Views from the Bench
Gain unique perspectives from bankruptcy judges in the Western District of Pennsylvania, the Northern District of West Virginia and the Southern District of West Virginia. The Judges will cover several current bankruptcy topics.
Presenter Information:
Honorable Jeffery A. Deller, Chief Judge
US Bankruptcy Court, Western District of PA
Honorable Patrick M. Flatley, Chief Judge
US Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of WV
Honorable Frank W. Volk, Chief Judge
US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of WV
Choosing Between Chapters 7, 11, and 13
Faculty examine the three most common filing chapters and their differences. Learn
20 items to consider when choosing between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 petition,
and the advantages and disadvantages of Chapter 11 as an alternative to Chapters
7 and 13.
Presenter Information:
Matthew Hayes, Law Clerk
US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of WV
Commercially Reasonable Sales
Gain perspectives on when to work with a delinquent debtor, when to liquidate collateral, and the best practices for such a liquidation. Learn from the mistakes of others in failing to dispose of collateral in a commercially reasonable manner and what that means in term of potential lender liability.
Presenter Information:
David Thomas, Esquire
Dinsmore & Shohl
Kathy Santa Barbara, Esquire
Law Office of Kathy M. Santa Barbara, PLLC
Automatic Stay and Discharge Injunction
Learn about the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay, what it means, when it applies, how it is lifted, and damages for its violation. Learn about the discharge injunction, when it is entered, and how it is different from the automatic stay.
Presenter Information:
Honorable Frank W. Volk, Chief Judge
US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of WV
Reaffirmation Agreements
Learn about reaffirmation agreement theory, processes,deadlines, how the court
treats the 20 different kinds of reaffirmation agreements, what happens when
an attorney represents a debtor but refuses to sign the agreement, and what happens
when a reaffirmation agreement is not executed. Find out what a “back-door” ride
though means and why it might be advantageous to a client.
Presenter Information:
Ryan Johnson, Clerk of Court
US bankruptcy Court, Northern District of WV
Todd Johnson, Esquire
Johnson Law, PLLC
Credit Reporting
Learn about the accuracy, preparation and correction of credit reports,access to credit reports and privacy, adverse actions based on credit reporting, disputes,the difference between the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other acts such as TILA, FDCPA, ECOA, and statutory remedies under the FCRA.
Presenter Information:
James Pietz, Esquire
Feinstein Doyle Payne & Kravec, PLLC
Elizabeth Hanes
Consumer Litigation Associates
Bankruptcy Jurisdiction
Learn how a court created under Article I of the U.S.Constitution functions as
a unit of an Article III court. Learn what a bankruptcy court can finally determine
and how to remove a controversy that is pending in a bankruptcy court
to an Article III decision maker.
Presenter Information:
McKay Wyckoff, Career Law Clerk
US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District
Legal Writing
The Hon. Frank Volk, Chief Bankruptcy Judge of the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia shares his insight on legal writing and provides participants some of the same training instruction that he provides to his law clerks.
Presenter Information:
Honorable Frank W. Volk, Chief Judge
US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of WV
Law and the Cinema: Pop Culture and the Practice of Law
Learn what the entertainment industry can teach or – or not teach us – about the
practice of law and common perceptions held by non-legal clients.
Presenter Information:
Honorable Patrick M. Flatley, Chief Judge
US Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of WV
Exemptions
Learn how exemptions work in bankruptcy proceedings. Learn about West Virginia’s bankruptcy exemptions, other statutory exemptions, and Constitutional exemptions. Cover topics such as exemption stacking, exemptions by declaration and claims for 100% of fair market value. Learn about a debtor’s right to amend exemptions and when that might be prohibited.
Presenter Information:
Thomas Fluharty, Esquire
Thomas H. Fluharty Law Offices