On Bankruptcy and Mediation
By Donald L. Swanson Here is my memory from a decade ago in a far-away jurisdiction where I occasionally practiced: the bankruptcy judge's procedural rules have a backwoods feel. --The rules are cumbersome. --The rules are strictly and rigidly enforced. --The judge's attitude comes across like this: You want flexibility to address immediate needs?! --Forget... Continue Reading →
GUEST ARTICLE: Robert M. Fishman mediates bankruptcy disputes across the entire U.S.A. Mr. Fishman hails from Chicago and provides the following article on a recent revocation of Local Bankruptcy Rules on mediation in the Northern District of Illinois. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CULTURE  By Robert M. Fishman What makes mediation the “go to” approach... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson The Wall Street Journal reports that the Gallup (New Mexico) Diocese filed today (Monday, March 21, 2016) a mediated plan of reorganization in its bankruptcy proceeding.  Here are some blurbs from the Wall Street Journal report: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup, N.M., unveiled today "a $22 million reorganization plan, the bulk of... Continue Reading →
The Commercial Bankruptcy Litigation website is publishing an article by Donald L. Swanson, entitled "Proactive Mediation: The Great Innovation of Detroit and Diocese Reorganizations." The article appears on the Commercial Bankruptcy Litigation website at this address: https://www.dailydac.com/commercialbankruptcy/litigation/articles/proactive-mediation-the-great-innovation-of-detroit-and-diocese-reorganizations Follow Don on Twitter by clicking here.
By Donald L. Swanson 40 people are in the room at the first mediation session about Detroit’s two pension plans. There aren’t enough chairs in the room to go around, so the mediator, Eugene Driker, stands for the entire four-hour meeting. This is an unusual mediation: Its issues and disputes are newly joined, so the... Continue Reading →
Action Item. In every dispute, we should consider whether mediation and conciliation might be the best approach.
By Donald L. Swanson Bishop George Thomas of Helena, Montana, says in late-February 2016: "A conciliatory approach toward sex-abuse victims helped to minimize the expenses associated with the bankruptcy process." And the expense minimization is huge! The Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, Montana, files for bankruptcy protection in January of 2014. Prior to filing, the... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson Get this: all six mediators in the Detroit Bankruptcy are sitting or retired federal judges -except one. Eugene Driker is the lone exception. He is the only private-practice mediator in the group - or, as Mr. Driker describes it, “I was the civilian.” That makes him an example and hero... Continue Reading →
Action Item.  We should all be encouraging every bankruptcy judge to promote bankruptcy mediation now, as a way to prepare for future days when the bankruptcy season arrives again. #bankruptcy  #mediation  #bankruptcymediation
By Donald L. Swanson Here's how a season change worked, as I recall, in the early 1980s: we are at the early stages of an economic recession. The local Bankruptcy Court has one judge, one secretary and a few people in the Clerk's office. As the economic recession intensifies, the local Court's workload explodes. Motion... Continue Reading →
MEDIATBANKRY 