Texas State Approved Sessions

Hosted by the Commercial and Regulatory Law and Health Care Committees This panel will address issues that have recently arisen at the intersection of health care and commercial/regulatory law, including regulation and ownership of cloud-based/electronic records, state regulation of nonprofit debtors, and recent developments in Medicare/Medicaid recoupment rights.

Hosted by the Business Reorganization and Unsecured Trade Creditors Committees This panel of legal experts and indenture trustees will discuss current insolvency-related corporate trust issues, including pre- and post-default rights, standing to pursue litigation claims, disparate treatment among bondholders and other creditors of equal priority, conflicts between majority and minority bondholders, and settlement mechanics inside and outside of bankruptcy.

The SBRA has been in effect for a year, and for most of that time it has been operating on an increased debt limit of $7.5 million due to the pandemic. How is the SBRA currently being used, what issues have arisen, and has it been effective overall for restructuring small businesses?

Insolvency professionals work in a multitude of environments, including firms of all sizes, in-house and at financial advising companies. Not every job will have a dedicated DEI department or director. This panel will address how legal professionals can still encourage diversity within the insolvency profession and promote the inclusion of diverse legal professionals at every level.

This panel of ABC-certified judges will discuss the applicable rules of professional conduct and other authority implicated in electronic filing, the use of email, “phishing” scams and hacking, and technology issues raised by today’s pandemic practice. The panelists will also consider issues raised by the requirement that many professionals must file public fee applications in bankruptcy cases, as well as fee issues stemming from converted cases, insufficient content in the applications, and problems that arise when the results achieved and the fees sought bear little relationship to each other. Finally, the panelists will consider unique professionalism issues raised by attorneys and law firms as bankruptcy debtors, particularly involving clients and the use of IOLTA accounts, along with more general do’s and don’ts about practicing in bankruptcy court before, during and (hopefully) after the pandemic.

Hosted by the Claims Trading and Financial Advisors & Investment Banking Committees This panel will discuss out-of-court loan-priming issues such as Serta and Transocean, among others.

The hotel and hospitality industry has been massacred by the pandemic. How can the Bankruptcy Code, chapter 11 and subchapter V help the industry restructure and survive? This panel will provide analysis and perspective.

A year into the global pandemic, U.S. businesses and consumers remain affected in unprecedented ways. This panel of public policy and insolvency experts will share their insights and answer questions relating to the most recent federal stabilization programs, including updates to the PPP program, relief for municipalities and other relief provisions. The panelists will also discuss the administration's priorities and additional potential congressional action. Sure to be part of the discussion are student loans, the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act and the SBRA.

Hosted by the Consumer Bankruptcy and Legislation Committees This panel will compare Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s bill with the ABI Consumer Commission’s Final Report, released in 2019, and will address consumer bankruptcy legislation that could be introduced this spring.

Most lawyers are schooled on how to litigate and fully understand how to prepare for the courtroom battleground. Mediation, however, is a flexible and relatively informal dispute-resolution process that has become almost a mandatory first step in many common bankruptcy disputes, like preference actions — and it can achieve significant cost-value results for clients. Yet many lawyers make the mistake of either treating mediation as a side show that requires little or no preparation, or using the same preparation methods they use for trial. This session will explore the keys to conducting a successful mediation, from deciding when mediation is appropriate through properly documenting the mediated resolution, with an emphasis on how to prepare both yourself and your client for mediation to maximize its value, regardless of whether an actual settlement is reached. The panelists will include attorneys and judges who often serve as mediators, giving attendees a unique view on the different skills, presentation methodologies and mindsets needed to prepare for mediation vs. litigation.