With more than 900 members, the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee remains one of the largest and most active of ABI’s committees. Here is a quick update on the committee’s work in 2021.
New members to our committee promptly receive an email from the co-chairs welcoming them to our group. Membership engagement this year has continued to be handled by our friendly and welcoming Membership Relations Director, John Cannizzaro (Ice Miller LLP; Columbus, Ohio). In his second year in this role, John remains a critical piece of our organization by reaching out to new members that express interest in getting more involved in the committee and holding Zoom videoconference discussions to facilitate a more personal touch. John also informs new members about the various committee opportunities to be involved, including educational and volunteer opportunities and fresh ideas and projects that new members may bring to the table. The committee invites all new and diverse talent to join us so that we can remain active and beneficial to ABI members.
All members are also added to our committee listserv, overseen by our Communications Director, Anthony Pirraglia (Thompson & Knight LLP; Houston). Anthony closely monitors key bankruptcy decisions from across the country and recent legislation, and routinely sends out summaries on the listserv of groundbreaking and interesting decisions or new developments in the restructuring field. These emails not only update members about key bankruptcy litigation issues, they also provide opportunities for discussion among members. The last post, released in early October 2021, alerted our membership to the recent “Stop Wall Street Looting Act of 2021,” which, if enacted, could have major implications for chapter 11 bankruptcy cases.
In addition to Anthony’s emails, committee members also receive a quarterly newsletter, organized and edited by Newsletter Editor Michael T. Delaney (BakerHostetler; Cleveland, Ohio). In 2021, the committee published newsletter articles focused on, not surprisingly, pandemic-related issues of nonpayment of rent due to COVID-19 and best practices for remote depositions. Newsletter articles are drafted by committee members and are sometimes followed by a members-only conference call with the authors. The committee’s newsletter presents members with quality writing and speaking opportunities. The conference calls also offer members an easy way to get more out of their ABI membership and become more actively engaged in the committee.
Among the committee’s other annual responsibilities is to plan educational panels at the national conferences: the Annual Spring Meeting in April and the Winter Leadership Conference in December. This effort is spearheaded by the committee’s Education Director, Isley Gostin (Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP; Washington, D.C.). This year’s ASM was conducted remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the committee was able to put together a great virtual panel at ASM partnering with the Asset Sales Committee for a panel on cautionary tales in asset sales, most notably Neiman Marcus (collusion), and regulatory and ownership issues that arise in asset sales that can lead to litigation. View Online. The committee will also be partnering with the Commercial and Regulatory Law Committee for the WLC in December 2021.
The committee continues to stay busy in 2021 by providing members with timely and relevant information through its emails, newsletters and educational panels. We encourage new members to take advantage of the numerous speaking and writing opportunities available. Our best wishes for a happy holiday season and joyful 2022!