fairness opinions prepared during that time and today? This panel will provide answers to and perspectives on these questions and more.