Otterbourg Attorney Speaks at ABI Conference "Chapter 11 at the Crossroads: Does Reorganization Need Reform?"
November 16, 2009
The American Bankruptcy Institute sponsored a Legislative Symposium titled "Chapter 11 at the Crossroads: Does Reorganization Need Reform?" The Symposium was held at Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC. on November 16 and 17, 2009.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings rose by 91 percent in the 12-month period ending June 30, 2009, according to the materials for the Symposium. More than 150 public companies filed during the first eight months of this year--a pace not observed since 2002. Moreover, a new breed of cases is taking shape--not just bigger, but faster-moving, with a growing trend toward sales over traditional reorganization.
In view of these facts, the Symposium considered issues concerning whether the current bankruptcy laws can keep pace with today's volatile global economic climate. Is it responsive and flexible enough to meet our needs? Is it time for Congress to revisit not only the 2005 amendments, but also to engage in a systematic modernization of chapter 11? These and other topical questions were considered at the two-day program.
Jonathan Helfat, a member of the firm of Otterbourg, Steindler, Houston & Rosen, P.C., was a panelist at the Symposium and along with other select leading bankruptcy practitioners spoke on the topic: "DIP Financing and Cash Collateral: Too Much Control for the Lenders?" The materials from the panel are available here.