Bankruptcy 101-102: Chapter 11 Essentials and More

What You Will Learn

Overview

• Chapter 13
• Chapter 11

Pre-Bankruptcy Planning

“First Day” and Other Motions

• Forms
• Continuation or imposition of the automatic stay for individuals
• Extension of time to file bankruptcy schedules
• Employment application
• Prepetition debts: payroll & taxes & “critical vendors”
• Cash collateral
• Budget motion
• U.S. Trustee
• Setting deadline to files proofs of claim and/or proofs of interest
• Loan modification discussions
• Service/Notice

Typical Issues

• Monthly operating reports
• 363 sales
• Nondischargeability actions
• Valuation of assets
• Fee applications
• U.S. Trustee
• Avoidance actions & claim objections
• Creditors committee
• Unexpired leases & executory contracts
• Exclusivity

Confirmation & After

• Voting
• Cramdown
• Gerrymandering
• Absolute priority rule
• Post-Confirmation
• Motion to Amend Plan
• Final decree/closing
• Discharge

Special Situations

• Divorce
• Taxes
• High tech or entertainment business
• Single Asset Real Estate (SARE) cases
• “Small Business” cases
• Health care
• Employee benefit plans
• WARN acts (state & fed) and Obamacare obligations
• Reclamation claims
• Food businesses

Testimonials

“Very comprehensive course for beginning Chapter 11 practitioners.” – Marilyn Caston, Esq.

“This was a very organized and informative panel…I definitely learned a lot and have fantastic outlines to refer to later on. All of the speakers were excellent! The materials were great.” – Anne Manalili, Esq.

“Very helpful and informative. Great speakers. [There was a] good mix of information and practical application.” -Erin McCartney, Esq.

“Very good.” – Brad Weil, Esq.

“I thought the material was very good and informative.” – Leslie Klott, Esq.

“Gained some knowledge [on aspects of Bankruptcy practice] I’d never thought about.” – Douglas Klein, Esq.

“Very good.” – Nancy Korompis, Esq.

Faculty

Hon. Neil W. Bason
Judge
United States Bankruptcy Court Central District Of California

Neil W. Bason is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge in downtown Los Angeles.  He graduated from the Boston University School of Law in 1988 and was in private practice in Boston and San Francisco.  From approximately 2000 through early 2008 he had the invaluable experience of working as a law clerk to the Honorable Dennis Montali, Bankruptcy Judge of the Northern District of California and Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Ninth Circuit.  In 2008 through 2011 he was fortunate to work with friends and colleagues in private practice, first at Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin, P.C. (now combined with Arnold & Porter LLP) and then at Duane Morris LLP.  Before taking the bench he represented a wide variety of interests in commercial bankruptcy and insolvency matters including secured creditors, trustees, receivers, debtors/borrowers, guarantors, unsecured creditors, prospective purchasers of assets out of bankruptcy, parties to executory contracts and unexpired leases, equity holders, and other parties in interest.  He has been a frequent speaker and writer on bankruptcy and insolvency topics, and a member and officer of various bankruptcy and insolvency organizations.  When Judge Bason is not sitting in downtown Los Angeles he is usually hiking, biking, or dining nearby. 

Steven R. Fox, Esq.
Principal
The Fox Law Corporation, Inc.

Steven R. Fox heads a small firm in Encino, California where he limits his practice to representing debtors and creditors in bankruptcy. Mr. Fox is noted for his use of chapter 11 to reorganize small and medium businesses.

Mr. Fox received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California and his J.D. degree from Loyola Marymount University School of Law. He clerked for the Honorable Richard Stair, United States Bankruptcy Judge, Eastern District of Tennessee.

Mr. Fox is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum, the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and the San Fernando Valley Bar Association (former trustee). Mr. Fox frequently speaks and writes on bankruptcy topics. Mr. Fox is one of the founders of the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Association.

Stella Havkin, Esq.
Partner
Havkin & Shrago

Stella Havkin, received her B.A. from York University in Toronto, Canada with a focus on Psychology and Political Science in 1984. She was awarded her degree with the honor of Magna Cum Laude. While at York University, Ms. Havkin was on Dean’s List and Dean’s Honor Roll, 1980-1984. She was a member of the Vingt-Deux Club (the top twenty-two graduating students). While at York University, Ms. Havkin worked for the Canadian Armed Forces where she conducted statistical analyses and authored an article which was published in a NATO publication on attrition of women in the military.

Ms. Havkin received her J.D. from University of California, Hastings College of Law in May, 1987. While at Hastings, she was a Member of Hastings International and Comparative Law Review from 1985-1986, Associate Note Editor, 1986-1987 and the author of the Note, "The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act: The Relationship Between the Commercial Activity Exception and the Noncommercial Tort Exception in Light of De Sanchez v. Banco Central de Nicaragua", published in Volume 10:2, September, 1987 which was selected for publication on Westlaw. Also, while at Hastings, Ms. Havkin served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Justice M.O. Sabraw – California Court of Appeal, First District, Fourth Division.

Ms. Havkin has been a member of the California State Bar since 1988. She is admitted to practice before the all the Courts in California, the Ninth Circuit of Appeals, the Fifth Circuit of Appeals, the Federal District Courts in California and in Austin, Texas.

Ms. Havkin is a Certified Bankruptcy Specialist certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization and a Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Law Specialist certified by the American Board of Certification.

She has been a partner at the firm of Litwak and Havkin from 1998 through end of July, 2012. Since August, 2012, she has been a partner with Havkin & Shrago.

Ms. Havkin is editor of the Central District of California Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Association Newsletter and is on the Board of the same organization.

Stella was named as 2013 and 2014 Super Lawyer in the Super Lawyer Magazine in the field of Consumer Bankruptcy Law.

Ms. Havkin is a commissioner with the State Bar of California Bankruptcy Legal Specialization Board.

Peter Lively, Esq.
Principal
Law Office of Peter M. Lively

Peter Maurice Lively is the principal of the Law Office of Peter M. Lively in Culver City. He has practiced for 18 years in the area of small business and consumer reorganizations and liquidations pursuant to the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code.

Mr. Lively has personally represented a variety of debtors as counsel of record in nearly 2,500 cases (approximately 1,588 Chapter 7s, 48 Chapter 11s and 1,155 Chapter 13s). Mr. Lively has also represented debtors in bankruptcy appellate matters. He speaks regularly on bankruptcy topics and is active in numerous bar associations and is now a part-time adjunct profession at UCLA Law School.

Mr. Lively concurrently received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law and his M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management in 1992 and concurrent B.S. degrees in Economics and Management from Carnegie Mellon University in 1988, where he graduated with high honors and was President of Beta Gamma Sigma (National Business Honors Society).

Mr. Lively has been a member of the State Bar of California since 1992, has been admitted before the U.S. District Court, Central District of California since 1993, and has been admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit since 2007. Mr. Lively was named one of The Recorder Legal Newpaper’s 2011 attorneys of the year for his work persuading the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act as discriminatory against gays and lesbians and allow a marriage same-sex couple to proceed with a joint Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.

Dennis McGoldrick, Esq.

Law Office of Dennis McGoldrick

Dennis McGoldrick has limited his practice to bankruptcy and insolvency since 1982.  He was a panel bankruptcy trustee from 1986 to 1991, administering over 10,000 cases.  He has also completed Bankruptcy Mediator training and now is on the panel of Bankruptcy Mediators for the Central District of California.  Dennis is also a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy, certified by the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California.

Dennis is a founder, and was the first president of the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assoication. Dennis published his book, McGoldrick’s Chapter 11, Consumer and Small Business Cases in 2012 and charied a task force to write individual chapter 11 forms for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.  The 2081 forms were written by the task force.

He graduated from Loyola Law School in December, 1980 and was admitted to the bar May 29, 1981.  

Roksana D. Moradi-Brovia, Esq.
Partner and Certified Legal Specialist in Bankruptcy Law
Resnik Hayes Moradi LLP

Roksana D. Moradi-Brovia has dedicated her legal career to representation of both individuals and businesses navigating through Chapter 7 and Chapter 11, and litigation arising in the bankruptcy context.

She has successfully confirmed 72 Chapter 11 Plans of Reorganization for both individuals and businesses, assisting her clients through the “rehabilitation” process at each step of the way. Recent Chapter 11 cases include representing a couple with 19 income producing real properties, a small trucking company, a jewelry store, a dental practice, and an LLC which owns a 13 unit commercial building.

Ms. Moradi-Brovia was nominated as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Ms. Moradi-Brovia is the Chair of the Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (“LACBA”), previously holding the positions of Programs Chair, Secretary and Vice Chair. She acted as Chair of the Debtor Assistance Project/Pro Bono Sub-Committee of the Bankruptcy/Commercial Law Section of LACBA from 2013 through 2017. Ms. Moradi-Brovia was the LACBA representative for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California’s Bar Advisory Board for year 2017.

She is the 2018 President of the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Association (“cdcbaa”) and has been on the Board of Directors and the Programs Chair of the cdcbaa since 2013.

In 2014, Ms. Moradi-Brovia was selected by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California’s Bar Rules Advisory Group as the Working Group Chair of the “Disclosure Statement in Support of Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization,” “Cash Collateral Motion,” and “Budget Motion” committees working to revise the current versions of those Chapter 11 Individual Debtor forms.

Fees

Audio Course and Materials Package – Download or CD: $425

CDs: plus $8.50 shipping and, in CA, sales tax.

CLE Credit

CA General:  This program is approved for 7.5 units of general CLE in California.
CA Certified Legal Specialist:  This program is approved for 7.5 Certified Legal Specialist Credit in Bankruptcy Law.

This program is approved for CLE in the states listed above.  Upon request, Pincus Pro Ed will provide any information an attorney needs to support their application for CLE approval in other states other than what is listed above.

Terms and Policies

Recording policy: No audio or video recording of any program is permitted.

Seminar Cancellations: Should you be unable to attend for any reason, please inform us in writing no later than 14 days prior to the event and a credit voucher will be issued. If you prefer, a refund, less a $50 non-refundable deposit, will be issued. No refunds or credits will be given for cancellations received within 14 days of an event. However, if you notify us within 14 days of an event, and wish to convert your in-person attendance registration to an Audio CD package (with handout), we can do so. A small additional shipping charge, and sales tax in CA, will be incurred. No shipping charge is incurred for downloads. We will also issue a voucher for the amount paid if you notify us within 14 days and prefer not to have the audio recording.

Substitutions may be made at any time.

Webinars, Tele-seminars and Webcast Cancellations: Once log-in codes and passwords are issued for a webinar, tele-seminars or webcasts, a refund is not possible. If for any reason you cannot attend the event after you have received the codes, we will automatically convert your registration to an instant streaming/instant download or CD format and provide you with the information you need to access the recording after the program concludes and the recording is available.  Conversions to CD require a $8.50 shipping fee, and in CA, 9% sales tax.

Downloads/CDs/DVDs – Refund policy:

Downloads are non-returnable/non-refundable once purchased and received. Tapes, CDs and DVDs are returnable for a full refund or replacement if defective, within 90 days of purchase.

Reminder: The room temperature at hotels and other seminar locations are notoriously hard to control. Please bring a sweater or jacket in case it gets cold and/or layer as if you are going to the movies so you are comfortable.