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Technology and Telecommunications Committee Meeting Minutes

2007 Annual Spring Meeting

The ABI Technology and Telecommunications Committee met Saturday, April 14, 2007, at 8am during the annual ABI meeting in Washington, D.C.  There were approximately 25 members and guests present.  Committee Co-Chair William K. Snyder of Corporate Revitalization Partners LLC in Fort Worth, Texas presided.

William thanked out-going Co-Chair Joel H. Levitin of Dechert in New York for his service on the committee and welcomed in-coming new Co-Chair H. Jason Gold of Wiley Rein in Washington, D.C.

William then introduced the guest panel of George Hechtman and Jeff Gerred of PC/Hawk Electronics from Fort Worth, Texas.  George and Jeff presented and demonstrated a large variety of PDA devices and technologies designed to enhance the productivity of insolvency professionals.  Some of the topics covered included:  Using PDA's to interface with time and billing systems; GPS related solutions; voice recognition; portable and virtual keyboards; and others.  There was significant interaction and questioning from the committee members.

The presentation was very well received and appreciated by the committee.

2006 Winter Leadership Conference

The Technology and Telecom Committee held a joint meeting with the Investment Banking committee at the Winter Conference. Under the revised charter of the Technology and Telecom Committee, the subject of the meeting was Virtual Data Rooms. The panel consisted of members of both committees and invited industry experts. The panel was very well attended and there were two $500 certificates given to all attendees of the meeting toward the purchase of a virtual data room. The next panel will be at the Spring conference and will focus on handheld devices.

2006 Annual Spring Meeting

The ABI Technology and Telecommunications Committee met Saturday April 22, 2006, at 8am during the annual ABI meeting in Washington, D.C.  There were 9 members present including William K. Snyder, the Co-Chair of the committee, with a visit from John Penn the president of the ABI.  

The primary subjects covered were:

1. The expanded charter of the committee which now includes the use of technology in  bankruptcy practice – ideas to explore in that area were: (a) Adding a resource center to the ABI web site for ABI members that provide digital and technology solutions to bankruptcy practitioners – such as electronic data rooms; (b) Adding a FAQ section for technology questions; (c) Negotiating a middle market solution for schedules and claims processing for bankruptcy cases; (d) Getting a periodical like PC Magazine to sponsor a “ask a Geek” question for phones and PDA users; and (e) Getting the ABI to announce the charter expansion and ask for a calling for new members to join the committee.
   
2. The ABI handbook for technology and high-tech cases: (a) Send out the outline to the members to get authors; and (b) Add a section that covers how the new law affects cases.
   
3. BACPA effects to technology filings: (a) Discussions revolving around utilities, KERPs, reclamation claims, real estate, and exclusivity determined that the primary issues involve utility designations and KERPs; (b) Can a telecom provider be designated a utility?; and (c) How can key employees in technology companies be retained?
   
4. Upcoming articles: Patty Tamasco offered to tackle the issue in 3(b) above concerning the designation of utilities.

The committee will need an additional author to answer the question in 3(c) above concerning KERPs.

2005 Winter Leadership Conference

The Technology and Telecommunication Cases Committee held its bi-annual educational session and meeting at the Winter Leadership Conference in a joint program with the Young and New Members Committee. We had a presentation on Computer Forensics and E-Discovery by David Bart of American Express Tax & Business Services, who served as moderator, and Jack Seward of Jack Seward Associates, LLC, Randy Terpestra, and Daniel A. Austin.

The Committee also seeks volunteers to help with committee projects, including monitoring the listserve and preparing articles for the upcoming e-letters. If anyone is interested in helping out on Committee projects, please contact Committee co-chairs Joel Levitin of Dechert LLP or William Snyder of Corporate Revitalization Partners LLC.

2005 Annual Spring Meeting

The Technology and Telecommunication Cases Committee held its bi-annual educational session and meeting at the Annual Spring Meeting. The meeting began with a presentation by Kevin Finger, litigation shareholder at Greenberg Traurig LLP, and Gary Mennitt, litigation partner at Dechert LLP, on e-discovery issues. Kevin and Gary shared their insights on the pitfalls and benefits of e-discovery—and, more importantly, how e-discovery has impacted trials.

After the presentation, we held a brief committee meeting and solicited volunteers to help with committee projects, including monitoring the listserve and preparing articles for the upcoming e-letters. If anyone is interested in helping out on Committee projects, please contactJoel Levitin or William Snyder.

At the conclusion of this committee meeting, Nancy Peterman, who has been co-chair of the Technology and Telecommunication Cases Committee for the past few years, stepped down as co-chair and William Snyder from the Corporate Revitalization Partners LLC became the new committee co-chair with Joel Levitin.

2004 Winter Leadership Conference

“Anatomy of a Technology Transaction”—Technology and telecommunication cases present debtors with opportunities to monetize assets through various technology transactions: soft asset sales, license and divestitures. In this session we will explore the anatomy of such technology transaction both form the debtor/seller’s perspective, as well as from the buyer’s perspective. We will discuss the opportunities presented by technology transactions and how such transactions come to bear. We will also focus on unique challenges and pitfalls to avoid. Both the business and legal aspects of technology transactions will be covered. Speakers include Brian B. Sagi, President & CEO, CERIAN Technology Ventures, LLC and Janice L. Block, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, LLP.

2004 Annual Spring Meeting

During the 2004 ABI Annual Spring Conference, the Technology and Telecom Committee held a joint meeting with the Uniform Commercial Code Committee. During the joint meeting, the committees held a panel discussion on the Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act (UCITA). UCITA was developed in order to update commercial law with respect to issues unique to computer and information transactions.

The panelists were Joel R. Wolfson from Blank Rome LLP in Washington and Daniel DeMarco from Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP in Cleveland, Ohio. They discussed UCITA generally, the difficult drafting process, the controversy surrounding UCITA and UCITA’s interplay with the Bankruptcy Code. This discussion was very informative and for many in the audience, was their first exposure to UCITA, which certainly will have importance in our ever-changing technological world.

The Technology and Telecom Committee held a brief meeting following the UCITA discussion to address committee business. The committee is looking for volunteers for the following projects:

1. Drafting short articles for the e-letter.
2. Working on the Technology Handbook.
3. Developing educational programs for future meetings.

Please contact Joel Levitin at (212) 698-3558 (joel.levitin@dechert.com) or Nancy Peterman at (312) 456-8410 (petermann@gtlaw.com) if you are interested in becoming more involved in the committee.

2003 Annual Spring Meeting

We had an outstanding presentation by Mark E. Chesen, President of SSG Capital Advisors L.P., entitled “The Telecom Industry: Industry Overview, Trends, and Chapter 11 Issues” that included case studies of 10 recent transactions in which SSG was involved and the interesting issues that arose in connection therewith.

Following the program, we discussed the status of the intellectual property/bankruptcy handbook project (and distributed the draft outline thereof), the committee e-newsletter, and the proposed one-day intellectual property and bankruptcy program.

2002 Winter Leadership Conference

We had a joint program with the Asset Sales Committee presented by Brian Sagi, President and CEO of Cerian Technology Ventures LLC, entitled, “Making the Most of Distressed Technology Assets,” including the following topics:

• Introduction to Distressed Technology Asset Transactions and their Importance
• How to Extract Maximum Value from Distressed Technology Assets
• What is the Market for Such Distressed Technology Assets
• Anatomy of a Distressed Technology Asset Transaction (detailed case study)
• Industry Trends
• Summary and Conclusions

The co-chairs of our Committee served as moderators.

Following the program, we discussed the status of the IP/bankruptcy handbook project and the draft outline thereof, the committee newsletter, and the one-day intellectual property and bankruptcy program, including numerous potential opportunities for members.

The co-chairs intend to circulate a draft handbook outline with a request for participation in the next couple weeks.

2001 Annual Spring Meeting

The 2001 ABI Spring meeting was the kick-off meeting for the newly formed High Tech Committee. The meeting began with a panel discussion entitled “How to Restructure Dotcoms or How to Peacefully Put Them to Rest.” Keith J. Shapiro of Greenberg Traurig LLP, Chicago and Wayne Walker of Wayne Walker and Associates, Philadelphia were the panelists.

The meeting concluded with a general discussion regarding potential projects, future meetings and the “high-tech” areas to focus on. The High Tech Committee is looking for committee members and ideas from you as to any projects and future meetings.