Practice and Procedure

A star-studded cast of ABI notables will perform in this entertaining and informative Las Vegas production, written and produced exclusively for ABI. Reviewing the rules of evidence has certainly never been this fun. This is one luncheon that you won’t want to miss! Come for the food, stay for the show; we guarantee that you will learn something from this scholarly revue.

Do you know the correct procedural answer, and even if the answer is “yes,” can you explain to your client why the practical answer might still be “no”? Corporate bankruptcy attorneys need to understand the procedural and practical effects of a bankruptcy judge’s discretion in key and routine motion practice. This session is great for younger attorneys who are learning the ropes, experienced attorneys who could use a procedural refresher, and bankruptcy judges who want to be sensitive to the practitioner’s viewpoint as to why a procedural appeal right might not always be a practically accessible appeal right.

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide three bankruptcy cases this term: (1) Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Arkison, which addresses the constitutionality of the district court referral system for bankruptcy cases and consent to jurisdiction where separation of powers is at issue; (2) Clark v. Rameker, which involves the availability of exemptions for inherited IRAs; and (3) Law v. Siegel, which deals with a bankruptcy court’s authority under § 105 to surcharge exemptions. In each of these cases, either the parties are represented by First Circuit practitioners and law firms, or the underlying circuit splits involve precedents from the First Circuit. This panel will offer an insider’s view of the issues and outcomes.

The panel will discuss due diligence requirements before bringing suits, suits or demands made for leverage, asserting claims in excess of estate value, and ethics complaints and litigation advantages.

This panel will take an objective look at the viability and the purposes of the proposed national plan form and the amendments to the bankruptcy rules related thereto.

State courts are increasingly relaxing their rules to allow attorneys to provide a-la-carte services to parties in cases appearing before them. However, bankruptcy courts have been reluctant to do so. Is it because the Bankruptcy Code is so complicated? Or is it because what is good for parties in state court is not good for those in bankruptcy court? This panel of experts will examine whether counsel can provide limited representation services to parties in bankruptcy matters and maintain their ethical obligations to the client.

How can you best advise a client who is unsure whether the stay or the discharge applies? How can you protect a debtor’s benefits offered by the automatic stay and the discharge? Stay violation litigation and discharge analysis are just two of the topics that this expert panel will examine.

Texts, IMs, emails and metadata might contain information that could be helpful — or could be harmful to your client’s claims. You might want to obtain that information from your adversary, but you will undoubtedly also want to see your own client’s information before your adversary does. Where do you look? This expert panel will discuss and debate the myriad electronic discovery issues that exist and the challenges facing parties in bankruptcy cases, including asserting and avoiding claims of spoliation. It is a discussion you will want to be a part of — before your client hits “DELETE.”