Abi Podcast

Scholars Examine Student Debt and Bankruptcy The latest ABI podcast features Profs. Daniel Austin of Northeastern University School of Law and G. Marcus Cole of Stanford Law School talking with ABI Resident Scholar David Epstein about current issues surrounding educational debt and bankruptcy.

Discussing What to Expect from Stocktons Chapter 9 Filing The latest podcast features ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano speaking with Lynnette R. Warman, a partner at Hunton & Williams LLP (Dallas) and ABI Vice President—Publications, about Stockton, Calif.’s recent chapter 9 filing. Warman has been following Stockton’s financial distress and she discusses what can be expected for the city and its creditors in the first year of the chapter 9 filing.

Examining California Countys Controversial Proposal To Use Eminent Domain To Provide Relief For Underwater Homeowners The latest ABI podcast features ABI Executive Director Sam Gerdano talking with former ABI Resident Scholar Prof. Mark Scarberry from the Pepperdine University School of Law about a controversial proposal being considered by a few localities in California to provide relief to underwater homeowners. Officials from San Bernardino County, Calif., along with two other cities are considering a proposal to use eminent domain to reclaim underwater, but performing, mortgages to then rewrite the mortgage and lower the monthly payments. The county would then pay investors what they consider "fair value" for the mortgage. Scarberry, who continues to analyze various approaches to the foreclosure crisis, talks about the proposal and the potential legal ramifications of using eminent domain to provide relief from the foreclosure crisis.

Exploring Issues Surrounding Health Care Insolvencies ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano talks with Leslie A. Berkoff of Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP and Robert A. Guy, Jr. of Frost Brown Todd LLC, the lead editors of ABI's Health Care Insolvency Manual, Third Edition. Berkoff and Guy discuss current issues surrounding health care insolvencies, the new health care law and the new edition of the Health Care Insolvency Manual.

Experts Discuss Oil and Gas Bankruptcies The latest podcast features ABI Deputy Executive Director Amy Quackenboss speaking with Deborah D. Williamson and Meghan E. Bishop of Cox Smith Matthews Inc. (San Antonio), authors of When Gushers Go Dry: The Essentials of Oil & Gas Bankruptcy, the newest publication in ABI’s Bookstore. Williamson and Bishop discuss how the U.S. oil and gas industry, perhaps more than any other industry, is vulnerable to the effects of myriad internal and external factors, ranging from global credit markets to domestic and foreign geopolitical events, and from technological developments and limitations to population growth and even the weather. There have been 62 oil and gas company bankruptcy filings since 2008, according to BankruptcyData.com, representing a 170 percent increase from the 23 filings between 2002-07.

Research on the Use of Kerps in Bankrupt Firms ABI Resident Scholar Susan Hauser talks with Profs. Vidhan K. Goyal of the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST) and Wei Wang of the Queen's School of Business about their controversial paper, "Provision of Management Incentives in Bankrupt Firms." Profs. Goyal and Wang examine the use of key employee retention plans (KERPs) in bankrupt firms and discuss how the results of their empirical research do not support the common view that retention bonus plans enrich managers at the expense of creditors.

Examining Litigation Surrounding The Dissolution of a Distressed Law Firm The latest ABI podcast features Executive Director Sam Gerdano talking with Paul Hage of Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer & Weiss, PC (Southfield, Mich.) and Dylan Trache of Wiley Rein LLP (McLean, Va.) about unfinished business litigation and other issues surrounding the dissolution of a financially distressed law firm.

Experts Looking at U.S.-Mexico Cross Border Insolvency Issues In advance of ABI's Inaugural Mexico Restructuring Symposium on Nov. 7, 2012 in Mexico City, ABI Executive Director Sam Gerdano speaks with panelists Richard J. Cooper of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP (New York) and Thomas S. Heather of Heather & Heather (Mexico City). Cooper and Heather provide a preview of their panel's discussion about similarities and differences between insolvency laws in the U.S. and Mexico.

Examining Bankruptcys Effects on Manufacturing Supply Chains ABI’s latest podcast features ABI Resident Scholar Prof. Susan Hauser speaking with the authors of Interrupted! Understanding Bankruptcy's Effects on Manufacturing Supply Chains. John T. Gregg, Deborah L. Thorne and Patrick E. Mears of Barnes & Thornburg LLP discuss the book and the issues that arise when suppliers are unable to make deliveries of promised parts due to financial problems.

Study on Student Loan Discharges and the Undue Hardship Standard The latest ABI Podcast features ABI Resident Scholar Susan Hauser speaking with Jason Iuliano, the author of "An Empirical Assessment of Student Loan Discharges and the Undue Hardship Standard." Iuliano, a graduate of Harvard Law School and currently a Ph. D. candidate at Princeton University, discusses the methodology of his study and a few of the conclusions that can be drawn from it about student loan discharges and the undue hardship standard in bankruptcy.

Examining the Treatment of Personal Indebtedness Around the World ABI's latest podcast features ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano speaking with Professor Jason Kilborn of the John Marshall Law School (Chicago). Prof. Kilborn, the ABI Resident Scholar for the 2011 Fall Semester, chairs a drafting group for the World Bank to study and report on the various ways that nations approach personal indebtedness. Prof. Kilborn discusses the project and the initial report that was presented last month at the World Bank in Washington, D.C.

Examining Issues Surrounding Crowdfunding a Chapter 11 ABI Resident Scholar Prof. Scott Pryor speaks with David C. McGrail of McGrail & Bensinger LLP (New York), author of the article "'Crowdfunding' a Chapter 11 Plan" in the February ABI Journal. McGrail explores the uses of crowdfunding, the effect of the JOBS Act on crowdfunding and how crowdfunding might be applicable in a chapter 11 reorganization.

Examining The Effectiveness Of Chapter 11 For Church Financial Distress The latest ABI Podcast features ABI Resident Scholar Scott Pryor speaking with Prof. Pamela Foohey of the University of Illinois College of Law discussing her recent paper examining church reorganizations that filed for chapter 11 protection, titled "Bankrupting the Faith." Foohey discusses her empirical study looking at church bankruptcies from 2006-11 to draw out the characteristics of the filings and case outcomes to see if bankruptcy is an effective solution to the institution's financial problems. To read Prof. Foohey's study, please click here.

Examining The Effectiveness Of Current Financial Education Programs The latest ABI podcast features ABI Resident Scholar Prof. Scott Pryor speaking with Prof. Lauren Willis of Loyola Law School about the effectiveness of current financial education programs. Willis discusses the strengths and weaknesses of current financial education programs and what improvements can be made going forward.

Examining Bankruptcy Valuation Issues ABI's latest podcast features ABI Resident Scholar Prof. Scott Pryor speaking with Dr. Israel Shaked of The Michel-Shaked Group (Boston) and Robert F. Reilly of Willamette Management Associates Inc. (Chicago), authors of the new ABI publication, A Practical Guide to Bankruptcy Valuation. Shaked and Reilly discuss their book and other issues involved in the complex task of valuing a bankrupt or financially distressed business.

Exploring The Depths Of Deepening Insolvency The latest ABI podcast features ABI Resident Scholar Prof. Scott Pryor talking with Prof. Jack Williams and Kathy Phelps, authors of ABI's newest publication, The Depths of Deepening Insolvency: Damage Exposure for Officers, Directors and Others. Williams and Phelps offer a historical analysis of the “deepening insolvency” principle, its significance in calculating damages in a variety of liability scenarios and the interplay of the doctrine with the fiduciary duties of company executives.

Exploring New Methods For Companies to Raise Capital The latest ABI podcast features ABI Resident Scholar Scott Pryor speaking with Daniel Gorfine of the Milken Institute and Ben Miller, co-founder of investment platform Fundrise, about new ways for companies to raise money. Gorfine and Miller explore issues surrounding crowdfunding and potential regulatory responses to shifts in how companies raise money.

Looking at Issues Surrounding Chief Restructuring Officers ABI Deputy Executive Director Amy Quackenboss talks with Christopher A. Ward and Melissa Hager, co-authors of a recent ABI publication, The Chief Restructuring Officer's Guide to Bankruptcy. Ward and Hager discuss the book and issues surrounding chief restructuring officers in bankruptcy proceedings. To purchase The Chief Restructuring Officer's Guide to Bankruptcy from the ABI Bookstore, please click here or copy the web address http://bookstore.abi.org/chief-restructuring-officers-guide-bankruptcy-views-leading-insolvency-professionals to your browser

Examining Supreme Courts Decision on the Meaning of Defalcation ABI's latest podcast features ABI Resident Scholar Scott Pryor speaking with Prof. Keith Sharfman of St. John's University School of Law and attorney Tom Byrne of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP (Atlanta) on the issues surrounding the Supreme Court's unanimous decision in Bullock v. BankChampaign, N.A. In its decision on May 13, the Court held that a defalcation by a trustee requires a finding of gross negligence or some knowledge that what he or she is doing is improper. Byrne was the counsel of record for Randy Bullock, and Scharfman joined fellow professors on an amici curiae brief in support of BankChampaign.

U.S. Trustee Programs Fee Guidelines Annual Report Examined The latest ABI Podcast features a discussion between Cliff White, director for the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees, and Kelly Stapleton, managing director of Alvarez & Marsal (New York). White and Stapleton discuss the U.S. Trustee Program's recently released professional fee guidelines, as well as some of the highlights from the USTP's FY 2012 Annual Report. For more information about the U.S. Trustee Program, including more information about the professional fee guidelines, please visit http://www.justice.gov/ust/.