No CLE

Today’s chapter 11 cases tend to include upfront announcements of the debtor’s preferred exit strategy. We often see the debtor’s first-day announcement of a pre-negotiated plan structure or an already “half-baked” sale process, as well as DIP loan covenants, driving the announced strategy to a quick and assured conclusion. But what if that plan or sale process is not designed (perhaps intentionally so) to accurately reflect the business’s true inherent worth? This panel will explore how a debtor’s ultimate valuation can be determined more by the bankruptcy process than by the underlying business data.

Consumer lawyers on behalf of both debtors and creditors deal with myriad ethical issues to ensure effective and economical representation of their clients. This panel will explore the implications of representing individuals, small businesses, insiders and creditors, including what to do when your client becomes your creditor (how far can you go to get paid?) and how to avoid breaching the attorney/client privilege (just who do or can you talk to?). In a small business, the owner often considers counsel to be representing “her” interest. How does counsel for a business deal with this issue under the ethical rules and the Bankruptcy Code? For the creditor, what are the implications of potential conflicts by counsel to the debtor? Can the creditor reach out to a principal of the corporate debtor directly on their guarantee without violating the Rules of Professional Conduct? What are the ethical limits of “unbundling services” to make it more affordable for the client, whether you represent a debtor or a creditor? This panel will explore ways to accomplish your client’s goals, as well as the ethical boundaries of representation under those scenarios.

As chapter 11 practice continues to evolve, restructuring support agreements (RSAs) are being used with increasing frequency by companies seeking to de-lever their balance sheets or sell assets, both pre-petition and post-petition. This panel will provide an explanation of these agreements, discuss their pros and cons from the perspective of various parties, review common objections that have been made to the approval of RSAs, and describe the approval process in court proceedings.

This panel will discuss improper purposes and the use of chapter 11 (NRA and Stream TV Networks, Inc.), analyze chapter 11 issues in liquidating cases, and cover what attorneys and other professionals need to know when preparing chapter 11 liquidation plans.

This informal panel of judges will discuss the latest and most interesting cases they have presided over, and the lessons they’ve learned.

This panel will discuss the Model Law on Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments and the Model Law on Enterprise Group Insolvency. The U.K. has begun an open consultation period on whether to adopt these two model laws as a complement to the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency. The planelists will explore the questions presented by the U.K. Insolvency Service, the reasons for enactment, and issues related thereto.

Bankruptcy Judges Elizabeth Brown and Michael Romero will discuss the year’s widest splits and most controversial opinions with ABI Editor-at-Large Bill Rochelle.

The panelists will cover issues common to § 363 sale processes that can help or harm debtors, creditors, bidders and other parties in interest, including notice, whether covenants really run with the land (§ 363(f)), selling overencumbered property, structured dismissals after Jevic, and venue considerations and recent developments.