Business

This panel will discuss safe harbors after Merit Management, the reach of the UFTA after Crystallex, and the preemption of creditor claims after Tribune and Physiotherapy Holdings, and will take a look at where the law is heading.

This session will discuss hot-button issues relating to claims trading, including the Supreme Court’s ruling of nonstatutory insider status as clear error, as opposed to de novo (In re The Village at Lakeridge LLC); eligibility to vote an assigned claim (In re ASHINC Corp. and In re LightSquared Inc.); disallowance of a transferred claim subject to preference challenge (In re K-B Toys); and other legal issues common to claims trading and litigation finance in bankruptcy.

This session will cover a number of recent confirmation hot topics, including refinancing of secured loans in bankruptcy (BOKF NA v. Momentive Performance Materials Inc..); rights offerings and unfair discrimination (In re TCI 2 Holdings LLC); substantive consolidation with nondebtors (In re Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis); and per plan, not per debtor, confirmation (In the Matter of Transwest Resort Properties Inc.).

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This panel will feature a roundtable discussion with bankruptcy judges from the Ninth Circuit and across the country, who will share their thoughts and perspectives — and take questions from the audience — on topics of current interest in both business and consumer cases.

Blockchain technology has the tech and business sectors abuzz. Legislators, regulators and the judiciary struggle to keep up with the breakneck pace of development. Much of the initial focus has been on Bitcoin, the virtual currency that was the first major blockchain-based application, but interest and activity by both industry and policymakers is quickly shifting toward broader uses of blockchains. A blockchain, also sometimes called a distributed ledger, is essentially an online database that, instead of being controlled by a central authority, is created, managed and used in a decentralized way by its users on a peer-to-peer network. The shared, transparent and unalterable nature of a blockchain creates the perfect environment for the transfer of assets (physical, informational or financial). A blockchain network eliminates the need for a central record system or intermediary to establish ownership and trust, allowing individuals with no previous relationship to exchange such assets in a secure manner. This technology is still in its infancy, but it is fast giving rise to “initial coin offerings” as a new form of raising capital, massive (and wildly speculative) investment in various virtual currencies, and other transformative technologies. Although blockchains’ possibilities are exciting, the uncertainty and instability surrounding many blockchain applications, certainly including cryptocurrencies, is likely to result in significant distressed scenarios requiring specialized knowledge of both this extraordinary technology and insolvency law.

This panel will cover the effects of the recent Supreme Court decision under § 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code, valuation of avoidance actions, pre-bankruptcy planning, creditor intervention, and conflicts preventing individual debtors from pursuing claims.

This panel will discuss the process of developing and implementing post-confirmation trusts, including the transfer of litigation claims to a trust, claimant direct claims vs. company claims, trustee with discretion vs. board with veto power, voting by beneficiaries, reporting, distribution issues, funding, post-confirmation jurisdiction and involvement of the bankruptcy court, trustee liability, quasi-judicial immunity and indemnification, and interim and final distributions and tax considerations.

This panel will cover issues relating to the discharge of tax claims, objecting to tax claims and the utility of § 505, the consequences of not having tax returns on file as of the petition date, and other tax-related issues that impact debtors.