Pennsylvania State Approved Sessions

Bankruptcy judges will discuss the most talked-about current events and controversial opinions in the insolvency world with ABI Editor-at-Large Bill Rochelle.

This session will highlight particularly interesting case law developments to date since 2022, and their impacts on bankruptcy law and practice.

This panel will review the largest issues facing consumer practitioners today, including filing numbers, student loan legislation, proofs of claim and much more.

This keynote will dive into the current economic environment in Utah and the U.S. Take part in this lively discussion on the trending issues impacting the economy, such as employment, wages, interest rates and population growth, and learn how to prepare for success in uncertain times.

Set in the game show format of “Jeopardy,” this interactive ethics session will test the knowledge of the audience, provide valuable ethics information, and encourage networking among the participants. The panelists will cover ethical and evidentiary issues that have arisen in bankruptcy cases within the Tenth Circuit and elsewhere.

The first half of 2022 set a First Day record for fewest chapter 11 filings over any calendar six-month period, but chapter 11s picked up in the second half of the year, with Q4 concluding as the year’s busiest quarter and December closing out as the year's busiest month. Ignoring real estate cases, which peaked in 2021, the frequency of chapter 11 cases fell by only 1% in 2022. Despite the waning of COVID-19, companies continue to cite the pandemic as at least part of the reason for their bankruptcy filings. However, during 2022 the cause of many chapter 11 filings moved away from pandemic factors, such as work stoppages and lower demand, to supply-side macroeconomic factors, including supply chain issues, labor costs and inflation. Rising interest rates and the collapse of crypto are also becoming prominent reasons for bankruptcy filings.

This panel will focus on the ethical risks involved in serving as local counsel, special counsel and conflicts counsel. The panelists will discuss the role of the court in monitoring and reviewing the scope and responsibilities of counsel in each of these roles, and will discuss relevant case law impacting an attorneys’ ethical obligations, both to clients and to the court.

The panelists will discuss current hot issues in cryptocurrency and the ways in which they converge with insolvency proceedings. After providing a brief cryptocurrency overview, the panelists will address legislative and regulatory updates, and their effects on bankruptcy cases. The panelists also will discuss such current cryptocurrency-focused insolvency cases as Cred, Inc., Celsius, Voyager and Three Arrows Capital, and the crypto-specific bankruptcy issues they present.

This panel will address recent decisions, including Modern Land, affecting the standard for recognition of a foreign insolvency proceeding as either a foreign main or nonmain proceeding. Additionally, the panelists will discuss recent decisions concerning third-party releases in chapter 15 cases, including In re PT Pan Brothers Tbk, Case No. 22-10136-mg (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2022).

This panel will discuss some key issues under § 503 of the Bankruptcy Code, including substantial contribution claims (§ 503(b)(3)(D)), § 503(b)(9) claims for goods received by a debtor within 20 days of the petition date, and insider incentive payments under § 503(c).