Tennessee State Approved Sessions

The only D&O insurance policy issues that get much attention — in the restructuring world, at least — are (1) the insured-vs.-insured exclusion and (2) obtaining stay relief to access policy proceeds. The panel will tell the “rest of the story” by addressing important — but often overlooked — coverage issues and offering practical advice for purchasing D&O insurance policies (on behalf of distressed entities) and monetizing such policies (on behalf of fiduciaries).

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.

All types of hospitals — from acute care to highly specialized — are experiencing financial challenges. This is especially true for rural and nonprofit hospitals, which often rely heavily on slower and lower payments from Medicare and Medicaid. Often the best (or only) solution for a distressed hospital is a sale to a larger hospital operator or system. This panel will examine the unique challenges facing buyers and sellers in connection with such distressed hospital sales.

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.

.video-container { position:relative; padding-bottom:56.25%; padding-top:30px; height:0; overflow:hidden; } .video-container iframe { position:absolute; top:0; left:0; width:99%; height:100%; } Courts wrestle with applying Husky to except from an individual’s discharge creditor claims involving fraud or fraudulent transfers. Some courts carve a narrow path, while others take the opinion at its fullest meaning, suggesting a broad new cause of action for nondischargeability. This is especially true for directors and officers who use their control of nondebtor entities to benefit from fraudulent activity, including actual and constructive fraudulent transfers. Such actions also give rise to related breach of fiduciary duty claims and aiding-and-abetting liability that likewise could prove to be nondischargeable. The panelists will debate claims and defenses based on the evolving case law, and share their views on what lies next.

The valuation of financially distressed and insolvent higher-education and health care organizations is impacted by numerous factors, including government funding/reimbursement, changing business models and macroeconomic factors. This panel will examine recent developments in these areas and discuss how they impact valuation engagements.

Hot areas breed hot issues. On this panel, the panelists will cover a variety of hot topics in retail today, including (1) dividend recapitalizations, (2) asset-stripping and dropdown financing, and (3) approaches to valuing intellectual property. This diverse panel, representing a cross-section of the restructuring industry, will discuss a variety of in-court and out-of-court situations.

This panel will discuss the use of rights offerings as a bridge to exiting bankruptcy for reorganizing debtors. The panelists will focus on evolving market trends and hot-button issues arising in recent cases, such as backstop participation and related fees, treatment of nonparticipants, and questions regarding shifting values. We will also touch on other financing alternatives that reorganizing entities may consider in bridging the gap to exit.

Technology has brought about radical changes in the energy industry, including the creation of new E&P companies, new cost structures and “just-in-time” revenue opportunities, and challenges to all companies in the production-to-consumer stream, including servicing and mid-stream. These changes, and the uncertainty regarding pricing and the evolution of new, unconventional competition, have led to a number of restructurings during the last cycle, as well as uncertainty on the appropriate capital structure and status for the industry going forward. As we transition from the last energy restructuring cycle of 2015-17, what is our takeaway from the key valuation and other issues that were faced? Does the industry require different thinking regarding the relative amounts of debt versus equity? What is the state of energy dealmaking and capital markets? Can we expect further industry restructuring and consolidation? What is the future of unconventional energy sources and traditional offshore sources? Our energy experts will examine these and other issues from a variety of different perspectives, including deal-making, judicial, legal, operations and financial.

Based on the incredibly popular “TED Talks” format, VALCON Talks will give four seasoned experts the opportunity to discuss changes they would make to the corporate bankruptcy system. If you consider yourself a bankruptcy guru or just want to be one, you won’t want to miss this program!