2021

This panel will provide an overview of the requirements for a reorganization plan in subchapter V cases under the Small Business Reorganization Act, including the new fair-and-equitable standard for cramdowns, and effective strategies to get to plan confirmation.

This panel will focus on Congress’s new foray into streamlining small business reorganizations under the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019, as amended by the CARES Act of 2020. The panelists will examine similarities and differences between subchapter V and traditional chapter 11 reorganization, debtor eligibility, and the role of the newly created position of subchapter V trustee. The panelists will then examine early decisions on these issues from bankruptcy courts around the country.

Since March 2002, the U.S. economy has been in a recession brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the Great Recession of 2008 caused a jump in business and consumer bankruptcy filings, the COVID Recession has not yet resulted in any such increase. Indeed, consumer bankruptcy filings since March 2020 have seen a historic decline. This panel will explore the economic differences between the Great Recession and the COVID Recession, and attempt to explain their inconsistent effects on bankruptcy filings. It will also consider why a bankruptcy wave has been slow to form under the COVID Recession, what events will eventually trigger a wave, and what the impact of the Great Recession suggests about the size, shape and timing of the coming wave of bankruptcy filings.

On January 14, 2021, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of City of Chicago, Illinois v. Fulton that the mere retention of estate property after the filing of a bankruptcy petition does not violate 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(3), which operates as a “stay” of “any act” to “exercise control” over the property of the estate. ABI Editor-at-Large Bill Rochelle will host a discussion with two leading bankruptcy academics who filed amicus briefs in the case, Profs. John Pottow of the University of Michigan Law School (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Ralph Brubaker of the University of Illinois College of Law (Champaign, Ill.), to analyze the decision and its impact on future bankruptcy case law.

Sponsored by ABI's Diversity and Inclusion Working Group Build a better law practice while building a more diverse and inclusive workplace! Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) leaders from the public and private sectors will discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion's impact on career trajectory, mentorship, and the bottom line, while providing tips and best practices to retaining and attracting talent. The session will begin with a plenary session, followed by breakout rooms staffed with a D&I expert and a bankruptcy judge. Confirmed participants in the Breakout Room Discussions: Hon. Christopher M. Alston, Western District of Washington Hon. Daniel P. Collins, District of Arizona Hon. Robert D. Drain, Southern District of New York Hon. Barbara J. Houser, Northern District of Texas Hon. Laurel M. Isicoff, Southern District of Florida Hon. Klinette H. Kindred, Eastern District of Virginia Hon. Christopher M. Lopez, Southern District of Texas Hon. Brendan L. Shannon, District of Delaware Hon. Sage M. Sigler, Northern District of Georgia Hon. Kathy A. Surratt-States, Eastern District of Missouri Hon. Deborah L. Thorne, Northern District of Illinois Kori Carew, Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer, Seyfarth Shaw LLP Mary Ellen Connerty, Director of Diversity & Engagement, O'Melveny & Myers LLP Carlos Davila-Caballero, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, LLP Maja Hazell, Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, White & Case LLP John Iino, Diversity & Inclusion Global Chair, Reed Smith LLP Sylvia James, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Winston & Strawn LLP Melique Jones, Director of Talent Pipeline, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Nimesh Patel, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP Peter Wilson, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Proskauer Rose LLP

Sponsored by ABI's Business Reorganization Committee Please join us for an overview and discussion of chapter 11 cases addressing the nature and treatment of oil and gas gathering agreements. Since the 2016 decision in Sabine Oil & Gas, courts have grappled with whether midstream contracts contain real property covenants that “run with the land” and whether chapter 11 debtors can reject contracts with their midstream providers. In the most recent decisions on this issue (Extraction and Southland), the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware found that the debtors’ gathering agreements did not satisfy the elements required to create such a real property covenant. This CLE will cover (i) foundational law and principles regarding contract rejection and covenants “running with the land”; (ii) an overview of seminal cases, including the most recent decisions in Extraction and Southland; and (iii) a discussion of potential implications of recent case law and guidance for parties navigating this issue.

The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning is becoming increasingly prevalent in the practice of law. Lawyers are using AI to assist in a multitude of tasks, including document management and review, analytics, and legal research. This program will provide an overview of how AI is being used by lawyers today, the advantages and drawbacks in using AI, and the potential ways in which AI may be used now and in the future in bankruptcy practice.