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The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every level of the supply chain for suppliers and manufacturers. However, despite the added stress of a strained supply chain, labor shortages and the rising costs of raw materials, suppliers have largely avoided the chapter 11 process. In lieu of filing a bankruptcy petition, manufacturers and suppliers have sought out nonbankruptcy remedies, including out-of-court workouts, state law assignments for the benefit of creditors, and Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) enforcement rights.

Hello! I was recently appointed co-chair of ABI’s Financial Advisors and Investment Banking (FAIB) Committee, and I could not be more excited. I’m a restructuring/bankruptcy partner at Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP, and have been in the business for more than 27 years. The goal of my involvement is to leverage the expertise of the members of the FAIB ABI’s other committees to develop programming focused on numerous aspects of distressed governance.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (among others) recently re-introduced a bill to “fundamentally reform” the private-equity system “by closing the legal, tax, and regulatory loopholes that allow private equity firms to capture all the rewards of their investments while insulating themselves from risk.” [1] If enacted, the legislation will greatly impact several critical features of the Bankruptcy Code, disrupt the restructuring process more broadly, and likely inspire costly litigation (and compliance measures).

Businesses continue to face a myriad of challenges in today’s economy. Initially, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the widespread closure of multiple businesses. Now, U.S. consumer demand for goods is strong, but supply chain woes persist. Compensation costs have increased, while inflation hinders the benefit to workers from that higher pay. The COVID-19 vaccination rate continues to climb, but business owners experience continued disruption from emerging COVID-19 variants.

Weeeee’re back! After a four-year hiatus, ABI’s FAIB Committee was revitalized in 2021! We are very excited to see the large numbers joining our committee — we are currently up to 152 members — and Membership Relations Director Howard Cohen is ready to welcome even more. He and Communications Director Jennifer Taylor have done a great job communicating with ABI members about our committee, and Jennifer has used our listserv to provide authoring and speaking opportunities to members and to recruit fantastic panel speakers from outside of the group.

There are many reasons why companies falter and create opportunities for financial advisors and investment bankers: incompetent or inefficient management; rapid expansion (and often loss of quality control); overleveraging of assets (often to support the lifestyle of the principals); failure to shed unprofitable locations, divisions or products; and more.

The Treasury Department’s computer-generated tax notices have increased over the last several years. At the same time, finding knowledgeable personnel at the IRS to discuss bankruptcy tax issues has become increasingly difficult. Knowing the source of potential issues goes a long way toward avoiding the pain they may cause.