Technology & Intellectual Property Committee Newsletter

vol 14, num 1 | December, 2017

Technology &
Intellectual Property

AN ABI COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER

Visit the Technology & Intellectual Property Committee page

► IN this issue:

A Year-End Note From Your Co-Chairs
New Law Site Includes Dec. 1 Updates
ABI Honors Industry's Best with Inaugural 40 Under 40 Class
Year-End Giving: ABI Offers Two Ways to Give Back
A Business Creditor's Guide to Distressed Vendors, Debt Collection and Bankruptcy

A Year-End Letter from Your Co-chairs

Ericka F. Johnson
Womble Bond Dickinson
Wilmington, Del.

Kenneth Kraft
Dentons Canada LLP
Toronto

As co-chairs of the Technology and Intellectual Property Committee we very much appreciate the involvement of the committee leadership and members of the committee overall. In 2017, as detailed below, we co-sponsored programs at both the Annual Spring Meeting (“ASM”) and at the Winter Leadership Conference (“WLC”). We also relaunched, after a hiatus, the committee’s newsletter.

Annual Spring Meeting

We partnered at the ASM with the Ethics and Professional Compensation Committee to put on a program: “Ethical Issues Regarding the Media in High Profile Cases”. With the Hon. Mary Walrath (US Bankruptcy Ct. Dist. of Delaware, Wilmington) moderating, the panel included Elizabeth J. Austin (Pullman & Comley LLC, Bridgeport, CT), Gregg M .Galardi (Ropes & Gray, New York, NY) and Nellwyn Voorheis-Kantak (Donlin, Recano & Company, Inc., Del Mar, CA). In an engaging session the panel examined the issues around the use of social media in the context of high profile bankruptcy cases involving the rap artist known as “Fifty Cent” and the Gawker Media case. In both cases, the use of social media had an important impact on how the bankruptcy cases evolved. The panel discussed counsel’s obligations, if any, to monitor client’s social media, and also how to address the fact that other stakeholders will be monitoring social media sites for those who might otherwise claim to be impecunious and what advice one should give clients who might be in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings.

Winter Leadership Conference

At the WLC, we partnered with the Health Care and Real Estate Committees to co-sponsor the program: “How Health Care Technology Changes Will Impact Your Practice”. J. Patrick Darby (HealthSouth Corp, Birmingham, AL) moderated a panel that included Michael R. Lane (Hammond Hanlon Camp LLC, Chicago, IL), Johnny L. Lee (Grant Thornton, New York, NY), and Samuel R. Maizel (Dentons US LLP, Los Angeles, CA). In an informative and entertaining session, the panel addressed how the rapid changes in both medical and information technology are transforming the American health care system and the associated financial implications when addressing health care operations that are in financial distress.

Newsletter

In 2017 the committee published a fall and a winter newsletter. A new feature that was added entitled “Practical Tip”. This is the creation of the current newsletter editor Beverly A. Berneman (Golan Christie Taglia LLP, Chicago, IL) so as to make the newsletter more practical to committee members.

Looking Forward

The committee is already actively planning matters for the first part of 2018 with another newsletter in the works, a webinar to develop further on the themes from an earlier WLC program, and an exciting ASM program on cyber security issues in partnership with the unsecured creditors’ committee.

We are eager to welcome new members to the committee and if we can be of any help please reach out to us.

Is there a way you can quickly peruse the Bankruptcy Code, Rules and local rules? Indeed, there is: ABI’s new and improved law.abi.org site! ABI's Law site has always been the most reliable, up-to-date online Code and Rules, but now it has a new look and brand new features.

As before, ABI members can access, annotate and bookmark the Code and Rules from any device, and Law contains all of the new amendments effective December 1. The newly designed site now also allows members to:

view local rules for all 50 states and territories (new!);
read corresponding pertinent Collier case updates (from LexisNexis), Rochelle’s Daily Wire analyses and cross-references from ABI’s Volo site (new!); and,
cut and paste sections easily into documents and e-mails (new!).

Best of all, Law is portable and always current, so you can reference it whenever and wherever you need it! Visit law.abi.org today!

ABI is pleased to announce the inaugural class of its “40 Under40” initiative. The honorees were recognized at a special luncheon during ABI’s 2017 Winter Leadership Conference. Candidates were chosen from both large and small firms from every region of the country, and represent diverse practice areas such as law, finance, consulting, academia, government and more.

A special congratulations to ourABI member committee leaders who were part of the inaugural class!

Take a look at our full list of outstanding honorees!

Year-End Giving: ABI Offers Two Ways to Give Back

ABI has two great opportunities for those who are looking to give back to their communities. We invite you to offer your year-end giving to one of the tax deductible organizations below.

The ABI Endowment Fund was created in 1989 to provide resources for research and education. Named to honor late Vice President of Development Tony Schnelling, the Endowment has awarded more than $3 million in grants, prizes and scholarships since its first award in 1990. For more information on the Endowment, click here. To donate now, click here.

Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) is a national 501(c)3 non-profit that connects bankruptcy and other professionals with young people to teach basic personal finance and encourage smart credit decisions. Founded in 2002, by now-retired U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge John C. Ninfo II, CARE has grown exponentially and has doubled its chapter presence in the last year. Financial literacy is crucial to the success of the next generation and your financial support of CARE goes a long way to preparing our future leaders. Donating is easy at www.care4yourfuture.org/care-support.

ABI has a new publication aimed at business practitioners and their clients. A Business Creditor’s Guide to Distressed Vendors, Debt Collection and Bankruptcy provides an insider’s look into the options available to help screen a business’s customers, plan for worst-case scenarios, and, if the situation does arrive, efficiently handle the fallout. This book offers background and insight into such matters as why businesses fail, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and other statutes that affect a business’s relationship with its vendors, relevant chapters of the Bankruptcy Code that affect debt settlement, out-of-court alternatives to bankruptcy that might come into play, and several other concepts that business owners should be aware of when dealing with distressed vendors. The book is available for pre-order now, and ships at the end of December.