Vermont State Approved Sessions

Contested evidentiary hearings in chapter 11 confirmation battles have one near-constant attribute: They are expert witness-intensive undertakings. Whether relating to the value of a secured lender’s collateral, the appropriate discount rate to be applied in valuing a payment stream provided under a plan, compliance with the best-interests-of-creditors test, feasibility or any number of other potentially contested issues, presenting expert testimony is at least worth considering, if not required. Panelists will focus on the presentation of expert testimony in contested commercial chapter 11 cases, identify the issues that may require expert testimony, discuss how to locate an appropriate expert, and offer their views on how to prepare and present an expert though the discovery and trial stages. This will not be a presentation on the same old real estate appraisal evidence that most experienced practitioners can recite in their sleep (“I considered the income approach, the comparable-sale approach and the cost approach.” YAWN). Rather, the panel will focus on presenting, and cross-examining, the sorts of sophisticated financial experts that testify regarding the various elements of plan confirmation.

The claims trading marketplace has been growing rapidly over the past several years and has become commonplace in most significant chapter 11 cases. Fueling this activity are private-equity and hedge funds with varying motives and interests. This panel will explore the types of trades taking place and the mechanics of claims trading, and examine the influence that hedge funds are having on chapter 11 practice, as well as their practical impact when this “new” constituent has a seat at the table.

This is the second in a series of presentations geared toward understanding the deal-document side of a common transaction in a chapter 11 case. The panel will focus on DIP financing agreements, specifically what is behind the representations and warranties, covenants, default provisions and remedy provisions: Do differences exist if the DIP lender is the pre-petition lender rather than a new provider of funding? Are there deal-document differences if it is a syndicated lender group rather than a single lender? Just as important is what the panel will not focus on: This is not intended to be a discussion of § 364 and the means for obtaining approval of, or objecting to, a DIP financing motion. Rather, the presentation will be by those who understand and can explain the provisions of, the rationale behind, and the drafting and negotiation of the DIP financing agreement’s provisions.

Using Available Technologies in Bankruptcy Litigation — From the Basics to the Cutting Edge

IP Issues in Bankruptcy Deals

Your pleadings and briefs are the first, often the last and typically the most comprehensive opportunity you have to persuade a court. This panel will provide you with essential guidance for effective and persuasive written advocacy at both the trial and appellate levels.

Following an introductory video clip about the dangers of social networking in litigation, a panel featuring a judge, a trustee and a practitioner will lead a discussion on the inherent risks in using social networking, some of the ethical issues involved, and suggestions for how to manage these business and ethical risks that are associated with the ever-changing world of social networking.

This panel will discuss a variety of issues surrounding the use of plan-support agreements, including their structure, goals and benefits, their impact on non-signatories, disclosure and solicitation issues, lessons learned from recent cases (Innkeepers and Indianapolis Downs), and the applicability of plan-support agreements in middle-market cases.

Two litigants will argue plan confirmation issues before a panel of three judges. These issues may include treatment of make-whole premiums, cure and reinstatement to avoid payment of default interest, plan releases and exculpation, whether multiple debtors must each satisfy § 1129 requirements in a nonsubstantively consolidated plan, plan settlements, post-petition lock-up agreements, the dischargeability of unknown claims, death traps and gifting.

This panel will discuss the variety of issues that can arise in an individual chapter 11 case and will cover the issue of limited representation — the subject that the Ethics Task Force report presented at this year’s Annual Spring Meeting. This session will also be of interest to counsel representing lenders, who are often just as befuddled when it comes to handling individual chapter 11 cases.