2014

The panel will discuss employment and benefits issues that frequently arise in chapter 11 cases, including employment contracts, retention and incentive plans, the WARN Act, and the impact of filings on employee benefit plans.

This panel will discuss the assessment of a subject company and its situation, the nature of the assets in the distressed situation (i.e., company-specific or endemic of the industry), and other considerations for valuing companies in distress.

Madoff: Ponzi Presentation

If you are still printing or PDFing documents in your bankruptcy matters, you could be missing out on other powerful ways to analyze information, save money and time, and shed light on facts that might otherwise go unnoticed. As bankruptcy courts now require the production of electronic documents, learn what can you do avoid headaches, costs and sanctions . In this session, panelists will provide lessons from litigation that are applicable from the simplest bankruptcy to the most massive Madoff-type action — what you need to know about e-discovery, from how to request and produce electronic records (and why you want to), tips for negotiating with your adversaries, steps to take to avoid sanctions, and new technologies to deal with massive amounts of data.

This panel will present a spirited discussion of what is and is not appropriate to include in first-day motions in chapter 11 cases by examining a hypothetical case that includes an “overachiever” debtor’s counsel and zealous DIP financing counsel, how a judge might rule on these issues, and how the FRBP and any local rules may dictate the result.

This panel will look at several bankruptcy mortgage mediation programs around the country, and will discuss what parties need to do in order to make mortgage mediations successful in consumer bankruptcy cases.

This panel will take an objective look at the viability and the purposes of the proposed national plan form and the amendments to the bankruptcy rules related thereto.

This panel will discuss the current status of the law related to lien-stripping in chapter 7 and chapter 20 cases — including an update on the lien-stripping cases pending before the Supreme Court and Eleventh Circuit, and their potential impact on future bankruptcy practice in all chapters.

Potential buyers often have significant leverage over distressed sellers of assets and are able to influence or dictate the nature of the sale process. This panel will examine the considerations that a potential buyer of a distressed company should make when it has the opportunity to choose the appropriate process and venue for pursuing such acquisition. We will outline the pros and cons of Article 9 sales (both public and private), receivership sales, § 363 sales and “loan to own” strategies, including with respect to issues related to successor liability, funding considerations, operational concerns, timing, legal risk and deal certainty.

The panel will discuss and contrast (and will invite the workshop attendees to discuss) the various options for ending chapter 11 cases after the debtor’s assets have been sold, including plans of liquidation, liquidation and litigation trusts, dismissals, structured dismissals and conversion. Issues will include things to consider when planning for the debtor’s wind-down staffing and budget. The panel will also discuss the rest of the story from the perspective of the § 363 purchaser, focusing on recent developments in successor liability.