BAPCPA at 20

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) was implemented on Oct. 17, 2005. This panel of experts will provide their perspectives on the impacts of the law on consumer and business bankruptcies in the 20 years since the law went into effect. John Penn of Perkins Coie (Dallas), who served as ABI's president when BAPCPA became law, will be joined by two former bankruptcy judges who were on the bench at the time of the law's implementation to discuss the developments brought about by BAPCPA, and to share their views on potential bankruptcy law reforms moving forward.

In 2005, Congress enacted sweeping changes in the Bankruptcy Code in a law commonly known as BAPCPA (bap-SEE-puh).  Most insolvency professionals recognize BAPCPA’s changes to consumer bankruptcy, such as the means test, modifications to the discharge exceptions and new limits on homestead exemptions.  But BAPCPA affected business bankruptcy too, making chapter 12 permanent and creating the notion of a “small business case” in chapter 11. As BAPCPA turns 20, this panel reflects on its past two decades: what worked, what didn’t, and what might come next.

This panel will discuss the wide-ranging changes to the Bankruptcy Code resulting from the 2005 amendments, and how they do and do not continue to affect bankruptcy practice today.