Illinois State Approved Sessions

This panel will help you gain a better perspective on the ways in which corporate directors’ duties morph when a company begins to experience distress. What changes should you be making, through what lens will you analyze past board dealings, and how might you provide revised governance controls to best guide the entity going forward? The panelists will provide their expertise into the pitfalls and practices of governing in the zone of insolvency, and will examine the empirical research regarding outcomes at times like these.

What is a “good faith” bankruptcy filing after LTL? Is there a “good faith” requirement at all, and is it subjective or objective? How much financial distress is necessary (if any), and how can a debtor know when it gets there? What lessons should smaller debtors take from large mass tort cases? Is there really a split in the circuits on these issues? Join this ABI/IWIRC panel for a lively and interactive discussion of good-faith (and bad-faith) filings.

In the 2022 and 2023 Supreme Court terms, there have been three or four bankruptcy cases on the docket in each term, as opposed to the more normal one case every year or even every other year. Cases have included both very significant issues that may have far-ranging effects, as in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P. (whether the Bankruptcy Code authorizes a court to approve, as part of a plan of reorganization under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, a release that extinguishes claims held by nondebtors against nondebtor third parties without the claimants’ consent), and more discrete issues that could have limited impact, as in Office of the U.S. Trustee v. John Q. Hammons Fall 2006, LLC (whether to require the U.S. Trustee to issue refunds for the extra fees paid by debtors in certain districts to address the lack of uniformity identified in Siegel v. Fitzgerald). This panel will discuss these Supreme Court cases from the last two terms.

Regional judges will strive to answer questions on current issues.

This panel will lead attendees through negotiating and crafting polished purchase agreements and sale pleadings to avoid contested sale hearings and post-closing disputes.

Professionals are critical to maximizing estate assets and confirming reorganization plans. This interactive panel, comprised primarily of nonlawyers and estate professionals, will highlight effective and ineffective uses of professionals, and will define best practices in working with professionals so that attorneys and professionals can better serve debtors and trustees.

Bankruptcy courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. Given that parties can neither waive nor consent to subject-matter jurisdiction, this panel will explore the limits of 28 U.S.C. § 1334 and the effectiveness of the retention of jurisdiction provisions in sale orders and confirmation orders. The panelists will discuss recent decisions on the scope of “arising under,” “arising in” and “related to” jurisdiction. The panel also will delve into whether, and to what extent, bankruptcy courts automatically have jurisdiction to interpret and enforce their own orders, including whether that jurisdiction diminishes over time. Finally, the panelists will discuss mandatory and permissive abstention and the parallel proceeding rule.

This panel will delve into emerging issues in bankruptcy cases, specifically ones relating to technology issues.

This panel will examine various alternative capital structures used for structuring transactions and obtaining access to capital.