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| vol 11, num 1 | April 2025 |
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| Committee News |
| The Mediation Committee is off to a strong start in 2025! On March 3, 2025, the Mediation Committee hosted a webinar titled, “Amending Bankruptcy Rule 9031: Recent Efforts to Expand Bankruptcy Judges’ Toolboxes.” It featured Hon. Michael B. Kaplan (D. N.J.), Merril Hirsh of the Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals and Sylvia Mayer of S. Mayer Law. The knowledgeable and lively panel addressed the efforts currently underway to amend Bankruptcy Rule 9031 to expand judges’ toolboxes and allow for the appointment of special neutrals (a.k.a. special masters), and discussed practical considerations in
evaluating such an amendment. CLE is available on demand at cle.abi.org. |
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| Mediation and Insolvency: The Italian Approach |
| On July 1, 2022, Italy implemented a new legal mechanism aimed at preventing financial distress and corporate insolvency. This development represents a significant milestone in the broader reform of Italian insolvency law. The reform process, initiated in 2019, was partially delayed by the pandemic but ultimately completed in 2022. A key outcome was the enactment of the Italian Code of Business Crisis and Insolvency, which formalized this new preventive framework.
The Negotiated Settlement of Business Crisis Under Italian Law
Under Italian law, this mechanism is called “composizione negoziata della crisi di impresa” (“negotiated settlement of business crisis”) and was introduced in response to European Union (EU) initiatives. In particular, EU Directive 2019/1023 urged Member States to implement or refine measures aimed at the early detection of financial distress. The goal of the Code of Business Crisis is to encourage businesses to engage in negotiated debt-restructuring at an early stage, preventing a manageable financial crisis from escalating into insolvency, business dissolution and loss of economic value.
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| The Subchapter V Trustee as Mediator: Lessons Learned over Five Years |
| Many courts have noted the unique role of the subchapter V trustee to facilitate the development of a consensual plan, somewhat akin to a mediator’s role, which is in contrast with the roles of other types of bankruptcy trustees that “tend to be adversarial to the debtor by virtue of their duties to protect the bankruptcy estate and its creditors.”
In March 2020, I was appointed as one of the eight original subchapter V trustees in the Central District of California. In January 2021, the Central District of California subchapter V trustees participated in an intensive one-week mediation certification program, which concluded with one parting word of advice that has stuck with me ever since: humility. In the most noble sense of the word, be humble in your practice of mediation because you will make mistakes, but you will learn from those mistakes, and experience upon experience will build your skills as a mediator. That was comforting and liberating as I set out to fulfill a new role in a new and uncharted area of the law.
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| Don't Miss ABI's Annual Spring Meeting! |
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Join ABI at the 2025 Annual Spring Meeting! As one of the most significant annual gatherings of bankruptcy and insolvency professionals in the country, ABI's Annual Spring Meeting provides the ultimate learning and networking opportunities for the insolvency community!
Join The Mediation and the Consumer Committee for their panel, "Mediation in Sub Chapter V Class" on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at 10:00 AM EST.
This panel will focus on the role of the SubChapter V Trustee, the parallels with mediation, and the meaning of "facilitating the development of a consensual plan.
Speakers for this panel include:
- Peter J. Barrett, Kutak Rock LLP - Richmond, Va
- Frances A. Smith, Ross, Smith and Binford, PC - Dallas, Tx
- Ryan J. Richmond, Sternberg, Naccari & White, LLC - Baton Rouge, La
- John-Patrick M. Fritz, Levene, Neale, Bender, Yoo & Golubchik L.L.P - Los Angeles, Ca
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| Sign Up for ABI’s Digital Book Subscription |
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ABI’s new digital book subscription offers you — or your firm — significant savings on ABI’s entire collection of digital publications. If bought separately, these books (more than 100 titles!) would cost more than $2,000. Full access to the collection is available for just $249 annually for individuals, or $999 for firms, law schools or other
institutions.
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