9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

ABC Exams

2:00 p.m

ABI Registration Desk and Exhibit Hall Open

5:00-6:00 p.m.

Emerging Leaders and Judges Roundtable (invite only)

Private roundtable for up-and-coming insolvency professionals and the judges in attendance.

6:00-8:00 p.m.

Opening Reception

Sponsored by Duane Morris LLP, Greenberg Traurig, LLP and Murphy & King

7:00-7:35 a.m.

Continental Breakfast

Sponsored by Gavin/Solmonese LLC

7:35-9:15 a.m.

Plenary Session

ABI Northeast Conference Trial Symposium 2015: Early and Expeditious Litigation Exits — from Deposition to Disposition

The trial team in this session will explore strategies to quickly discover essential facts relating to substantive and procedural legal defenses by discussing the use of discovery, the proper use of and best practices for motions for summary judgment and developing the summary judgment record, and strategies for opposing summary judgment in a contested matter to which Part VII of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure apply. The context will be an objection to a proof of claim asserting legal defenses, including improper interest charges, based on a hypothetical case. The panelists will conduct several mock strategy sessions and a mock summary judgment hearing, and offer commentary from the trial team members.

Hon. Joan N. Feeney, Moderator

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Mass.); Boston

Hon. Frank J. Bailey

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Mass.); Boston

Patrick P. Dinardo

Sullivan & Worcester; Boston

Julia Frost-Davies

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius; Boston

Frederic D. Grant, Jr.

Law Office of Frederic Grant, Jr.; Boston

Hon. Louis H. Kornreich

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Me.); Bangor

Peter B. McGlynn

Bernkopf Goodman LLP; Boston

Patrick J. O'Toole, Jr.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP; Boston

9:15-9:30 a.m.

Coffee Break

Sponsored by Bernstein Shur

9:30-10:45 a.m.

Consumer Forum Session

Mortgage Regulation Update: New “Qualified Mortgage” and Ability-to-Pay Regulations, and Loan Servicing/Loss-Mitigation Regulations

Practitioners can get up to speed on the new “Qualified Mortgage Rule” (the “QM”) and the ability-to-pay regulations to prepare for future mortgage claim disputes. This panel will discuss the changes to TILA and RESPA, as well as the new Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB) regulations on mortgage servicing.

Patricia Antonelli, Moderator

Partridge, Snow & Hahn, LLP; Providence, R.I.

Amy N. Azza

Orlans Moran, PLLC; Waltham, Mass.

Hon. Diane Finkle

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. R.I.); Providence

Christopher M. Lefebvre

Claude Lefebvre, Christopher Lefebvre, P.C.; Pawtucket, R.I.

10:45-11:00 a.m.

Coffee Break

Sponsored by Nixon Peabody LLP

11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Consumer Forum Session

Ethics: What Can the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” Teach Us About Professional Responsibility?

Disclosing assets and verifying a debtor’s information is the calling card of any conscientious debtor’s counsel. But how do the rules governing professional responsibility interplay with debtor’s counsel’s obligations under the Code? A real housewife in New Jersey recently blamed her attorney for her prison sentence following her guilty plea for bankruptcy fraud. Did her attorney commit an ethical violation? This panel will examine the record behind this headline-making case, as well as other recent bankruptcy court decisions that examine the ethical conduct and obligations of debtor’s counsel.

William J. McLeod, Moderator

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Mass.); Boston

Hon. Frank J. Bailey

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Mass.); Boston

Andrea M. O’Connor

Hendel & Collins, P.C.; Springfield, Mass.

Jennifer H. Pincus

Office of the U.S. Trustee; Portland, Maine

1:00 p.m.

Optional Events

Golf Tournament & ABI Golf Tour

Sponsored by Goodwin Procter LLP

Tennis Tournament

Sponsored by Mesirow Financial Consulting, LLC

Tour de ABI

Sponsored by Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP and Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green

1:00-3:00 p.m.

Optional Event

Beach Olympics

Sponsored by Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP

6:30-8:30 p.m.

Friday Reception

Sponsored by BlumShapiro, Finn Dixon & Herling LLP, Neubert, Pepe & Monteith, P.C., Pullman & Comley LLC, Reid and Riege, P.C., Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, P.C. and Zeisler & Zeisler, P.C.
Kids’ Entertainment sponsored by Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Beach Bonfire sponsored by Paul E. Saperstein Co., Inc.

7:30-7:55 a.m.

Continental Breakfast

Sponsored by Brown Rudnick LLP and Murtha Cullina LLP

7:55-9:00 a.m.

Plenary Session

Where the Fugawi, and How Did We Get Here?

Young lawyers frequently learn that they will be working on a new chapter 11 case when they are directed to start drafting pleadings. This session, spearheaded by members of ABI’s Young & New Members Committee, is geared toward gaining an understanding of what precedes that moment by (1) advising and educating the new(er) generation of bankruptcy professionals on the background and “big picture” of a chapter 11 case, and (2) advising and educating the newest generation of bankruptcy professionals on pre-filing strategies. The panel will explore and help identify operational, financing and litigation problems that may be faced by distressed companies, then will explore both short-term and longer-term strategies that can be pursued before a petition is filed.

Hon. Bruce A. Harwood

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. N.H.); Manchester

Stephen S. Gray

Deloitte CRG; Boston

Harold B. Murphy

Murphy & King, PC; Boston

Shannon L. Nagle

CIT Group Inc.; New York

9:00-9:15 a.m.

Coffee Break

Sponsored by CapitalSource

 

Consumer Forum Session

Exemption Strategies after Law v. Siegel

This panel will explore the question of whether exemptions may be denied for bad faith and whether debtors may amend their claimed exemptions to assert a different statutory basis after an exemption has been denied, including the impact of potential res judicata and collateral estoppel claims. Case law developments since Law v. Siegel will be reviewed, as well as important strategic considerations for debtors, trustees and creditors.

Jessica A. Lewis, Moderator

Molleur Law Office; Biddeford, Maine

Hon. J. Michael Deasy (ret.)

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. N.H.); Manchester

Nathaniel R. Hull

Verrill Dana LLP; Portland, Maine

Alex F. Mattera

Demeo, LLP; Boston

10:30-10:45 a.m.

Coffee Break

Sponsored by Pepper Hamilton LLP

 

Consumer Forum Session

Chapter 13: Developing Issues and the Challenges for Debtors, Creditors and Trustees

May a trustee make a distribution to a secured creditor that has not filed a proof of claim? Should trustees or debtors file surrogate claims if secured creditors have not? Does a debtor’s failure to make post‐petition payments to a creditor defeat the debtor’s eligibility for a discharge? This panel will address the emerging case law on whether direct post‐petition payments as required by the plan are considered “payments under the plan” as contemplated by § 1328(a), the growing complications that may arise from a secured creditor’s not filing proofs of claim, and the impact of proposed rule changes on these hot issues.

Randy J. Creswell, Moderator

Perkins Thompson; Portland, Maine

Peter C. Fessenden

Standing Chapter 13 Trustee (D. Me.); Brunswick

Hon. Enrique S. Lamoutte

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. P.R.); San Juan

Marques C. Lipton

Law Office of Nicholas F. Ortiz, P.C.; Boston

1:00-3:00 p.m.

Optional Event

Beach Volleyball

Sponsored by Phoenix Management Services

1:00-5:30 p.m.

Optional Event

Sport Fishing

Sponsored by Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP

4:00-5:15 p.m.

Seaside Chat

6:00-7:00 p.m.

Sponsor Reception (invite only)

Sponsored by Foley Hoag LLP and Verdolino & Lowey, P.C.

7:00-10:00 p.m.

Saturday Beach Party (optional)

Sponsored by Deloitte CRG, Choate Hall & Stewart LLP and Ropes & Gray LLP
Kids’ Entertainment Sponsored by Goulston & Storrs PC