Free Sessions (no CLE)

This panel will discuss the obstacles that debtors and creditors face when attempting to effectuate a sale of a debtor’s assets through a fast-track § 363 sale motion at the outset of a case. The discussion will include (a) the advantages and disadvantages, from both the debtor and creditor perspective, of selling a debtor’s assets through a motion as opposed to a plan, (b) limitations of “free and clear” relief, (c) valuation and marketing on a short timeframe, and (d) insider transactions.

Since more individuals have been seeking relief under chapter 11, this panel will explore many of the challenging issues surrounding individual chapter 11 cases and things that practitioners need to know to successfully navigate these kinds of cases, including post-petition expenditures, plan requirements and absolute-priority issues, retention and employment issues, fiduciary duties and related items.

No asset cases, not so fast. The treasure trove of invisible assets: avoidable transfers, fraud claims, clawbacks and other approaches to finding assets in assetless cases.

This panel includes practitioners and a distinguished bankruptcy judge who will survey current business bankruptcy developments, including a wide range of issues from bankruptcy courts’ jurisdiction, venue and constitutional authority to other practical issues affecting estate professionals, plan confirmation and enforcement, avoidance actions and other bankruptcy-related litigation.

This panel will address current developments and improvements in DIP financing, including incurring credit in the ordinary course, priming liens, fairness, adequate protection, loan fees, mootness and good faith.

Business Debate Resolved: Success fees for financial advisors should be eliminated. (Sides to be chosen by a coin toss at the beginning of the session.) Candace C. Carlyon Shea & Carlyon Ltd.; Las Vegas Frank A. Merola Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP; Los Angeles Judicial Debate Resolved: Claims benefiting from third-party guaranties may be separately classified. Pro: Hon. Barry Russell U.S. Bankruptcy Court (C.D. Calif.); Los Angeles Con: Hon. Eileen W. Hollowell U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Ariz.); Tucson Consumer Debate Resolved: Section 523(a)(8) limiting discharge of student loans should be eliminated. Pro: Kasey Cameron Nye Mesch, Clark & Rothschild, PC; Tucson, Ariz. Con: Madeleine C. Wanslee Gust Rosenfeld, PLC; Phoenix

This single plenary session will feature a policy-oriented panel discussing the reasons for municipal insolvency nationally, with a particular focus on the New England Region. The panel of highly-experienced government officials, municipal receivers and thought leaders will review and debate the challenges faced by state and local leaders in their efforts to address the financial stress facing many of our cities and towns. Among the issues to be addressed are: the pressures of labor contracts, legacy benefits, and pension and retirement plans on municipal budgets; creditor and bondholder relations; sections of the code that impact these issues; and trends arising from the most recent cases. The panel may also touch on needed Chapter 9 reform. Lawyers, lenders, insolvency specialists, as well as those interested in the future of our cities and towns, will be interested in this program.

The information you glean from Part I needs to be viewed with the practical approach found in Part II. If you are challenging dischargeability, how do you prove it? All debtors are in a hardship, but what is an undue hardship, and again, what evidence should you have at the ready to prove the debtor’s case. Using a short vignette, this panel will address the evidentiary and practical quandaries that must be overcome in order to plead and prove a case for dischargeability of loans under Section 523(a)(8).