Practice and Procedure

As virtual hearings become standard in Court’s across the country, the panel members provide, review of best practices and lessons learned from the Court’s perspective since the mainstreaming of virtual hearings.

This panel will present a discussion of bankruptcy rules and procedures that work and don’t work from a practical perspective, as well as reflections on how technology impacts current practice.

In a recent survey, 93% of the respondents said that they had used the past year to reflect on their lives, and 88% said that the meaning of success had changed for them since the start of the pandemic. Yet the number of lawyers suffering from depression, anxiety and substance abuse is greater than ever. This panel will discuss ways in which we can help others — and ourselves — navigate this dichotomy.

The workshop will review the biology behind the rewarding properties of drugs of abuse, how the brain changes in response to repeated drug use, thereby becoming 'addicted', the role of genetics in addiction, and the important role of stress in maintaining addiction. The presentation will conclude with a summary of addiction treatments, including cutting-edge research on a surprising new treatment approach.

This panel will provide insolvency professionals with practical business-development tips from numerous perspectives.

Consumer lawyers on behalf of both debtors and creditors deal with myriad ethical issues to ensure effective and economical representation of their clients. This panel will explore the implications of representing individuals, small businesses, insiders and creditors, including what to do when your client becomes your creditor (how far can you go to get paid?) and how to avoid breaching the attorney/client privilege (just who do or can you talk to?). In a small business, the owner often considers counsel to be representing “her” interest. How does counsel for a business deal with this issue under the ethical rules and the Bankruptcy Code? For the creditor, what are the implications of potential conflicts by counsel to the debtor? Can the creditor reach out to a principal of the corporate debtor directly on their guarantee without violating the Rules of Professional Conduct? What are the ethical limits of “unbundling services” to make it more affordable for the client, whether you represent a debtor or a creditor? This panel will explore ways to accomplish your client’s goals, as well as the ethical boundaries of representation under those scenarios.