We are excited to report that the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee was very active in 2023, with 2024 looking just as good, if not better. The committee now has more than 1,100 members — over 200 more than we had just three years ago. It is its members that make this committee so vibrant, and we just wanted to say thank you to everyone who helped make 2023 great.
Here is a quick review of last year — and a preview of what is to come.
Conferences
The committee sponsored some fantastic panels for ABI’s major conferences in 2023. For the Annual Spring Meeting (ASM), the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee partnered with the International Committee. Hamid Khanbhai (Campbells; Cayman Islands), Nicosia Lawson (Baker & Partners; Cayman Islands) and Wei-Yang Lim (Kirkland & Ellis; Hong Kong) presented “Lessons from Lucking: A Cross-Border Case Study.” The speakers are all experts in their field and traveled very far to present their panel. Their visuals were excellent, and the audience was captivated the entire time.
For the Winter Leadership Conference, the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee partnered with the Commercial and Regulatory Law Committees to present “The Importance of Corporate Controls: Failed Business Organizations” to a packed audience. The panelists, Eric A.W. Danner (CohnReznick LLP; New York), Heidi J. Sorvino (White and Williams LLP; New York), Marc Sullivan (Infinity Engineered Products; Mableton, Ga.) and April A. Wimberg (Dentons; Louisville, Ky.), were very knowledgeable and engaging. Reviews of the program were fantastic and really set the bar high for 2024.
On that note, for the 2024 Annual Spring Meeting, the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee will be co-hosting, with the Commercial and Regulatory Law Committee and the Financial Advisors and Investment Banking Committee, a panel discussion on the impact of business email compromise in the bankruptcy arena. It is sure to be another fantastic presentation, so please join us!
Networking
The committee co-sponsored a happy hour with the International Committee for the 2023 Annual Spring Meeting, with good attendance. We are hoping to do something similar this year with our panel partners for ASM 2024. If you are planning to attend ASM, please be on the lookout for more information.
Webinars
In June, the committee hosted “Litigating a Motion to Appoint a Chapter 11 Trustee,” featuring speakers Jon J. Lieberman (Sottile & Barile LLC; Cincinnati), Hon. Jeffery A. Deller (U.S. Bankruptcy Court (W.D. Pa.); Pittsburgh), Jeffrey R. Waxman (Morris James LLP; Wilmington, Del.) and David A. Wender (Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP; Atlanta). The webinar was very well attended and reviewed.
This month, we presented “Revisiting Evidence in Bankruptcy with the Authors of ABI’s Quick Evidence Handbook” to another great audience, featuring speakers Todd H. Bartels (Polsinelli PC; Kansas City, Mo.), Christopher M. Candon (Sheehan Phinney Bass & Green PA; Manchester, N.H.), Jeremy R. Fischer (Drummond Woodsum; Portland, Maine), Isley M. Gostin (Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP; Washington, D.C.) and Eric D. Madden (Reid Collins & Tsai LLP; Dallas). The panel covered recently enacted and proposed rules to the Federal Rules of Evidence, and ways in which technology has influenced the presentation of evidence in court. Thank you to the members of our committee who presented on the webinars, and to those who attended. Your contributions are what keep this group so engaged.
Getting Involved
If you or someone you know is interested in getting more involved in the committee this year, please do not hesitate to reach out to the leadership team: Isley M. Gostin (Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP; Washington D.C.), John C. Cannizzaro (Ice Miller LLP; Columbus, Ohio), Mark A. Platt (Frost Brown Todd LLC; Dallas), Sara L. Abner (Frost Brown Todd LLC; Louisville, Ky.), Jon J. Lieberman (Sottile & Barile LLC; Cincinnati), and Dana L. Robbins (Burr & Forman LLP; Tampa, Fla.). Thank you all, and we look forward to a great 2024!
—Isley M. Gostin
John C. Cannizzaro
Co-Chairs