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G. Eric Brunstad, Jr. (Dechert) and Dylan Trache (Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP) will discuss the Supreme Court’s ASARCO opinion, the practical impact of the opinion on your practice, and developing case law and arguments to be made in defending your fees. Is there a "work-around" where the retention agreement legally permits professionals to be compensated for defending fee awards? ABI will seek 1.25 hours of general CLE credit in 60-minute-hour states and 1.5 hours of credit in 50-minute-hour states. CLE-Approved States: ABI’s live webinars and teleconferences ordinarily receive CLE credit in AL, CA, DE, GA, IL, MN, NE, NH, NJ, NY (approved jurisdiction policy), PA, TN and TX. ABI will obtain approval in additional states. Credit hours granted are subject to approval from each state, which may not be determined prior to the program.

This webinar will discuss the effect of the hanging paragraph under § 523(a)(1), post-petition issues, considerations in filing tax returns for the individual chapter 11 debtor, and tax implications for trustees in administering debtors’ estates. The panel will also address the following questions: 1)Are any tax debts dischargeable in chapter 7? 2)What happens to installment agreements during the pendency of a bankruptcy case? 3)What happens when debtors default on offer and compromise agreements? 4)How does the IRS compute and impose fines and penalties post-petition, and where can the debtor access this information?

Disclosing assets and verifying a debtor’s information is the calling card of any conscientious debtor’s counsel. But how do the rules governing professional responsibility interplay with debtor’s counsel’s obligations under the Code? A real housewife in New Jersey recently blamed her attorney for her prison sentence following her guilty plea for bankruptcy fraud. Did her attorney commit an ethical violation? This panel will examine the record behind this headline-making case, as well as other recent bankruptcy court decisions that examine the ethical conduct and obligations of debtor’s counsel.

Commission Recommendations on Resolving Court Splits: Coming Soon to a Judicial Opinion Near You ABI's Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 identified more than 30 splits in case law on important issues. Such a split of authority results in delay, increased litigation costs and above all, uncertainty -- imposing a kind of "ambiguity tax" on the system, as one witness put it in testimony before the Commission. The recommendations contained in the Commission's final report, in many cases, can be implemented by judicial opinion at the bankruptcy court or court of appeals level, without need for action by Congress. This program featuring some of the most experienced and thoughtful judges on the bench today, will assess the Commission recommendations, and identify some that might be effected soon.

As a result of falling energy prices, experts expect bankruptcy filings in the energy sector to increase, especially those in the oil and gas industry. Bankruptcy cases involving energy companies raise unique issues due to the interplay among the Bankruptcy Code, federal and state laws, the regulatory structure governing the energy industry, and the political and practical realities of the industry’s significance on national, regional and local levels. This webinar will explore the unique challenges that can arise in a § 363 sale of the assets of a business involved in the energy industry, with a particular emphasis on oil and gas bankruptcies.

NO CLE Credit Available - Free Session. Join in a dialogue led by former ABI Presidents: Richardo I. Kilpatrick Kilpatrick & Associates, PC; Auburn Hills, Mich. Melissa Kibler Knoll Mesirow Financial Consulting, LLC; Chicago Michael P. Richman Hunton & Williams LLP; New York

This panel will explore key chapter 11 plan confirmation issues by way of a live demonstration of a confirmation hearing. The demonstration will address the most commonly litigated legal issues with respect to plan confirmation, the evidence required to satisfy those requirements, and in particular, how to present and cross-examine experts in connection with feasibility. How would you rule?

Class action lawsuits in both business and consumer cases are becoming more prevalent. Are you wondering whether your clients’ WARN Act claims would be better pursued against a debtor company in a class action adversary proceeding or in a class proof of claim, or both? If your client has been sued in a debtor’s consumer class action adversary proceeding, do you know the best defenses against class certification? ABI’s panel of experts will explore the potential benefits and pitfalls of class actions by creditors against debtor companies and by debtors/trustees against creditors and others by highlighting recent appellate and bankruptcy court decisions.

This panel of Chapter 9 specialists will discuss the Chapter 9 bankruptcy process including eligibility under Chapter 9, the authority of the bankruptcy court, powers of the municipal debtor, the role of creditors, the automatic stay, issues peculiar to certain types of Chapter 9 debtors such as hospitals and cities and the recent developments in chapter 9.