Massachusetts State Approved Sessions

This panel will explore the question of whether exemptions may be denied for bad faith and whether debtors may amend their claimed exemptions to assert a different statutory basis after an exemption has been denied, including the impact of potential res judicata and collateral estoppel claims. Case law developments since Law v. Siegel will be reviewed, as well as important strategic considerations for debtors, trustees and creditors.

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.

Mortgage Regulation Update: New “Qualified Mortgage” and Ability-to-Pay Regulations, and Loan Servicing/Loss-Mitigation Regulations Practitioners can get up to speed on the new “Qualified Mortgage Rule” (the “QM”) and the ability-to-pay regulations to prepare for future mortgage claim disputes. This panel will discuss the changes to TILA and RESPA, as well as the new Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB) regulations on mortgage servicing.

Young lawyers frequently learn that they will be working on a new chapter 11 case when they are directed to start drafting pleadings. This session, spearheaded by members of ABI’s Young & New Members Committee, is geared toward gaining an understanding of what precedes that moment by (1) advising and educating the new(er) generation of bankruptcy professionals on the background and “big picture” of a chapter 11 case, and (2) advising and educating the newest generation of bankruptcy professionals on pre-filing strategies. The panel will explore and help identify operational, financing and litigation problems that may be faced by distressed companies, then will explore both short-term and longer-term strategies that can be pursued before a petition is filed.

Health care is a key industry in which restructuring work will likely continue to grow in the coming years. This panel will discuss issues unique to health care insolvency, including sales of assets to for-profit and not-for-profit buyers, compliance with applicable nonbankruptcy law (i.e., federal and state regulations, including all state attorney general requirements), regulatory concerns such anti-trust laws and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the liabilities surrounding the transfer of Medicare provider agreements and Medicare and Medicaid recoupment and setoff.

This panel will cover deposing, qualifying and examining a financial expert witness regarding their opinions on solvency, reasonably equivalent value and plan feasibility.

This panel will discuss key restructuring issues in the gaming industry as geographic expansion continues to pressure regional, destination and tribal casinos.

This panel will focus on planning and drafting agreements, best practices, avoiding common pitfalls, and successful strategies and approaches.

Join our panel of expert estate counsel, trustees and insurance counsel as they discuss issues related to standing, safe harbors, in pari delicto and other complications that insurers and defendants use to frustrate the pursuit causes of action by Trustees