West Virginia State Approved Sessions

This panel will identify the unique issues that come into play in health care asset sales, from hospitals to senior living facilities. The panelists will address closing challenges, regulatory issues, HIPPA/privacy issues, Opco/Propco issues and much more.

This panel will explore the basics of privilege and how it is used in bankruptcy litigation. Do members of an LLC have access to privileged info? Do former board members have rights to privileged info? Does a trustee of an individual debtor have rights to the individual debtor's privileged information? Is a trustee required to turn over his/her privileged information to the debtor after it retakes possession? Can mediation privilege be used to cloak an entire bankruptcy case so that all information is immune from discovery from non-mediation parties or its adversaries?

In April 2023, ABI created the Subchapter V Task Force, which was charged with reviewing the implementation and administration of subchapter V. After almost a year of study and public hearings, the task force has issued its report and recommendations, which include statutory changes. This session will discuss the task force’s report and recommendations.

This panel will discuss a selection of cases that raise current substantive bankruptcy issues and litigation challenges, including how to convince a bankruptcy court to extend the automatic stay (or issue an injunction) to protect debtor-related (but nondebtor) entities from tort or other litigation that could interfere with the plan process (e.g., Robertshaw (S.D. Tex. 2024); Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Center (S.D.N.Y. 2023)); how best to present valuation evidence for unusual, complex and illiquid assets, including mortgage-backed securities, derivatives and crypto assets; and how to deal with evidentiary issues — particularly relating to damages — arising in “liability management” litigation. The panelists will conclude with a rapid-fire presentation of successful bankruptcy litigation tips.

This panel will explore how artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving, where it is likely headed, and how AI may aid in various aspects of legal practice both now and in the future. The panelists will focus on the uses and potential uses of AI in consumer cases, bankruptcy sales, creditor claims, research, first-day motions and legal arguments, among others, and briefly review ethical concerns surrounding the use of AI.

This panel will present a lively debate addressing current trends in DIP financing. Who are (and are not) DIP lenders these days? What opportunities and challenges arising from the amortization of Main Street lending programs should practitioners be aware of? How is DIP financing being used to buttress liability-management transactions? How big should a DIP loan be, and what issues arise in corporate governance when a company seeks a DIP? When do DIP protections go too far?

This panel will explore an as-yet-untested question: Can a domestic debtor use the law of another country to effect the restructuring of all or some of its debt, then commence a chapter 15 case and bind U.S. creditors to the terms of that foreign restructuring? Some think that this scenario is inevitable. The panelists will discuss how U.S. and foreign insolvency laws may be utilized by U.S. debtors, and the potential incentives, benefits and risks associated with this type of restructuring.

This panel will consider ethical issues in real estate bankruptcies involving candor to the court as to out-of-court happenings, considerations for debtor’s counsel and advisors in parsing entity vs. guarantor, and other insider issues.

Forever Chemicals: PFAS chemicals have been dubbed “forever chemcials” because they are extrermely presistent, lasting thousands of years. Many have been linked to long-term health problems, thus generating trillions of dollars in potential liabilities — and bankruptcy filings. Chapter 7 Clawbacks in Fraud Cases: Hear the latest on chapter 7 trustees’ ability to use clawbacks in fraud cases. Distressed Investing Update: Learn about the latest trends in distressed investing — what the latest opportunities are, and what factors should you be paying attention to. The Changing Landscape of Chapter 11: Find out about the newest trends in restructuring and chapter 11 filings, and what new tools parties-in-interest and the courts are turning to in in-court and out-of-court restructurings.

This session will focus on various aspects of bringing and litigating multi-count causes of action springing from fraud, and how to uncover hidden assets in the context of fraud-based avoidance actions.