Program on ABI Recommendations for Reform of Bankruptcy Code
December 11, 2014
Jonathan N. Helfat, a senior partner at Otterbourg PC and co-general counsel to the Commercial Finance Association, participated in a webinar on December 11, 2014 sponsored by the Commercial Finance Association and the Loan Syndication & Trading Association to discuss the recent release of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Commission’s study of the reform of Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.
The study is a 428-page report containing 241 separate recommendations to change Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The ABI Commission began its work in 2012 and has conducted field hearings with various industry groups over the last two years.
The recommendations propose changes relating to, among other things:
- the standard for granting adequate protection to secured lenders;
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debtor-in-possession financing, including “roll ups”;
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the treatment of intellectual property rights in bankruptcy;
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the “cost” structure of a Chapter 11 case;
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the voting requirements for confirmation of a chapter 11 plan by an impaired class;
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the time line for Section 363 sales of businesses in Chapter 11;
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the preference provisions of the Bankruptcy Code in order to further protect trade creditors;
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the enforceability of certain standard intercreditor agreement provisions; and
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the creation of a new small business regime for small and medium size enterprises (SMEs).
The goal of the Commission is to have legislation prepared based on these recommendations.
Helfat was joined in this webinar by Craig Goldblatt and Danielle Spinelli of WilmerHale and Randall Klein of Goldberg Kohn. The webinar was moderated by Elliot Ganz, general counsel to the LSTA.
The ABI is a trade group of over 12,000 restructuring professions. The CFA is the trade association for asset based lenders. The LSTA is a the trade group representing the syndicated loan market
