Teleconference to Look at Chapter 11 Commission to Date: What Have We Learned?

Date: 
Monday, December 3, 2012
Issue: 

ABI held a media teleconference on Dec. 3, 2012, examining the progress of the Chapter 11 Commission to date and preview the efforts of the Commission in 2013. The Commission, formed to study and propose potential reforms, held five public hearings in 2012 to collect input from parties interested in chapter 11 reform to incorporate into a final report expected to be completed by April 2014.

Audio: 
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Speakers: 

Commission Co-Chair Robert J. Keach of Bernstein Shur (Portland, Maine)

Commission Reporter Prof. Michelle M. Harner of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

Commission Member Richard B. Levin of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (New York)

Moderator: 

John Hartgen, ABI Public Affairs Manager

Background: 

The Commission concluded its 2012 public hearing schedule on November 30 at ABI’s Winter Leadership Conference. Interested parties at the five public hearings throughout 2012 presented witness testimony on potential fixes to the Bankruptcy Code for business bankruptcies. Examining topics such as the expansion of the use of secured credit, the growth of distressed-debt markets and other externalities that have affected the effectiveness of the current Bankruptcy Code, the Commission will propose reforms to chapter 11 and related statutory provisions. The work of the Commission will be incorporated into a final report expected to be completed by April 2014.