Business Reorganization

This panel will compare and contrast liquidations and wind-downs under chapter 11, federal and state receiverships, ABCs, and judicial dissolutions. The panelists also will take a look at tools that are available and the risks attendant to each. Which companies are more appropriate for which type of liquidation option: cannabis and related company insolvencies, or higher education institutions?

This panel will discuss the effects that the pandemic has had on both business and consumer bankruptcy filings, as well insolvency case work in general. The panelists will provide their insights on whether there will be permanent changes to bankruptcy and insolvency practice spurred by COVID-19. Sponsored by AlixPartners, LLP

This panel will discuss the impact of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 on bankruptcy cases, the latest automatic stay cases, employment of professionals and fee applications, and § 363 sales in the Zoom era.

Our Host will challenge the “deans” of bankruptcy and our esteemed contestants with riveting bankruptcy trivia.

This panel will discuss the disposition of restructured equity, including § 1145 and other limitations and exemptions; selecting and managing post-restructured boards, and how to assemble a new board with a view toward maximizing value; issues attendant to the recruitment of pertinent and qualified directors; departures from rent-a-director; use of independent directors on a new board; granting of observer rights; perspectives of being a member of a well-run post-restructured board; shareholder voting and control considerations, including minority rights; incentivizing management through MIPs, KEIPs/KERPs and employment agreement considerations (e.g., CoC/severance); fostering long-term shareholder value; antitrust issues; and public vs. private emergence.

What do attorneys and other professionals need to know when preparing chapter 11 liquidation plans? This panel will discuss selecting a trust, LLC, plan administrator or other vehicle; ensuring that affirmative claims are preserved post-confirmation; searching for unencumbered assets; negotiating carve-outs; establishing a value/tax basis in litigation claims and other assets transferred to a trust or LLC; key plan provisions such as preserving 2004 discovery rights, creditor oversight, continuing court oversight, required reporting and retention/transfer of attorney/client privilege; trading of interests; provisions for closing the case; and structured dismissals following asset sales as an alternative to a liquidating plan.

Back by popular demand! This panel is in the format of the classic current-events TV program “Crossfire” and will address “hot” and “interesting” bankruptcy issues that are not being addressed in the other sessions. Each topic discussed will have parties taking opposing positions (pro/con).

To make meaningful progress, legal professionals and the organizational cultures they inhabit must adopt a learning goal orientation and be willing to change. Join this keynote panel of legal professionals from across the nation for an active discussion on the business impacts of racial and gender diversity, equity, and inclusion within the legal industry. The panel will begin with a plenary session followed by breakout rooms.

This panel of bankruptcy judges from the Eighth and Tenth Circuits will discuss several recent decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Eighth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals and Bankruptcy Appellate Panels, and elsewhere that are likely to impact your bankruptcy practice.

When developing a strategy for an entity in distress, good insolvency lawyers weigh all their options, both in and out of bankruptcy. This presentation will consist of two mock client consultations (one debtor-focused and one creditor-focused) discussing the pros and cons of various alternatives to bankruptcy. The presentation will culminate in a mock status conference before a federal district court in an action where the plaintiff is seeking the appointment of a federal receiver in a loan-enforcement action. This session also will provide an in-depth examination of assignments for the benefit of creditors, as well as state and federal receiverships.