Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
What You Need to Know about Preferences: Practical Considerations for Lessors
One of the most difficult conversations a bankruptcy lawyer can have with a client is explaining why it has been sued for the recovery of money received pre-petition from a debtor for services rendered or goods supplied. We often hear the same incredulous mantras: “But the [debtor] owed me the money … for a long time.” “We helped stave off bankruptcy because we extended the payment terms.” Often these comments are made to the trustee or debtor who commenced the preference suit, before the creditor consults its attorney. The client believes the suit is a big misunderstanding because the payments it received were on account of a real debt and does not understand the admissions contained in its statements.
The pain of a preference action is much easier to accept in those situations where a creditor knowingly accepted a preferential transfer, but did so in the hope that a bankruptcy would not be filed or the preference suit would never be commenced. This occurs when a lawyer was consulted before the collection efforts were made, and the creditor was advised that the collection process might actually result in the recovery of funds that may have to be repaid if the obligor files for bankruptcy 90 days hence. We have seen a glint in the eye of many a client when deciding whether to accept a payment, or additional collateral from a financially strapped customer when we use the old adage: “Real men take preferences, wimps file proofs of claim.” Of course, the advice to knowingly accept a preferential transfer should only be given after consideration of the cost of obtaining the potentially preferential transfer. If legal action has to be taken to obtain a judgment or the leverage necessary to get payment, the cost may not be justified if a bankruptcy filing is inevitable. Often the creditor has very little information that will allow it to predict with any amount of accuracy the likelihood of a customer filing a bankruptcy petition in the succeeding 90 days.
Law Firms are Reducing Redundant Real Estate by Bringing Support Services Back to the Office
A trend analysis of the benefits and challenges of bringing back administrative, word processing and billing services to law offices.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Bit Parts
Summary Judgment Denied Defendant in Declaratory Action by Producer of To Kill a Mockingbird Broadway Play Seeking Amateur Theatrical Rights
Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes
“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.
Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel
'Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel is a continuation of the discussion of client expectations and the disconnect that often occurs. And although the outside attorneys should be pursuing how inside-counsel actually think, inside counsel should make an effort to impart this information without waiting to be asked.