Legislation

Please join a distinguished panel of Squire Patton Boggs professionals, including former House Speaker John Boehner and current senior U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), who will share their thoughts on how best to safely and gradually re-open business across America. In addition, they will provide first-hand insight and guidance regarding the existing stabilization programs (CARES Act, Main Street Lending, PPP), the important role that U.S. Treasury is playing during the pandemic, and the most recent flurry of funding initiatives, including the $3 trillion HEROES Act that has been proposed in Congress in an effort to manage the far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 crisis.

Hosted by the Young and New Member Committee The panel will discuss the Small Business Reorganization Act’s requirement that a trustee (or debtor-in-possession) take into account a defendant’s defenses before bringing an action. This amendment, which is applicable in all cases, requires the plaintiff to engage in reasonable due diligence regarding a defendant’s affirmative defenses before initiating a preference action. The panel will discuss different approaches to satisfy the new requirement.

Please join our distinguished panel of experts as they decipher the most recent federal bailout programs and developments. The panel will also discuss how best to successfully navigate the liquidity issues arising in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Join our panel of experts as they explore the recently enacted provisions within the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to temporarily raise the debt limit for small businesses looking to file under the new subchapter V of the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA). In addition, the panel will explain how these new laws help people in chapter 13 by allowing them more time to complete their plans and retain government benefits.

Signed into law on August 23, 2019, the “Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need (HAVEN) Act of 2019” grants significant relief to consumer debtors that have military ties. Are you up to speed on the HAVEN Act and how to use it in your practice? This panel of experts will discuss the events leading up to the HAVEN Act’s passage, the new exemption from Current Monthly Income created by the Act, suggestions on how to talk with your clients about military or VA benefits and documents, and how the Act applies to your pending cases.

The long countdown to the Small Business Reorganization Act (SBRA) is over! The law takes effect on February 19. Thousands of struggling small businesses will now have a faster, cheaper and more efficient process for filing Chapter 11. SBRA includes several significant changes to current law. Join our panel to update your legal toolbox so you’ll be ready when businesses come calling. Learn more at: https://www.abi.org/sbra

The panel will discuss proposed and newly enacted legislation and how it will affect bankruptcy practice. The panel will review the Haven Act and other veteran legislation, the small business reorganization bill, the chapter 12 debt limit bill, various student loan bills and other legislation.

Join experienced practitioners in a historical look at the U.S. Bankruptcy Code from 41 years ago to today, and where the Code may go in the future. Learn the challenges of practicing under the Bankruptcy Act in the 1970s, from the “first meeting of creditors” in front of a bankruptcy judge to reaffirmation of debt and filing two petitions for a husband and wife. How did attorneys, debtors, creditors and the courts adjust to the Code? How has the court and bar changed in terms of diversity? What is the importance of local precedent, and how was and is it disseminated? With the formalization of the bankruptcy courts, how did the judicial appointment, assignment of cases, and general contact and communication with the courts change? From the U.S. Trustee pilot program to the current model, how has the chapter 7 trustee appointment process changed, and what are the effects? How did local practice change, and how does it continue to evolve? What are the results of the exemption compromise and its effects on current practice?

Take a look forward as this panel predicts where the Code will be in the next 40 years. Will venue be mandated or constricted? How will student loans be handled? What technologies will be in the courtrooms of the future? Does current case law foreshadow what is to come? How will the international insolvency landscape change? Will there even be a need for bankruptcy?