Consumer Bankruptcy

In an informative and fun game show format, this panel will present a whole host of valuation issues that arise in bankruptcy.

This panel will discuss the various obstacles attorneys can encounter when collecting fees. The discussion will include enforcement of contractual and statutory rights to payment, over- and undersecured claims, preference claims arising from the payment of attorneys’ fees, fees incurred defending fee application objections, and other related issues.

This panel will include a survey of recent developments in consumer bankruptcy law and will discuss when filing a proof of claim for a stale claim is a violation of the FDCPA (e.g., CFPB v. Hanna Law Firm, chapter 13 attorneys’ fees after the Supreme Court decision of Viegelahn v. Harris, chapter 7 trustees’ ability to prime certain liens in favor of other creditors using § 724, state of student loan discharges), among other issues.

This panel will discuss how consumer attorneys can use chapter 5 avoidance actions and other adversary proceedings in chapter 7 and 13 cases.

As the value of commercial and residential real property is often in flux, especially in light of the Great Recession of 2008, the rights and obligations of interested parties, as well as their incentives and motivations, can change. This panel will discuss the implications of changing valuations of residential real property in chapter 7 and 13 cases, as well as residential and commercial real property in chapter 11 cases.

The panel will discuss the ins and outs of business development and the various ways attorneys and their firms market their practices.

This session will highlight particularly interesting case law developments to date in 2016 and their impact on bankruptcy law and practice.

BAPCPA established several hurdles that debtors have to overcome in order to obtain a discharge of a confirmed plan. Confirmation of the plan in many respects is only the beginning of the process. This panel, which includes two chapter 13 trustees and an experienced creditors’ counsel and is moderated by an experienced debtors’ counsel, will explore the issues that arise after confirmation, including the completion of required tasks for a debtor to obtain a discharge. Issues to be discussed include plan modification, requirements imposed upon lenders, and duties imposed upon debtors to obtain discharge.

This panel of chapter 13 trustees will provide an in-depth analysis of the necessary steps to reach confirmation of your chapter 13 plan, including the necessary steps and analysis that are required to secure their recommendation. The panel judge will give his perspective of the mega dockets and volume of issues that are typically brought before the court.

This panel will compare and contrast actions under §§ 707 and 727, with input from debtor’s counsel, the U.S. Trustee, the court and the chapter 7 trustee. The panel will discuss other current issues affecting parties in consumer bankruptcies, such as effects on the system caused by pro se debtors and how the system is handling those debtors, and how the new forms are affecting the effectiveness of the system.