Maryland

The restaurant industry, particularly the fast food and fast casual sectors, is under pressure from rising food and labor costs, the changing dining habits of millennials, and decreased foot traffic at retail shopping centers. This panel will examine those trends and explore potential strategies to maximize enterprise value, both in and out of bankruptcy court.

This panel will examine the factors considered by debtors and their advisors when determining where to file a large chapter 11 business case, and the occasional efforts to have the case transferred to a venue that is arguably more convenient to creditors, employees and/or shareholders. The panel will also discuss the pending legislation known as the Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act of 2018 (S. 2282) — as well as the arguments both supporting and opposing its passage.

This panel will feature a roundtable discussion with bankruptcy judges from the Ninth Circuit and across the country. The judges will share their thoughts and perspectives, as well as take questions from the audience, on topics of current interest in both business and consumer cases.

The existence of multiple bondholders can impose uncertainty and gamesmanship in a contest for economic gain from distressed corporate situations. The paper that they hold rarely tells the whole story; bondholders may have competing investments, undisclosed hedges and varying purchase price discounts that make it impossible to determine their true position. This panel will explore issues related to bondholder-led restructurings and takeovers, including the operation of ad hoc committees, the role of indenture trustees, conflicts, disclosures, subordination and deal structures.

This panel will address various ethical and substantive issues that can arise when representing consumer debtors.