Commercial and Regulatory Law

AI and Bankruptcy: Navigating the Unknown

This panel covers the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) with bankruptcy, intellectual property law and secured transactions law. The panelists explore several questions that current law does not address or insufficiently addresses, such as: Who owns inventions created by AI? Do inventions created by the AI owned by a debtor company become property of a debtor company’s bankruptcy estate? Can a creditor obtain a security interest and perfect a security interest in the things AI creates?

Remote Control: Not Just for Toys Anymore

This panel will discuss various issues arising from the development of a new class of collateral: that which is remotely controllable. The concept of a secured creditor controlling its collateral is of course not a new or novel concept. However, the ability of secured creditors to control their collateral remotely is growing rapidly as new technology and new types of assets are developed.

Commercial and Regulatory Law | December 2024

Co-Chairs Corner

The Commercial and Regulatory Committee produced a variety of programs, articles and materials throughout 2024. Set forth below is a short summary of highlights from the past year; full details of committee activity (including links to program materials and newsletter articles) are available on the committee’s website at www.abi.org/membership/committees/commercial-and-regulatory-law.

Commercial and Regulatory Law | November 2024

A Primer on Discharge Exceptions for Subchapter V Professionals

Subchapter V of the Bankruptcy Code provides an affordable and efficient means of financial rehabilitation to the owners of small businesses. In service of these ends, “[t]he debtor has the opportunity to use new, powerful tools to reorganize and save its business; but it must do so quickly.” [1]

Co-Chairs’ Corner

Winter Leadership Conference Panel

At the upcoming Winter Leadership Conference, taking place Dec. 12-14 in Scottsdale, Ariz., the Commercial and Regulatory Law and Secured Credit Committees are hosting a joint panel, “Remote Control: Not Just for Toys Anymore,” on Dec. 13 at 9:30 a.m. with the participation of the following speakers:

The Impact of Business Email Compromise in the Bankruptcy Arena: Strategies and Tools to Protect Bankruptcy Participants

The bankruptcy process requires the management of the bankruptcy estate’s bank accounts, client accounts and business records, in addition to the management and processing of claims, claim distributions, adequate assurance deposit accounts, asset recovery, and many other financial and legal demands. Each one of these is a point of business email compromise (BEC) vulnerability. BEC attacks are the most costly form of cyberfraud for all businesses. This session will focus on best practices to use to protect your clients and yourself from this pervasive fraud.

Intersection of MCAs and Bankruptcy

This panel of bankruptcy practitioners will discuss all facets of merchant cash advance (MCA) funding, its history, and its interplay with bankruptcy. The panelists will provide different perspectives — MCA company, debtor and subchapter V trustee — on the legal implications of merchant cash advances in chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, as well as practical solutions for dealing with MCAs in chapter 11 cases.

Commercial and Regulatory Law | May 2024