Wisconsin State Approved Sessions

Debtors’ lives don’t stop once a chapter 13 is filed. Jobs could be changed or lost, property can be sold and inherited, and debtors can become injured and can sue. Debtor's counsel has to know how to “roll with the punches” and still achieve the best outcome for their client. This panel will discuss the impact of foreseen and unforeseen events in a chapter 13 case. Who gets the benefit of equity in a debtor’s home if it is sold and has appreciated since filing? What if the case converts to chapter 7? What assets are included in the chapter 7 estate upon conversion? Does a debtor have a duty to disclose a post-petition asset such as a cause of action or inheritance? How does debtor’s counsel get paid to deal with all of these issues? Is a chapter 13 trustee entitled to be paid if a case is dismissed before confirmation? What are the requirements to modify what is paid in a chapter 13 plan?

The workshop will review the biology behind the rewarding properties of drugs of abuse, how the brain changes in response to repeated drug use, thereby becoming 'addicted', the role of genetics in addiction, and the important role of stress in maintaining addiction. The presentation will conclude with a summary of addiction treatments, including cutting-edge research on a surprising new treatment approach.

This panel will provide insolvency professionals with practical business-development tips from numerous perspectives.

We all deal with fraudulent transfers, but sometimes issues that don’t come up in routine fraudulent-transfer cases might get overlooked. Do insurance policies cover fraudulent-transfer claims? Can a group of fraudulent-transfer plaintiffs assert a class action against a defendant? In terms of an actual fraud fraudulent transfer, what if a defendant has a mixed intent, part of which is impermissible and part of which is permissible? When can a fraudulent-transfer defendant use the “identity of interest” and “common enterprise” defenses? How can unjust enrichment be used as an alternative to a fraudulent transfer? How do the events of the past three years impact valuations, solvency opinions and fairness opinions prepared during that time and today? This panel will provide answers to and perspectives on these questions and more.

This panel will cover recent pertinent case law, analyze trends in increased district court oversight of bankruptcy courts, and examine the policy considerations for and against both consensual and nonconsensual nondebtor third-party releases, the relevant standards for approval on the merits, the scope of consent (opt-in vs. opt-out), the use of death-trap plan voting to encourage a consensual release, and the question of a bankruptcy court’s power to award them.

A trial is fraught with opportunities for lawyers on both sides to make mistakes. By using hypotheticals infused with current and common issues, this panel will provide useful tips for successful examination and cross-examination, preparation for common motion practice, and laying a proper foundation for submission of evidence.

This panel will analyze issues that arise in, and provide helpful tips for, the winding up of a chapter 11 case (as well as any special or different considerations for subchapter V cases), including early planning for the wind-down, closing the case, conversion vs. structured dismissal vs. plan, the preservation of claims and claim objections for a liquidating trust and related privilege considerations, professional compensation and final tax returns, winding down debtor obligations such as employee benefit plans, and cost and funding issues.

This panel will cover the cutting-edge issues that practitioners need to know, (potentially) including recent makewhole decisions, the “Texas two-step,” the impact of inflation on cram-down interest rates, and circuit splits on whether § 363(m) is jurisdictional.

ABI will team up with IWIRC for an exciting and interactive discussion of real-world ethical dilemmas arising in bankruptcy practice, including while working from home. Play along with our panel of lawyers and judges as they discuss the “3 Cs” — confidentiality, communication and competence — along with information hygiene, duty to supervise, remote depositions and trials, judicial ethics, and much, much more!