Business

Provocative Ideas Worth Spreading in the Bankruptcy Community: • Divisive Mergers • Retail Bankruptcies: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going • Derivatives in Bankruptcy: The Basics • New UST Fees and Their Potential Impact

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?

Taking in the perspectives of the debtor and secured lenders, including the appropriateness to decline to support a filing in a jurisdiction that one believes is “unfavorable” in terms of permitted financing terms and covenants, how does a practitioner decide where to file? What goes into the decision? Why are the Sixth Circuit courts not as popular for selection? When should a venue be challenged?

The judges will discuss ethical issues involved with the representation of parties in bankruptcy proceedings. Topics for discussion include pre-filing obligations (e.g., investigation of assets, conflicts, employment and fee-sharing agreements), duties upon filing the case (e.g., disclosures, fee applications, § 341 meetings, adversary proceedings), and ongoing and other obligations (e.g., fee disgorgement, duties throughout a chapter 13 proceeding, sanctions). The discussion will consider federal bankruptcy statutes, federal and state rules of procedure, and state rules for attorney conduct.

Take it to the limits in this commercial bankruptcy session while examining whether lenders should push for deal terms that are not contemplated by, nor consistent with, local rules or practice concerning financing orders. In an “emergency” filing that is followed by an immediate asset sale, why aren’t directors and officers exposed for undue delay, and what happens to that claim?

Join experts from the Sixth Circuit and across the country as they debate which bankruptcy decision has been the most important since the U.S. Bankruptcy Code was adopted.