Business Reorganization

This TED-Talk–style panel brings together experienced bankruptcy practitioners to address three critical aspects of modern bankruptcy practice: recent Supreme Court developments, strategic considerations in deciding whether to file for bankruptcy, and the impact of language and terminology on advocacy and outcomes. Through concise, focused presentations, the panel explores how legal doctrine, strategic judgment, and effective communication intersect to shape successful bankruptcy representation. 

You are in the late stages of trial preparation — just 60 days before trial. You are past the summary-judgment stage, mediation has been unsuccessful, and discovery is complete. Absent a Hail Mary or surprise settlement, you are going to trial. This session will talk you through, and offer tips and advice for, your final trial preparations.

This session provides a practical roadmap for preparing and trying issues in consumer bankruptcy cases, with a particular focus on common consumer trial issues such as asset valuation and exemption disputes. Moderated by Judge Vaughan, the panel brings together judicial and practitioner perspectives to guide attendees through the critical stages of trial readiness, including pretrial preparation, discovery strategy, subpoena practice, evidentiary considerations, and effective trial presentation. In addition, the session addresses the financial considerations facing consumer practitioners, including strategies for structuring fees, obtaining court approval, and effectively getting paid for litigating consumer matters. The session emphasizes practical tips, best practices, and common pitfalls encountered in consumer trials. 

The attributes of the limited liability company form that are considered favorable by clients and advisers alike can present distinctive challenges in chapter 11. This panel will delve into those challenges and relevant case law developments in the context of a hypothetical transaction. The panelists will provide their valuable insights on relevant current topics and issues, such as the LLC’s authority to file a chapter 11 case, fiduciary duties and duty waivers, derivative standing, and tax implications for LLC stakeholders. Attendees can anticipate receiving actionable analyses to apply in future cases, whether preparing for a chapter 11 case, advising a committee or structuring a transaction.

Liability-management exercises (LMEs) have become common transactions in order for financially distressed companies to obtain financing secured by previously encumbered assets. From uptiers, drop-downs, double dips and pari plus transactions, courts have begun to analyze and rule on the enforceability of LMEs and, in certain instances, their limitations. This panel will analyze various examples of recent LMEs and discuss the repercussions of such transactions from both the borrower and lender perspective.

This session will cover recent Supreme Court and Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Circuit cases that you need to know about.

This panel will consider the impact of President Trump’s policies on corporate restructurings and strategies for advising clients in light of those policies. Specifically, the panelists will analyze executive actions on tariffs, immigration, deregulation and taxes, among others, as well as the impacts of those actions on financings and the distressed investing market. It will discuss whether the potential disruptions resulting from those policies are analogous to past economic disruptions, or whether they are unique.

This panel will explore the ways in which companies are increasingly using creative liability-management transactions — such as drop-downs, uptiers and double-dip structures — to restructure debt, often to the detriment of certain creditors. The panelists will outline legal and structural mechanics behind these transactions, illustrate real-world case studies (e.g., J. Crew, Serta, STG), and discuss the evolving litigation landscape and protective covenant strategies.

Corporate restructuring has recently experienced a significant transformation. Traditional business “rehabilitations” (sweeping and lengthy chapter 11 proceedings) have become truncated, and “pre-arranged” cases often follow a strategic liability-management exercise (LME). Jurisprudence that had long constrained debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing (e.g., the sub rosa plan doctrine) has seemingly lost its importance. In many cases, the creditors' committee — as well as the bankruptcy court — are boxed into restructuring support agreement (RSA) terms that are, in turn, embedded into DIP covenants, and those covenants often compel a particular (rightful or wrongful) case outcome. This panel will evaluate whether chapter 11 still reliably delivers on its legislative purpose.

This panel will explore key bankruptcy litigation issues that are currently the subject of significant interest and debate, including (1) how bankruptcy courts address gerrymandering in the classification context, and how such concerns may arise in connection with liability-management transactions; (2) how debtors may attempt to effect "backdoor" estate releases through sale transactions whereby the buyer of the assets acquires estate claims and causes of action, and whether such attempts invoke concerns of a sub rosa plan; and (3) how the standard of adequate protection should be interpreted when a debtor is using cash collateral to maintain operations as a going concern where the alternative is a potentially value-destructive chapter 7. The panelists also plan to address the jurisdictional split regarding whether the confirmation requirement of an impaired accepting class requires a "per plan" or a "per debtor" approach for multi-debtor plans.