Education

NCBJ Opening Plenary Session: 88 MPH to Confirmation: Landmark Cases That Changed the Ride

Thursday, October 8th, 2026 – 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM – Marriott Grand Ballroom – 8 – 13

Moderator: Hon. Jason Burgess
Speakers: Hon. Aubrey Thomas, Hon. Tiffany Geyer, Eyal Berger, Hon. Bruce Harwood, Alexandra Dugan, Eugene Johnson, James Block
Description: Great Scott! What happens when we put bankruptcy law in a time machine? This panel takes participants on a fast-paced journey through the cases and statutory developments that transformed modern restructuring practice. Along the way, the discussion will connect past innovations to today’s most contested issues- and offer predictions about where bankruptcy is headed when the clock hits 88 miles per hour again.

Bankruptcy Venue Strategy: Practice, Policy, and Pushback

Thursday, October 8th, 2026 – 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM – Marriott Grand Ballroom – 8 – 13

Moderator: Hon. Shireen Barday
Speakers: Bruce Bennett, Evan Fleck, Caroline Reckler
Description: This panel will explore the key considerations influencing venue selection in complex restructurings, including differences in legal standards, judicial philosophy, and case administration across jurisdictions. Panelists will examine how these factors affect outcomes for debtors, creditors, and other stakeholders in both domestic and cross-border contexts. The discussion will also address recent policy debates and judicial commentary on forum shopping, highlighting areas of consensus, emerging trends, and unresolved tensions.

Beyond Jurisdiction: When Bankruptcy Courts Decline to Adjudicate

Thursday, October 8th, 2026 – 11:45 AM – 12:45 PM – Marriott Grand Ballroom – 8 – 13

Moderator: Hon. Scott Clarkson
Speakers: Chris D. Hampson, Anup Sathy, Hon. Karen B. Owens
Description: This audience interactive panel will explore numerous factual circumstances surrounding when a bankruptcy court should or must step back from adjudicating matters. The panelists – spanning the bench, the bar, and the academy – will discuss lack of jurisdiction, mandatory and permissive abstention, remand of removed proceedings, transfer of cases under FRBP 1412, and retention of jurisdiction after plan confirmation. The audience will vote on what the court should or must do in a wide range of circumstances.

Bankruptcy’s Most Wanted: Fraud and Bankruptcy

Joint Program with Federal Bar Association – Marriott Grand Ballroom – 8 – 13

Thursday, October 8th, 2026 – 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Moderator: Hon. Craig Gargotta
Speakers: Tara McGrath, Peter S. Davis, Marti Murray
Description: This session explores fraud in bankruptcy from all angles. Panelists will discuss challenges in representing parties suspected of fraud, as well as provide perspectives from the viewpoint of creditors, trustees, and examiners. Panelists will draw on their breadth of experience, including as a forensic accountant, former US attorney, and court-appointed receiver to examine the ways in which fraud is uncovered and reported.

ABI/NCBJ Joint Mock Trial: Smooth Sailing through Evidentiary Issues in Subchapter V Non-Dischargeability Trials

Friday, October 9th, 2026 – 8:45 AM – 10:00 AM – San Diego Ballroom – B

This interactive mock trial simulates a non-dischargeability adversary proceeding, in which a merchant cash advance company seeks to except its debt from discharge in a subchapter V small business bankruptcy case. Through a live courtroom demonstration with audience polling, panelists will tackle key evidentiary challenges including the admission of summaries, business records, judicial notice, and hearsay and hearsay exceptions. Attendees will vote on how the court should rule on each evidentiary objection before the presiding judge issues her ruling in real time.

Panelists:
Hon. Corali Lopez-Castro, United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida
Alissa B. Castaneda, Partner, Dorsey & Whitney LLP (Phoenix, AZ)
Marguerite L. DeVoll, Partner, Watt Tieder Hoffar & Fitzgerald LLP (Mclean, VA)
Sarah L. Fowler, Partner, Blackwell Burke Fowler & Rossow, P.C. (Indianapolis, IN)
Jarret P. Hitchings, Partner, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP (Charlotte, NC)
An Nguyen, Partner, Nguyen Law, PLLC (Austin, TX)

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ABLJ Symposium:  Looking Back to Help Move the Law Forward

Friday, October 9th, 2026 – 8:45 AM – 10:00 AM – Marriott Grand Ballroom – 8 – 13

Speakers: Bob Rasmussen, Melissa B. Jacoby, Brook E. Gotberg, Bruce A. Markell, John Pottow
Description: In honor of the ABLJ’s 100^th anniversary, the Symposium will consider the evolution of modern bankruptcy law and where it might be heading. To facilitate this conversation, the Symposium brings together five incredible bankruptcy scholars who have published with the journal in the past and asks them to reconsider their prior positions on various legal issues based on current practices and legal developments in bankruptcy cases. The conversation will also explore current trends and predictions for the future of bankruptcy law.

Let’s Make a (Subchapter V) Deal!

Friday, October 9th, 2026 – 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM – Marriott Grand Ballroom – 8 – 13

Moderator: Hon. Paul W. Bonapfel
Speakers: Hon. Scott M. Grossman, Hon. Deborah L. Thorne, Amy Denton Mayer, Caroline Djang
Description: Six years after its enactment, Subchapter V continues to generate surprising questions and unexpected answers. Using the format of the classic game show Let’s Make a Deal, this program will test the panelists’ knowledge of Subchapter V through a series of challenging and often counterintuitive questions involving eligibility, trustee powers, confirmation, discharge, and case administration. Attendees will gain practical insights into statutory interpretation and emerging issues while enjoying an entertaining and engaging learning experience.

Feasibility in the 21st Century: LMEs, Chapter 22s, Future Claims, and Other Puzzles

Friday, October 9th, 2026 – 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM – Pacific Ballroom – 18

Speakers: Robert W. Miller, Josh Sussberg, Lisa Laukitis, John Castellano
Description: What does “feasibility” mean in an era of liability management exercises, repeat chapter 11 filings, and future claims? This panel will revisit the doctrinal roots of feasibility—including its relationship to absolute priority, the equity “option,” and foundational Supreme Court precedent—and ask what work the requirement is meant to do today. Is feasibility still a meaningful safeguard for creditors, or has it become a flexible tool shaped by market realities? The panel will explore whether rapid “chapter 22” cases reflect system failure or an efficient response to changing capital structures; how analysis should account for LMEs conducted prepetition; and how the presence of future claims intersects with the assumption of a solvent, reorganized debtor. The discussion will bring together judicial, legal, and financial perspectives to examine whether feasibility doctrine is keeping pace with modern restructuring practice—or quietly evolving to meet it

Tension at the Border – It’s Not Just the Wall: Cross-Border Insolvency Bridges and Barriers between the United States and Mexico

Joint Program with American College of Bankruptcy

Friday, October 9th, 2026 – 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM – San Diego Ballroom – C

Moderator: Hon. Nancy Alquist
Speakers: Charlie Beckham, Dario U. Oscós, Rosa Rojas Vertiz, María Amparo Hernández
Description: The panel will discuss the status of Mexican insolvency law and the Mexican judicial system along with the challenges of cross border insolvency with Mexico.  The panel includes, a Mexican law professor, experienced Mexican and U.S. practitioners, a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge and a former Mexican judge.

The New Chapter 11 Playbook: Fulcrum Creditor Power and its Consequences

Friday, October 9th, 2026 – 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM – Marriott Grand Ballroom – 8 – 13

Moderator: Hon. Alfredo Perez
Speakers: Vincent Buccola, Alice Belisle Eaton, Laura Davis Jones, David M. Hillman
Description: Many of the hottest topics in big cases these days involve intra-class creditor conflicts, sometimes loosely referred to as “creditor on creditor violence” — that is, attempts by a sub-group within a key creditor class to get better treatment than is available to the other, non-participating members of the class. Typically, this sub-group controls their class’s vote, which enables them to cut a deal with the debtor that gives them special treatment in exchange for a yes vote. Backstop agreements are a well-known example of this, with a subset of the class backstopping the exit financing for a sometimes exorbitant fee. Many DIPs and restructuring support agreements involve similar preferential arrangements. Liability management transactions are of course another example, but one that is outside the scope of this panel.

Privacy in an Open Forum: Managing Sensitive Information in Bankruptcy Cases

Friday, October 9th, 2026 – 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM – Marriott Grand Ballroom – 8 – 13

Moderator: Hon. Brian Walsh
Speakers: Brad Knapp, Elise Frejka, Abigail Ryan
Description: Bankruptcy is, by design, a transparent process. Debtors are expected to provide full and accurate disclosure to allow courts, creditors, and other stakeholders to evaluate assets and liabilities and participate fully in the reorganization or liquidation. That transparency, however, often collides with legitimate concerns about privacy and data protection. Debtors may hold vast quantities of personally identifiable information (“PII”) and highly sensitive commercial data. Creditors and other parties in interest may also be exposed when their information surfaces in schedules, claims, or sale processes.

AI Use Cases for Bankruptcy Lawyers, Advisors and Judges: Real-World Demonstrations

Friday, October 9th, 2026 – 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM – San Diego Ballroom – B

Moderators: Hon. Ashley Austin Edwards, Hon. Christopher J. Panos
Speakers: Kizzy Jarashow, Meredith King, Matthew Frank
Description: Ever wonder how your peers actually use AI? This session pulls back the curtain, moving from a short collective overview to five rotating “learning labs” where speakers demo their personal and professional workflows. You’ll cycle through every station, ensuring you leave with a comprehensive toolkit of real-world AI applications and direct insights from the bench and bar.

Bankruptcy Shark Tank: Testing the Marketplace of Bankruptcy Ideas with an Expert Panel

Saturday, October 10th, 2026 – 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM – San Diego Ballroom – B

Moderator: Hon. Martin R. Barash
Speakers: Douglas G. Baird, Dennis F. Dunne, Pamela Foohey, Ronit Berkovich, Hon. Robert Drain
Description: Experts with proposals for changes in bankruptcy law or practice will try to convince a panel of skeptics that their proposals should be adopted. Proposals may include, among others, possible Bankruptcy Code amendments impacting business and consumer cases and narrowing specific appellate holdings.

Bankruptcy MythBusters: What We Think We Know-and What Is Actually Happening in Commercial and Consumer Cases

Saturday, October 10th, 2026 – 9:45 AM – 10:45 AM – San Diego Ballroom – B

Moderator: Hon. Jeff Deller
Speakers: Jane Kim, Suzanna Uhland, Tara Twomey, Melissa Jacoby
Description: This program examines several commonly held assumptions about bankruptcy law and practice and evaluates whether those assumptions remain accurate in today’s restructuring environment. Using a moderated “MythBusters” format, panelists will explore issues affecting both commercial and consumer bankruptcy cases, including access to bankruptcy relief, who truly controls bankruptcy outcomes, and the extent to which modern restructurings are driven by courts, markets, lenders, and contractual arrangements. Through discussion and debate, participants will examine the tension between statutory doctrine, economic realities, and practical outcomes in contemporary bankruptcy practice.

Judicial Roundtable

Saturday, October 10th, 2026 – 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Marriott Grand Ballroom – 5

Moderator: Hon. Katy Perhach
Description: Participate in small group discussions with bankruptcy judges from around the country to discuss real-world ethics challenges