New York State Approved Sessions

This panel will examine the factors considered by debtors and their advisors when determining where to file a large chapter 11 business case, and the occasional efforts to have the case transferred to a venue that is arguably more convenient to creditors, employees and/or shareholders. The panel will also discuss the pending legislation known as the Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act of 2018 (S. 2282) — as well as the arguments both supporting and opposing its passage.

This panel will discuss the chapter 7 trustee’s ability to avoid and surcharge the taxing authority’s secured lien for the benefit of the estate. The panelists will review in detail 11 U.S.C. § 724 and related Code sections, the proper procedural approach, preemption, and related § 363 sales and their implication on property that debtor’s counsel thought was safe or exempt.

Creditor and equity committees have an important role in maximizing recoveries chapter 11 cases. Both formal and ad hoc committee can dramatically influence the course of a chapter 11 and the ultimate shape of a chapter 11 plan. This panel will explore legal tools and practical strategies available to committees in seeking to deliver better results for their constituents, as well as the risks involved and the likelihood of success.

The restaurant industry, particularly the fast food and fast casual sectors, is under pressure from rising food and labor costs, the changing dining habits of millennials, and decreased foot traffic at retail shopping centers. This panel will examine those trends and explore potential strategies to maximize enterprise value, both in and out of bankruptcy court.

Join ABI for its first recreation of the infamous “TED Talks,” with speakers focusing on topics only a bankruptcy guru could love, such as rules of professional conduct, career advice and teaching moments and Safe Harbor for Financial Institutions.

Do you know and understand what’s in your DIP order? This panel will break down some examples of issues that create frustration for bankruptcy judges through inconsistent language, overreaching requirements, misinterpretation or fundamental flaws. Panelists will navigate the typical DIP motion through drafting to final order.

This panel will review the art and science of valuations prepared for different stakeholders in the same case. Panelists will discuss how professionals can use the same data but arrive at dramatically different results through the manipulation of various methodologies and assumptions depending on the interests of their clients.

This panel will review the shift of leverage to hold-out creditors and the requirement that structured dismissals must adhere to the absolute priority rule outside of a plan.

This panel will review some of the unique aspects of municipal bankruptcy cases, including the use of mediators, the role of a creditors’ committee and how committee professionals can be compensated, the involvement of state and federal laws and precedent for municipal bankruptcies, and the uncharted territory of Puerto Rico’s insolvency, as well as the potential impact on financially troubled states.

Judges throughout the Mid-Atlantic region will square off to debate hot topics in insolvency.