Arkansas State Approved Sessions

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.

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.

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?

With the legalization of marijuana in many states, there are now large numbers of individuals and businesses that derive their income from growing and selling marijuana and from other business activities related to marijuana. This session addresses the issues that emerge when individuals and businesses in this industry encounter financial problems. What are the sources of governing law (state/federal)? Is bankruptcy an option? How are marijuana-related income and assets treated? What are a bankruptcy trustee’s rights and responsibilities in dealing with a marijuana-related business? What ethical issues arise for attorneys representing individuals and entities in this industry? How does the U.S. Trustee’s Office address these issues in light of the conflict between federal law and some states’ laws? What is the direction of the developing body of bankruptcy case law regarding this industry?

Experienced practitioners are typically able to litigate the issues that arise in most chapter 11 cases in a similar manner, regardless of the industry of a particular debtor. In the health care context, however, the identities of the litigants are often different (government agencies, patient care ombudsmen, etc.), and more importantly, those litigants’ respective motivations may be vastly different than in a "typical" chapter 11 case. Economic considerations, the driver of most chapter 11 outcomes, are often superseded in a health care case by a party’s perceived public policy or reputational concerns. This panel will discuss these differences and provide practical suggestions, based on their extensive experience, as to how attorneys and financial advisors can navigate these issues and reach a successful outcome for all stakeholders.

There have been significant challenges to the roles that counsel to debtors and creditors have played in chapter 13 cases since the enactment of BAPCPA, with little recognition that the success in completing a case through discharge is directly proportional to the efforts of the professionals involved in the proceeding, often in the face of contending with very difficult clients and circumstances. Many programs focus on the poor behaviors of counsel in an effort to provide examples or what “not to do.” This interactive ethics panel will require the panelists to take on role-reversals and encourage audience participation and debate about what can be done to support experienced professionals, and to avoid the continued diminution of the practice by having parties take on the challenges of the “other side.”