Business Reorganization

Is chapter 11 the optimal way to liquidate law firms? Jewel v. Boxer claims, drafting suggestions for releases of partners. Non CLE.

This panel includes practitioners and a distinguished bankruptcy judge who will survey current business bankruptcy developments, including a wide range of issues from bankruptcy courts’ jurisdiction, venue and constitutional authority to other practical issues affecting estate professionals, plan confirmation and enforcement, avoidance actions and other bankruptcy-related litigation.

The new U.S. Trustee Fee Guidelines will affect all attorneys and firms who work on larger chapter 11 cases filed on or after November 1st. ABI's panel of experts, including the Director of the EOUST, will discuss some of the ways the new guidelines may change day-to-day operations in firms, issues relating to the new market rate benchmarks, and how these changes might alter insolvency practice. Register today to hear government, attorney and academic perspectives on this important and timely topic.

This panel will explore issues that arise during the operation of commercial chapter 7 cases and how they are being addressed by bankruptcy judges, trustees and attorneys.

This panel will explore the basics of chapter 11 cases through the lenses of bankruptcy judges, U.S. Trustees, debtor's counsel, unsecured creditors’ committees and individual creditors. There will also be a particular focus on litigation strategies and skills, as chapter 11 filings continue to be more sale-oriented, resulting in a greater emphasis on claims and avoidance litigation.

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

This panel will examine the risks associated with purchasing claims and debt positions for strategic purposes in bankruptcy cases. Issues to be discussed include whether a claim can be purchased free and clear of any defenses to the claim (KB Toys), designation of claims (DBSD), and other risks associated with the purchase of secured and unsecured claims.

As if the Bankruptcy Code doesn’t give us enough to ponder, bankruptcy practitioners must consider the impact of the U.S. Tax Code on the decision-making process. This session will address the Internal Revenue Code “section 1398 short year” election and separate entity rules, discharge of tax claims, cancellation of debt (COD) income, and tax issues arising from mortgage modification, foreclosure, and transfer or abandonment of property.

Was the deal ill-conceived? Was the borrower undercapitalized/overleveraged? Was it the victim of intervening circumstances and unforeseeable events? In today’s covenant-light world, more financial players and operating companies’ owners are availing themselves of relatively accessible credit facilities to cash in on the perceived value of entities with attractive balance sheets. But what happens if the company later fails and ends up in bankruptcy? Are redeeming shareholders really supposed to be the guarantors of the deal’s success?

Individual chapter 11 cases pose a number of thorny legal and practical problems for the bankruptcy practitioner. While individual chapter 11 cases contain many elements of corporate chapter 11 and chapter 13 cases, they do not fit comfortably in either chapter. Following the enactment of BAPCPA, courts have struggled to strike the appropriate balance between the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code intended for corporations and those intended for human beings. The result is substantial uncertainty for debtors and creditors alike. This session will explore: Does the absolute priority rule apply to individual chapter 11 debtors? May creditors commence an involuntary chapter 11 case against an individual? May individual chapter 11 debtors pay their living expenses in the ordinary course of business, or is notice and a hearing required? What are the advantages and disadvantages for debtors and creditors in an individual chapter 11 case as compared to a corporate chapter 11 case or a chapter 13 case?