Overview/Executive Summary

In response to the recent collapse of several prominent banking institutions, Morrison Foerster conducted a brief poll to gauge how companies and their employees are faring in the wake of these historic events. Our goal is to understand how this situation has impacted these organizations, including delving into which issues and challenges, if any, will be top of mind for business leaders and their respective organizations in the weeks and months ahead.

Methodology

The judgment in the case of Belmont Park Investments Pty Limited v BNY Corporate Trustee Services Limited and Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc (UKSC 2009/0222), which began to be heard by the UK Supreme Court on March 1, 2011,1 was handed down on July 27, 2011. The case concerns the enforceability of so-called “flip clauses,” which provide that payment obligations owed to different creditors, in this case the swap counterparty and the noteholders, “flip” in priority following a counterparty bankruptcy.