Venue/Jurisdiction

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.

With the Supreme Court due to hear oral argument on a critical bankruptcy case on January 14, ABI has released the following free video preview of the upcoming High Court bankruptcy cases. This 75 minute program features ABI Resident Scholar Kara Bruce talking with noted appellate advocate and law professor Eric Brunstad (Dechert LLP; Hartford, Conn.). Eric has argued many cases before the Court and is an expert in bankruptcy appellate practice. He discusses in depth Law v. Siegel, which questions whether the court may use its general equitable authority under §105 of the Bankruptcy Code to surcharge a debtor's exempt assets, and Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Arkison (In re Bellingham), which will address the bankruptcy court's authority to adjudicate Article III matters. The latter case will be argued in January and represents another opportunity for the Court to clarify (or reverse) its holding in Stern v. Marshall. He also provides a candid view of what it is like to argue a case before the Court.

A Preview of upcoming Supreme Court bankruptcy cases, featuring ABI Resident Scholar Kara Bruce talking with Eric Brunstad of Dechert LLP (Hartford, Conn.) to preview the bankruptcy cases that the Supreme Court will consider during its 2013 term. Brunstad, who has argued many cases before the Court and is an expert in bankruptcy appellate practice, discusses in depth Law v. Siegel, which questions whether the court may use its general equitable authority under §105 of the Bankruptcy Code to surcharge a debtor's exempt assets, and Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Arkison (In re Bellingham), which will address the bankruptcy court's authority to adjudicate Article III matters. He also provides a candid view of what it is like to argue a case before the Court and an in-depth analysis of the issues involved with the upcoming cases. Here is a short preview:

Plenary Session

This panel will discuss recent Supreme Court cases.

This panel will re-examine the statutory bases for venue, proper and improper, as well as recent and past case law applying those statutory provisions to either keep a case where it was filed to to transfer it to a different district.

Find out the latest happenings in all the Southern Districts. What can impact your practice? What should?

Recent cases have evidenced one form of jurisdictional migration and two forms of venue migration. As to the jurisdictional migration, international companies with virtually no U.S. connection seek to, and generally succeed at, establishing a sufficient U.S. presence to file a Chapter 11 in the United States because, if there are reorganization proceedings in the countries that are their COMIs, they are perceived as inadequate (Marco Polo, Omega, GenMar). What has worked for non-U.S. companies seeking to invoke U.S. Bankruptcy Court jurisdiction, and what is the legal authority? Venue migration is nothing new--debtors file in their place of incorporation rather than the venue in which their headquarters or primary operations are. What are the factors that go into that decision? Finally, sometimes debtors are forced to migrate back. What factors have resulted in a change of venue? (Houghton Mifflin and Patriot Coal).