Tennessee State Approved Sessions

A trial is fraught with opportunities for lawyers on both sides to make mistakes. By using hypotheticals infused with current and common issues, this panel will provide useful tips for successful examination and cross-examination, preparation for common motion practice, and laying a proper foundation for submission of evidence.

ABI will team up with IWIRC for an exciting and interactive discussion of real-world ethical dilemmas arising in bankruptcy practice, including while working from home. Play along with our panel of lawyers and judges as they discuss the “3 Cs” — confidentiality, communication and competence — along with information hygiene, duty to supervise, remote depositions and trials, judicial ethics, and much, much more!

Consumer lawyers on behalf of both debtors and creditors deal with myriad ethical issues to ensure effective and economical representation of their clients. This panel will explore the implications of representing individuals, small businesses, insiders and creditors, including what to do when your client becomes your creditor (how far can you go to get paid?) and how to avoid breaching the attorney/client privilege (just who do or can you talk to?). In a small business, the owner often considers counsel to be representing “her” interest. How does counsel for a business deal with this issue under the ethical rules and the Bankruptcy Code? For the creditor, what are the implications of potential conflicts by counsel to the debtor? Can the creditor reach out to a principal of the corporate debtor directly on their guarantee without violating the Rules of Professional Conduct? What are the ethical limits of “unbundling services” to make it more affordable for the client, whether you represent a debtor or a creditor? This panel will explore ways to accomplish your client’s goals, as well as the ethical boundaries of representation under those scenarios.

This panel will explore the ins and out of blockchain, related cryptocurrency marketing concepts including mining, Ethereum, DeFi, DAOs and stablecoins, current regulatory issues involving cryptocurrency, how cryptocurrency has made its way into the bankruptcy arena so far, and how bankruptcy practitioners can prepare for crypto-related bankruptcy issues in the future.

Join our panelists as they explore how lender liability claims are born and struggle for life, starting with the influence that an original loan agreement may have on later claims, continuing with the roles that various professionals play as financial distress grows, and finally examining how tragedy unfolds as litigation plays out.

The workshop will review the biology behind the rewarding properties of drugs of abuse, how the brain changes in response to repeated drug use, thereby becoming 'addicted', the role of genetics in addiction, and the important role of stress in maintaining addiction. The presentation will conclude with a summary of addiction treatments, including cutting-edge research on a surprising new treatment approach.

This panel will provide insolvency professionals with practical business-development tips from numerous perspectives.

ABI and Reid Collins & Tsai LLP have joined together to present a three-part webinar series focusing on recurring issues that arise in post-bankruptcy litigation involving trustees, and how to set up trustees for success in pursuing litigation claims. The final session of the series will take place on March 9, 2022 at 1 PM ET and will be done in in partnership with ABI's Commercial Fraud Committee. Litigating Claims by Trustees: Avoiding Pitfalls in Litigation and Recurring Legal Issues, will have a panel featuring Peter Kravitz, Province, LLC; Erica Weisgerber, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP; and, Ryan Goldstein and Keith Cohan from Reid Collins & Tsai LLP.