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NAAG/SABA “Bankruptcy from a Government Perspective” Seminar
September 21-24, 2008, Seattle, WA
We are pleased to
announce that the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG)
will be joining the States' Association of Bankruptcy Attorneys
(SABA) to hold their annual seminar on Bankruptcy from a
Government Perspective at the Red Lion Hotel on Fifth Avenue in
Seattle, Washington.
As the massive
changes wrought by the 2005 changes to the Bankruptcy Code work
their way through the system to the district and circuit court
levels, a degree of consensus is beginning to emerge. On the
other hand, the current financial downturn drives up filing
rates and creates calls for new legislation, which may happen
this year or perhaps not unless there is changes after the
November election results. In any case, bankruptcy law and its
effect on government revenues and enforcement abilities
continues to be of great relevance to Attorney General offices
and their staff in areas ranging from tax to student loans to
domestic support to environmental and consumer protection
efforts. The discussion at this conference will be an invaluable
opportunity for your staff and staff in your client agencies to
learn about the new developments and see how they are being
implemented. In addition, as always, the seminar will provide an
in-depth education for bankruptcy novices about the whole scope
of the Bankruptcy Code as it applies to governmental entities.
The seminar runs for
three and a half days, and is designed to be helpful to everyone
in your office, from the bankruptcy novice to the experienced
practitioner. It is open to attorneys, paralegals, and other
staff members in the offices of Attorneys General as well as
those in other government agencies, such as revenue offices, and
in private practice who work on government bankruptcy issues. We
urge you to distribute this invitation as widely as possible
within your
office and related agencies, as bankruptcy issues may arise in
every substantive area of law.
The seminar will begin Sunday afternoon with an optional session
providing a quick overview of bankruptcy topics as a base for
the more detailed discussions during the remainder of the
conference. There will also be an advanced roundtable discussion
on proactive measures
the States can take in enacting legislation and resolving
litigation that will improve their position in the event of a
later bankruptcy. Throughout the next three days, we will work
through the bankruptcy process from the initial filing through
post-confirmation enforcement actions. We will have a number of
breakouts: some will split into beginning and advanced reviews
of a topic, while others will focus separately on the interests
of taxing agencies and regulatory offices. We are planning on
including segments relating to regulatory and tax issues arising
out of the current mortgage crisis as well as an extended
segment on how to review and investigate a debtor's financial
information and resources. We will run through the end of the
day on Wednesday, so participants should make travel
reservations accordingly.
We will have a distinguished panel of presenters for the
seminar, including bankruptcy judges, trustees, private
attorneys, and experienced bankruptcy counsel from state, local,
and federal agencies. Each has been selected based on their
experience and expertise with respect to the unique issues faced
by governmental counsel in bankruptcy court. A tentative agenda
is located here to with an initial speaker list and
generalized topic descriptions. It will be updated and expanded
as the seminar nears.
The fee for the seminar is $500; a reduced fee of $450 will be
available before August 30, 2008. In addition, to encourage the
greatest possible participation from your offices, we will be
offering a discount of $100 per registration for groups of three
or more persons from the same office, registering at the same
time. Enclosed is a seminar registration form, which should be
returned to attention of Karen Cordry, NAAG Bankruptcy Counsel
on or before that date.
Although we will continue to accept registrations as late as
possible, we may not be able to accommodate participants after
the cut-off date, depending on the numbers already registered.
In order to assist our planning, please have staff return the
registration form as early as possible.
Hotel Information
We have reserved a block of guest rooms at two hotels: the
conference hotel, the Red Lion on Fifth Avenue, located at 1415
Fifth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 and the nearby Crowne Plaza,
located at 1113 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101. Please call
toll free to 1-800-504-3909 (Red Lion) or 1-800-521-2762 (Crowne
Plaza) to make reservations. The special government group rate
is $174 plus 15.6% tax for single or double occupancy and $20
additional for a third
person. Rooms are reserved under the conference block from
Friday through Wednesday night (although the block for Friday
night is very limited). Hotel space in the Seattle area is also
very limited for the period before, during and after this
conference due to other meetings, so we strongly urge attendees
to reserve their rooms early, particularly if they would like to
stay before or after the conference dates, and even if their
clearance to attend is still pending. Be sure to
mention the NAAG/SABA Bankruptcy Seminar when making reservation
to get the special rates. The cut-off for reservations is
Friday, August 29, 2008. After that date, the rooms will be
released to the general public and the rate may well increase
substantially, so make reservations now even if the final
clearance to attend is still pending. Reservations must be made
with a credit card and may be canceled up until 24 hours in
advance without penalty (Red Lion) or 72 hours for the Crowne
Plaza. Check-in time is 4:00 P.M. Check-out time is 12:00 P.M.
What's Included in the Registration;
Other Activities
In addition to the course and materials, the seminar
registration will cover breakfasts on Monday, Tuesday, and
Wednesday; breaks each day, an opening reception on Sunday
night, and lunch on Monday. We have also arranged an
Optional Boat Cruise for Tuesday afternoon (the
seminar will run later that evening to make up); registration
for that event must be made on the separate registration form. A
charge of $50 will be made for guests of the participants who
wish to attend the opening reception and the breaks.
If your staff will not be attending the conference, but would be
interested in purchasing a copy of the briefing materials,
please so indicate on the attached reservation form, and return
it to us by the registration deadline, so we can prepare extra
copies of the materials if necessary.
Travel Information
Seattle is accessible by air from the Sea-Tac Airport and there
are numerous forms of transport to the airport. City buses run
every 15-30 minutes and cost either $1.25 or $1.75, the Grayline
Airport Express costs $10.25 one way and $17 roundtrip and taxis
or the Shuttle Express cost about $33 each way. Parking is
available at the hotels for $28 plus tax at the Red Lion and $30
plus tax at the Crowne Plaza.
We look forward to seeing participants in Seattle. If there are
any questions concerning the seminar, please call NAAG
Bankruptcy Counsel Karen Cordry at (202) 326-6025 or by email at
kcordry@naag.org.
See
You There!
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