Business Reorganization

ABI has embarked on a significant review of the Bankruptcy Code of 1978. It has been more than 30 years since the Code was enacted, and a consensus has emerged that the current law needs an overhaul. The world has changed, including the financial environment and the operation of the markets, and the Code even as amended was not designed to deal with many of these changes. The ABI Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 will study and propose reforms to chapter 11 and related statutory provisions that will better balance the goals of effectuating the effective reorganization of business debtors, with the attendant preservation and expansion of jobs and the maximization and realization of asset values for all creditors and stakeholders. Presenters will outline the work that the Commission has conducted to date, its mission and its findings. Further discussion will map out a way forward and perhaps include some crystal ball work to see what reforms might — ahem — emerge from Congress.

This panel will discuss Freedom Industries, fracking and other issues.

This panel will cover issues that arise when property of the estate isn’t property of the estate, tax status issues and tax attributes, including NOLs.

Once again, dear fans, Boris Badenough is involved in a hot chapter 11 case — this time involving Time & Lord, the owner of a failed movie franchise, “Fat Contests” (based on the book of the same name about an eat-to-the-death contest involving ordinary citizens in a future ruled by junk-food companies). Boris’s wife, Sophia, has been retained by Dallick Capital, the debtor’s investment banker, to handle the sale of the debtor’s intellectual property. However, Tardis Industries, a potential purchaser and creditor, has a problem with Dallick’s disclosure related to Sophia in its employment application. Further, the debtor’s lead counsel, Ciber & Mann PSC, may also have some disclosure issues as one of Boris’ subsidiaries, Master Industries, is one of their clients — and Boris is now interested in buying the debtor’s intellectual property. Will Sophia remain true to her fiduciary duty to her client, or will she give Boris the deal of the century, and will everyone give disclosure a chance?

Hosted By: Legislation Committee Congress recently proposed legislation to repeal Title II of Dodd-Frank (the “Orderly Liquidation Authority,” or “OLA”) and replace it with chapter 14 of the Bankruptcy Code. This 75 minute webinar will provide a basic overview of the OLA, and will introduce participants to the current chapter 14 proposal providing for the reorganization or liquidation of large financial institutions. The discussion will explore the policies underlying chapter 14 and concerns surrounding the limits of chapter 11, as well as the potential effects that this proposed legislation would have on large financial institutions and bankruptcy practitioners. SPEAKERS Thomas Jackson University of Rochester Rochester, NY Stephen Lubben Seton Hall University South Orange, N.J. Reena Sahni Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP New York Dena Kessler, Moderator BakerHostetler Washington, D.C.

Find out the latest happenings in all of the Southern Districts. What can impact your practice? What should?

The opening line to any discussion about the current trends in chapter 11 cases is often, “Everything is a 363 sale.” Well, not everything: The other way that companies are seeking to minimize the risks of chapter 11 is through the prepack. This panel will discuss the mechanics of, and law behind, a prepackaged chapter 11 case, including plan-support agreements, restrictions on solicitation and how you comply with them, existing restrictions regarding those parties-in-interest that are negotiating the prepack once they start negotiations and receive non-public information, how you solicit votes pre-petition from those not directly involved in the prepack negotiations, and whether at the end of the day you can really bind anybody. The panel will also discuss the risks of overreaching in a plan-support agreement, including a discussion of the Innkeepers decision issued by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.