Adding Bankruptcy to Your Law Practice: Complete guide to filing Chapter 7 bankruptcies, including detailed training for paralegals and associates (2024 Edition)

Randy Nussbaum
Kyung S. Lee
Christopher R. Murray
Randy Nussbaum | Sacks Tierney
Kyung S. Lee | Shannon & Lee LLP
Christopher R. Murray | Jones Murray LLP

On-Demand: July 19, 2024

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3 hour CLE
Tuition: $245.00
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Program Summary

Session I - Keeping Chapter 7 Lucky for You and Your Client - Randy Nussbaum

A comprehensive initial consultation is crucial in the bankruptcy process to gather essential information and set realistic expectations. Understanding the benefits and drawbacks of different Bankruptcy Chapters enables practitioners to guide clients towards the most suitable option. Properly preparing schedules and the client ensures accuracy and compliance with legal requirements. Addressing payment ensures fair compensation for legal services rendered. Lastly, awareness of potential pitfalls allows practitioners to anticipate and mitigate risks, ensuring smoother proceedings and better outcomes for both the lawyer and the client.

Key topics to be discussed:

  • The importance of conducting a comprehensive and thorough initial consultation
  • Understanding the benefits and detriments of the different Bankruptcy Chapters
  • Proper preparation of the schedules and the client
  • Getting paid
  • Potential pitfalls

Session II – Adding Bankruptcy to Your Law Practice: Complete guide to filing Chapter 7 bankruptcies - Kyung S. Lee, Christopher R. Murray

Through the use of a hypothetical debtor seeking to file Chapter 7, the presentation will demonstrate best practices to employ in accepting new chapter 7 cases, ranging from conflict checks, clarifying who the client is, the data required to properly file chapter 7, how much to charge to file chapter 7 and when the legal obligation to represent the debtor commences and ceases with a chapter 7 debtor. Along the way, we will identify the key players in chapter 7 cases, the chapter 7 trustee, the United States Trustee, the secured creditor, the unsecured creditors, and, in some instances, a whole gaggle of professionals from a failed chapter 11 effort. We will learn what happens to earned but not paid professional fees upon the commencement of a case and the conversion of a case to a case under chapter 7. A little detour may be taken to examine what happens when a receiver is involved before a chapter 7 takes place, can the receiver stay in place as the chapter 7 trustee? Finally, we will explain the powers of the chapter 7 trustee to recover assets for the benefit of all unsecured creditors of the debtor. The two most often relied upon are the right to recover preferences ( § 547) and fraudulent transfers (§ 548). The necessary elements to recover for each will be discussed; and then defense parties may have to such suits will conclude our presentation.

Key topics to be discussed:

  • Best practices in accepting new Chapter 7 case
  • Identifying key players in Chapter 7 cases
  • Treatment of professional fees
  • Receiver involvement before Chapter 7
  • Powers of the Chapter 7 trustee

This course is co-sponsored with myLawCLE.

Closed-captioning available

Speakers

Randy Nussbaum_FedBarRandy Nussbaum | Sacks Tierney

For more than four decades, Randy Nussbaum has assisted individuals and businesses with complex bankruptcy protection (debtor and creditor), transaction and litigation matters. Randy has represented secured and unsecured creditors, surety companies, creditor committees, lessors, professional athletes, doctors, lawyers, and trustees in Chapter 5, 7, 11, and 13 proceedings, including adversary actions (bankruptcy litigation). The cases have involved such diverse matters as real estate, construction, manufacturing, trucking, asset-based lending, bankruptcy related to divorce, and high-value, and complex individual bankruptcies. Randy is a Certified Bankruptcy Specialist (Arizona Board of Legal Specialization) and a Certified Business Bankruptcy Specialist (American Board of Certification).

Randy is a respected lecturer and author on topics regarding bankruptcy, construction, and real estate. His peers have honored him with multiple peer rankings for his professional achievements. Randy has been named to the Super Lawyers’ “Top 50” list of Arizona attorneys multiple times and has been selected as one of The Best Lawyers in America© since 2010. Best Lawyers also has three times selected Randy as its “Lawyer of the Year” (Scottsdale), in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights (2019) and Bankruptcy Litigation (2021 and 2024). Recognized for his life-long commitment to community service, in 2018 Randy joined the distinguished roster of honorees inducted into the Scottsdale History Hall of Fame.

 

Kyung S. Lee_FedBarKyung 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).

 

Christopher R. Murray_FedBarChristopher R. Murray | Jones Murray LLP

Chris has over fourteen years of experience in all aspects of bankruptcy and related litigation. Clients value Chris’s ability to tackle complex issues and resolve them effectively and efficiently. Chris is certified in business bankruptcy law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Chris regularly advises debtors, committees, equity holders and creditors in a full range of insolvency related matters, including out-of-court restructuring, chapter 5 avoidance actions, chapter 11 restructuring, and chapter 7 liquidations. Chris is also frequently appointed to serve as a fiduciary in a wide range of scenarios, including as a chapter 7 trustee, chapter 11 trustee, liquidating trustee and in other capacities.

Agenda

Session I – Keeping Chapter 7 Lucky for You and Your Client | 12:20pm – 1:20pm

  • The importance of conducting a comprehensive and thorough initial consultation | 12:20pm – 12:30pm
  • Understanding the benefits and detriments of the different Bankruptcy Chapters | 12:30pm – 12:45pm
  • Proper preparation of the schedules and the client | 12:45pm – 12:55pm
  • Getting paid | 12:55pm – 1:05pm
  • Potential pitfalls | 1:05pm – 1:20pm

Break | 1:20pm – 1:30pm

Session II – Adding Bankruptcy to Your Law Practice: Complete guide to filing Chapter 7 bankruptcies | 1:30pm – 3:40pm

  • Best practices in accepting new Chapter 7 case | 1:30pm – 2:00pm
  • Identifying key players in Chapter 7 cases | 2:00pm – 2:30pm

Break | 2:30pm – 2:40pm

  • Treatment of professional fees | 2:40pm – 3:00pm
  • Receiver involvement before Chapter 7 | 3:00pm – 3:20pm
  • Powers of the Chapter 7 trustee| 3:20pm – 3:40pm
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