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Using Chapter 11 to Shed Extravagant Benefit Packages
In May of this year, a bankruptcy court allowed United Airlines to terminate certain of its defined benefit pension plans, clearing the way for the largest pension default in U.S. history. The default will save United an estimated $645 million a year in pension contributions, part of the $2 billion in annual savings it says it needs to emerge from Chapter 11. United's success has led to speculation that other corporations with generous and/or underfunded pension and other retiree benefit plans will also use bankruptcy to clean 'legacy costs' off their balance sheets. Modification or termination of such liabilities in Chapter 11, however, is not without difficulty.
Pension and other retiree benefits are a significant cost to any large corporation. Recently, General Motors indicated that it must reduce the costs of its pensions and other retiree benefit plans to survive. Currently, GM has 422,000 retirees for which the company will spend $5.6 billion for health-care benefits in 2005. GM's so-called 'legacy costs' amount to approximately $1500 per vehicle. Scherer R: Rising Benefits Burden. The Christian Science Monitor (abcnews.go.com/International/CSM/story?id=831879).
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
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.