Subchapter V 101: A guide to small business reorganizations in chapter 11

Adam Prescott | Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, P. A

Adam Prescott is a shareholder at Bernstein Shur in Portland, Maine. Adam represents businesses and individuals in bankruptcy, insolvency, and other complex commercial matters involving financial distress. On the debtor side, Adam has represented debtors in Chapter 11 reorganization and liquidation cases throughout the country, including bankruptcy courts in Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Delaware. Adam’s debtor practice includes representing numerous debtors in Subchapter V proceedings, including among the earliest Subchapter V cases in the country in February 2020, just days after the Small Business Reorganization Act took effect. Adam also maintains a robust creditor-side and distressed transactional practice, which includes representing secured creditors, landlords, unsecured creditors, and asset buyers in chapter 11 cases across the country.In addition to working with his clients, Adam regularly writes and speaks on panels about important bankruptcy issues, particularly recent developments regarding Subchapter V. Adam has spoken at the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Annual Spring Meeting and Northeast Bankruptcy Conference, the Maine Bar Association’s Summer Conference, and numerous other local and national panels and webinars about Chapter 11, Subchapter V, and other bankruptcy issues. He also has published articles in the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, the Maine Bar Journal, Law360, and the Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice. Adam received his J.D. from William & Mary Law School and his undergraduate degree from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.

Kyung S. Lee | Shannon & Lee LLP

Since graduating from Duke Law School, Mr. Lee has spent the last 38 years carefully guiding clients through sensitive workout negotiations, and, when a bankruptcy filing has been required to reorganize a distressed company, he has litigated for his clients in bankruptcy courts to achieve their objectives. Mr. Lee has either first- or second-chaired a significant number of bankruptcy cases, whether on a negotiated or litigated basis, in a variety of industries.

In addition to his law degree, Mr. Lee also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. With both a JD and an MBA, Mr. Lee has the background to understand his client’s needs and become intimately familiar with the facts of a new matter with a minimal learning curve.

Mr. Lee has substantial experience in addressing insolvency-related issues, ranging from identifying liquidity crises, managing debtor-creditor relationships, formulating workout and Chapter 11 strategies, negotiating with creditor constituencies and implementing with senior management turnaround and reorganization plans.

As a member of the Business Bankruptcy Committee of the American Bar Association, Mr. Lee has been an active member of several subcommittees and task forces. He participated in the publication of the Model Asset Purchase Agreement for Bankruptcy Sales by the American Bar Association in 2016. Mr. Lee has also been a speaker at the Jay L. Westbrook Bankruptcy Conference on advanced bankruptcy topics ranging from “Marijuana and Bankruptcy: Just Say No! (2018) to “Recidivist Debtors: Chapter 22s of Oil and Gas Business Debtors. Why Is it Happening Now?” (2019).

I. Key changes between Subchapter V and Chapter 11 | 12:00pm – 12:30pm

II. Who is eligible for Subchapter V | 12:30pm – 12:45pm

III. General duties and powers of the Subchapter V debtor | 12:45pm – 1:00pm

Break | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

IV. Understanding the role of the Subchapter V trustee | 1:10pm – 1:40pm

V. Special plan confirmation rules in Subchapter | 1:40pm – 2:10pm