Arkansas State Approved Sessions

This panel will analyze the instances over the last few years where creditors have brought challenges to estate professional fees, focusing on Pillowtex, retainers and other objections. How can professionals protect themselves when they are well into a case?

This panel will focus on obtaining successful chapter 11 results in certain jurisdictions while analyzing why you should or shouldn’t file in a particular jurisdiction. The panel will discuss advantages and disadvantages of filing in certain jurisdictions, including local rule advantages (i.e., Texas) and case law advantages or disadvantages.

The push for more uniform systems allowing for the exchange of restructuring efforts between countries continues unabated. This panel will discuss the last year or two of developing trends in the U.S. as they reflect this growing international paradigm, and will also comment on recent cases and decisions of note covering the international restructuring experience.

The most popular session each year, this annual favorite will cover all recent bankruptcy law decisions and current consumer bankruptcy law issues. This session is a must-attend for professionals to stay current on consumer bankruptcy law issues.

Recovering estate property isn’t always as straightforward as directing the debtor to turn over property. This session will focus on situations where a nonbankrupt party (receiver, agent, court officer or assignee) has possession of property of the debtor/estate. How does the Bankruptcy Code define a “custodian," and what rights and responsibilities do custodians have? What rights do the debtor and trustee have? Can the custodian maintain possession of the property, and under what circumstances? Are custodians entitled to any fees/costs, statutory or otherwise, for maintaining possession of the property? Do creditors have to assist in getting the property back from the custodian? If the custodian gives up possession of the property, does it go to the debtor or the trustee?

Most individual chapter 7s proceed seamlessly from petition to discharge, but an effective practitioner must be able to identify and manage those difficult cases where obstacles to discharge abound. How do you identify chapter 7s with potential problems (debtors with businesses, searching public records for assets and transfers, requesting and reviewing documents in advance of filing, effective communication, etc.)? The session will also discuss how to manage chapter 7s that go sideways (staying on top of trustee document-production requests, 2004 exams, objections to discharge, and negotiating effectively with the trustee), how to get paid (supplemental 2016(b) statements, new retainers and retention agreements, what’s covered by the original retainer agreement), and when and how to get out (declining to file messy cases to avoid consequences for you (malpractice) or your client), as well as withdrawing for lack of post-petition payment for new work or client cooperation.