Wet ink and paper retention requirements are a flawed relic of manual systems past. It’s time to move this relic into the highly-secure digital world.
Wet Ink and Paper Retention Requirements are Flawed: Technology Can Fix That
Do We Ask And Expect Too Much From Mediation? (A Fourth Circuit Mediation Order)
By Donald L. Swanson Sometimes, mediation is asked and expected to do a lot. And sometimes mediation is asked and expected to do more than it can actually perform: i.e., many puzzles and problems defy solution. A new mediation order out of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals asks and hopes for a lot from... Continue Reading →
Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019: Frequently Asked Questions & Some Answers
The SBRA exists today because small businesses have had difficulty getting plans confirmed under chapter 11.
Evaluating Choices in Mediation
Viewing options together nudges people to compare and contrast the options and focus on differences.
Unanswered Questions: Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019
Since the obvious intent of Congress is to help small businesses in financial stress and to abbreviate their Chapter 11 process, courts will try to avoid roadblocks when they can.
Multi-Party Mediation: A Time Problem & A Solution
The mediator spends a half-hour with each party to discuss initial positions—from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. It’s now nearly lunchtime, we’ve only just begun, and time is already getting short.
A Strategy for Reorganizing Medium-Size Businesses With Too Much Debt For The Small Business Reorganization Act
The absolute priority rule is still an impediment to reorganizing medium-size businesses in Chapter 11.
The Farm Economy: A Problem For Us All
That’s all well and good for us well-fed folk, who frequent grocery stores stocked with vast arrays of food choices. But such luxuries are not universal—even here in these United States.
Don’t Guess Wrong on Finality for Appeal: Comparing U.S. Supreme Court Opinions (Rytzen and Bullard)
By: Donald L Swanson “An erroneous identification of a final order as interlocutory may cause a party to miss the appellate deadline.” --U.S. Supreme Court in Rytzen Group, Inc. v Jackson Masonry, LLC (decided 1/14/2020) Rarely has a Supreme Court bankruptcy ruling had a more-expansive effect that its most recent pronouncement. The quotation above shows why—because... Continue Reading →
Mediation Confidentiality at Work
By: Donald L. Swanson Every now and then we get a refresher on mediation confidentiality and how it works. Here is one such refresher. The case is Apollo Education Group, Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance, Case No. CV-15-01948 in Arizona's U.S. District Court. The District Court addresses the admissibility into evidence of three documents from a... Continue Reading →
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