Arkansas (AR) Bankruptcy Law CLE Course Catalog

This session will highlight particularly interesting case law developments to date in 2021 and their impact on bankruptcy law and practice.

This panel will discuss issues that arise at the crossroads of sexual abuse claims and chapter 11, including the tension caused by using a financial reorganization tool to resolve highly emotional personal-injury claims, the stresses that cases of this ilk place on the Bankruptcy Code (including the uniqueness of claims bar dates in cases of this sort, nonprofit debtors and the absolute priority rule, and the propriety of third-party releases), and the use of mediation to globally resolve these cases.

Since the enactment of the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (H.R. 3311, “SBRA”), which took effect on Feb. 19, 2020, bankruptcy courts and practitioners have had opportunities to address a number of novel issues, interpreting and applying what are essentially brand-new Bankruptcy Code statutes. In this panel, we will discuss some of the key SBRA areas that bankruptcy courts across the U.S. are addressing, as well as the novel issues that practitioners are navigating.

The panelists will discuss the recent reemergence of SPACs and will elaborate on the public policy and restructuring implications associated with them. This discussion of creative financing structures will focus on financing in a distressed environment, including three mini-case studies and emerging issues in litigation financing.

This panel will discuss the various standing doctrines that apply in federal and bankruptcy courts, including constitutional (Article III) standing, prudential standing, statutory standing (“party-in-interest” status) and derivative standing, and will cover issues that arise both in chapter 11 cases and the consumer arena.

This panel will discuss bankruptcy case and code developments during the pandemic, but we will also discuss the extent to which we believe the pandemic accelerated retail trends that were already underway or whether the changes reflect true evolution in the retail space.

This panel will focus on the changing tides of chapters 7 and 13 due to recent legislation, including the CARES Act, Consolidated Appropriations Act, Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act of 2020 and other nonbankruptcy legislation/policies that have an impact on bankruptcy filings. The panelists also will take a peek at what is on the horizon for potential new legislation.

This panel of lawyers and insolvency professionals with bankruptcy expertise will lead a roundtable discussion regarding investigation of debtors and recovering assets to enhance the value of a bankruptcy estate.

This panel will discuss changes in the CARES act and consolidated appropriations act as well as general housing issues.