New Mexico State Approved Sessions

Health Care/Young & New Members Committees: Health care is a key area in which restructuring work is likely to grow significantly in the coming years. This panel will focus on the basics that professionals should know when it comes to handling bankruptcies and restructurings in the health care industry. The panel will also address tips and strategies as to how professionals can develop health care-related work.

Labor & Employment/Financial Advisors & Investment Banking/Legislation Committees: This panel will address public pension law, including their financial magnitude, and will focus on a number of timely current issues ranging from constitutional matters to state authorization, § 903 and 904 concerns, and relevant legislation. The panelists will draw upon their recent experiences, particularly from municipal bankruptcy cases, to highlight key themes and provide relevant insights.

This panel will conduct a mock confirmation hearing in an individual’s chapter 11 case. Issues unique to individuals who file for chapter 11, such as the applicability of the absolute priority rule and best efforts under § 1129(a)(15), will be explored during the course of the mock hearing.

We are in the midst of a transformation of the bankruptcy bench; more than 100 judges have been sworn in over the last few years. This panel of some of the newer members of the judiciary will present their advice to practitioners appearing in their courtrooms.

This is not your run-of-the-mill current developments session. The all-star members of this panel will explore recent consumer topics, case law and rules, and proposed rules and forms, and will offer their varying opinions and arguments in a lively debate-filled format that is sure to enlighten and entertain.

This panel will discuss how a number of recent bankruptcy decisions have curtailed the rights of the “new” investor, including hedge funds, to obtain the typical benefits that a buyer would otherwise be entitled to in a bankruptcy case. The focus will include a review of rulings in which a secured creditor’s rights to credit-bid in connection with a § 363 asset sale were limited and in which a hedge fund’s vote was not counted. Is this fair? Should your claim be worth less if you buy at a discount?

This panel will explore cutting-edge issues dealing with the ethical implications of social media and advancing technology on the practice of law. Issues to be discussed include professional responsibility requirements for attorneys using social media for advertising and other purposes, best practices for crafting social media policies, and a review of recent case law and state rules and opinions.

Educational Session of Committees: This panel will provide an overview of the different types of intellectual property and licenses that might exist in a debtor’s estate. The panel will focus specifically on the importance of IP as a hidden asset in bankruptcy cases and the substantial value that can be created for unsecured creditors by properly identifying and leveraging such assets.

The Final Report of the Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 is the culmination of more than two years of testimony, advisory reports and deliberations. In this 90-minute webinar, several members of the Commission and the official reporter will present the key findings as submitted to Congress. Written materials will be provided.

Commission members will report on the Commission’s progress and final recommendations to Congress.