New Jersey State Approved Sessions

Unemployment rates are slowly dropping after hitting an all-time high in April of this year and remaining in the double digits for four months straight. However, the effects of the ongoing pandemic remain. Rent payments are down, and homeowners are delaying payments on their mortgages. The Federal Reserve has dropped interest rates to near-zero, and small business revenue nationwide is down nearly 20%, even after accounting for the thousands of businesses that have already closed for good. Congress, states and local governments are scrambling to put policies and programs in place that will help forestall financial collapse. As bankruptcy practitioners and scholars, this is our moment — or is it? This presentation will explore the role that bankruptcy policy can and should play in a global pandemic, discuss the role that bankruptcy policy has already begun to play, and query what factors may be limiting the effectiveness of bankruptcy policy in easing financial distress and limiting unnecessary business closures.

This panel will explore the development of subchapter V bankruptcies during their first year of existence, a.k.a. the COVID-19 era. The panelists will first perform a brief review of subchapter V bankruptcy cases and the way in which they differ from standard chapter 11 cases. The panel will then discuss issues relating to CARES Act funding in subchapter V cases and explore various hot issues in subchapter V, such as the aggregation of debts among affiliates. Finally, the panelists will discuss “anomaly” filings and attempts by seemingly ineligible companies to obtain relief under subchapter V.

This past year has seen a remarkable number of wide splits and controversial opinions. This panel of experts, moderated by ABI Editor-at-Large Bill Rochelle, will discuss and analyze current notable business and consumer bankruptcy cases.

This panel will discuss recent developments and decisions in international insolvency, including chapter 11 for non-U.S. companies, U.S. chapter 15 and offshore “soft touch” assistance.

The panel will focus on counseling clients once we enter a post-COVID period, including when you should counsel your client to file, issues related to medical debts and tax refunds, and timing considerations.

The panelists will discuss COVID-related business bankruptcy issues, including rent issues in commercial leases, § 365(d)(3) issues, force majeure clauses, and lease assumption and rejection issues after COVID.

In this virtual variation on the in-person format, a nationwide group of distinguished judges will discuss current bankruptcy and practical skills issues in an innovative Zoom-style presentation. The judges will rotate to a new online “room,” allowing participants to maximize their time and gain valuable insights into best practices.

Sponsored by the ABI's Asset Sales and Ethics and Professional Compensation Committees This webinar will discuss ethical issues professionals may face in asset sales and weave in some real life stories from previous deals our panelists have been involved with. Topics to be addressed include collusion, confidentiality, and fiduciary responsibility.

The judges of this year's Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference will hold in-depth discussions on navigating virtual hearings and what we have learned from the pandemic; the benefits of filing commercial cases in Rocky Mountain jurisdictions; gross-income calculations in light of the closures of small, closely held businesses; trends in consumer/small business cases during the pandemic; and ethics and professionalism in a (more) virtual world.

This session includes a panel discussion of the unique issues and challenges involved with demonstrating plan feasibility during our current pandemic economy. The panelists will also discuss how bankruptcy courts have dealt with the issues thus far, and how debtors can make their best cases before the court.