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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Real Property - Finance

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, December 3, 2024

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$347.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will guide landlord counsel in handling the critical legal issues that arise before and after a tenant files for bankruptcy. The panel will outline strategies for commercial landlords to protect their interests and maximize recovery under state law and the Bankruptcy Code.

Faculty

Katharine Clark
Partner
Thompson Coburn LLP.

Ms. Clark represents clients before bankruptcy courts, federal and state trial courts, arbitration panels and appellate courts nationwide. She has significant experience in bankruptcy and litigation matters involving the real estate and energy industries. Ms. Clark has broad commercial litigation experience related to troubled and insolvent businesses. Her experience includes representing companies, fiduciaries, lenders, secured and unsecured creditors, as well as constituencies from every segment of the capital structure in federal and state court reorganization, liquidation and litigation proceedings. She has helped clients navigate insolvency matters involving billions of dollars in liabilities.

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Harold D. Israel
Partner
Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC

Mr. Israel represents debtors, asset purchasers, secured lenders, creditors and official creditor committees in workouts (in- and out-of-court) and reorganizations throughout the country. Additionally, he represents lenders and equity sponsors in asset-based lending, foreclosure, and debtor-in-possession financing transactions. Mr. Israel also assists not-for-profit organizations in drafting corporate governance documents. He is a past Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Bankruptcy and Reorganization Committee and is a past president of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association.

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C. Knox Withers
Partner, Co-Chair Retail Industry and Real Estate Litigation Teams
Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

Mr. Withers diligently safeguards the interests of commercial landlords, tenants, owners, property managers, developers, and financial institutions, ensuring the protection of their business assets. He resolves complex business and real estate disputes through both traditional litigation and alternative dispute resolution methods. Mr. Withers achieves business-minded solutions in connection with lease disputes, dispossessory and distraint proceedings, contract litigation, and land use cases for his clients. Additionally, he handles loan default matters, promissory note and guaranty disputes, and creditors’ rights litigation seeking to collect from account debtors. 

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Description

The distressed commercial real estate market coupled with uncertain general economic conditions means that commercial landlords must prepare now to cope with past due rents and soaring vacancies and seek ways to protect their financial interests.

The Bankruptcy Code offers protection to both landlords and tenants but raises several complex legal issues. The tenant's primary concern is the assumption or rejection of the lease under Chapter 11. However, legal advisers must carefully consider the timing and implications of such decisions (including locations impacted).

There are strategies available to the landlord that can minimize losses before or after a bankruptcy filing. They may include negotiating a rent abatement or other modification of the lease or participating in the creditor's committee in bankruptcy. It may also have setoff rights concerning deposits held under the lease.

Listen as our authoritative panel of real estate and bankruptcy attorneys highlights critical legal issues that arise for landlords before and after a tenant files for bankruptcy. The panel will offer their perspectives on best practices for commercial landlords to protect their interests and maximize recovery under state law and the Bankruptcy Code.

Outline

  1. Commercial tenant bankruptcies: current trends
  2. Legal issues arising when a commercial tenant files for bankruptcy
    1. Automatic stay
    2. Ipso facto clauses
    3. Assumption or rejection of a lease
    4. Anti-assignment lease provisions
    5. Post-petition performance
    6. Proofs of claim
  3. Best practices for mitigating the risk of loss
    1. Pre-petition rent relief, repossession, or termination of the lease
    2. Enforce rights to receive current rent before bankruptcy or to compel post-petition rent payment or obtain relief from stay to repossess premises
    3. Security deposit setoffs and draws on letters of credit
    4. Get appointed to creditors' committee
    5. Strategies when negotiating a lease

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key questions:

  • What trends are developing in commercial tenant leases as a result of current market conditions?
  • What provisions should landlords consider in negotiating and drafting leases or lease modifications to protect against potential losses due to tenant bankruptcy?
  • What rights does the Bankruptcy Code give commercial landlords and tenants?
  • What are the best and most cost-effective practices for a commercial landlord to pursue when a tenant files for bankruptcy protection?