Reorganizing in Chapter 7, Compositions, Trust Mortgages and Other Alternatives to Chapter 11 Topics to be covered by the panel will include the basic flow of alternative insolvency processes, how to set up a company so a fiduciary can effectively liquidate assets, recommended steps in advance of filing, and how to cope with a chapter 7 trustee or other fiduciary.
• Warren Agin, Moderator Swiggart & Agin, LLC; Boston
• Craig R. Jalbert
Verdolino & Lowey, PC; Foxboro, Mass.
• Andrew G. Lizotte
Hanify & King, PC; Boston
• Hon. Joel B. Rosenthal
U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Mass.); Worcester
• Diane Finkle
Winograd, Shine & Zacks, PC; Providence, R.I.
Pig or Hog: Ethical Issues Revised by the Employment and Compensation of Professionals In Energy Partners, the court ruled that applications filed by equityholders and creditors’ committees for leave to employ investment bankers to perform valuation services could not be approved. In rejecting the applications, the court declared: “The [bankruptcy] estate is not a cash cow to be milked to death by professionals seeking compensation for services rendered to the estate which have not produced a benefit commensurate with the fees sought.” The panel will discuss the ethical and practical issues raised by the employment and compensation of professionals in large, complex chapter 11 cases.
• Dennis J. Drebsky, Moderator Nixon Peabody LLP; New York
• Hon. Colleen A. Brown
U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Vt.); Rutland
• R. Michael Farquhar Winstead PC; Dallas
• John P. Fitzgerald, III
Office of the U.S. Trustee; Boston
• Kelly Beaudin Stapleton Traxi LLC; New York
Is the PBGC Next? Retirement Plans and the Chapter 11 Debtor This panel will discuss the players and issues surrounding retirement plans sponsored by a financially distressed company. Topics will include the means of calculating underfunding of a defined benefit plan, PBGC lien rights, pension plan termination methods, claims arising from such terminations—including the termination premium claims found by the Second Circuit to be “nondischargeable” in the Oneida case, control group member liability, and the impact on plan participants from a termination. The panel will also discuss issues surrounding defined contribution plans, including claims for unfunded contributions and the consequences of liquidating a company with a defined contribution plan.
• Victor Bass, Moderator Burns & Levinson LLP; Boston
• Daniel P. Condon
Goodwin Procter; Boston
• Hon. Robert Gerber
U.S. Bankruptcy Court (S.D.N.Y.); New York
• Timothy R. Hurley
Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP; Boston
• Steven Weiss
Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, PC; Springfield, Mass.
10:00-10:30 a.m. Coffee Break
Sponsored by First City Crestone LLC
10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon
Northeast Consumer Forum Continued fom the 8:30 -10:00 Session Mortgages! Mortgages! Mortgages! Northeast Bankruptcy Conference Concurrent Sessions II What’s Old Is New Again: A Case Study of Pilgrim’s Pride After filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2008 with $2.72 billion in debt, Pilgrim’s Pride Corp, the nation’s largest chicken producer, engaged with William Snyder and his team at CRG Partners to restructure the corporation to once again be a competitive company. William and his team implemented many operational changes, including hiring a new executive management team, initiating a cost-reduction program, reducing exposure to commodity chicken products, and selling non-core assets. As a critical tactic for exiting bankruptcy and restoring value to the company, Pilgrim’s Pride consummated a transaction with JBS, a Brazilian beef-industry rival, that resulted in Pilgrim’s Pride selling 64 percent of its stock under the U.S. company’s bankruptcy reorganization plan. Fewer than 13 months after filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, Pilgrim’s Pride successfully emerged from bankruptcy protection under the counsel of CRG Partners, recapitalizing its senior bank debt and paying creditors in full, in cash, with existing equity retaining a considerable portion of the company.
• Winston Mar, Moderator
CRG Partners Group LLC; Los Angeles
• Hon. Gerardo Carlo
U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. P.R.); San Juan
• Jeremy B. Coffey
Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels LLP; Boston
• Joseph Miller Lazard; Chicago
• David W. Parham
Baker & McKenzie LLP; Dallas
Bankruptcy Appeals: Best Practices This panel will review the nuts and bolts of appealing bankruptcy court orders. Topics to be covered include recent amendments to the appellate rules, the distinction between final and interlocutory orders, standing, stay motions, timing and process for appeal, and the strategic factors that inform the decision to appeal to the district court or BAP, or seek direct circuit review.
• Prof. Thomas J. Carey, Moderator
Boston College Law School; Chestnut Hill, Mass.
• G. Eric Brunstad
Dechert LLP; Hartford, Conn.
• Euripides D. Dalmanieras Foley Hoag LLP; Boston
• Hon. James B. Haines
U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Me.); Portland
• Mary P. Sharon
First Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel; Boston