2017

This panel discussion will concentrate on issues commonly encountered when a closely held business and its individual owners and related businesses have financial problems, including regarding application of the absolute priority rule/new value exception to individual chapter 11 bankruptcies, conflicts, corporate governance, substantive/procedural consolidation and compensation issues

This panel will discuss special problems in ag-based DIP financing and cash collateral use and dealing with tax claims and pre-petition sales.

Avoiding being sued along with or in lieu of your client and avoiding ethical violations and malpractice.

Hear a stimulating, high energy discussion involving a debtor's attorney, a chapter 12 trustee and a bankruptcy judge sharing the special and surprising aspects of chapter 12. Learn tips to navigate the challenges and to evaluate this chapter choice. Topics covered will include farmer and fisherman bankruptcies, cramming down homes, long term amortizations, tax benefits, and eligibility requirements. This program is not just for chapter 12 practitioners - all bankruptcy practitioners and judges will enjoy this one hour overview of one of the most fascinating chapters of the Code. View Materials

The panelists will delve into the various issues looming over the health care and education industries, including (1) the potential changes in policy under the Trump administration, (2)overleveraged institutions and (3) the differing issues facing the for-profit and nonprofit sectors.

The panelists will discuss the various issues that have been raised in the Energy Future Holdings bankruptcy, including make-wholes, the unimpairment opinion, the pre-plan settlement appeal, and interaction with state regulators and the bankruptcy court.

This session will feature an update on the current state of the distress in Puerto Rico, including PROMESA and related litigation, and other developments.

What are bankruptcy crimes, what are the duties of the various parties in a case to investigate and report them, and what are the protections for those who do? The panelists will discuss actual-intent fraudulent transfers and the crime/fraud exception; recent cases suggest that a “fraud” that may trigger the crime/fraud exception to attorney/client privilege and that the work-product doctrine may not be limited to crimes and serious frauds, but rather may include transactions exhibiting only some “badges of fraud,” such as fraudulent transfers (Fragin, Husky International).

This panel will visit controlling the time and expense of bankruptcy litigation; how bankruptcy’s Code, Rules and process affect the relationship between the parties’ incentives and duties to their constituencies; the continuing viability of unsecured creditors’ committees; claims trading and the increased role of hedge funds in chapter 11 cases; and other topics covered in the Final Report of the ABI Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11.

This panel will discuss current trends in energy, from gas production to the coal market to alternative forms. What will the industry look like 10 years from now? Do we need coal? Updates of current markets, as well as recent bankruptcy cases and issues, will be addressed, including the rejection of gathering agreements and the upward trend in requests for equity committees in commodity cases (Breitburn, Penn Virginia, Energy XXI, Horsehead, SandRidge, C&J, Peabody).