ABI and the Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Workshop Advisory Board are excited to present the 2021 Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference virtually! This year’s program will bring together regional judges and top practitioners for two days of interactive and informative programming. Take advantage of the flexibility that an online conference offers — including 30 days access to conference session recordings — and experience the two-day event from the comfort of your home or office!
Don’t forget to factor in ample opportunities to mix and mingle virtually with your colleagues during our breaks, in the attendee lounge and the Thursday evening networking event!
Until we can all meet again in person, we invite you to join us for a virtual experience that can only be found with ABI!
Access the FULL MATERIALS HERE
The Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference session recordings will be viewable until February 28, 2021. Please note that CLE and CPE credit is not available for viewing on demand recorded sessions.
IWIRC Program
You Want Me to Do What? The Dilemma of Trying to Interpret and Follow Appellate Precedent
While there can be no doubt under our current system of jurisprudence that lower courts are bound by the published decisions of appellate courts, the question remains: What can a trial court do with broad pronouncements found in an appellate decision based on limited or dissimilar facts? Judge Michael will discuss the dilemma of interpreting and using appellate precedent.
The COVID-19 Crisis: How Deep, How Long, and Its Impact on Bankruptcy Filings
Since March 2002, the U.S. economy has been in a recession brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the Great Recession of 2008 caused a jump in business and consumer bankruptcy filings, the COVID Recession has not yet resulted in any such increase. Indeed, consumer bankruptcy filings since March 2020 have seen a historic decline. This panel will explore the economic differences between the Great Recession and the COVID Recession, and attempt to explain their inconsistent effects on bankruptcy filings. It will also consider why a bankruptcy wave has been slow to form under the COVID Recession, what events will eventually trigger a wave, and what the impact of the Great Recession suggests about the size, shape and timing of the coming wave of bankruptcy filings.
Sponsored by Dentons Durham Jones & Pinegar
- View Concert
The Sherwood Streaming Koncerts Series Break
Get ready for the Sherwood Streaming Koncerts series, brought to you by Sherwood Partners and agencyIP for your entertainment. For today's break, Sunset Singers presents Classic Rock with Aaron, concluding with a duet with Friday's featured performer, Emily. GET SHERWOOD: We have proven solutions.
Sponsored by Sherwood & agencyIP
Concurrent Sessions (choose 1 or 2)
1. Streamlined Small Business Reorganizations Under Subchapter V: Concepts and Early Decisions
This panel will focus on Congress’s new foray into streamlining small business reorganizations under the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019, as amended by the CARES Act of 2020. The panelists will examine similarities and differences between subchapter V and traditional chapter 11 reorganization, debtor eligibility, and the role of the newly created position of subchapter V trustee. The panelists will then examine early decisions on these issues from bankruptcy courts around the country.
2. SBRA: Subchapter V Strategy and How to Get Your Plan Confirmed
This panel will provide an overview of the requirements for a reorganization plan in subchapter V cases under the Small Business Reorganization Act, including the new fair-and-equitable standard for cramdowns, and effective strategies to get to plan confirmation.
Stretch Break
Ethics: Telling the Story on Your Timesheets: A Fee Examiner’s Tips for Creditors’ Lawyers and Bankruptcy Estate Professionals
We often forget that what we say and how we say it can signal more than we intended. One of the primary ways in which "what we say"/"how we say it" creates such signals is with the wording of time entries, whether or not those time entries are ever reviewed by a bankruptcy court. Clients read bills, too, so if one wants to communicate that their work was valuable and efficiently performed, the fable of Goldilocks comes to mind: The time entries need to be "just right." When they're not, clients and courts can draw conclusions that we never intended them to draw. This panel will discuss these issues and more.
Sponsored by Rocky Mountain Advisory, LLC
Virtual Mix & Mingle
Join your Rocky Mountain colleagues online for some relaxed socializing and mingling. All you have to do is click on the link.
Rochelle’s Rocky Mountain Case Law Update
Bankruptcy Judges Elizabeth Brown and Michael Romero will discuss the year’s widest splits and most controversial opinions with ABI Editor-at-Large Bill Rochelle. They also will analyze important decisions from the Tenth Circuit, the BAPs and the District of Colorado.
Stretch Break
Concurrent Sessions (choose 1 or 2)
1. Litigating Common Causes of Action in Bankruptcy
Covering a wide array of bankruptcy litigation matters, this session will focus on issues relating to stay relief, discharge litigation, and post-discharge injunction matters. Evidentiary considerations and standards for relief will be highlighted, along with case law developments and practice tips from the experienced panelists.
2. Taming a Black Swan: Establishing Feasibility in Uncertain Times
This session includes a panel discussion of the unique issues and challenges involved with demonstrating plan feasibility during our current pandemic economy. The panelists will also discuss how bankruptcy courts have dealt with the issues thus far, and how debtors can make their best cases before the court.
- View Concert
The Sherwood Streaming Koncerts Series Break
In today's Sherwood Streaming Koncerts series, Sunset Singers presents Classic Rock. GET SHERWOOD: We have proven solutions.
Sponsored by Sherwood & agencyIP
Judicial Roundtable
The judges of this year's Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference will hold in-depth discussions on navigating virtual hearings and what we have learned from the pandemic; the benefits of filing commercial cases in Rocky Mountain jurisdictions; gross-income calculations in light of the closures of small, closely held businesses; trends in consumer/small business cases during the pandemic; and ethics and professionalism in a (more) virtual world.
Adjourn
Conference Rates
ABI Member & Non-member: $250
Registration + ABI Membership for New Members*: $550
* Includes a one-year ABI membership for first-time members — a $375 value! Membership is individual and nonrefundable. If your membership has expired, select the member rate and add in your membership renewal fee.
Cancellation Policy
No refunds will be granted for this online program. Should you become unable to attend any or all of the sessions, upon request, a recording of all sessions can be sent to you, along with the corresponding educational materials.
Anti-Harassment Policy
The American Bankruptcy Institute is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks. Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference without a refund at the discretion of the conference organizers. Our anti-harassment policy can be found at: https://www.abi.org/about-us/bylaws-and-policies.
2021 Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference Co-Chairs
Advisory Board
The Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference session recordings will be viewable until February 28, 2021. Please note that CLE and CPE credit is not available for viewing on demand recorded sessions.
The live virtual program is eligible for up 8.75 hours of Total CLE credit in states calculating CLE on a 60-minute hour, and 10.5 hours of CLE credit in 50-minute-hour states. 1.25 hours of Ethics and Professional Responsibility Credit available in states calculating CLE on a 60-minute hour, and 1.5 hours of CLE credit in 50-minute-hour states. Credit hours are estimated and are subject to each state’s approval and credit-rounding rules and might not be approved prior to the program. Please note that the Colorado Bar is experiencing delays in approving CLE applications. If you have any specific concerns or questions, please email us at [email protected].
10.5 hours of CPE* credit are also available. CPE credit is NOT AVAILABLE for viewing on demand recorded sessions.
Instructional Delivery Method: Group Live delivered online due to COVID-19.
* 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. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, many state boards of accountancy are providing flexibility in the instructional delivery method and allowing for Group Live-approved providers to issue credits for Group Live Internet-Based vended programs. Kansas does not allow for this flexibility, and waiver requests are pending with Iowa and North Dakota. All other state boards of accountancy have noted their flexibility. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website, www.nasbaregistry.org.
When and how can I access the virtual conference?
Registered attendees will receive a link via email to the attendee website 48 hours before the first session begins. The link will be sent to the email address you used to register for the program, and this is how you will access all of the conference content. You’ll use the same link each day to access the attendee website for the live conference and whenever you choose to view the on-demand content.
What if I don't receive the link?
Contact [email protected], and a member of the ABI team can provide you with one.
Can I share this link with others?
As with in-person meetings, registrations cannot be shared. The registration provides a secure single sign-on experience for the user.
How much time should I expect to be online during the event days?
The virtual workshop takes place over about 5 hours on both Thursday and Friday.
Are there any specific technology requirements?
You will be able to access the program sessions without downloading any plug-ins or software. However, for best results, we recommend that you use Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Chromium Edge to access the sessions. The program will not be available on a mobile/cell phone (iPhone, Android, Blackberry), but can be accessed through laptop, desktop (PC or Mac) and certain other mobile devices (Surface Pro, iPad).
What are the suggested web browser prerequisites?
Internet Explorer 10 or higher
Chromium Edge 80 or higher
Google Chrome 53.0.2785 or higher
Safari 10.0.602.1.50 or higher
Firefox 76 or higher
Note: Mobile web browsers are not supported.