New Hampshire State Approved Sessions

Major cases filed in New York may follow that state’s laws because of the location of the forum, contractual designation or some other reason. But New York law on debtors/creditors, fraudulent transfer, partnership and other areas may be out of date or may depart from the laws of other jurisdictions. Discussion of New York State law issues and recent cases certified to the New York State Court of Appeals, including rent-controlled leaseholds as property rights.

Discussion of EPF bankruptcy process issues. What are the duties of directors and their professionals in complex multi-debtor cases? More generally, when is it necessary to obtain a conflict waiver? Current vs. recent vs. former clients; directly adverse vs. positionally adverse; relatedness to a prior matter; use of confidential information; review of disinterestedness standards under Bankruptcy Code § 101(14) and related disclosure requirements; ABI Report on Standards of Professional Courtesy and Conduct.

Nortel (two courts simultaneously trying allocation issues); Suntech, Barnet and subsequent bankruptcy court decisions on remand (recognition and § 109(a)); Fairfield Sentry Limited (sale of SIPA claims); enforcement of judgments (Argentina litigation, Madoff); filing of chapter 11 cases by foreign debtors (Alsacia); extraterritoriality issues regarding avoidance actions (Madoff decisions). Do Fairfield, Quimonda, and Madoff represent a retreat from the principle of comity set forth in chapter 15?

Cramdown interest rate (Momentive); extent of security interest (ResCap); credit-bidding (Fisker, Free Lance-Star Publishing); date of collateral valuation. Will Till and Momentive change future bankruptcies? How will pre-bankruptcy and DIP financing change? What new or different issues will arise at the beginnings and endings of cases? Will contested confirmation become the norm? Will secured lenders be less willing to support a bankruptcy process? Will include discussion of changes proposed in the ABI Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11’s Final Report relating to secured creditor rights.

Constitutional and bankruptcy law issues raised by post-bankruptcy claims asserted by tort claimants, including finality of § 363 sale orders and due process.

Preservation and realization of NOLs through plan structures (Capmark, WaMu, Fremont General); tax-sharing agreements and allocations of tax benefits (Edison Mission); OID (ResCap); excess loss account; fair market exchanges; transfer pricing (Nortel); trading restrictions and more.

In today’s post-BAPCPA environment, why file for bankruptcy at all? Consideration of alternatives, including out-of-court restructurings, state law restructuring statutes, ABCs, foreclosures; receiverships; discussion of common problems, including solicitations and hold-outs.

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.

The trial team in this session will explore strategies to quickly discover essential facts relating to substantive and procedural legal defenses by discussing the use of discovery, the proper use of and best practices for motions for summary judgment and developing the summary judgment record, and strategies for opposing summary judgment in a contested matter to which Part VII of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure apply. The context will be an objection to a proof of claim asserting legal defenses, including improper interest charges, based on a hypothetical case. The panelists will conduct several mock strategy sessions and a mock summary judgment hearing, and offer commentary from the trial team members.

The assets of professional services firms ride the proverbial elevator every day. What happens when they stop riding? This session will address the insolvency of professional service firms, including the causes of professional service firm insolvencies, the status of partner capital, and the risks to the professionals who once rode the elevators, including potential preference and fraudulent transfer liability. This program will also review recent cases relating to the “unfinished business” doctrine in the context of law firm insolvencies. Finally, the program will examine challenges in effecting a distressed merger of professional services firms.