Essential Attorneys’ Guide to Bankruptcy and Restructuring
Date: May 30, 2024 1:00 p.m. – 4:35 p.m.
Location: Online
Member Price: $159
Non-Member Price: $199
Areas of Law: Bankruptcy
Earn up to 4 credits, including 1.2 in Ethics! (More Information)
Keynote
Moderator
Presenters
- Joao F. Magalhaes, Esq.
- Connell Foley LLP, RoselandJoao F. Magalhães is Of Counsel to Connell Foley, LLP in Newark, New Jersey, where he concentrates his practice in corporate law and general counseling, commercial litigation, bankruptcy and regulatory affairs. As a restructuring professional, Mr. Magalhaes has assisted clients in both out-of-court workout negotiations and formal legal proceedings, representing entities ranging from national going concerns to local nonprofits. As a litigator, he has engaged in federal, state and multistate matters involving issues including contract disputes, debtor/creditor rights, partnership/shareholder disputes, insurance coverage, landlord/tenant disputes, employment/labor laws, tax litigation and legal ethics.
Admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York, and before the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a former member of the District V-B Ethics Committee and the Board of Directors of the Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris, Inc., serves on the Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States, Inc., and is a member of the Portuguese American Bar Association.
A lecturer for ICLE, Mr. Magalhaes is a former Barrister of the Bankruptcy American Inn of Court in the District of New Jersey, where he presented and lectured on several topics of significance to bankruptcy and restructuring practitioners. He is a writer and Coordinating Editor for the nationally-published American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) Journal, and is the recipient of several honors.
Mr. Magalhaes received his B.S. from Villanova University, where he was a member of the National Honor Society of Collegiate Scholars, and his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law. As a law student, he served as Vice President of the Criminal Law Society and as Social Chair for the Corporate Law Society. - Joseph Shapiro, Esq.
- Middlebrooks Shapiro, P.C., SpringfieldJoseph M. Shapiro is a Partner in Middlebrooks Shapiro, P.C. in Springfield, New Jersey. He concentrates his practice in commercial bankruptcy, individual bankruptcy, creditor/debtor representation and bankruptcy litigation.
Admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York, and before the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Mr. Shapiro was appointed to the New Jersey State Bar Association Cannabis Law Committee in 2019 and has been a member of the New York State Bar Association, the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey and the Turnaround Management Association. In 2012 he served as a volunteer attorney with the Honorable Morris Stern Bankruptcy pro bono project (the Rutgers-Newark Bankruptcy Pro Bono Project).
A lecturer for ICLE, Mr. Shapiro is a former Barrister of the Bankruptcy American Inn of Court and teaches business law to undergraduate students as an Adjunct Professor at Union County College. He has served as a continuing legal education presenter with Marino Legal CLE and as a Judge in the Vincent J. Appruzzese Mock Trial Competition.
Mr. Shapiro received his B.F.A., magna cum laude, from the Savannah College of Art & Design and his J.D. from Seton Hall University Law School. While a law student, he served as a research assistant to Professors Carl H. Coleman and Gaia Bernstein.
This is the comprehensive and easy-to-understand bankruptcy and restructuring seminar that attorneys have wished for. The program is packed with information about both consumer and business matters, from varying viewpoints and perspectives, and will include discussion time for alternatives, paralegal skills and training, and ethical considerations. It will also provide an overview of how COVID-19 has impacted all of these topics.
Register today to gain clarity into the world of bankruptcy and restructuring. Get the confidence you need to begin navigating both federal and state debtor/creditor proceedings.
Learn the basics of handling bankruptcy and restructuring matters in your practice, including:
- Origins and purposes of bankruptcy law
- Role of Bankruptcy Courts and jurisdictional/venue considerations
- Introduction to the Bankruptcy Code
- Introduction to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, and the Local Rules
- Understanding the bankruptcy estate and debtor/creditor rights pre- and post-filing
- Individual bankruptcies under Chapters 7, 11 and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code
- Corporate/business association bankruptcies under Corporate/business association bankruptcies under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code
- Introduction to the “other Chapters”: Chapters 9 and 12
- Involuntary petitions
- Understanding the administration of the bankruptcy estate: trustee versus debtor-in possession
- Creditor strategies and the claims/distribution process
- Trustees and their powers of avoidance
- Treatment of liens, contracts and leases
- Role of other types of participants: restructuring officers, creditor committees, ombudsman, and more
- Overview of mid-to-higher level issues and strategies for corporate bankruptcies
- Alternatives
- Impact of COVID-19 on the practice
Ethical considerations to be discussed include:
- Attorney’s duties under Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA)
- Debtor’s duties and obligations under the Bankruptcy Code
- Trustee’s duties and obligations in administering the bankruptcy estate
- Cooperating with the Office of the United States Trustee
- Debtor-in-possession: umpire or advocate?
- Conflicts of interest
Paralegal perspectives to be discussed include:
- Overview of local bankruptcy forms - recommended versus approved
- Overview of electronic filing and the electronic docket
- Managing client intake
- Overview of the bankruptcy petition, schedules and statement of financial affairs
- Income and debt limitations for each Chapter of the Bankruptcy Code, and means-testing
- Notice and service of process concerns
- Exemptions (state versus federal)
- Complete petition versus emergency filing
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