2019 Bankruptcy Battleground West

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2019 Bankruptcy Battleground West

March 28, 2019 Montage Beverly Hills, CA

ABI’s Bankruptcy Battleground West continues its tradition of bringing seasoned insolvency professionals together to discuss the leading issues of bankruptcy law, with a focus on the Southern California region. This year’s program once again offers concurrent sessions on a variety of insolvency topics, making this a conference you will not want to miss!

Sessions

Event Information 271025

Thursday, March 28

8:00-9:00 a.m.

Breakfast and Registration

Sponsored by East West Bank

9:00-9:15 a.m.

Welcome by Conference Leadership

9:15-10:30 a.m.

Plenary Session

The Great Divide: Overview of Circuit Splits on Current Issues

This panel of legal experts will break down a number of significant issues that are currently dividing circuits across the country, including the effect of rejecting trademark licenses, the allowance of claims for “make-whole” premiums, third-party plan releases, the right to assume and assign intellectual property agreements, the calculation of lease-rejection damages under § 502(b)(6), and the standard for satisfying the impaired consenting class requirement under a joint plan. Do you know where your circuit stands on these key issues? (Please note that topics are subject to change.)

 

Hon. Scott C. Clarkson, Moderator

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (C.D. Cal.); Santa Ana

Jeffrey Bjork

Latham & Watkins; Los Angeles

Dawn M. Cica

Mushkin Cica Coppedge; Las Vegas

Gabriel I. Glazer

Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP; Los Angeles

Shanti M. Katona

Polsinelli P.C.; Wilmington, Del.

10:30-10:45 a.m.

Networking Break

Sponsored by Polsinelli

10:45 a.m.- 12:00 noon

Concurrent Sessions (2)

EB-5 Program Company Restructurings

Through the EB-5 immigrant investor program, a foreign national can invest at least $500,000 into a qualified project, and if that investment leads to the creation of at least 10 jobs in the U.S., the investor becomes eligible for permanent U.S. residency. The EB-5 Program has expanded dramatically over the last decade, typically with USCIS-qualified “regional centers” pooling investments to provide inexpensive liquidity to real estate developments and other businesses. This panel will discuss recent developments and issues involved in EB-5 restructurings and chapter 11s.

 

Lance N. Jurich, Moderator

Loeb & Loeb LLP; Los Angeles

Prof. Gary Friedland

New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business; New York

Andrew Kingston

Kingston Petersen; Seattle

Alan N. Tantleff

FTI Consulting, Inc.; New York

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: More Trouble for Financially Troubled Businesses

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made significant changes to the Internal Revenue Code. This panel will discuss certain tax changes that may adversely affect financially troubled business operations, debt restructurings, reorganizations and liquidations.

 

Susan P. Tomlinson, Moderator

Crowe LLP; Los Angeles

Elliot G. Freier

Irell & Manella LLP; Los Angeles

A. Lavar Taylor

The Law Offices of A. Lavar Taylor LLP; Santa Ana

Hon. Mark S. Wallace

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (C.D. Cal.); Santa Ana

12:00-1:15 p.m.

Luncheon Presentation

Sponsored by Loeb & Loeb LLP and Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP

Capital Markets and Commercial Real Estate: A Contrarian Perspective

Donald D. Sheets

Clarion Partners; New York

1:30-2:45 p.m.

Concurrent Sessions (2)

The Morning After OPEC Goes Broke

Various factors have combined to result in low crude oil prices that are not expected to rebound significantly and not to a point where OPEC countries will be able to cover their operating deficits. This panel will explore the issues facing the OPEC countries and discuss how these issues will impact the global economy and insolvency practice in the coming years.

 

J. Michael Issa, Moderator

GlassRatner Advisory & Capital Group LLC; Irvine

Adam B. Connors

Northland Capital Markets; Orange County, Calif.

Scott F. Gautier

Robins Kaplan LLP; Los Angeles

Looking for the Remote: Structuring Enforceable Bankruptcy-Remote, Special-Purpose Entities in Commercial Real Estate Finance

This panel will explore the evolution of real estate financing structures leading up to today’s market, and discusses how current trends and varying structures can affect results in a future workout or bankruptcy.

 

Hon. Robert N. Kwan, Moderator

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (C.D. Cal.); Los Angeles

Daniel B. Denny

Milbank LLP; Los Angeles

M. Douglas Flahaut

Arent Fox LLP; Los Angeles

Sherilyn Olsen

Holland & Hart LLP; Salt Lake City

2:45-3:00 p.m.

Networking Break

3:00-4:15 p.m.

Plenary Session

Crossfire

This panel will be in the format of current-events TV program “Crossfire” and will address three “hot” or “interesting” bankruptcy issues that are not being addressed in the other sessions, including future waivers, new-value issues and Jevic.

 

Paul D. Buie, Moderator

Onyx Asset Advisors; Los Angeles

Hon. Martin R. Barash

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (C.D. Cal.); Woodland Hills

Hon. Sheri Bluebond

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (C.D. Cal.); Los Angeles

Hon. Julia W. Brand

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (C.D. Cal.); Los Angeles

Whitman Holt

Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern LLP; Los Angeles

Eve H. Karasik

Levene, Neale, Bender, Yoo & Brill L.L.P.; Los Angeles

Hon. Margaret M. Mann

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (S.D. Cal.); San Diego

Robert S. Marticello

Smiley Wang-Ekvall, LLP; Los Angeles

Kyle J. Mathews

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP; Los Angeles

Elissa D. Miller

SulmeyerKupetz, APC; Los Angeles

Hon. Erithe A. Smith

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (C.D. Cal.); Santa Ana

Robyn B. Sokol

Brutzkus Gubner Rozansky Seror Weber LLP; Los Angeles

Hon. Scott H. Yun

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (C.D. Cal.); Riverside

4:15-6:00 p.m.

Reception

Sponsored by GlassRatner

 

Co-Chairs

Kimberly A. Posin

Latham & Watkins; Los Angeles

Randye B. Soref

Polsinelli LLP; Los Angeles

Judicial Chair

Hon. Deborah J. Saltzman

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (C.D. Cal.); Los Angeles

Advisory Board

Kyra E. Andrassy

Smiley Wang-Ekvall, LLP; Costa Mesa

Steven M. Berman

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP; Tampa, Fla.

Erin N. Brady

Hogan Lovells; Los Angeles

Paul D. Buie

Onyx Asset Advisors; Los Angeles

Anthony R. Calascibetta

EisnerAmper LLP; Iselin, N.J.

Shirley S. Cho

Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP; Los Angeles

Michael T. Delaney

Robins Kaplan LLP; Los Angeles

John-Patrick M. Fritz

Levene, Neale, Bender, Yoo & Brill L.L.P.; Los Angeles

Amir Gamliel

Perkins Coie LLP; Los Angeles

Paul R. Glassman

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, P.C.; Santa Monica

Seth Goldman

Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP; Los Angeles

Richard H. Golubow

Winthrop Couchot Golubow Hollander, LLP; Newport Beach

J. Michael Issa

GlassRatner Advisory & Capital Group LLC; Irvine

Thomas P. Jeremiassen

Development Specialists, Inc.; Los Angeles

Lance N. Jurich

Loeb & Loeb LLP; Los Angeles

Mary Ann Kaptain

FTI Consulting, Inc.; Los Angeles

Haig Maghakian

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP; Los Angeles

Winston Mar

SierraConstellation Partners LLP; Los Angeles

Kyle J. Mathews

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP; Los Angeles

Jennifer E. Mercer

Donlin, Recano & Company, Inc.; Los Angeles

Byron Z. Moldo

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP; Beverly Hills

Aram Ordubegian

Arent Fox LLP; Los Angeles

Victor A. Sahn

SulmeyerKupetz; Los Angeles

Timothy G. Skillman

M-Theory Group; Los Angeles

Robyn B. Sokol

Brutzkus Gubner Rozansky Seror Weber LLP; Los Angeles

Susan P. Tomlinson

Crowe LLP; Los Angeles

Travis Vandell

Stretto; Irvine, Calif.

Genevieve G. Weiner

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP; Los Angeles

Roye Zur

Landau Gottfried & Berger LLP; Los Angeles

 

Conference Information

The conference will be held at the Montage Beverly Hills, 225 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Reservations may be made by contacting the hotel directly at (310) 860-7800. A block of rooms has not reserved. Please book early to receive the best rate available.

Continuing Education Credit

Approval for approximately 5 hours of CLE credit is pending in states calculating CLE on a 60-minute hour, and 6 hours of CLE credit are pending in 50-minute-hour states. Credit hours granted are subject to each state’s CLE credit-approval regulations and may not be approved prior to the program. California MCLE: ABI certifies that this activity has been approved for MCLE credit in the amount of 5 hours. NY MCLE: This traditional program has been approved in accordance with the requirements of the CLE Board for a maximum of 6 credit hours. 6 hours of CPE credit are also available.

 

* ABI offers intermediate-level courses, which assume that attendees will have at least some detailed knowledge of insolvency matters (pursuant to the “Statement on Standards for CPE Programs” established by AICPA and NASBA). ABI is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State Boards of Accountancy have the final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website, www.nasbaregistry.org.

 

ABI acknowledges that in some instances there will be persons who need to attend an educational seminar for CLE credit who are not able to pay full registration fees. ABI will handle such instances on a case-by-case basis and will work with the individual on alternative solutions. For persons who cannot meet the full registration rate, ABI will offer a reduced rate based on what the individual can reasonably afford to cover the cost of meals and materials. For persons unable to pay a reduced rate, we may allow the individual to work at our registration area for a few hours during attendee check-in, or assist in conference set-up. ABI also has reduced rates for government employees, professors, law clerks and students. For information on tuition assistance, send an e-mail to [email protected].

Cancellation Policy

All fees, except a $75 handling fee, will be refunded if written notice of cancellation is received by March 7, 2019. No refunds will be granted after March 7, but substitutions will be allowed. After March 7, upon written request, a coupon for 20% off the registration fee (not including optional events) will be issued, which can be used (by the canceling registrant only) for any ABI educational program up to one year after this conference, or for this same conference next year.

Conference Rates

Registration Rates

Early 
(postmarked by 1/18/19)

Regular 
(1/19/19 - 3/8/19)

Late 
(after 3/8/19)


ABI Member $445 $495 $545
Join ABI and Save* $740 $790 $840

Gov’t./Aca./Nonprofit ABI Member

$225 $275 $325

Gov’t./Aca./Nonprofit New ABI Member*

$320 $370 $420

* Includes a one-year ABI membership for first-time members — a $325 value! Expired members should select the member rate and add in the membership renewal fee. You must be an ABI member to attend the conference.

Partners

Sponsors

agencyIPDevelopment Specialists, Inc. East West Bank FTI Consulting, Inc.  GlassRatner Advisory & Capital Group LLCHonest TaxKingston Petersen, PLLCLoeb & Loeb LLP Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLPPolsinelli Sherwood Partners, Inc.SkaddenWilmington Trust Company

Special Thanks

We extend our special thanks to FTI Consulting for the lanyards, Sherwood Partners, Inc./ agencyIP for the Hall sponsorship, Wilmington Trust for the tote bags.