Bankruptcy Blogs

A federal judge says corporate bankruptcy lawyers and advisers to err on the side of transparency when seeking court approval for the “handsome” fees they charge their clients.

A kerfuffle over professional fees in the bankruptcy case of investment firm GSC Group Inc. prompted last week’s strongly-worded ruling from Judge Shelley C. Chapman of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.

Branches are outdated, expensive and unwieldy. For years, bankers have postponed dealing with the dead weight. Now it looks like theyÂ're starting to make the necessary hard decisions. Finally.

It isn't law yet, but on December 5, 2013, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a significant patent reform bill known as the "Innovation Act." Although the focus of the legislation is on patent infringement litigation and other patent law revisions, the Innovation Act, H.R. 3309, would also make major changes to Section 365(n) of the Bankruptcy Code.

Detroit’s bankruptcy judge allowed appeals of the city’s bankruptcy eligibility ruling and the pension ruling, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Downsizing After Volcker: In what the Journal pegs as an "unforeseen consequence" of the recently released Volcker Rule, more than a dozen small and regional banks will likely need to sell collateralized debt obligations. Case in point: Zions Bancorp, which said it would take a $387 million charge to get rid of a large CDO portfolio, as a result of the Volcker Rule's treatment of CDOs comprised of trust preferred securities. "The...