International Insolvency

Recent Opinions and Orders Under PROMESA and Their Impact on Puerto Rico’s Future

The following session took place during Caribbean Insolvency Symposium in February 2019. This panel will examine the effects thus far of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), as well as Puerto Rico’s economy, including where it came from, where it is now and where it is going. All sessions from this conference can be accessed at https://cle.abi.org/.

Speakers:

Hon. Enrique S. Lamoutte, Moderator
U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D.P.R.); San Juan
Hon. Brian K. Tester, Moderator
U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D.P.R.) San Juan
Sonia Colón
Ferraiuoli, LLC; Orlando, Fla. and San Juan
Cate Long
Puerto Rico Clearing House, New York
Luisa S. Valle-Castro
C. Conde & Associates; San Juan
Noel Zamot
Infrastructure Revitalization Coordinator for Puerto Rico; San Juan

Conference
2019 Caribbean Insolvency Symposium

Strategic Use of Independent Directors in Multi-Jurisdictional Insolvency Proceedings

The following session took place during Caribbean Insolvency Symposium in February 2019. This panel will explore the roles, responsibilities, benefits and liabilities in using independent directors through multi-jurisdictional insolvency proceedings and will discuss using directors strategically throughout the life of a company. The panelists will explain the three typical stages of a company where directors could be instructed — going concern, insolvency and emergence from a restructuring — then explain the roles and responsibilities at each of these appointments. The session would also overlay the jurisdictional distinctions among various administrative proceedings, including offshore liquidations, U.S. bankruptcy, U.S. receiverships and common law receiverships. The panelists will offer real world examples to show the differences and how the role of the director is utilized, as well as what is at stake for them, the company, the creditors and the investors. All sessions from this conference can be accessed at https://cle.abi.org/.

Speakers:

Katherine R. Catanese, Moderator
Foley & Lardner; New York
Joel E. Cohen
Stout Risius Ross, LLC; New York
Casey McDonald
Calderwood, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Michael Pearson
FFP (Cayman) Limited, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Rachael Reynolds
Ogier; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Conference
2019 Caribbean Insolvency Symposium

Issues Facing Community and Critical-Access Hospitals: What Is the Answer, and When Is It Too Good to Be True?

The following session took place during Caribbean Insolvency Symposium in February 2019. What are critical-access hospitals, and why are they important? This panel discusses alternative solutions to producing additional cash flow for failing hospitals, which need to be closely scrutinized by health care professionals familiar with licensing, reimbursement, anti-kickbacks and patient-brokering limitations. The panel also covers violations of the False Claims Act, Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute, as well as state law cases on patient-brokering and the questioning of medical necessity, clinical laboratory outreach programs, physician employment arrangements involving telemedicine, prescription programs and compounding, criminal statutes and DOJ/state regulator issues, how to reorganize legally, dealing with CMS (Medicare/Medicaid), nongovernmental and third-party commercial payers during a restructuring, and general rules on pass-through billing for outreach programs. All sessions from this conference can be accessed at https://cle.abi.org/.

Speakers:

Frank P. Terzo
Nelson Mullins Broad and Cassel LLP; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Carol L. Fox
GlassRatner Advisory & Capital Group LLC; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Elizabeth A. Green
Baker Hostetler; Orlando, Fla.
John Rowland
Baker Donelson Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PA; Nashville, Tenn.
Melissa Scott
Change Healthcare, Indianapolis

Conference
2019 Caribbean Insolvency Symposium

ADR in Cross-Border Insolvency Cases

The following session took place during Caribbean Insolvency Symposium in February 2019. This panel will discuss the role that alternative dispute resolution (ADR) can and does play in bankruptcy, starting with the tension between bankruptcy and ADR, as all ADR processes conflict with bankruptcy’s goal of centralizing estate administration into a single proceeding. In the U.S., this tension is most prevalent when a creditor seeks to enforce a pre-petition arbitration agreement. The panel will next examine the role that mediation plays in U.S. bankruptcy cases by examining the types of issues and disputes that are amenable to resolution via mediation. Finally, the panel will explore the power and potential of ADR in the cross-border arena, looking at models for how cross-border insolvency issues have been handled procedurally and identifying types of disputes that are well-suited to resolution via ADR. All sessions from this conference can be accessed at https://cle.abi.org/.

Speakers:

Prof. Andrew Dawson, Moderator
University of Miami School of Law; Coral Gables, Fla.
Angela L. Baglanzis
Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP; Philadelphia
Jack Escher
CB Insolvency, LLC; Swampscott, MA
William Rochelle
American Bankruptcy Institute; New York

Conference
2019 Caribbean Insolvency Symposium

Blockchain, Bitcoin and Beyond: Getting Current on Digital Currency

The following session took place during Caribbean Insolvency Symposium in February 2019. This panel will discuss blockchain and cryptocurrency, focusing on the basic terminology and how various agencies of the U.S. government treat cryptocurrency, in particular the Internal Revenue Service, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The panel will then examine how security interests in cryptocurrency are perfected under Article 9, and whether transfers of cryptocurrency can be avoided pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 548 or clawed back as preferences pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 547, as well as whether interests in cryptocurrency can be claimed exempt under 11 U.S.C. § 522, with a focus on Florida. The panel will also discuss issues concerning whether initial cryptocurrency coin offerings are dischargeable under 11 U.S.C. § 522, how digital currency is changing the way business is conducted, which industries have been early adopters of digital currency, and whether digital currency is here to stay. Finally, the panel will discuss the Cayman perspective on digital currency, as well as current developments and trends. All sessions from this conference can be accessed at https://cle.abi.org/.

Speakers:

Hon. Roberta Colton, Moderator
U.S. Bankruptcy Court (M.D. Fla.)
Jude Scott
Cayman Finance; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Alan R. Rosenberg
Markowitz Ringel Trusty & Hartog; Miami
Bryce A. Suzuki
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP; Phoenix

Conference
2019 Caribbean Insolvency Symposium

Contracting Out of Bankruptcy: Domestic and International Considerations

The following session took place during Caribbean Insolvency Symposium in February 2019. This panel will explore the effectiveness (and, sometimes, lack thereof) of creditor strategies to restrict by contract a borrower’s ability to obtain bankruptcy relief, whether by limiting the ability of a corporate borrower to seek bankruptcy relief without certain stakeholder approvals, limiting the type of available bankruptcy relief, choosing which country’s bankruptcy laws will apply to an insolvency proceeding involving the borrower, bankruptcy-remote structuring techniques, and other means. For example, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently upheld a “golden share” arrangement whereby a creditor was able to prohibit the debtor limited liability company from filing bankruptcy; and in the international realm, choice of law clauses have at times limited a debtor’s ability to obtain relief under the Model Law for Cross-Border Insolvency. This panel will also explore variations in international public policies with respect to restrictions on a borrower’s ability to seek bankruptcy relief. All sessions from this conference can be accessed at https://cle.abi.org/.

Speakers:

Zachary H. Smith, Moderator
Moore & Van Allen PLLC; Charlotte
Ingrid Bagby
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, LLP; New York
Jeffrey Bast
Bast Amron; Miami
Rebecca Hume
Kobre & Kim LLP; Grand Cayman, Cayman Island
Paul J. Keenan, Jr.
Greenberg Traurig, P.A.; Miami
Brian J. Lohan
Arnold & Porter; Chicago

Conference
2019 Caribbean Insolvency Symposium

Chapter 15 Update: Discovery, Drawbridge, Venue, Parallel Cases and Other Hot Topics in Cross-Border Cases

The following session took place during Caribbean Insolvency Symposium in February 2019. This panel will discuss recent chapter 15 and cross-border cases, including those involving the scope of discovery available to foreign representatives, § 109 eligibility, venue issues and parallel case concerns. The panel will also discuss logistical and practical solutions in running chapter 15 cases. All sessions from this conference can be accessed at https://cle.abi.org/.

Speakers:

Leyza Blanco, Moderator
Sequor Law; Miami
Hon. Erik P. Kimball
U.S. Bankruptcy Court (S.D. Fla.); West Palm Beach
Morgan L. Patterson
Womble Bond Dickinson; Wilmington, Del.

Conference
2019 Caribbean Insolvency Symposium

Cross-Border Communication: Getting the Message Across

The following session took place during International Insolvency Forum in November 2020. This panel will provide insights into effective communication practices for cross-border dealings. All sessions from this conference can be accessed at https://cle.abi.org/.

Speakers:

Francesco Spizzirri, Moderator
Audax Law; Toronto, Canada
Ken Kraft
Dentons Canada LLP; Toronto, Canada
Mark A. Russell
KSG Attorneys-at-Law; Cayman Islands
Deborah D. Williamson
Dykema Gossett PLLC; San Antonio, Tx., USA

Conference
2020 International Insolvency Forum

Addressing COVID: Local Reactions to a Global Pandemic

The following session took place during International Insolvency Forum in November 2020. As the world has now endured months of disruption from COVID-19, this panel will highlight individual measures being undertaken by various countries to cope with the pandemic. All sessions from this conference can be accessed at https://cle.abi.org/.

Speakers:

Rafael X. Zahralddin-Aravena, Moderator
Elliott Greenleaf, P.C.; Wilmington, Del., USA
Adam Crane
HSM Chambers; Cayman Islands
Ian De Witt
Tanner De Witt; Hong Kong
Alexandre Le Ninivin
Oxynomia Avocats; Paris, France
Dr. Wenli Li
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia; Philadelphia, Pa., USA
Ricardo Reveco
/Carey; Santiago, Chile

Conference
2020 International Insolvency Forum

Troubled Non-U.S. Airlines Landing in Chapter 11: The Inside Story

The following session took place during International Insolvency Forum in November 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has plunged the global aviation industry into its deepest crisis ever, with no recovery in sight. What happens next? This panel will look into what's happened so far and what to expect in the year(s) to come. All sessions from this conference can be accessed at https://cle.abi.org/. 

Speakers:

Albert J. Togut, Moderator
Togut, Segal & Segal LLP; New York, USA
Hon. Shelley C. Chapman
U.S. Bankruptcy Court (S.D.N.Y.); New York, USA
Timothy R. Coleman
PJT Partners; New York, USA
Timothy Graulich
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP; New York, USA
William K. Harrington
Office of the U.S. Trustee; New York, USA
Lisa M. Schweitzer
Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP; New York, USA

Conference
2020 International Insolvency Forum