Ethics

The Best Opinion Yet Ordering Refunds for Overpayment of U.S. Trustee Fees

All three courts to confront the question have now ordered the government to refund overpayments of U.S. Trustee fees.

It Wasn’t a Good Idea for 3M Corp. to Call Its Multidistrict Litigation a ‘Failure’

District judge remonstrates a solvent parent company for seeking the protections of bankruptcy without filing chapter 11 itself.

Claims Trader Criticized in New York for an Unauthorized PACER Filing

A court filing by a claims trader was stricken from the docket because it contained judges’ direct email addresses.

Third Circuit Upholds Draconian Sanctions for Section 327 Nondisclosure

An opinion by Thomas Ambro shows how the Third Circuit won’t cut any slack for nonbankruptcy lawyers when it comes to retention disclosure.

Benchnotes February 2023

Feb 2023

A DIP’s Lawyer Can Later Become Adverse to a Chapter 11 Liquidating Trust

Judge David Thuma explains why a chapter 11 debtor in possession and a subsequent liquidating trust are different clients for the purpose of a conflict analysis, at least when the committee has confirmed a liquidating plan.

Don’t Just Say No: Ethics and the Changing Practice of Law

Ethical Dilemmas in Consumer Practice and How to Handle Them: Where Do You Draw the Line?