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The Supreme Court on June 6 issued its opinion in Siegel v. Fitzgerald, holding that Congress’s enactment of a significant fee increase that exempted debtors in two states violated the uniformity requirement of the Bankruptcy Clause of the Constitution. A panel of experts on an ABI media webinar tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET will examine the decision and discuss its potential implications. Panelists include Prof. Stephen J. Lubben of Seton Hall University Law, Clifford J. White, III, former director of the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees and now the managing director for Bankruptcy Compliance at American Infosource, a financial technology company, Judge Melanie L. Cyganowski (ret.) of Otterbourg and Bradley L. Drell of Gold Weems. ABI Editor-at-Large Bill Rochelle will serve as the moderator for the program. To enjoy complimentary registration to view the live webinar program tomorrow, please click here.

The United States is objecting to a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary’s bid to add Hogan Lovells partner Neal Katyal to its legal team in a high-stakes bankruptcy case, citing his hourly rate of $2,465 — a possible new legal industry high, Reuters reported. Johnson & Johnson is using the proceedings to try to resolve claims that its baby powder and other talc-based products caused cancer. The company, which maintains the products are safe, in October assigned thousands of talc lawsuits to a new subsidiary, LTL Management LLC, and placed it in bankruptcy. The U.S. trustee in the chapter 11 case on Friday asked a federal bankruptcy judge in New Jersey to block LTL from retaining Katyal, calling his hourly rate “significantly higher” than that of partners from the seven other law firms already involved in the case. LTL asked the judge for approval to add Katyal to its legal team earlier this month, citing his and Hogan Lovells' expertise in federal appeals. Multiple talc claimants have appealed the February ruling that allowed LTL's bankruptcy to move forward.