Educational Committee Agendas
ADR & Mass Torts
The committees will present a joint panel discussion covering two
areas where ADR techniques are utilized to resolve contentious issues
that are recurring regularly in mass tort cases: (1) the resolution of
disputes between mass tort debtors, putative mass tort creditors and
insurance carriers as to the availability and timing of insurance
assets, and (2) the use of ADR techniques to resolve putative mass tort
claims during the pendency of bankruptcies and as part of the
post-confirmation claims allowance and distribution process.
Asset Sales
The committee will present Aggressive Acquisition Strategies: Risks
and Rewards of §363 Asset Purchases. The panel will discuss claims
purchases, standing, and limits on credit bidding by secured creditors.
Buyer alliances with management/insiders and obtaining support from
creditor constituencies also will be covered. Terminating plan
exclusivity, proposing competing plans and the use of pre-packaged plans
to eliminate competitive bidding will be reviewed, and limits on the
court’s jurisdiction, manipulation of the claims objection process
and successor liability will be analyzed.
Bankruptcy Litigation
This new committee will present Digging the Dirt: Pre-trial Discovery
in Fraud Cases, which will focus on the effective use of discovery tools
to investigate and build a fraud case in contested bankruptcy
proceedings. Using the special techniques available in bankruptcy as
well as the traditional discovery procedures, the panel will focus both
on the general strategy as well as the particular problems in cases
alleging fraud, such as defective or missing records, invocation of the
Fifth Amendment, and the development of proof of knowledge and
intent.
Business Reorganization & Young and New Members
The Business Reorganization Committee and the Young and New Members
Committee will collaborate to present an educational program entitled
Valuations in Chapter 11 Cases: What You Want Depends On Where You Sit
(And When You Are Sitting There). This panel will explore common
methodologies for determining the value of reorganizing businesses and,
more critically, the use of valuation as a tactical tool by key
constituencies in the case at various points on the chapter 11 timeline,
including confirmation proceedings. Scheduled speakers include Scott H.
Lang, Brown Gibbons Lang & Company LP; Stephen S. Gray, TRG;
Jonathan Rosenthal, Saybrook; and Miles Molyneaux, Corporate Recovery,
KPMG LLP. The moderator of the panel will be Melissa Kibler Knoll, KPMG
LLP, co-chair of the Young and New Members Committee.
Commercial Fraud Task Force Committee
Legal and strategic issues to consider from both a
debtor and creditor prospective when fraud is suspected in the current
legal and regulatory environment.This topic will be of interest
to a broad spectrum of ABI members including those who represent chapter
11 debtors, secured creditors, trustees and anyone who has to deal with
identifying and addressing fraud issues. Our guest speakers are
Ross O. Silverman of Katten, Muchin, Zavis & Rosenman, Chicago and
Brian P. Netols of the same firm. Ross and Brian are both former
Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the Northern District of Illinois. Ross
recently served as the Examiner in the United Airline Case. Both Ross
and Brian have tremendous experience in the white collar financial
crimes arena. Their practice focuses on civil litigation, primarily
assisting their clients in identifying civil wrongdoing within and
outside their clients' organizations.
Consumer & Professional Compensation
The committees will present Court Oversight of Creditor Professional
Fees in Consumer Bankruptcy Cases: Urban Myth or Developing Practice
Area, a discussion of issues relating to the allowance of
creditor’s professional fees in chapter 7 and chapter 13 cases. In
light of the increasing frequency of contracts that provide for attorney
or “collection fees” in the world of consumer finance and
the growing trend toward “nationalization” of consumer
creditor practice in consumer bankruptcy cases, this is a topic of
increasing importance to both debtor and creditor counsel. In addition,
a review of waiver and disclosure issues in bankruptcy proceedings:
Fleming, Jore, 11 U.S.C. §329 and beyond, will be discussed.
Ethics and Court Administration
This joint committee program will explore the challenges faced by
both professionals and the courts in connection with selection of The
Right Venue for the filing, management and “successful
conclusion” of a bankruptcy case. Offering differing perspectives
from the debtor, the court/bankruptcy clerk’s office, creditors
and “the outside world,” this program will address the
various criteria that factor into a debtor’s (and/or its
counsel’s) decision to choose one bankruptcy court over another,
as well as the court’s ability to administer the case once filed
and its procedures for managing the debtor(s) and creditors (and their
claims) going forward. In addition, the panelists will explore issues
such as the “best” way and time to file a motion to transfer
venue, the impact of local rules and procedures, the extent to which
local case law on ethics issues influences the venue selection process,
and the roles and responsibilities of local counsel, the court and the
clerk’s office.
Finance and Banking & Investment Banking
The committees will present Chapeau, Sombrero or Fedora: A Lively
Discussion About What Hats Investment Bankers, CRO/CRAs and Turnaround
Consultants Are and Should Be Wearing. How do you determine whether you
have the right professional for the job? This panel will address the
distinction between financial advisory professionals hired, or
recommended by, financial institutions and the roles they play at
various points throughout a chapter 11 proceeding. Particular attention
will be focused on the inherent conflicts that arise among these
professionals as the lines among their service offerings begin to blur.
Peter S. Kaufman, Gordian Group LLC, will moderate, and the panelists
will include James D. Decker, Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin and
Michael J. Epstein, TRG.
Health Care
This program will compare and contrast the options available for
liquidating a health care entity that cannot restructure, including:
bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, state or federal
receivership or conservatorship and informal liquidations.
Insurance, Construction & Surety Subcommittee
This subcommittee of the Business Reorganization Committee will
present a program on American and English Insurance Insolvency Law and
Practice. A panel of experts in insurance regulation, insolvency and
rehabilitation will discuss recent legislative and case law developments
in the United States and United Kingdom, as well as practical problems
in domestic and cross-border insolvency proceedings.
International & Financial Advisors
The committees will present a joint program on The Outlook for Global
Insolvencies and Distressed M & A in 2005 and Beyond, which will
attempt to provide the audience with a quick global tour of what we have
to look forward to in the coming year. Paul W. Kirk, Managing Director
of PWC’s Global Restructuring Services Group, will be the keynote
presenter. Rebecca A. Roof, AlixPartners LLC, and George M. Kelakos,
Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP, will serve as co-moderators of
the program.
Real Estate
The committee will present a panel on Real Estate Topics in Consumer
Bankruptcy, addressing such issues as the survival of tenancies by the
entirety; sales of residential property free and clear of co-owners
under §363(h); extraterritorial homestead exemptions; cure,
modification or strip-down of mortgages on primary residences in chapter
13; and retention by debtors of leased primary residences in chapter
7.
Technology and Telecommunications Cases Committee
“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.
Unsecured Trade Creditors
This presentation will focus on reclamation and the effectiveness (or
lack thereof) of this equitable remedy. In addition, the committee will
examine reclamation in the context of the Fleming case and the results
of what ultimately led to the appointment of the first reclamation
creditors’ committee.
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