Wisconsin State Approved Sessions

This panel will provide an overview and discussion on the most recent bankruptcy decisions and changes to official guidelines and legislation impacting bankruptcy practice today. The case law discussion will cover the most recent bankruptcy opinions from the Supreme Court and Circuit Courts of Appeals as well as Bankruptcy and District Court opinions of note. The panel will provide thorough summaries of these cases and changes to other bankruptcy-specific rules, laws, and regulations as well as discuss the larger implications of these new precedents and changes on current practice and future bankruptcy trends.

This discussion will enhance the cross-examination skills of both new and seasoned litigators.

Hosted by ABI's Unsecured Trade Creditors Committee This program will be structured as a case study and will delve into the prosecution and defense sides of a recently settled preference case in which the presenters were involved. The parties will engage in a free-flowing discussion of their respective positions folllwing a brief discussion of the underlying bankruptcy cases. In addition to various aspects of the subsequent new value (paid/unpaid, treatment of § 503(b)(9) and critical-vendor payments, etc.) and ordinary-course-of-business defenses (subjective and objective, including purported payment pressure and a bifurcated set of payment terms, etc.) that are at issue in the vast majority of preference cases, the presenters will also discuss less frequently raised defenses/issues, including, but not limited to, the critical vendor defense, and the impact of (1) pre- and post-petition recoupment/setoff rights on a defendant’s § 502(h) claim, and (2) a material unpaid post-administrative claim on the parties’ settlement strategy and related positions.

Last year, two very different cases achieved substantial returns to equityholders: Hertz and Garrett Motion. This panel will review how Hertz and Garrett Motion were able to achieve this result, including the circumstances that brought these companies to chapter 11 and the value-maximization strategies employed, the auction processes in each case, and how future tort claims were valued. The panel will also hold a broader discussion regarding the financial advisor’s role in the chapter 11 process from inception to exit.

This panel will discuss recurring issues related to mass tort cases, including the automatic stay, third-party releases (Sun Edision, Midway Gold, Purdue), venue-selection and estimation. The panelists will also offer an analysis of such key recurring issues as the use and propriety of bankruptcy for solvent debtors, and bankruptcy abuse vs. bankruptcy planning.

This panel will discuss mediation as a pathway to case-resolution; mediation advantages and pitfalls; mediation privilege and disclosure; who should be invited to a mediation; and whether a sitting judge, former judge or trained mediator is the best person to lead a mediation. They will also share lessons learned from previous mediations in large cases.