Organization Goals

2009 SABA Conference

The National Attorneys General Training & Research Institute (NAGTRI) is pleased to announce that limited scholarship funding from the NAAG Mission Foundation is available to help defray costs for attendees from offices of the Attorneys General. Funding is available for one scholarship per state, to cover a maximum of four nights at the hotel, plus up to $250 per person plane fare. Requests, including completed nomination form and registration, must be received by August 29. Funds not requested by a State by that date will be reallocated to other States that have nominated more than one person. Additional information is provided separately.

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 under the auspices of the National Attorneys General Training and Research Institute (NAGTRI). The program will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. We will also be coordinating with the federal Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice to hold combined sessions on environmental issues as they affect enforcement actions by governmental entities at all levels

As the turmoil of the last year has worked its way through the economy, there has been a flood of bankruptcy filings in every sector, ranging from the mortgage industry, to health care, to sporting endeavors, to the recent dramatic filings by two of the Big Three auto makers. In each of those areas, the States have many interests ranging from protecting consumers, to standing up for the interests of local businesses affected by the bankruptcy filings, to guarding the States’ own fiscal interests in collecting taxes, enforcing contracts, and remedying environmental contamination at plants located in the States. What the year’s events have made clear is that the pace and size of bankruptcy filings have increased geometrically putting increased strain on the States’ ability to respond to them. As a result, the need to have counsel with bankruptcy training and experience in place in your offices has become ever more clear.

The discussion at this conference will be an invaluable opportunity for your staff and staff in your client agencies to learn about the Bankruptcy Code, the changes put in place in the statute in 2005, and the way those provisions are playing out in the new economy. 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. It will provide an in-depth education for bankruptcy novices about the whole scope of the Bankruptcy Code as it applies to governmental entities. At the other end of the scale, it will allow your experienced counsel to engage with their peers in other States, as well as local and federal counsel, to determine how to confront the new challenges in protecting the interests of the States and your constituents. We urge you to distribute this invitation as widely as possible within your office and related agencies, as bankruptcy issues arise in every substantive area.

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 a session on e-discovery issues to assist State counsel with sorting out the vast amount of financial information that can be reviewed during the case. Over the next three days, we will work through the bankruptcy process from the initial filing through plan confirmation and thereafter. 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. The advanced group will have an in-depth review of the use of sales as an alternative to the traditional plan process as well as discussion of scenarios in which the government becomes the controlling party in a bankruptcy case.

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 his or her experience and expertise with respect to the unique issues faced by governmental counsel in bankruptcy court. A tentative agenda is attached hereto with generalized descriptions that be updated and expanded. We will run through Wednesday afternoons, so travel plans should be made accordingly.

The fee for the seminar is $500; a reduced fee of $450 will be available until September 25, 2009. 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 Marland Holloway, Bankruptcy Project Assistant 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. In addition to the regular registration, a limited amount of scholarship assistance will be available through NAGTRI for registrants from Offices of the Attorneys General. information on the scholarships will be provided separately in an accompanying memorandum.

We have reserved a block of guest rooms at the Doubletree Hotel, located at 315 Fourth Ave., North, Nashville, TN, 37219. Please call toll free to 1-800-222-8733 to make reservations.

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, tentatively, lunch on Monday. We are also arranging an outing to a club to hear local music played on Tuesday evening, registration for that event must be made on a separate activity registration form that will be sent to registrants. A charge of $50 will be made for guests of the participants who wish to attend the opening reception and the breaks. If 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.

Nashville is accessible by air at the Nashville International Airport. There are numerous forms of transport to the airport. City buses run every hour and cost $1.35; the Grayline Airport Express costs $12 one way and $20 roundtrip, there are numerous other shuttle services, and taxis have a flat fare of $25 to downtown. Parking is available at the hotels for $22 plus 9.25% tax. Air fares currently are quite reasonable to Nashville, so we again urge participants to book as soon as possible.

For attendees who do not receive a scholarship, if a cancellation is made within one week of the start of the seminar, a cancellation fee of $200 will be assessed (absent a showing of a genuine emergency) to cover the costs of production of materials, catering guarantees, and the like. The State may substitute a new attendee for the prior registrant at any time without cost.

We look forward to seeing participants in Nashville. If there are any questions about the seminar, please call NAAG Bankruptcy Counsel Karen Cordry at (202) 326-6025 or by email at kcordry@naag.org, or contact Project Assistant Marland Holloway at (202) 326-6262 or by email at mholloway@naag.org.