Audio

Director and officer (D&O) insurance policies typically cover certain claims against the D&Os by third parties (often shareholders) and claims by a trustee in bankruptcy. The policies also cover certain claims against the debtor company. This panel will discuss the different coverages, the types of claims that may be pursued against officers and directors by shareholders, creditors and a bankruptcy trustee, defenses often asserted to the claims, and potential policy exclusions that may affect coverage.

This panel explore what rights/causes of actions a debtor may reserve in plan confirmation and the binding effect of confirmation, and whether, in light of Harris v. Viegelahn, a means may still exist to avoid refunding undistributed funds to a debtor following the conversion of a chapter 13 to a chapter 7 case, as well as what should happen to undistributed funds upon case dismissal. The session will conclude with a discussion on the limitations on the equitable powers of bankruptcy courts following Law v. Siegel.

This session is a nonlegal overview of the current state of the coal and oil & gas industries and will provide a primer on terminology, extraction methods and related industries. It will also address how energy workouts and restructurings are different from traditional restructurings, and why (with a particular focus on how these companies are financed and their operations are structured — i.e., lease rights, management/servicing agreements, etc.).

This year’s mountainside chat will address recent developments in the requirements for employment of disinterestedness, disclosure and disqualification. It will focus on two recent decisions relating to the extent to which a lack of disinterestedness or the presence of an ethical conflict of one firm member is, or is not, imputed on others within the same firm, and whether there is a difference between the two.

This program will explore current hot-button topics relating to the drafting and confirmation of chapter 11 plans. The issues discussed will including drafting to accommodate, as well as to either encourage or discourage § 1111(b) elections, and the strategy of holders of secured claims in either making or not making that election. It will also include a discussion of third-party releases and injunctions, using recent cases in the First Circuit to illustrate when such releases are, and are not, appropriate.