Vermont

We often forget that what we say and how we say it can signal more than we intended. One of the primary ways in which "what we say"/"how we say it" creates such signals is with the wording of time entries, whether or not those time entries are ever reviewed by a bankruptcy court. Clients read bills, too, so if one wants to communicate that their work was valuable and efficiently performed, the fable of Goldilocks comes to mind: The time entries need to be "just right." When they're not, clients and courts can draw conclusions that we never intended them to draw.

This panel will focus on Congress’s new foray into streamlining small business reorganizations under the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019, as amended by the CARES Act of 2020. The panelists will examine similarities and differences between subchapter V and traditional chapter 11 reorganization, debtor eligibility, and the role of the newly created position of subchapter V trustee. The panelists will then examine early decisions on these issues from bankruptcy courts around the country.

On January 14, 2021, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of City of Chicago, Illinois v. Fulton that the mere retention of estate property after the filing of a bankruptcy petition does not violate 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(3), which operates as a “stay” of “any act” to “exercise control” over the property of the estate. ABI Editor-at-Large Bill Rochelle will host a discussion with two leading bankruptcy academics who filed amicus briefs in the case, Profs.

Presented by NACBA
This panel will focus on recent cases that have reexamined the proper application of the Brunner standard without the punitive standards, as well as cases that have distinguished and explained portions of § 523(a)(8) and why they don’t apply to all private student loans. Finally, the panelists will discuss the effect that the CARES Act has had on student loans.

Presented by the Hon. Eugene R. Wedoff Seventh Circuit Consumer Bankruptcy Conference
This session will provide a judge’s perspective on preferences for virtual hearings and trials, trustee and debtor attorney discussions on § 341 meetings, and best practices from U.S. Trustee and debtor’s attorney points of view.