ABA Journal

Bankruptcy Law

1145 ABA Journal Bankruptcy Law articles.

Citigroup to Pay $1.6B to Settle Enron Claims

Citigroup has agreed to pay $1.66 billion to settle claims that it aided Enron’s downfall by setting up complex financial structures that hid and amplified the…

Hot Topic Post-Bear Stearns: Investment Safety Rules

After seeing the value of one of the nation’s investment banking giants plummet disastrously virtually overnight this week, investors are now wondering about the safety of assets held in brokerage…

$11.2M Deal Covers Error in Enron Settlement Payout

Enron employees who lost their retirement cash when the company collapsed were disappointed a second time when it was revealed that a company distributing a $218 million settlement payout got…

Lawyers Await New Century Examiner’s Report

A bankruptcy examiner’s report about problems at subprime lender New Century Financial could be unsealed as early as this week.

The report is likely to address advice by auditor KPMG,…

Judge: Countrywide ‘Bungling’ Not ‘Full-Blown Bad Faith’

In a bit of good news for one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, which has been deluged lately with claims of abusive foreclosure practices, a federal judge in Texas…

Bankruptcy Lawyers Become a Hot Commodity

When business is bad, business is good for bankruptcy lawyers. As more big businesses seek bankruptcy protection this year, more law firms are gearing up to handle the work.

In…

Lawyers’ Letter Supports Cross-Dressing Judge

Bankruptcy lawyers have started a letter-writing campaign in support of a judge who was wearing a cocktail dress when police arrested him on suspicion of…

U.S. Trustees Seek Countrywide Sanctions, Allege Widespread Abuses

In a highly unusual action, U.S. trustees in three states are seeking sanctions against Countrywide Financial Corp., contending that the major mortgage lender has abused the bankruptcy process by making…

NYT Supports Bill Allowing Bankruptcy Judges to Rewrite Mortgages

The New York Times is urging passage of a law that would allow bankruptcy courts to rewrite the terms of borrowers’ mortgages.

An editorial says some…

Loss of Bankruptcy Rainmaker Shows Weil Gotshal ‘Time Warp’

Partner defections in the bankruptcy department at Weil, Gotshal & Manges highlight a disagreement in the firm about how its pre-eminent restructuring practice should be integrated with the rest of…

Bill Would Give Bankruptcy Judges Power to Rewrite Home Mortgages

A pending congressional proposal to allow bankruptcy judges to reduce borrowers’ outstanding home mortgages is running into some strong opposition from lenders.

The measure, which could be voted on in…

DLA Piper Raids Locke Lord Bissell; 8 Restructuring Lawyers Jump Ship

DLA Piper has raided the Chicago office of Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, persuading eight attorneys to jump ship and join the megafirm’s office there.

The group, which includes both…

Big Bankruptcy Case Discovers Forged Attorney Opinion Letters

When opinion letters apparently written by a prominent New Jersey lawyer were sent to Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services in 2004 along with alleged fake financial statements, the bank reportedly…

Judge Raps ‘Cat and Mouse Game,’ Withholds Attorney Fees

A federal bankruptcy judge has refused to approve a fee request of almost $75,000 by a New York law firm because it did not clearly disclose the relationship between the…

Bankruptcy’s Back On

In her 30-plus years of practice, Houston bankruptcy lawyer Evelyn H. Biery has seen the tides of her practice area rise and fall. Right now, she’s happily riding a wave.

Read more ...