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Today's Approach to Distressed Situations: A Lessor's Guide
Back in 1985, one of us contributed to an industry publication an article titled Strategies for Recovery in Lessee Bankruptcy. Twenty-two years later, the landscape of bankruptcy law and the leasing industry have changed dramatically, and issues and problems faced by the equipment lessor today have much different priorities. As the equipment leasing community contemplates the landscape today, some new approaches and decision drivers face the leasing executive when his lessee files Chapter 11, or threatens to do so.
Whether bankruptcy professionals blame it on a continuously robust company, too much liquidity in the credit markets, or some other cause, the financial community recognizes that corporate Chapter 11 filings are way down. While these stated reasons are doubtless valid and contributory, the bankruptcy bar and turnaround professionals sometimes fail to recognize and admit that they have been, to some extent, agents of their own distress. Chapter 11 has simply fallen out of favor as a cost-effective and expeditious remedy for debtors and creditors, in part, because every lender and lessor has cultivated an in-house restructuring group ' non-lawyers who can see business solutions in distressed situations and then reach consensus with the customer and other creditors to achieve an end result without the trauma of an intervening bankruptcy case. This private process, however, is more often than not conducted in the looming shadow of the Chapter 11 filing, which will follow if the private restructuring does not come together. To understand and effectively negotiate his position, the equipment lessor's restructuring executive has to grasp the downsides and upsides of a failed negotiation and an ensuing Chapter 11 filing. Here, we briefly point out the important points that have become so much more central to pre-bankruptcy workouts and many of the Chapter 11 cases filed today.
Even as cost and time factors today result in far fewer operating Chapter 11 cases ending in true reorganization, Chapter 11 remains a very popular vehicle to complete going concern sales of the debtor's business, whether on an expedited basis by employment of '363 of the Bankruptcy Code or confirmation of a plan, pre-packaged or not. Within these contexts, the equipment lessor must, as a first order of business, drill down and spread its legal position even as it does the same with the customer's historical and projected financial data. While every case might be different, the restructuring executive is going to be an effective negotiator if he knows his equipment values, the functionality of the equipment in the customer's business, his customer's financials and has a solid grasp of the legal drivers in almost every lease restructure.
Yachts, Jets, Horses & Hooch: Specialized Commercial Leasing Models
Defining commercial real estate asset class is essentially a property explaining how it identifies — not necessarily what its original intention was or what others think it ought to be. This article discusses, from a general issue-spot and contextual analysis perspective, how lawyers ought to think about specialized leasing formats and the regulatory backdrops that may inform what the documentation needs to contain for compliance purposes.
Hyperlinked Documents: The Latest e-Discovery Challenge
As courts and discovery experts debate whether hyperlinked content should be treated the same as traditional attachments, legal practitioners are grappling with the technical and legal complexities of collecting, analyzing and reviewing these documents in real-world cases.
Identifying Your Practice's Differentiator
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Risks and Ad Fraud Protection In Digital Advertising
The ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, coupled with the industry-wide adoption of programmatic advertising, poses a significant threat to the effectiveness and integrity of digital advertising campaigns. This article explores various risks to digital advertising from pixel stuffing and ad stacking to domain spoofing and bots. It will also explore what should be done to ensure ad fraud protection and improve effectiveness.
Turning Business Development Plans Into Reality
This article offers practical insights and best practices to navigate the path from roadmap to rainmaking, ensuring your business development efforts are not just sporadic bursts of activity, but an integrated part of your daily success.