Greenebaum Doll & McDonald PLLC; Louisville, Ky.
“But as the collapse of Lehman Brothers showed, the Bankruptcy Code is not an effective tool for resolving the failure of a global financial services firm in times of severe economic stress.”
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Oct. 29, 2009
Since its origins as a response to debtors’ prisons, U.S. bankruptcy law has constantly evolved. The once-narrow system that was originally designed to primarily help merchants and businessmen (and women) has developed into today’s comprehensive legal system, which addresses issues from how a family car is to be valued to the sale of a multi-billion dollar company less than two months after filing for bankruptcy.
Read the article.
"Chapter 11 at the Crossroads: Does Reorganization Need Reform? A Symposium on the Past, Present and Future of U.S. Corporate Restructuring" Georgetown University Law Center; Washington, D.C. November 16-17, 2009
Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings rose by 91 percent in the 12-month period ending June 30, 2009. There is no sign that our economic turmoil is abating: More than 150 public companies filed during the first eight months of this year--a pace not observed since 2002. The size of the cases (e.g., GM, Chrysler, AIG, etc.) is without precedent: A record 25 cases filed this year have assets of more than $2 billion, and many are substantially larger.
Moreover, a new breed of cases is taking shape--not just bigger, but faster-moving, with a growing trend toward sales over traditional reorganization, and with governmental stakeholders dominating the process in ways perhaps not contemplated by the Code's architects or even case law history.
Can the current law keep pace with today's volatile global economic climate? Is it responsive and flexible enough to meet our needs? Is it time for Congress to revisit not only the 2005 amendments, but engage in a systematic modernization of chapter 11? Indeed, are the present crisis-driven cases changing the law de facto, even without Congress' participation or assent?
This symposium brings together some of the most prominent and informed practitioners, judges and scholars on the commercial insolvency issues being played out every day. The luncheon keynote will be delivered by Harvey Miller, perhaps the most prominent chapter 11 practitioner of our time, whose historical perspective is unmatched. The Symposium faculty will re-examine the traditional framework of insolvency law against today's headlines and offer the "way forward."
The event is free and open to the public: ABI members, congressional staff, scholars and the press. Funded by the ABI's Anthony H.N. Schnelling Endowment Fund, the day-and-a-half program will also be available by live webcast (for a small fee) and in ABI's online distance-learning library. You can register on-line at www.abiworld.org/LEG09.
Don't miss ABI's 21st Annual Winter Leadership Conference, taking place Dec. 3-5 at the La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, California. In addition to insights from some of the top insolvency and restructuring experts on issues confronting the profession in 2010, this year's conference will also feature a luncheon keynote by Amity Shales, bestselling author of The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression, titled "How Financial Crises Provide the Pretext for Government Expansion (and Make the Crisis Worse)." Concurrent panel sessions at the conference include:
-Liquidating Chapter 11s: New Rules of the Road
- Bankruptcy's Next Wave: A Look at the Financial Crisis One Year Later
- High Income Individuals: Chapter 11 by and for the People
- Foreclosure Litigation:Defenses and Counterclaims
- Watching your Stuff: Intellectual Property and Intangible Assets
- Loan-to-Own:How Lending and Private Equity Markets are Changing the Landscape
- Recent Issues and Trends in Real Estate Restructurings
- "Discharge by Declaration" and Other Strategies to Discharge Consumer Debts
- Bankruptcy Litigation:Latest Issues and Defenses
- Internal Investigations:Managing the Process
Plus 14 Committee Educational sessions including:
- Circuit Splits--Will Recent Decisions on Several Key Issues Result in Forum Shopping?
- 2010: A Restructuring Odyssey
- Reorganizing (or Liquidating) Not-For-Profit Entities
- The ABI Consumer Fee Study: The Results of the Pilot Study and Where We Are Going From Here
- Should Congress Reform Bankruptcy Reform?
- The Real Estate Trinity: Litigation Involving Single-Asset Real Estate Cases, Retail Reorganizations and Liquidations
- Flatliners: A Health Care Filing checklist
- It's a Small, Small, Small World: Inherent Conflicts in Representation of Closely Held Entities and Joint Representation
- Polaroid and Beyond:Differing Perspectives On What is the Highest and Best Bid and Other Selected Sale Issues
- Where's My Cash Windfall? Tax Planning Opportunities From Recent Legislation
- The Future of Alternative Dispute Resolution--How ADR Can Expedite Efficiency for the Courts and Attorneys
- News at 11? Valuing and Restructuring Media Companies
- Global Crisis: An Essential International Update
The Legislation Committee will present a session entitled "Should Congress Reform Bankruptcy Reform?" on Friday, Dec. 4 at 11:15 a.m. Panelists will discuss the value of credit counseling as well as the history and current debate over modifying legislation to benefit both creditors and debtors in bankruptcy cases. Karen Cordry of the National Association of Attorneys General in Washington, D.C. will moderate. Panelists will include John C. Colwell of the Debt Relief Clinic in Bonita, Calif., John D. McMickle of Winston & Strawn LLP in Washington, D.C. and Hon. Eugene R. Wedoff of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court (N.D. Ill.) in Chicago. Please click the link below to view the relevant materials.
Reforming Bankruptcy Reform - What Would a Real Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act Look Like?
The conference will also include a final night dinner gala featuring comedian Louie Anderson and the sounds of the band, the Indubitable Equivalents. You can register on-line for the conference at www.abiworld.org/WLC09.
