Press Releases

Alexandria, Va. — ABI’s popular Bankruptcy 2022: Views from the Bench program will take place on Sept. 23 in the Washington, D.C., offices of Hogan Lovells US LLP. The program features the views of 24 sitting and retired bankruptcy judges. This year’s program will examine challenges related to bankruptcy confirmation, committee formation, ethics and much more. G. Eric Brunstad of Dechert LLP (New Haven, Conn.) will be the featured luncheon speaker during a conversation on recent Supreme Court developments. Attendees have the chance to earn up to 6 hours of CLE credit and 1 hour of ethics. The judicial co-chair of the program is Bankruptcy Judge Michelle M. Harner (D. Md.; Baltimore), and the program chair is Donald A. Workman of BakerHostetler (Washington, D.C.).

The program will also feature ABI’s popular Great Debates session with Bankruptcy Judge Craig Goldblatt (D. Del.; Wilmington) serving as moderator for both debates. The first debate will feature Bankruptcy Judges Marvin P. Isgur (S.D. Tex.; Houston) and Robert D. Drain (S.D.N.Y.; White Plains) (ret.) deliberating on whether a bankruptcy is considered filed in good faith where the debtor is not otherwise in financial distress and has the liquidity to pay its creditors in full, but where the case is filed because the debtor is a defendant facing a deluge of tort claims. The second debate features Bankruptcy Judges Pamela W. McAfee (E.D.N.C.; Raleigh) and Christopher M. Lopez (S.D. Tex.; Houston) considering controversial issues and factors surrounding bankruptcy court approval of a plan-support agreement.

Panel sessions at the Views from the Bench program include:

• Confirmation: Challenges of Today
• Confirmation, Part II: Even More Challenges
• Committee Challenges in 2022
• Nuts and Bolts of Bankruptcy Appeals
• Ethics Challenges of Today

If you are a member of the press and would like to attend the “Views from the Bench” program, please contact ABI Public Affairs Officer John Hartgen at 703-894-5935 or [email protected].

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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 nearly 10,000 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.abi.org/calendar-of-events.

Alexandria, Va. – ABI’s 2022 Southwest Bankruptcy Conference will be held Sept. 8-10 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas. Experienced practitioners and regional judges will present information-packed sessions on a variety of topics, both business and consumer — ensuring that there is something for everyone. The conference will feature the popular “ABI Talks” series with discussions on hot-button topics such as cannabis company workouts, cryptocurrency, NFTs and DAOs, tribal land, tourism and redwoods and spousal imputation in § 523 actions. The conference will also feature a Judges’ Roundtable Q&A with bankruptcy judges from the Ninth Circuit and across the country. Attendees have the opportunity to earn up to 7.5/9 hours of general CLE/CPE credit, including 1.25/1.5 hours of ethics.

Program co-chairs for the Southwest Bankruptcy Conference are Louis M. Bubala, III of Kaempfer Crowell (Reno, Nev.) and Jordan A. Kroop of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones (New York). The sponsorship co-chair is Nellwyn Voorhies of Donlin, Recano & Company, Inc. (New York). Judicial co-chairs are Bankruptcy Judges Martin R. Barash (C.D. Cal.; Woodland Hills) and Daniel P. Collins (D. Ariz.; Phoenix).

Timely topics for the panel sessions are as follows:

General/plenary sessions include:

• Judges’ Roundtable
• Nonconsensual Third-Party Releases
• Is Stern Alive and Well in Mass Tort Cases?
• Valuations and Appraisals: Have Supply-Chain Problems and COVID-19 Affected Business and Real Estate Values?
• Bankruptcy Rule Changes to Reflect Current Realities

Business sessions include:

• Is Bankruptcy Dead?
• Out-of-the-Money Creditors: Are They Just Extorters?
• Ninth Circuit-Confirmed Plans with Third-Party Releases

Consumer sessions include:

• Nontraditional Consumer Bankruptcy Lawyer Fee Arrangements
• Discovery Skills in Consumer Cases
• How Fulton May Change Practice

For a list of speakers and additional details about the Southwest Bankruptcy Conference, please click here. Press looking to attend the Southwest Bankruptcy Conference should contact John Hartgen at 703-894-5935 or [email protected] to obtain a press pass.

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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 nearly 10,000 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.abi.org/calendar-of-events.

Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that Jeremy Fischer of Drummond Woodsum (Portland, Maine) has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 2009, Fischer co-chairs ABI’s Legislation Committee, is a member of the advisory board of ABI’s Northeast Bankruptcy Conference, was a member of ABI’s inaugural “40 Under 40” class in 2017, and is a frequent speaker at ABI conferences and events. He will be serving the remainder of the Board term for former ABI President Alane Becket of Becket & Lee LLP (Malvern, Pa.), which expires in 2024, then will be eligible to serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors.

Fischer is Drummond Woodsum’s Practice Group Leader for Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Creditors’ Rights. He specializes in litigation and transactions involving distressed commercial matters, where he helps clients from the first sign of trouble through the most complex financial restructurings or chapter 11 cases. Fischer has substantial experience in bankruptcy, bankruptcy litigation and bankruptcy appellate matters across northern New England and around the country. He previously served three terms in the Maine Legislature, where he was House Chairman of the Appropriations Committee. Fischer regularly represents indigent individuals in bankruptcy cases on a pro bono basis, and he has taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Maine School of Law. He received his J.D. summa cum laude from the University of Maine School of Law, and his B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Michigan.

The complete list of directors and officers is available at http://www.abi.org/about-us/board-directors.

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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 nearly 10,000 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.abi.org/calendar-of-events.

Alexandria, Va. — The 447 commercial chapter 11 filings in June represented a 29 percent increase from the 347 filings in June 2021, according to data provided by Epiq Bankruptcy, the leading provider of U.S. bankruptcy filing data. Overall commercial filings decreased 7 percent in June 2022, as the 1,864 filings were down from the 1,999 commercial filings registered in June 2021. Small business filings, captured as subchapter V elections within chapter 11, experienced an 8 percent decrease from 106 in June 2021 to 98 in June 2022. Total bankruptcy filings were 32,175 in June 2022, a 6 percent decline from the June 2021 total of 34,291. Noncommercial bankruptcy filings totaled 30,311 in June 2022, also registering a 6 percent decrease from the June 2021 noncommercial total of 32,292.

Total bankruptcy filings were 185,303 during the first six months of 2022, a 15 percent decrease from the 217,047 total filings during the same period a year ago. Total consumer filings also registered a 15 percent decrease, as the 175,112 filings during the first half of 2022 were down from the 204,679 filings during the first six months of 2021. The 10,191 total commercial filings for the first half of 2022 represented a 17 percent decline from the commercial filing total of 12,278 for the first half of 2021. The 1,765 total commercial chapter 11 filings during the first six months of the year (Jan. 1-June 30) were an 18 percent decrease from the 2,155 total filings during the same period in 2021, according to data provided by Epiq Bankruptcy Analytics.

“The year-over-year filing counts continue to show declines, but month-over-month we see growth in chapter 13 filings that when coupled with the growth in corporate chapter 11s, tell a different story,” says Chris Kruse, senior vice president at Epiq. “Turbulence in the market including inflation concerns, labor shortages in key industries, and a downward shift in housing prices all point toward increases in the months ahead.” 

“Tightening credit markets amid increasing interest rates, elevated prices due to inflation and global supply concerns are presenting financially distressed families and businesses with more economic dilemmas,” said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. “Bankruptcy provides a shield to the mounting economic challenges being experienced by financially struggling consumers and companies.”

Total filings in the first half of 2022 point to a pace for the full year that could be the lowest since the 348,521 bankruptcies recorded by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts in calendar year 1984. Will total, business and consumer filings remain on this pace for the second half?

In partnership with Epiq, an abiLIVE webinar on July 12 will feature experts looking at filing trends through June 30 and providing their thoughts on what could happen with bankruptcies moving forward. Speakers on the program include ABI President Hon. Kevin Carey (ret.) of Hogan Lovells (Philadelphia), Deirdre O’Connor of Epiq (New York) and ABI's Ed Flynn (Alexandria, Va.). Christopher Kruse of Epiq (San Francisco) will serve as moderator for the program. Click here for your complimentary registration.

ABI has partnered with Epiq Bankruptcy to provide the most current bankruptcy filing data for analysts, researchers, and members of the news media. Epiq Bankruptcy is the leading provider of data, technology, and services for companies operating in the business of bankruptcy. Its new Bankruptcy Analytics subscription service provides on-demand access to the industry’s most dynamic bankruptcy data, updated daily. Learn more at https://bankruptcy.epiqglobal.com/analytics.

For further information about the statistics or additional requests, please contact ABI Public Affairs Officer John Hartgen at 703-894-5935 or [email protected].

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Epiq Bankruptcy is a division of Epiq, a global technology-enabled services leader to the legal services industry and corporations that takes on large-scale, increasingly complex tasks for corporate counsel, law firms, and business professionals with efficiency, clarity, and confidence. Clients rely on Epiq to streamline the administration of business operations, class action and mass tort, court reporting, eDiscovery, regulatory, compliance, restructuring, and bankruptcy matters. Epiq subject-matter experts and technologies create efficiency through expertise and deliver confidence to high-performing clients around the world. Learn more at https://www.epiqglobal.com.  

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 nearly 10,000 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.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.