Business Reorganization

When financial trouble hits the closely held business, a more complicated structure often lurks below the surface. What the “family” views as a single business may actually be several entities with a long history of intercompany transactions. Conversely, one generation may have transitioned out of the business but might still be receiving compensation from the business under the control of the next generation. The problems are heightened when your contact at the client is an individual who wears various “hats,” including president, board chair, CEO and potential defendant. How does the professional deal with the conflicts and consequences of transactions with insiders and affiliates, particularly where the financial resources of the business and individuals are already stretched thin before adding the layer of professionals that come with any bankruptcy proceeding? This panel of experienced restructuring professionals will discuss the legal, ethical and financial issues raised by family conflicts, and provide their unique legal insights and practical advice.

This interactive nuts-and-bolts panel will discuss three phases of settlements in the context of a bankruptcy case: (1) negotiating a settlement, including evaluating the benefits of settlement versus litigation risk and expense, negotiating tactics and strategies, and the role of the mediator; (2) drafting term sheets and settlement agreements, an overview of the law on the enforceability of term sheets and settlement agreements (both pre- and post-court approval), and the components of the settlement agreement; and (3) consummating the settlement, with an emphasis on Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9019 standards, the necessary components of a motion to approve compromise, presentation to the bankruptcy court, the bankruptcy court’s role in evaluating the settlement and the court’s order approving the settlement, the nonbankruptcy aspects of a settlement, and post-settlement actions.

This panel will feature a wide-ranging discussion of bankruptcy and other issues affecting the transportation and shipping industries, as well as the current and future financial stresses in the industries. Lessons from the Hanjin Shipping case will also be discussed.

This panel will present a lively discussion of key issues decided in business and consumer bankruptcy cases throughout the country over the past year.

Oyez, oyez, oyez, all attendees are admonished to draw near and give their undivided attention to this panel as it delivers the most recent and updated analyses on this term’s U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

How to keep your equity when those about you are losing theirs (and blaming it on you).

This panel will provide an overview of the oil and gas industry, including a cash flow framework, ownerships and interests and chapter 11 considerations in energy bankruptcies.

The panelists will discuss the various issues that have been raised in the Energy Future Holdings bankruptcy, including make-wholes, the unimpairment opinion, the pre-plan settlement appeal, and interaction with state regulators and the bankruptcy court.

This panel will visit controlling the time and expense of bankruptcy litigation; how bankruptcy’s Code, Rules and process affect the relationship between the parties’ incentives and duties to their constituencies; the continuing viability of unsecured creditors’ committees; claims trading and the increased role of hedge funds in chapter 11 cases; and other topics covered in the Final Report of the ABI Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11.