2018

The restaurant industry, particularly the fast food and fast casual sectors, is under pressure from rising food and labor costs, the changing dining habits of millennials, and decreased foot traffic at retail shopping centers. This panel will examine those trends and explore potential strategies to maximize enterprise value, both in and out of bankruptcy court.

All types of hospitals — from acute care to highly specialized — are experiencing financial challenges. This is especially true for rural and nonprofit hospitals, which often rely heavily on slower and lower payments from Medicare and Medicaid. Often the best (or only) solution for a distressed hospital is a sale to a larger hospital operator or system. This panel will examine the unique challenges facing buyers and sellers in connection with such distressed hospital sales.

This panel will examine the factors considered by debtors and their advisors when determining where to file a large chapter 11 business case, and the occasional efforts to have the case transferred to a venue that is arguably more convenient to creditors, employees and/or shareholders. The panel will also discuss the pending legislation known as the Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act of 2018 (S. 2282) — as well as the arguments both supporting and opposing its passage.

This panel will discuss the chapter 7 trustee’s ability to avoid and surcharge the taxing authority’s secured lien for the benefit of the estate. The panelists will review in detail 11 U.S.C. § 724 and related Code sections, the proper procedural approach, preemption, and related § 363 sales and their implication on property that debtor’s counsel thought was safe or exempt.

Creditor and equity committees have an important role in maximizing recoveries chapter 11 cases. Both formal and ad hoc committee can dramatically influence the course of a chapter 11 and the ultimate shape of a chapter 11 plan. This panel will explore legal tools and practical strategies available to committees in seeking to deliver better results for their constituents, as well as the risks involved and the likelihood of success.

This panel will discuss the challenges facing colleges and universities, and the financial advisor’s role in assisting stakeholders in addressing these challenges. The panelists will discuss the dynamics associated with turning around a college or university and how that process differs from the kinds of turnarounds that most professionals are familiar with.

Rarely has a hashtag so completely captured the urgency and gravity of a major shift in national consciousness. This panel of experts will lead an interactive discussion on issues confronting the legal profession in the #MeToo world, examining legal, practical and ethical considerations through a series of vignettes. What should be done about the difficult client that represents a significant portion of firm revenue? What are best practices for lawyers in supervisory and managerial roles? What resources are available to attorneys who find themselves subjected to inappropriate or actionable conduct? How may explicit or implicit bias and harassment play out in the adversary system and in negotiations, litigation and the courtroom? Finally, what is the role of the judiciary in addressing these critical issues? The panel will tackle these questions head-on in a plenary ripped from today's headlines.

This panel will review the implications — both good and bad — of the new plan and Rule changes from the debtor, creditor and trustee perspective and discuss what is working, what is not, workarounds, and what further reform is needed.

Many of the challenges that exist in complex business cases are equally at play in small commercial cases. But whereas time and resources might be more abundant in the larger cases, small chapter 11 restructurings frequently demand a more organized — and affordable — process. In this session, the panelists will discuss strategies for efficient reorganizations in small commercial cases by examining different structures for maximizing success, including out-of-court restructuring alternatives, prearranged filings, disincorporation (the transfer of all assets to an individual owner, who then files) and mergers (the combining of entities to avoid multiple filings). The panel will also review Bankruptcy Code and local rules that can be utilized for a simpler, more efficient restructuring process.

Recent court decisions will impact future commercial restructuring. The panel will provide an overview of the four most pressing issues in commercial restructuring over the past year, including debt recharacterization, third party releases, cram down interest rates, and rights of dissenting bondholders in out of court workouts. In each instance, our expert panelists will provide an overview of the issue at hand, recent case law developments, and considerations of their impact on future restructurings.