During 2015, the Ethics & Professional Compensation Committee offered three opportunities for ABI members to learn about timely and interesting ethical and compensation issues facing professionals in the bankruptcy arena. At the Annual Spring Meeting, we paired with the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee to explore the inner-workings of “Trustee Selection in Commercial Bankruptcy Cases: Who Wins the Battle to Control the Estate.” The panel was moderated by Eve H. Karasik (Levene, Neale, Bender, Yoo & Brill; Los Angeles, CA) and consisted of Ramona D. Elliott (Executive Office for U.S. Trustees; Washington D.C.); Edward T. Gavin (Gavin/Solmonese LLC; Wilmington DE) and James A. Lodoen (Lindquist & Vennum LLP; Minneapolis, MN).
On July 8 of this year, our committee sponsored a webinar entitled “Recommendations on Professional Fees and Expenses,” which focused upon proposed reforms recommended by the ABI Commission To Study The Reform of Chapter 11. The webinar was presented by William A. Brandt, Jr. (Development Specialists, Inc.; New York), James T. Markus (Markus Williams Young & Zimmerman, LLC; Denver CO), Walter W. Theus, Jr. (Executive Office for U.S. Trustees; Columbia, S.C.) and Deborah D. Williamson (Dykema Cox Smith; San Antonio, TX).
For the upcoming Winter Leadership Conference, we will join with the Mediation Committee in presenting a panel entitled “Ethical Issues in Professional Fee Disputes: Mediation vs. Litigation.” The panel will be comprised of the Hon. Pamela Pepper (U.S. District Court, E.D. Wis. (Milwaukee WI)); Ramona D. Elliott (Executive Office for U.S. Trustees; Washington D.C.); Robert M. Fishman (Shaw Fishman Glantz & Towbin LLC; Chicago IL) and Catherine L. Steege (Jenner & Block; Chicago IL).
In addition to offering educational programming, our committee, with significant contributions from its members, will have issued at least six newsletters by the end of this year. We will have published over fifteen substantive articles by the close of 2015, including previously published articles linked here, and new articles provided below:
March 2015 (Vol. 13 No. 1):
- Choice of Ethics Rules for Non-Court Matters: Which Jurisdiction’s Ethical Rules Govern Conduct Related to Out-of-Court Transactions? Lesley S. Welwarth (Pepper Hamilton; Detroit MI)
- ISO’S Cloud Privacy Standard: A Guide for Lawyers’ “Reasonable Efforts” to Protect Client Information Jack Pringle (Adams and Reese LLP; Columbia S.C.) & Lyndey Zwing (Adams and Reese LLP; Columbia S.C.)
- Prohibited and Allowed Fee-Sharing Under 11 U.S.C. § 504 John C. Hoard (Rubin & Levin P.C.; Indianapolis IN)
- Bonfire of the Ambiguities: A Case Study on Restructuring Fees in River Road Hotel Tina M. Talarchyk (The Telarchyk Firm; Palm Beach FL)
June 2015 (Vol. 13 No. 2) :
- Disallowance of a Claim Under § 506 Does Not Foreclose Allowance Under § 502 John F. Theil (Stuart Maue; St. Louis MO)
- Ethical Considerations When doing Deals with International Constituent Groups Troy T. Taylor (Algon Group; Atlanta GA) & Richard Cano (Algon Group; Atlanta GA)
June 2015 (Vol. 13 No. 3):
- Reversal of Fortune: In re Premier Healthcare Services Inc. and Disgorgement of Fees C.R. “Chip” Bowles Jr. (Bingham Greenbaum Doll LLP; Louisville, KY)
- Are Attorneys’ Fees Incurred in Defending Preference Action Recoverable Against the Estate? One Court says “Yes” Edward E. Neiger (ASK LLP; New York) & Kara E. Casteel (ASK LLP; St. Paul, MN)
August 2015 (Vol. 13 No. 4):
- A Review and Analysis of the Chapter 13 “Best Interest of the Creditors Test” Ted Stuckenschneider (Ted Stuckenschneider, P.C.; Birmingham, AL)
- Overzealous Multiplication Michael R. Herz (Forman Holt Eliades & Youngman, LLC; New York)
- The Fab Five: Why Sanctions for Frivolous Objections Are Insufficient Based on ASARCO Marta Alfonso (Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra, LLC; Miami FL)
September 2015 (Vol. 13 No. 5):
- Failure to Withdraw Baseless Lawsuit to Gain Settlement Leverage Is Grounds for Sanctions Jason I. Blanchard (U.S. Bankruptcy Court (E.D.N.Y.); Central Islip, NY) & Richard J. Corbi (U.S. Bankruptcy Court (E.D.N.Y.); Central Islip, NY)
- Effects of the ASARCO Decision in Cases with a Fee Examiner John F. Theil (Stuart Maue; St. Louis, MO)
- Findings of Fact Required to Protect a Fee Order on Appeal Candace C. Carlyon (Morris, Polich & Purdy, LLP; Las Vegas, NV)
The committee is currently seeking articles for our next newsletter. Articles will be due not later than January 18, 2016. The typical article length is 500 to 1,200 words. All articles should be submitted to our Newsletter Editor, Tara Nauful.
On the networking front, the Ethics and Professional Compensation Committee co-sponsored a cocktail party at the Annual Spring Meeting, following our panel presentation. The reception was very well attended and provided a nice springboard to the evening’s events.
The work of our committee is only possible because of our committee’s active and committed board and membership. We want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your contributions and support! If you are a current member of the Ethics and Professional Compensation Committee, we hope you continue your involvement with our committee. If you are not yet a member of our committee, we hope you will join us for 2015.