Texas State Approved Sessions

This panel focuses on the perspectives of large retail landlords and office building spaces, including issues stemming from natural disasters and insurance coverage.

Join this accomplished panel of subchapter V trustees, financial advisors and one inquisitive judge as they discuss emerging trends related to the fair-and-equitable standard, including post-confirmation expenses (anticipated and otherwise), fluctuations in income, and other variables in the context of nonconsensual plans. This session emphasizes the critical role of financial advisers and subchapter V trustees with respect to a debtor's projected disposable income, as well as the creative financial alternatives that can be considered to fairly account for post-confirmation uncertainties.

Roben Farzad is an acclaimed journalist, broadcaster and author known for his sharp insights into the intersection of business and culture. As the host of the popular public radio program "Full Disclosure," he dives into the forces shaping industries, innovation and society.

This panel explores the ethical implications of AI in legal practice, focusing on fee issues and providing tips for crafting effective prompts. The panelists discuss how AI tools are reshaping billing practices and the standards for reasonable compensation, as well as practical strategies for integrating AI while maintaining ethical standards. Discover how to create powerful prompts that maximize AI's potential and ensure transparency with clients and courts. Don't miss this insightful conversation!

This workshop builds on the success of a well-attended evidence 101 workshop format held during the 2024 Winter Leadership Conference, with this forum focused on judge/attorney participation. The panelists demonstrate a fun fact pattern through 3 vignettes — (1) argument on a motion in limine; (2) how to qualify an expert; and (3) voir dire/Daubert challenges — followed by small table breakouts.

In our adversarial system, about half of us will disagree with the judge’s ruling. Yet statistically speaking, only a couple of bankruptcy-related cases reach the Supreme Court in any given term. This panel focuses on the first level of appeals to district courts or bankruptcy appellate panels, including whether the party has standing, whether the appeal is ripe and/or interlocutory, and the hot-button issue of mootness. The panelists take a practical approach to addressing the many traps for the unwary so that all of us will feel more confident in filing — or receiving a notice of — an appeal in one of our cases.

This panel covers the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) with bankruptcy, intellectual property law and secured transactions law. The panelists explore several questions that current law does not address or insufficiently addresses, such as: Who owns inventions created by AI? Do inventions created by the AI owned by a debtor company become property of a debtor company’s bankruptcy estate? Can a creditor obtain a security interest and perfect a security interest in the things AI creates? Should the UCC, intellectual property law and bankruptcy law be amended to address the new world of AI? How are the new White House administration and Congress addressing these issues?

This panel provides an overview of some key issues, sectors and trends in real estate from a global and cross-border perspective by examining the status of asset class and related global/regional market conditions, issues confronting stakeholders and the legal tools they are using to manage and reposition assets, and predictions for the balance of 2025. Considerations for U.S. investors in non-U.S.-based real estate projects, as well as the perspectives of certain foreign investors or lenders to U.S. real estate-based projects, also is discussed.

This panel explores ways in which practitioners are avoiding the direct impact of Purdue by seeking to release only derivative claims. The panelists analyze the direct/derivative distinction more broadly by discussing its impact on what constitutes property of the estate, whether pursuit of a derivative claim violates the stay, and what claims an estate fiduciary has the power to bring under § 544, and discusses the Whittaker, Clark & Daniels decision.

This panel focuses on the critical role of strategic communications during large, high-profile bankruptcy cases. Using real-world examples, experts discuss the challenges of managing media narratives, stakeholder concerns and public perception in high-stakes scenarios. Topics include media relations, crisis communication strategies, and the importance of proactive storytelling to ensure a successful restructuring.