The Bankruptcy Section Will Get Together For Dinner - Nov. 9, 2011

Please join the Bankruptcy Section’s Executive Council at the Palm Restaurant in New York, N.Y. on Weds., Nov. 9 for a steak dinner! This is a great opportunity to meet with new and old friends. To reserve your place, please download this form (link to pdf) and fax it to 847-526-3993.

For more information about the restaurant, please go to www.the-palm.com.

Agenda Update For New York Meeting

If you will be attending the New York Meeting, we hope you will participate in these meetings and education programs:

Thurs., Nov. 10, 2011
3:00 - 4:00 p.m. -- Section Education Committee Meeting
4:00 - 5:00 p.m. -- Executive Council Meeting
5:00 - 6:00 p.m. -- NCBJ coordination committee meeting

Fri., Nov. 11, 2011 (nonmembers can attend for just this day!)

8:00 - 9:00 a.m. Section’s Legislative Committee Meeting

1:00 - 6:15 p.m. CLE program: “The Value of Everything And The Worth of Nothing: Legal And Practical Perspectives On Understanding Both”

1:00 - 2:30 p.m. “Valuation: A Primer For Determining How To Determine Value And Analyzing The Numbers Alleged By Your Client (Debtor Or Creditor)”
David Wall, David Wall, EP Forensic & Valuation Services LLP, Ontario, Canada
               
2:45 - 3:45 p.m. “Valuation From The Trustees’ Perspective”

  • Lori Lapin Jones, Principal, Lori Lapin Jones PLLC
  • Kenneth P. Silverman, Partner, Silverman Acampora
  • Gregory Messer, Principal, The Law Office of Gregory Messer

4:00 - 5:15 p.m. “Valuation From The Bench: A Panel Of Judges Comments On The ‘Hot Issues’ They See From The ‘Other Side Of The Bench’ ”

  • Hon. Robert D. Drain, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York
  • Hon. Elizabeth Stong, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • Hon. Alan S. Trust, U.S. Bankruptcy Judges, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York

5:15 - 6:15 p.m. “Ten Bankruptcy Cases From This Year Which Affect Your Practice”

  • Hon. Harlin Hale, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Texas, Dallas, Texas

 

Sat., Nov. 12, 2011
9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Executive Council Meeting

A Call For Writers — Get Involved With The Section And Advance Your Career!

The Bankruptcy Section is always looking for ways to involve members and help them develop leadership roles within the Section and the League.  Right now we are looking for contributors for both this e-newsletter and the CLLA magazine, Commercial Law World. If you enjoy writing and would like to submit an editorial, case analysis, or case law update, please contact the CLLA marketing director, Erin Brereton, at ebrereton@clla.org.

In addition to writing, there are other ways to make your Section membership work for you - serve on a Section committee! Working with a committee will help you to learn from your peers, make more business contacts and develop your leadership skills -- while also helping develop the section.

Volunteer and leadership roles exist in many facets of the section, such as:

  • Education - Gain speaking opportunities as a continuing legal education instructor or help develop our programs.
  • Legislative affairs
  • Marketing - Provide ideas to get the word out to the bankruptcy industry about our upcoming events.
  • Mentorship - Serve as a mentor to a new CLLA member.

If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact the League office (info@clla.org, 312-240-1400).

Did You Miss The Stern v. Marshall Webinar? Purchase a recording here in our online education portal.

 

Thank You To The NCBJ Coordination Committee!

Thank you to these volunteers for putting together a great breakfast and education program at NCBJ this year! Both events received rave reviews.

  • Jay Welford, chair
  • Wanda Borges
  • Judge Jeffery Deller
  • Peter Califano
  • Deborah Ebner
  • Judge Judith Fitzgerald
  • David Leigh
  • Harry Greenfield
  • Judith Greenstone Miller
  • Kurt Gwynne
  • Joseph Samet
  • Stephen Starr

 

Sua Sponte

Peter Califano, Bankruptcy Section Chair
Cooper, White & Cooper LLP
San Francisco, Calif.

I recently attended a local bankruptcy luncheon where one of the judges on the panel stated that "the biggest problem resulting from the current economic malaise was the loss of people's homes." 

Due to unemployment, plus the inability to refinance or secure workable modifications on underlying loans, individuals and families are increasingly being forced from their residences and communities due to foreclosure. This results in adverse financial consequences to neighborhoods (another empty house on the block) and further deterioration of people's lives and families. 

Currently, there is no procedure that would allow debtors to restructure debt secured by a primary residence. However, even though the CLLA is primarily a creditor-based organization, it has supported cramdown (adjustment of the obligation based on the current fair market value of the house) of these obligations in bankruptcy.

Of course, this is a highly controversial idea in the lender community, but it now deserves further consideration as economic problems continue to persist and linger. By providing this option to a limited group of debtors who file for bankruptcy, with appropriate safeguards in place, the CLLA believes this is the proper solution, which would ultimately benefit all interested parties.

We just concluded successful breakfast and educational programs at the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges in Tampa, Fla. (Oct, 12 -15, 2011). The presentation of the Lawrence P. King Award for Excellence in Bankruptcy to the Hon. Judith K. Fitzgerald (Western District of Pennsylvania) was well deserved. If you would like a copy of the materials presented at the CLLA-sponsored educational program, please contact us here.  We are also continuing our work on bankruptcy venue reform, promoting H.R. 2533 with insolvency bar groups and media throughout the country.

Our next event will be at the CLLA Annual New York Meeting (Nov. 10 -12, 2011). The Bankruptcy Section will present three separate valuation panels featuring valuation from several different perspectives, i.e. from the viewpoint of debtor/creditor, the trustee and the judge. It will be enlightening and useful for practitioners who frequent the bankruptcy court.

We will also have a panel that will examine the 10 most significant bankruptcy decisions from the past year that will affect your practice in the coming year. During that weekend, the Section's Executive Council and its subcommittees will be meeting, and we will host a dinner on Wednesday night (November 9) for the Section's members and guests.  Please join us and sign up here.  It’s a great time to be in New York.

Legislative Updates

U.S. H.R. 2979: The Natural Disaster Emergency Mortgage Relief Act

  • Status: Referred to the subcommittee on financial institutions and consumer credit (10/04/2011).

California A.B. 506: A bill related to local government bankruptcy and neutral evaluation

  • Status: Chaptered By Secretary of State - Chapter 506, Statutes of 2011 (10/09/2011)

Bankruptcy News

Bankruptcy Section Chair, Peter Califano, Cited In Bloomberg Article Regarding The Venue Bill

Are More Big Bankruptcies On The Way?
A number of companies -- ranging from restaurants to businesses in the energy industry -- recently filed for bankruptcy, and experts say a new wave of Chapter 11 filings may be imminent. Find out why…

Harrisburg, Penn. Files For Bankruptcy
 The East Coast city plans to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy due to significant debt.
Find out how much Harrisburg owes creditors.

 

The Bankruptcy Venue Debate Rages On
Congress is contemplating making it more difficult to file bankruptcy cases in remote jurisdictions like New York and Delaware. Seton Hall Law School professor Stephen J. Lubben discusses Solyndra ruling and its impact.