West Virginia State Approved Sessions

The private credit market has grown past $2.1 trillion and continues to expand rapidly, but early signs of stress are emerging. With defaults expected to rise and underwriting potentially loosening, this panel examines key risks, sector trends, and the likelihood of increased restructuring activity over the next 12–24 months.Learning Objectives:Attendees will understand current trends and developments within the rapidly growing private credit market.Attendees will identify indicators of financial stress, increased defaults and potential underwriting concerns affecting private credit portfolios.Attendees will evaluate how emerging market conditions may influence restructuring activity and bankruptcy practice over the next several years.

A “board flip” — reconstituting a company’s board to install creditor-nominated or independent directors — can be a decisive tool in financial distress. This panel explores the legal, strategic and practical considerations behind executing a successful board flip, including governance mechanics, fiduciary duties and key contractual levers. Using real-world examples, the panelists highlight lessons learned, stakeholder dynamics, and actionable strategies to mitigate risk, manage conflicts and preserve value in high-stakes restructuring situations.Learning Objectives:Attendees will understand the legal and governance mechanisms involved in implementing a board flip in a distressed company.Attendees will analyze fiduciary duties, stakeholder interests and conflict-management considerations that arise during board reconstitution efforts.Attendees will evaluate practical strategies for executing board flips while mitigating risk and preserving enterprise value.

In small business cases, controlling administrative costs can make or break a successful outcome. This panel focuses on practical strategies to streamline proceedings, including creative motions and targeted plan provisions designed to reduce estate expenses. The panelists share efficient approaches, cost-saving techniques and real-world examples to help practitioners maximize value while minimizing administrative burden.Learning Objectives:Attendees will identify opportunities to reduce administrative expenses and improve efficiency in small business bankruptcy cases.Attendees will analyze the use of creative motions, targeted plan provisions and other procedural tools to streamline case administration.Attendees will apply practical cost-saving strategies to maximize value for debtors, creditors and other stakeholders.

Financial fraud schemes frequently come to light when businesses are in distress, causing restructuring professionals and bankruptcy courts to deal with the fallout. This panel examines how fraud trends can shift with economic cycles and developing technology, including key moments when misconduct begins to surface, particularly around market peaks and downturns. The panelists discuss various schemes — financial statement misstatements, asset-shifting through multi-tiered entities and Ponzi structures — sharing insights on emerging risks, warning signs, and how practitioners can better anticipate and respond.Learning Objectives:Attendees will understand how financial fraud schemes have evolved in recent years and the unique challenges they present in bankruptcy proceedings.Attendees will identify common indicators of fraudulent conduct and assess the tools available to practitioners for investigating suspicious transactions and structures.Attendees will apply lessons learned from recent fraud cases to develop proactive strategies for protecting estates, creditors and other stakeholders from emerging fraud risks.

This session is geared toward consumer chapter 7 and 13 practitioners looking for an in-depth discussion of pre-filing planning and strategies that will pass muster, and analyzing the difference between planning that falls within ethical and statutory expectations, and those that cross the line, putting attorney and client at risk.Learning Objectives:Attendees will identify lawful and effective pre-filing planning strategies for consumer chapter 7 and chapter 13 cases.Attendees will distinguish permissible prebankruptcy planning from conduct that may violate ethical duties, statutory requirements, or applicable bankruptcy rules.Attendees will evaluate the potential risks and consequences to attorneys and clients when pre-filing strategies cross legal or ethical boundaries.

This session presents a practical deep dive into nondischargeability litigation in consumer bankruptcy, focusing on § 523(a)(2), (a)(4) and (a)(6) nondischargeability actions and denial of discharge under § 727. The panelists pair that substantive discussion with practical guidance on deadlines, litigation strategy, and the impact of collateral estoppel.Learning Objectives:Attendees will distinguish the grounds for nondischargeability under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2), (a)(4), and (a)(6), as well as the grounds for denial of discharge under § 727.Attendees will identify key filing deadlines, procedural requirements, and strategic considerations in dischargeability and denial-of-discharge litigation.Attendees will evaluate how collateral estoppel may affect the proof, scope, and outcome of nondischargeability actions in consumer bankruptcy cases.

Work/Life Balance: Is it really a thing? This session explores the critical connection between attorney well-being, the duty of competence and professional liability, examining how stress, burnout and impairment can affect ethical decision-making and client representation. Participants gain practical strategies to support personal well-being, reduce malpractice risk, and fulfill their professional and ethical obligations while maintaining a sustainable legal practice.Learning Objectives:Attendees will identify the connection between attorney's well-being, burnout, and impairment, and recognize how these factors can compromise the duty of competence and increase professional liability exposure.Attendees will apply practical strategies for managing stress and maintaining personal well-being that support sound ethical decision-making and effective client representation.Attendees will evaluate risk-management practices that reduce malpractice exposure while fulfilling professional and ethical obligations within a sustainable legal practice.

This advanced panel explores the complex ethical landscape surrounding artificial intelligence implementation in bankruptcy and legal practice. Moving beyond basic AI introductions, the panelists examine real-world AI functionality, use cases and usage statistics, judicial perspectives on AI compliance, and practical ethical challenges facing practitioners today. Through interactive polling, case studies, and expert insights, attendees gain actionable guidance on navigating AI ethics within existing professional conduct frameworks.Learning Objectives:Attendees will identify key ethical considerations arising from the use of artificial intelligence in bankruptcy and legal practice, including issues related to competence, confidentiality, supervision, and professional responsibility.Attendees will evaluate real-world AI functionality, use cases, and emerging judicial perspectives to assess the benefits, risks, and limitations of AI tools in legal workflows.Attendees will apply existing professional conduct frameworks and AI compliance principles to address practical ethical challenges and develop responsible AI implementation strategies within their practices.

In an interview conducted by ABI Immediate Past President Judge Bruce Harwood (ret.) and ABI’s Bill Rochelle, First Circuit Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson will offer tips for effective written and oral advocacy in bankruptcy appeals.

This panel covers the ethical and practical considerations when representing spouses, or a small business owner and/or their small business. Who’s the client and when is that determined, when does an individual or entity need separate counsel, what conflicts can be waived and how, what’s privileged and what’s not, and whose privilege can a trustee waive?Learning Objectives:Attendees will identify common conflict of interest scenarios that arise in consumer bankruptcy representations, including joint spousal filings and co-debtor situations, and evaluate appropriate strategies for addressing or avoiding those conflicts under applicable professional responsibility rules.Attendees will analyze the scope and limitations of attorney-client privilege and confidentiality obligations in the consumer bankruptcy context, including how disclosure obligations to the court and trustee interact with duties owed to the client.Attendees will apply ethical frameworks and best practices for managing challenging client relationships in consumer bankruptcy matters, including navigating candor obligations, informed consent, and withdrawal considerations when conflicts or privilege issues arise.