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Cross-border financings almost always lie at the heart of cross-border insolvency cases, and holding an enforceable lien usually spells the difference between recovery and loss in such cases. This panel will focus on creating, perfecting and enforcing liens on assets held by Caribbean borrowers, as well as on the 2010 amendments to Article 9 of the U.S. Uniform Commercial Code that became effective in July. Topics will include UNCITRAL’s legislative guide on secured transactions, the Organization of American States’ Model Inter-American Law on Secured Transactions, competing forums for resolving disputes over liens on Caribbean assets, Article 9’s choice-of-law rules, and financing concepts peculiar to common law countries in the Caribbean (e.g., the distinction between fixed and floating charges and crystallization).

In 2013, ABI issued its Final Report of the ABI National Ethics Task Force, and the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees set forth new guidelines for reviewing applications for compensation and reimbursement of expenses filed under § 330 of the Bankruptcy Code for attorneys in larger chapter 11 cases. In addition, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas have experienced developments with respect to retention and compensation of attorneys. This panel will discuss the ethical implications of these developments.