New Jersey State Approved Sessions

This important plenary session will set the stage for the Annual Spring Meeting by discussing the economic, scientific and behavioral influences that will, at least in part, shape the restructuring landscape in the coming year. Led by a major international media organization, the panel discussion will include leaders from key constituent groups in the restructuring arena, including law firms, investment bankers, lenders and other financial leaders. The panelists will focus on macroeconomic predictions for 2021, industry expectations and risks, and how the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines will impact the economy in 2021 and beyond.

Hosted by the Commercial and Regulatory Law and Health Care Committees This panel will address issues that have recently arisen at the intersection of health care and commercial/regulatory law, including regulation and ownership of cloud-based/electronic records, state regulation of nonprofit debtors, and recent developments in Medicare/Medicaid recoupment rights.

Hosted by the Business Reorganization and Unsecured Trade Creditors Committees This panel of legal experts and indenture trustees will discuss current insolvency-related corporate trust issues, including pre- and post-default rights, standing to pursue litigation claims, disparate treatment among bondholders and other creditors of equal priority, conflicts between majority and minority bondholders, and settlement mechanics inside and outside of bankruptcy.

The SBRA has been in effect for a year, and for most of that time it has been operating on an increased debt limit of $7.5 million due to the pandemic. How is the SBRA currently being used, what issues have arisen, and has it been effective overall for restructuring small businesses?

Insolvency professionals work in a multitude of environments, including firms of all sizes, in-house and at financial advising companies. Not every job will have a dedicated DEI department or director. This panel will address how legal professionals can still encourage diversity within the insolvency profession and promote the inclusion of diverse legal professionals at every level.

This panel of experts will discuss the basic terminology of blockchain and cryptocurrency; how various agencies of the U.S. government treat cryptocurrency, in particular the Internal Revenue Service, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission; and bankruptcy/restructuring issues related to blockchain and cryptocurrency.

Most lawyers are schooled on how to litigate and fully understand how to prepare for the courtroom battleground. Mediation, however, is a flexible and relatively informal dispute-resolution process that has become almost a mandatory first step in many common bankruptcy disputes, like preference actions — and it can achieve significant cost-value results for clients. Yet many lawyers make the mistake of either treating mediation as a side show that requires little or no preparation, or using the same preparation methods they use for trial. This session will explore the keys to conducting a successful mediation, from deciding when mediation is appropriate through properly documenting the mediated resolution, with an emphasis on how to prepare both yourself and your client for mediation to maximize its value, regardless of whether an actual settlement is reached. The panelists will include attorneys and judges who often serve as mediators, giving attendees a unique view on the different skills, presentation methodologies and mindsets needed to prepare for mediation vs. litigation.

Hosted by the Commercial & Regulatory Law and Unsecured Trade Creditors Committees This panel will explore issues that are driving value in health care bankruptcies, particularly issues of import to unsecured creditors. Included in the discussion will be the priority and impact of Medicaid provider fees, difficulties in valuing health care receivables and the resulting effects on claim status and cost of financing, the landscape of chapter 9 as a vehicle for the restructuring of a public health care debtor, and the treatment and saleability of provider agreements.

Do you know the answers to the hottest ethics issues of the day? Do the experts? Are there actually answers? Audience members will match wits with a panel of ethics experts to see who knows up-to-the-minute ethical issues best! In this fun interactive session, the audience and the experts will try to determine the best answers to cutting-edge ethics questions from the bankruptcy world and beyond. The hot topics and questions will be known only to our Masters of Ceremonies, Tom Horan and Michael P. Richman (who will roam the audience with microphones), and will not be known to our audience or expert panelists Prof. Nancy Rapoport and Claire Wu until they play the game. Come enjoy, participate and learn!

Join ABI Editor-at-Large Bill Rochelle as he hosts a panel of bankruptcy judges to discuss circuit splits on important bankruptcy issues. Back again from the Annual Spring Meeting, this attendee-favorite panel will be presented in a fun game show format, where judges will vote to resolve the issues before they reach the U.S. Supreme Court.