| Spring is here, and the Unsecured Trade Creditors Committee looks back on an eventful 2023 and a busy start to 2024 (for both the committee and the restructuring space as a whole). Chapter 11 filings increased significantly in 2023, but post-pandemic capital structures, paired with novel attempts by lenders and equity sponsors to retain and shield value, presented challenges for unsecured creditor recoveries and increased the importance of active official committee participation. The Unsecured Trade Creditors Committee hosted panels and created content to educate unsecured creditors’ advisors on these issues and arm them with tools to increase value for constituents.
Committee Educational Sessions
At the 2023 Annual Spring Meeting (ASM) in Washington, D.C., the Unsecured Trade Creditors Committee partnered with both the Business Reorganization and Emerging Industries & Technologies Committees to discuss “Issues Impacting Unsecured Creditors in Crypto Bankruptcies.” The panelists included Darren Azman from McDermott, Will & Emery, Shari Dwoskin from Brown Rudnick LLP, Michael H. Torkin from Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP, Mark Renzi from Berkeley Research Group and Hon. Michael E. Wiles of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The panelists explained the novel issues that arise in digital-asset filings and discussed how courts have resolved, or perhaps more appropriately are most likely to resolve, such issues in the future. Given the increasing prevalence of digital assets in traditional industries, it is our expectation that
this panel’s materials will continue to be relevant and will be an excellent resource for members of the committee on a go-forward basis.
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