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From the opioid crisis to malfunctioning military earplugs, talc-causing mesothelioma, and wildfires, the past few years have seen numerous examples of parties moving high-profile mass tort litigations from state and federal trial courts to bankruptcy courts. This panel of experts will discuss how chapter 11 is being used by defendants to resolve mass tort liabilities and explore recent case law developments that have limited or expanded the tools available to mass tort litigants in bankruptcy.

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.

Presented by the NAPABA Bankruptcy & Restructuring Committee

Panelists

Jane Kim, Keller Benvenutti Kim LLP — Jane Kim is the managing partner of 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 their respective 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.

Before moving to California and joining Keller Benvenutti Kim in 2014, Jane practiced in New York at the law firm Cleary Gottlieb for over a decade. 

Jane received her JD from Harvard Law School in 2002 and her BA from Columbia College, Columbia University in 1999.

Jessica Liou, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP — Jessica Liou is a partner in the Firm’s Restructuring Department. Jessica represents debtors, creditors, lenders, investors, and asset purchasers in all aspects of distressed situations. She has served as debtors’ counsel in several of the largest and most significant chapter 11 cases in history, including PG&E, Sears and Westinghouse. She has extensive experience advising private equity funds, portfolio companies, and Fortune 500 companies in out-of-court workouts, in-court proceedings, and cross-border restructurings across various industries, including cryptocurrency, power, oil & gas, and retail.

Jessica actively lectures on various topics relating to restructuring, including for organizations such as PLI, the American Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, and the New York City Bar Association. She is the co-editor of the Weil Restructuring Review and regularly publishes articles on various restructuring-related topics, including with Westlaw’s Practical Law Company and the Journal of Bankruptcy Law. Currently, Jessica serves on the Bankruptcy & Corporate Reorganization Committee for the New York City Bar Association.

William Hao, 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. 

William is the treasurer of the Asian American Bar Association of New York and a co-chair of its Commercial Bankruptcy and Restructuring Committee. William also serves as a co-chair of NAPABA's Bankruptcy & Restructuring Committee.