Panelists will discuss Chapter 11 reform, transforming credit risk, and strategies for corporate renewal and restructuring at the Credit & Bankruptcy Symposium being held at Mohegan Sun Resort & Casino in Uncasville, CT, on May 7-8.

Now in its 9th year, the annual event is sponsored by the Connecticut Turnaround Management Association (CTTMA), American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), and New York Institute of Credit (NYIC).

The first panel, Views from the Bench, features four bankruptcy court judges who will discuss the impact and various issues that courts have identified from the Final Report of the ABI Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11. The panel will focus on those aspects of the Final Report that may affect or influence bankruptcy jurisprudence and practice.

Issued in December and intended to ignite a dialogue on possible changes to the Bankruptcy Code and bankruptcy process, the Final Report has been a significant topic of discussion among bankruptcy professionals, and we are very fortunate to have judges from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York who will share their views on its recommendations, says Joshua Cohen, CTTMA vice president of programs and co-chair of the Bankruptcy and Restructuring Practice Group at Hartford-based Day Pitney, LLP.

The controversial report by a 22-member committee, is 400 pages long, took three years to produce and contains over 200 recommendations. As reported by The Deal, it calls for, among other reforms, providing debtors more flexibility in arranging debtor-in-possession financing, clarifying lender rights, disclosing additional information about the debtor to stakeholders, and allowing time at the beginning of a case so the debtor and stakeholders can assess the situation and restructuring alternatives. Causing consternation among lenders, the recommendations would give bankrupt U.S. companies more leeway to impose restructuring plans over creditors’ objections, Reuters reported.

Panelists include:

  • Hon. Joan N. Feeney, U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. MA), Boston
  • Hon. Michael B. Kaplan, U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. NJ), Trenton
  • Hon. Julie A. Manning, U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. CT), New Haven
  • Hon. Elizabeth S. Stong, U.S. Bankruptcy Court (E.D. NY), Brooklyn

The panel will be moderated by Andrew I. Silfen, managing partner of Arent Fox LLP’s New York office and chair of the firm’s Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Group.

For information about the conference, click here.