Practice and Procedure

A prospective client tells you that they need to file bankruptcy. This panel will help you navigate all the basic decision-making processes that you might need to consider, including alternatives, when to get a financial advisor involved, why you might pick a workout instead, and when to file and not forbear.Learning Objectives:Identify alternatives to bankruptcy and understand when those options may be more appropriate for a client.Evaluate a client's financial circumstances to determine whether bankruptcy or a non-bankruptcy workout strategy is the most effective path forward.Recognize when to involve outside professionals — such as financial advisors or restructuring specialists — and how their expertise can inform the decision-making process."

What do you do when your client comes to you in an emergency, and what is and is not an emergency for the purpose of first-day motions? How do you prepare for a bankruptcy filing with virtually no time to spare? How do you stabilize operations through a short transition, and what do you do if there is an out-of-the-gate motion to dismiss for bad faith? This panel will aim to help you keep your calm in a crisis so that your efforts culminate in a successful case.Learning Objectives:Attendees will recognize common crisis scenarios that arise immediately before and after a bankruptcy filing and distinguish true emergencies requiring first-day relief.Attendees will develop strategies for rapidly preparing a bankruptcy filing and first-day motions when time and information are limited.Attendees will examine practical approaches for stabilizing operations and responding to early case challenges, including motions to dismiss for alleged bad faith.

Featuring the regional judges of the Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference, this session will strive to answer questions you have on current issues.Learning Objectives:Attendees will identify current issues and emerging trends in bankruptcy practice as viewed from the perspective of regional bankruptcy judges.Attendees will gain insight into judicial expectations, procedural preferences, and effective advocacy strategies in bankruptcy court.Attendees will analyze common challenges and questions arising in bankruptcy cases and how courts are addressing them in practice.

Artificial intelligence has rapidly evolved from a source of concern to an essential tool for legal practice. This interactive session moves beyond warnings to focus on how bankruptcy attorneys and judges can harness AI’s power today. Through real-world examples and live demonstrations, panelists will explore practical applications—from covenant analysis and motion drafting to case preparation and fee applications.Learn how to craft effective AI prompts, understand the differences between public and private AI systems, and discover tools that transform routine legal tasks. Whether representing clients or presiding over cases, attendees will gain actionable strategies to work more efficiently while maintaining accuracy and ethical standards.

In this session, we will explore the unique stressors facing members of the bench and bar and how these pressures affect professional performance and personal well‑being, with a particular focus on the negative impacts of multitasking and distraction and how they can be managed to improve overall well-being.

You are in the late stages of trial preparation — just 60 days before trial. You are past the summary-judgment stage, mediation has been unsuccessful, and discovery is complete. Absent a Hail Mary or surprise settlement, you are going to trial. This session will talk you through, and offer tips and advice for, your final trial preparations.

This session provides a practical roadmap for preparing and trying issues in consumer bankruptcy cases, with a particular focus on common consumer trial issues such as asset valuation and exemption disputes. Moderated by Judge Vaughan, the panel brings together judicial and practitioner perspectives to guide attendees through the critical stages of trial readiness, including pretrial preparation, discovery strategy, subpoena practice, evidentiary considerations, and effective trial presentation. In addition, the session addresses the financial considerations facing consumer practitioners, including strategies for structuring fees, obtaining court approval, and effectively getting paid for litigating consumer matters. The session emphasizes practical tips, best practices, and common pitfalls encountered in consumer trials. 

What really happens when the Federal Rules of Evidence collide with the practical realities of bankruptcy court? Too often, practitioners raise objections that sound right but fail to move the needle with bankruptcy judges. Others overlook evidentiary opportunities that could have made or broken their client’s position. In this lively and highly practical 75-minute program, seasoned bankruptcy litigators will unpack how evidence is actually admitted, challenged and weighed in contested matters, adversary proceedings and other bankruptcy hearings — and why relying on “trial court instincts” can sometimes cost you the case.This webinar will cut through the myths and focus on what works — and what doesn’t — in the unique procedural and evidentiary environment of bankruptcy litigation. Whether you represent debtors, creditors, trustees or other parties in interest, the panelists will help you sharpen your courtroom instincts and litigate more effectively in bankruptcy court. You’ll gain a stronger understanding of how to use the Rules of Evidence as both a sword and a shield — and how to avoid the common traps that can turn a winning case into a losing one.

This panel will address the expectations for professionalism and civility in the conduct of litigation in and out of court, examining the different perspectives of the U.S., U.K. and Colombia in regards to their respective ethics rules and cultural frameworks.