Practice and Procedure

This session will discuss strategies for presenting bankruptcy issues on appeal, including procedures, briefs, oral arguments and the doctrine of mootness.

This panel will focus on issues arising in larger chapter 11 cases, including third-party releases and Plan Support Agreements.

This panel will provide an update on the key technological issues facing practicing attorneys today, including cyberattacks, software needs, Zoom updates, electronic signatures, hybrid hearings and cryptotechnology, as well as decentralized autonomous organizations and tokenized assets (i.e., NFTs, metaverse and DeFi).

Bankruptcy work is highly stressful and intense, yet few insolvency professionals have ever received science-based training on how to improve their emotional well-being, mental health or cognitive functioning. No matter who we are or how successful we are, we can all make progress in reducing our stress, improving our happiness, and enhancing our cognitive functioning in our work. During this keynote presentation, you will learn about the neuroscientific, biochemical and physiological connections between stress and cognition. You also will be provided with a collection of tangible, science-based tools and techniques that you can put to use the very next day to reduce stress and enhance cognitive functioning in your career and life. Specific techniques of body, emotion and mind will be shared to help you unlock your fullest potential, optimize your resiliency, and achieve your highest form of success in your work. A happier and more successful version of you awaits!

The goal of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has been a frequent point of discussion over the last few years, including at last year’s conference. This panel will focus on how DEI is now being implemented in the legal world generally and in the insolvency space specifically. The panelists also will discuss how they have integrated DEI talking points into their daily practice.

Ever get stuck with one of “those” clients? (We’ve all been there.) What do you do when you uncover serious problems with a debtor? Learn the right —and wrong —ways to extract yourself from a problem case.This panel will discuss limited-scope representation and the ability of the attorney to withdraw before, during and after the bankruptcy case.

Getting paid in a world populated by bankrupt debtors is a tricky dance, but there are ways to make it happen. What you learn in this session is sure to be music (and money) to your ears! This panel will address chapter 7 fee bifurcation, effective chapter 13 fee applications and step-up plans, as well as practice-management profitability strategies, budgeting, billing and retirement.

Ranking on Google is perhaps the most important thing you can do to market your law firm. In this presentation, we’ll dig into how PPC (Google paid ads) complement your SEO (search engine optimization), social media and email marketing; how connecting your paid ads to your Google My Business (GMB) listing helps get your practice in front of more prospective clients; how search terms in paid ads are an invaluable source of information on consumer behavior and intent; and how geo-scheduling ads down to the zip code and overlaying such demographics as age, income and audience can help make sure your ads reach the right people. This session will also explain the intricacies of Google Ads rebranding from AdWords, including YouTube and more than 2 million websites in the Google Display Network.

Ever have a case dismissed because you overlooked some critical detail? We’ve all been there. This informative session will help guide you through some of the missteps that can scuttle a case right at the finish line.