This panel will explore recent and emerging developments under Articles 9 and 12 of the Uniform Commercial Code and their practical impact in Chapter 7 cases. Panelists will review key updates to Article 9 governing secured transactions, with a focus on recent issues that commonly arise in bankruptcy, including merchant cash advances. The discussion will also introduce Article 12, which addresses controllable electronic records, including digital assets, and examine how these provisions interact with existing secured lending and bankruptcy frameworks. Attendees will gain practical insights into how trustees should approach collateral, perfection, and avoidance issues in light of these changes.
Examining how bankruptcy courts are scrutinizing MCA lender claims, including enforceability of confessions of judgment, interest rate challenges, and classification and treatment under plans.
This session will provide a refresher and a case law update on trustee liability issues. We will discuss sources of potential trustee liability including claims by debtors, creditors, third-parties and the government. We will review judicial and quasi-judicial immunity and trustee immunity under the Barton doctrine and the limits of immunity. We will also survey strategies for protecting trustees from personal liability including insurance coverages for the estate and the trustee, defense costs and the limitations of the UST bond.
This session will provide practical guidance on identifying, securing, and liquidating estate assets in Chapter 7 cases. Drawing on real-world trustee and counsel perspectives, the panel will address common asset issues, working with professionals, protecting estate property, navigating turnover and enforcement challenges, and maximizing recoveries while minimizing risk to the estate.
Trustees routinely encounter commingled funds, incomplete records, and financial statements that do not reflect economic reality—often in cases where estate resources are limited. This panel provides a practical overview of forensic accounting methods used to investigate transfers, trace assets, and identify misstatements in balance sheets and profit-and-loss statements, with a focus on common commingling scenarios involving debtors and spouses or partners. Panelists will also explain how these analytical frameworks can be scaled and applied by trustees in smaller cases without funding for professionals, and will offer a concise, trustee-focused discussion of expert-evidence requirements under Rule 26(a)(2), Federal Rules of Evidence 702 and 703, and Rule 1006, equipping attendees with a working understanding of how expert reports are prepared, evaluated, and admitted.
Get ready for an ethics battle worthy of prime time! Judge Norton will lead this Jeopardy style ethics showdown as moderator and resident ethics guru, with Judges Collins and Gunn (“Team Sharks”) facing off against Trustees Bircher and Garrett (“Team Minnows”). If you’ve ever wanted to test both your Jeopardy instincts and ethical judgment, this session is your chance. The game will challenge your knowledge of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the real world ethical duties that arise in bankruptcy practice across a range of practical categories. Expect a lively, fast paced learning and challenging experience—and walk away with memorable insights you won’t forget long after the buzzer sounds.
