From the Sacklers to Johnson & Johnson and more, the use of the bankruptcy courts by companies and defendants to resolve mass torts cases has received a lot of press and public scrutiny in the past few months. A subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee recently heard testimony from bankruptcy legal experts concerning proposed legislation to curtail the availability of third party releases and other tools used to manage tort liabilities. Our panel will discuss these recent developments and the future of mass tort-related bankruptcies.

NAPABA did not seek CLE for this program; however, this live webcast may be eligible for CLE credit in your jurisdiction. Please follow-up directly with your jurisdiction in order to self-apply for CLE credit.

Panelists

• Mian Wang (Moderator), Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig: Mian R. Wang focuses her practice on high-stakes business litigation. She represents public and private companies, financial institutions, directors, officers, and individuals before state and federal courts in commercial and bankruptcy litigation. She has broad experience handling matters related to breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, preference claims, UCC secured transactions, negligence, wire fraud, and unfair and deceptive trade practices disputes. Her practice covers multiple disciplines and industries, including education, health care, event management, start-up firms, financial institutions, and commercial finance and asset management firms.
  
  
• William Hao, Counsel, Alston & Bird: William Hao is counsel in Alston & Bird’s Financial Restructuring & Reorganization Group. William is experienced in a wide range of bankruptcy, litigation, and out-of-court restructuring matters. He represents secured creditors, hedge funds, trade creditors, lessors and lessees, and other parties-in-interest in distressed situations and in all aspects of bankruptcy proceedings such as avoidance actions, claims litigation, and the assumption and rejection of contracts and leases. William also has extensive experience representing parties in securitizations and other structured finance products in distressed situations and in commercial litigation. William regularly advises clients on bankruptcy issues in connection with finance and M&A transactions. 
  

• Jane Kim, Partner, Keller Benvenutti Kim LLP: Jane Kim is a partner at Keller Benvenutti Kim, a San Francisco-based corporate bankruptcy and restructuring boutique law firm, where she represents debtors in possession, distressed companies, and other parties, in both in-court and out-of-court situations.
  Jane's recent engagements include representing In-Shape Health Clubs, LLC, a premium regional fitness club chain in California, and Ravn Air Group, Inc., a regional airline in Alaska, in each of their chapter 11 cases filed in Delaware. Jane also serves as bankruptcy co-counsel for Pacific Gas & Electric Company in its chapter 11 case, the largest chapter 11 filing in the Northern District of California in over a decade, which emerged from bankruptcy in July 2020 through a confirmed, largely-consensual plan of reorganization.

• Vincent Roldan, Partner, Mandelbaum Barrett: Vincent J. Roldan is a Partner in the Firm’s Bankruptcy and Creditors Rights, and Banking and Financial Services groups. He has represented parties in interest in various aspects of bankruptcy proceedings and out of court workouts across the U.S. He also represents clients in non-bankruptcy litigation in state and federal courts on various tort, contract, intellectual property and collection matters. He is a frequent speaker and published writer with respect to restructuring, commercial bankruptcy and distressed investing; and the recipient of Global M&A Network’s 2017 Turnaround Atlas Award for Consumer Products Restructuring of the Year (Rienzi & Sons, Inc.).
  
  
• Bernice C. Lee, Of Counsel, Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton: Bernice Lee is Of Counsel at Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton. For over a decade, Bernice has concentrated her practice on business bankruptcy and insolvency-related litigation. She has extensive experience addressing complicated legal issues with business reorganizations, liquidations, debtor-in-possession financing, bankruptcy sales, appeals, fraudulent and preference transfer actions, receiverships, and assignments for the benefit of creditors. She regularly represents debtors, trustees, secured lenders, trade creditors and landlords, and has represented numerous companies who have successfully emerged from chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Presented by NAPABA's Bankruptcy & Restructuring Committee