Press Releases

Contact: John Hartgen
             703-894-5935
             [email protected]

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE, CONSUMER FILING TRENDS, PROFESSIONAL FEES IN CHAPTER 11 AND PONZI SCHEMES AMONG THE TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED AT ABI’S 22nd ANNUAL WINTER LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

September 17, 2010, Alexandria, Va. — Continued distress in the commercial real estate market, class actions that might arise out of the Gulf Coast oil crisis, ponzi schemes and consumer filing trends are all topics that will be addressed at the American Bankruptcy Institute’s (ABI) 22nd Annual Winter Leadership Conference taking place Dec. 9-11 at the Camelback Inn Spa and Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. In addition to 11 panel sessions, the Winter Leadership Conference features 13 ABI Committee Educational Sessions as attendees have the opportunity to earn 11.25 hours of CLE credit and 2.75 hours of ethics.

The conference will feature a keynote by David C. Vladeck, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Federal Trade Commission. At the FTC, Vladeck heads the agency’s initiatives on behalf of consumers, including those related to mortgage fraud, credit cards practices, debt relief providers, and credit repair, as well as privacy matters as they impact the Bankruptcy Code.

Also featured at the conference will be a plenary session titled “Professional Fees in Mega- Chapter 11 Cases: Reasonable or Out of Control?” Experts examining the issue will include Clifford J. White III, Director of the Executive Office of U.S. Trustees (Washington, D.C.), Brady C. Williamson of Godfrey & Kahn SC (Madison, Wis.), Kenneth R. Feinberg, the Special Master for Executive Compensation (Washington, D.C.) and Prof. Stephen J. Lubben of Seton Hall Law School (Newark, N.J.), who authored ABI’s landmark study on professional fees. The plenary session will be moderated by ABI Past-President Robert J. Keach of Bernstein Shur (Portland, Maine).

Some of the featured sessions at the Winter Leadership Conference include:

•    ABI’s Great Debates
•    Commercial Real Estate: The Next Tsunami Approaches
•    Ponzi Scheme Cases: A New Look At Potential Sources of Recovery
•    Mass Torts/Class Actions and Other Issues That May Arise From the Gulf Oil Crisis
•    Consumer Bankruptcy Cases Year in Review: A Look at Supreme Court and Appellate Decisions
•    Hot Topics: Views From Bench

Entertainment at the conference will include a performance by comedian Frank Caliendo and ABI’s rock band, the Indubitable Equivalents.

To review a comprehensive schedule of programming and speakers, please click on the following link.
http://www.abiworld.org/WLC10/schedule.html

For full information on ABI’s 22nd Winter Leadership Conference, including sponsors, optional events and rates can be found at http://www.abiworld.org/WLC10.    

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than 12,600 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.

Contact: John Hartgen
             703-894-5935
             [email protected]

AUGUST CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY FILINGS FALL 8 PERCENT THIS MONTH

September 1, 2010, Alexandria, Va.— The 127,028 consumer bankruptcies filed in August represented a 8 percent decrease nationwide over the 137,698 filings recorded in July 2010, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), relying on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC). Though a decrease from the previous month, NBKRC’s data also showed that the August 2010 consumer filings represented a 6 percent increase from the 119,874 consumer filings recorded in August 2009. Chapter 13 filings constituted 29 percent of all consumer cases in August, a slight increase from July.

“While monthly filings are volatile, consumer bankruptcies are still the highest they have been since Congress overhauled the bankruptcy law in 2005,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “Consumer filings remain on track to top 1.6 million filings in 2010.”

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than 12,600 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.

NBKRC is an online research center that offers subscribers access to up-to-date research and statistics on bankruptcy filings. The database contains complete information dating back to 1995. For more information on NBKRC, please visit http://www.nbkrc.com.

*Definitions from Bankruptcy Overview: Issues, Law and Policy, by the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code is available to both individual and business debtors. Its purpose is to achieve a fair distribution to creditors of the debtor’s available non-exempt property.  Unsecured debts not reaffirmed are discharged, providing a fresh financial start.  

Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code is available for both business and consumer debtors. Its purpose is to rehabilitate a business as a going concern or reorganize an individual’s finances through a court-approved reorganization plan.

Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code is designed to give special debt relief to a family farmer with regular income from farming. 

Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code is available for an individual with regular income whose debts do not exceed specific amounts; it is typically used to budget some of the debtor’s future earnings under a plan through which unsecured creditors are paid in whole or in part.

Contact: John Hartgen
             703-894-5935
             [email protected]

ABI CREATES FIRST PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABANK OF ASSET SALES

October 8, 2010, Alexandria, Va. — With the explosion of asset sales in the recent wave of business bankruptcies, the American Bankruptcy Institute has launched the new Section 363 Asset Sales Databank website (http://363.abi.org/). The new website provides practitioners with a growing databank of orders approving asset sales procedures from bankruptcy courts across the country. Constructed by Ira L. Herman of Thompson & Knight LLP (New York) and ABI’s Asset Sales Committee, the databank is organized by judicial circuit and is searchable by district, size of the transaction or the key terms of the sale. An editorial board of ABI members will continually update and summarize recent asset sales to be posted to the website.

Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code affords debtors the opportunity to sell assets free and clear of liens. Asset sales under Section 363 have expanded rapidly in recent years and were a large component of such high-profile bankruptcy cases as Lehman Brothers, Chrysler and General Motors. ABI’s Asset Sales Databank will allow practitioners to search for keywords and phrases in typical asset-sales agreements, such as “break up fee.” Databank users will also be able to sign up for an RSS feed to be alerted of all new sales within a given region, or all regions, as soon as the sales are posted.

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than 12,600 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.

Contact: John Hartgen
             703-894-5935
             [email protected]

October 27, 2010, Alexandria, Va.  — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and St. John’s University School of Law will co-sponsor the 19th Annual Hon. Conrad B. Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, March 5-7, 2011, in New York. The competition promotes and recognizes the finest oral written advocacy on a significant problem in bankruptcy practice. The event, the nation’s only moot court competition devoted entirely to bankruptcy, is named to honor the memory of Chief Judge Conrad B. Duberstein, a St. John’s University alumnus and a former member of the ABI Board of Directors. The competition’s preliminary and octo-final rounds will be held on March 5-6, and quarter-final, semi-final and final rounds will be held on March 7. The preliminary and octo-final rounds will be held at the St. John’s University School of Law, while the quarter-final, semi-final and final rounds will be held at the Conrad B. Duberstein U.S. Bankruptcy Courthouse in Brooklyn, N.Y. 

Judging the final round will again be the chief judges of the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York (Carla E. Craig  and  Arthur J. Gonzalez) along with Federal Appeals Court Judges  Michael J. Melloy  (Eight Circuit),  Mary M. Schroder (Ninth Circuit) and  Deanell Reece Tacha  (Tenth Circuit). Bankruptcy judges from across the nation will judge the quarter- and semifinal rounds.

Approximately 50 ABA-accredited law schools are expected to participate in this year’s competition. Awards will be presented to the winning team, as well as for best written brief and best oral advocate. The awards banquet will be held at the famous Pier 60, Chelsea Piers. The University of Texas Law School is the defending champion, while past winners include University of Miami School of Law, Mississippi College School of Law, Brooklyn Law School, Baylor University School of Law, University of Connecticut Law School, Emory University School of Law, University of Idaho College of Law, William & Mary Law School, the University of Florida Law School, the University of Alabama School of Law, Stetson University College of Law and New York University School of Law.

The ABI Endowment Fund will present awards of $5,000 to the first-place team, $3,000 to the second-place team and $1,500 to the two third-place teams. Individual awards of Best Oral Advocate and Best Brief will receive $1,000 each.

State and local bankruptcy bar sections are encouraged to participate by sponsoring law school teams. ABI members, and especially academic members, are encouraged to help sponsor or coach a team. Hotel and travel accommodations are at the school’s expense. The Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers is the host hotel. 

The registration deadline for teams is Nov. 22. Visit the competition website for more information:  www.stjohns.edu/law/bankruptcy.    

ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than 12,600 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit  www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit  http://www.abiworld.org/events.