Fulcrum Creditor Power: RSAs, DIPs, Backstops, and Other Tools of Creditor-on-Creditor Violence
Friday, October 9th, 2026 – 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Moderator:
Hon. Jason Burgess
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.
Bios:
Jason A. Burgess is a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division, appointed in March 2022. While in private practice, he became a Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediator and the only attorney in North Florida to be Board-Certified in both business bankruptcy and consumer bankruptcy. While in law school and for a time following graduation, Jason practiced in the creditors’ rights area, representing many of the nation’s largest financial institutions. He later became the managing partner of The Law Offices of Jason A. Burgess, LLC, where he concentrated on Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases and complex bankruptcy litigation. He was often called upon as a Chapter 11 consultant for complex debtor and creditor bankruptcy cases and was also appointed as a Subchapter V Chapter 11 Trustee for both the Middle and Northern Districts of Florida. Jason received his LL.M. in Business Transactions magna cum laude from The University of Alabama School of Law and was named to the 2021 American Bankruptcy Institute’s 40 Under 40.
Vince Buccola is Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School, where his teaching and research span the fields of corporate management and finance, with a special focus on the law of leveraged finance, distress, restructuring, and bankruptcy.
Alice Eaton is Deputy Head of the Paul, Weiss Restructuring Department. She advises creditor and debtor clients in corporate reorganizations and bankruptcies, with a focus on postpetition financings, exit financings and specialized finance structures. Alice is a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy, member of the National Bankruptcy Conference and co-chair of Practising Law Institute’s annual restructuring symposium.
David M. Hillman is Global Co-Chair of the Restructuring Group with over 30 years of experience representing private credit lenders and alternative lenders in special situations and restructurings, both in and out of court. He advises on all phases of distressed investing, including DIP financing, credit bid sales, Chapter 11 plans, liability management transactions, and related litigation.