International Insolvency

Hosted by the International and Young & New Members Committees This panel will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of filing bankruptcy under chapter 15 vs. chapter 11 in the U.S. where the prospective debtor is a multinational company, and the potential consequences of each type of filing across the capital structure of the company (e.g., secured creditors, unsecured creditors, equity, etc.). The panelists, all ABI 2017 ""40 Under 40"" honorees, will contrast the insolvency laws of specific countries with the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, and explain how these comparisons can ultimately guide a company's decision on whether to file in the U.S. and, if so, under what chapter.

This panel will explore the effectiveness (and, sometimes, lack thereof) of creditor strategies to restrict by contract a borrower’s ability to obtain bankruptcy relief, whether by limiting the ability of a corporate borrower to seek bankruptcy relief without certain stakeholder approvals, limiting the type of available bankruptcy relief, choosing which country’s bankruptcy laws will apply to an insolvency proceeding involving the borrower, bankruptcy-remote structuring techniques, and other means. For example, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently upheld a “golden share” arrangement whereby a creditor was able to prohibit the debtor limited liability company from filing bankruptcy; and in the international realm, choice of law clauses have at times limited a debtor’s ability to obtain relief under the Model Law for Cross-Border Insolvency. This panel will also explore variations in international public policies with respect to restrictions on a borrower’s ability to seek bankruptcy relief.

This panel will examine the effects thus far of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), as well as Puerto Rico’s economy, including where it came from, where it is now and where it is going.

This panel will explore the roles, responsibilities, benefits, and liabilities in using independent directors through multi-jurisdictional insolvency proceedings and will discuss using directors strategically throughout the life of a company. The panelists will explain the three typical stages of a company where directors could be instructed — going concern, insolvency, and emergence from a restructuring — then explain the roles and responsibilities at each of these appointments. The session would also overlay the jurisdictional distinctions among various administrative proceedings, including offshore liquidations, U.S. bankruptcy, U.S. receiverships, and common law receiverships. The panelists will offer real-world examples to show the differences and how the role of the director is utilized, as well as what is at stake for them, the company, the creditors and the investors.

What are critical-access hospitals, and why are they important? This panel will discuss alternative solutions to producing additional cash flow for failing hospitals, which need to be closely scrutinized by health care professionals familiar with licensing, reimbursement, anti-kickbacks and patient-brokering limitations. The panel will also cover violations of the False Claims Act, Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute, as well as state law cases on patient-brokering and the questioning of medical necessity, clinical laboratory outreach programs, physician employment arrangements involving telemedicine, prescription programs and compounding, criminal statutes and DOJ/state regulator issues, how to reorganize legally, dealing with CMS (Medicare/Medicaid), nongovernmental and third-party commercial payers during a restructuring, and general rules on pass-through billing for outreach programs.

Recent developments in offshore law have increased the effectiveness of the tools available to trace and recover assets through the offshore insolvency process. This panel will be conducted in a formal debate style, using the format of first proposition followed by first opposition, then second proposition followed by second opposition. The debates will look at the illegality defense, clawback claims, the dishonesty test and foreign officeholder recognition, among other issues. Each debate will be seven minutes with a four-minute closing, followed by a vote.

This panel will discuss the role that alternative dispute resolution (ADR) can and does play in bankruptcy, starting with the tension between bankruptcy and ADR, as all ADR processes conflict with bankruptcy’s goal of centralizing estate administration into a single proceeding. In the U.S., this tension is most prevalent when a creditor seeks to enforce a pre-petition arbitration agreement. The panel will next examine the role that mediation plays in U.S. bankruptcy cases by examining the types of issues and disputes that are amenable to resolution via mediation. Finally, the panel will explore the power and potential of ADR in the cross-border arena, looking at models for how cross-border insolvency issues have been handled procedurally and identifying types of disputes that are well-suited to resolution via ADR.

This panel will discuss recent Chapter 15 and cross-border cases, including those involving the scope of discovery available to foreign representatives, § 109 eligibility, venue issues, and parallel case concerns. The panel will also discuss logistical and practical solutions in running chapter 15 cases.

This program will include discussion of a series of issues that arise in adversary proceedings. They will include Merchant Cash Advance Chapter 5 litigation; trustees attempted 10 year IRS statute of limitations use in section 544 actions; license issues on contested sales (Lubrizol); jurisdiction in international cases). This program is designed for lawyers with beginner level experience in adversary proceedings.