Financial Advisors and Investment Banking

Maintaining Cash Reserves While Dealing with Revised §366 of the Bankruptcy Code

The ability of chapter 11 debtors to maintain cash reserves is about to get harder. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have put a dent in the entire nation's economy and likely will have a significant impact on corporate profits for at least the rest of this year. The storms devastated one of the most critical regions in the country for energy production and already have claimed responsibility for record-high prices for gasoline, heating oil, jet fuel and other products. Economists are predicting that energy prices this winter could double or triple.

Judicial Update July - September 2005

Below are summaries of cases that I thought members of the committee may find interesting. The summaries appear in date order beginning in July. Please contact me at ifredericks@ycst.com with any suggested areas of the law that members would prefer that I focus on, including consumer or business and legal areas of importance (i.e., retention, compensation, plan process, etc.).

PREFERENTIAL PAYMENT ACCORDING TO CONTRACT TERMS IS NOT PER SE “ORDINARY”

Market Conditions for M&A Transactions Are the Best Since 1999

The hardest segment of the Merger & Acquisition (“M&A”) market to obtain meaningful transaction data in terms of price and valuation metrics is the small-to-middle market. The 2004 International Network of M&A Partners (“IMAP”) Worldwide Transaction Survey Results provides such data. IMAP is a private network of M&A firms around the globe. With 60 member firms in 20 countries, it is the largest group of middle-market M&A firms of its kind and it surveys its members on the deals they completed to get a glimpse of current market data.

Judicial Update April - June 2005

Included are summaries of cases that I thought members of the committee might find interesting. The summaries appear in date order beginning in April. Please contact me with any suggested areas of the law that members would prefer that I focus on, including consumer or business and legal areas of importance (i.e., retention, compensation, plan process, etc.).

Financial Advisors and Investment Banking May 2005

Summary of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005

On April 20, 2005, President Bush signed into law the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (hereinafter, the “BAPCPA” or the “Act”). The Act has an effective date of October 17, 2005 and, with some exceptions, its provisions will apply only to cases filed after the effective date.

The Role of Attorneys Following a Fraud Is Examined

For the purposes of this article, consider the history and recent business practices of a company we’ll call JKL Shoes. JKL, a privately-held company, is a well-established, family-owned women’s footwear manufacturer. Consider these facts:

Owned and operated by the second generation, the company enjoyed for many years a strong record of success. In recent years, the business generated revenues of $75 million and had a reputation within the industry for superior technical expertise. Its clients were largely comprised of solid Fortune 1000 companies.