West Virginia (WV) Bankruptcy Law CLE Course Catalog

In this session, the panelists will cover both Gravel (and the dissent) and a recent bankruptcy court opinion (In re Blanco) that rejects the reasoning in Gravel. Can the two cases be reconciled? What is the standard that must be established to justify the imposition of sanctions when mortgage-servicers fail to comply with Rule 3002.1’s requirements, and what are the limitations on the amount of sanctions that can be considered appropriate?

If you are newer to chapter 13 practice, you won’t want to miss this panel. Join a judge, chapter 13 trustee, and debtor and creditor counsel as they show you how to navigate a chapter 13 case from both debtor and creditor perspectives. The discussion will include plan drafting and modification, claims filing, objecting to confirmation, dismissal, conversion, and getting paid in chapter 13 cases, as well as an overview of the tools you must take advantage of to make a chapter 13 work.

Subchapter V is the newest option for debtors to reorganize in bankruptcy. Learn from a panel of experienced subchapter V trustees what it is all about and how subchapter V has changed the bankruptcy landscape for the better.

Join ABI Editor-at-Large Bill Rochelle as he hosts a panel of bankruptcy judges to discuss circuit splits on important consumer bankruptcy issues. This panel will be presented in a fun game-show format where the judges will vote to resolve the issues before they reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin, along with Florida’s Middle District, have all set up successful mortgage-mediation programs. This panel will spill the details on how they did it, particularly the ways in which they used web-based portals for document exchanges. Also on tap: the role of mediators and the court’s role in overseeing order processes and timelines.

Law school can seem like a long time ago, especially when a client walks in the door wanting help on filing for personal bankruptcy. This session will provide an overview of chapter 7: the players, bankruptcy estate, automatic stay, initial consultation and means test. Included in the discussion will be exemptions, preparing schedules, the relevant Bankruptcy Code and Rules sections, local rules, and how to know whether your client can or must redeem, reaffirm or surrender. Brush up on your skills and learn what you need to know about one of the core chapters of consumer bankruptcy.

Successful consumer bankruptcy cases often hinge on the intake process, particularly the details gathered on the intake form. What questions should be asked? What resources should be used? Discover best practices for getting the right information from the very beginning, which can avoid all kinds of headaches later. (No one wants to discover a fraudulent transfer at the 11th hour!).

To ease the financial fallout from the pandemic, there could be increased congressional interest in consumer bankruptcy reform. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Jerrold Nadler already have proposed a complete overhaul of the consumer bankruptcy system and a new chapter 10 for all individual debtors. Several pending legislative proposals would make it easier to discharge student loans in bankruptcy. Profs. Robert Lawless and Adam Levitin will explain these proposals, the motivating factors behind them, and what else might be coming in the consumer bankruptcy world.

This panel explores the interplay between state court divorce law and bankruptcy. We focus on many of the misconceptions that arise when those two unrelated areas of the law intersect or overlap.