► In This Issue:

• A Letter from Your Co-Chairs
• Erroneously Authorized UCC Termination Statement Results in $1.5 Billion Disaster
• The Risky Business Side of Bankruptcy Lawyering: ABI Chapter 11 Reform Commission Recommends Reform Regarding Professional Retention and Compensation
• Top Five Tips in Preparing for Bankruptcy Mediation

A Letter from Your Co-Chairs

Hank Baer Finn Dixon & Herling LLP Stamford, Conn.

Steve Krause Owl Creek Asset Management, LP New York

We have just completed another well-attended Annual Spring Meeting, during which we hosted a joint panel with the Young and New Members and Bankruptcy Taxation committees, on tax-sharing agreements in bankruptcy. Click here to review the materials. Continuing our tradition of networking receptions in conjunction with our educational presentations, we hosted a mimosa and bloody mary breakfast before our Saturday morning panel. Thanks again to our sponsors—CBIZ MHM, LLC, O’Melveny & Meyers LLP, and Saul Ewing LLP—for helping make this possible.

We are already hard at work with the Real Estate Committee on our panel for the Winter Leadership Conference, to be held December 3 – 5, 2015, at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa. Of course we plan to continue the networking tradition, and we look forward to seeing you there! We are also working on new programs and offerings, and ideas for future panel, topics, new publications and other special projects are always welcome. Please contact either of our Co‑Chairs, Hank Baer or Steve Krause, or our Education Director, Shane Ramsey, with suggestions.

As advertised to the Listserve previously, the Business Reorganization Committee is excited to offer its members an in-depth discussion of the 2011-2014 Final Report and Recommendations (the "Report") released by the ABI’s Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 (the "Commission). A copy of the Commission’s report can be obtained by clicking here.
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Erroneously Authorized UCC Termination Statement Results in $1.5 Billion Disaster

David J. Kozlowski Arent Fox LLP New York

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion on Jan. 21, 2015, holding that a UCC-3 termination statement was effective to extinguish a security interest of up to as much as $1.5 billion, notwithstanding that the secured lender erroneously authorized the filing of the termination statement and did not intend to extinguish the security interest.

Loans, Security Interests and Errors
In 2001, General Motors obtained $300 million in financing from JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. (JPMorgan) secured by liens on multiple assets, with JPMorgan again serving as administrative agent. JPMorgan and the other lenders took security interests in multiple General Motors assets and filed 28 UCC-1 financing statements, the most substantial of which was dubbed the Main Term Loan UCC-1.
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The Risky Business Side of Bankruptcy Lawyering: ABI Chapter 11 Reform Commission Recommends Reform Regarding Professional Retention and Compensation

Salene Mazur Kraemer, CTA MAZURKRAEMER BUSINESS LAW Pittsburgh

Following a nearly-three-year study, on Dec. 8, 2014, the ABI Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 published a 400-page report (report) containing recommendations and principles for policymakers. This article focuses on chapter 11 reform relating to professional retention and compensation.

The Business Side of Bankruptcy Lawyering.
As a business owner, the “business” of lawyering is as equally important as doing good work. Landing the client, obtaining a sufficient retainer, managing the client’s expectations, making sure the client replenishes a retainer, doing the work well at a reasonable cost, and, last but not least, collecting payment.
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Top Five Tips in Preparing for Bankruptcy Mediation

Sylvia Mayer S. Mayer Law Houston

Most bankruptcy attorneys are born negotiators. It is part of our DNA to zealously advocate for our client’s position and simultaneously explore options for consensual resolution. Unfortunately, many bankruptcy disputes cannot be resolved this way. Perhaps the client has unrealistic expectations, or there is a personality conflict between the lawyers or the clients. Or possibly the lawyer, the client or both view settlement dialog as a sign of weakness. Or the dispute is so complex that the parties are unable to figure out how to even begin discussing a compromise. The list of reasons for not resolving is infinite. As a result, it has become increasingly common for bankruptcy courts to refer adversary proceedings and contested matters to mediation to encourage faster, more cost-effective and consensual resolution of disputes.
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