Forward Motions

Lawyers who put oil and gas company Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. into bankruptcy in December will try to convince a Delaware judge on Thursday that the company is ready to leave chapter 11 protection.

Judge Kevin Gross of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., is scheduled to look over a bankruptcy-exit plan for the 350-worker Irving, Texas, company—one of dozens of energy companies whose finances were upended by the oil price collapse.

Investors are working up their appetites for some hearty bankruptcy auctions in the upcoming week.

An auction is slated be held next Friday for the remainder of the Haggen Holdings LLC grocery chain. One interested bidder may be Ceberus Capital Management, which leads the group of investors that backs the Albertsons grocery chain. Cerberus received antitrust clearance to bid on the Haggen stores, according to documents filed March 4 with the Federal Trade Commission.

Jason Cohen has been promoted to partner at law firm Bracewell. Mr Cohen, who is based in Houston, has experience in out-of-court workouts as well as chapter 11 bankruptcies, in which he has represented corporate debtors and creditors. He has worked on chapter 11 cases with assets from $20 million to more than $1 billion. Mr. Cohen earned his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law.

Ahead of a long weekend, companies are looking for approval from bankruptcy judges next week on a variety of motions, including one signoff that would largely conclude an old dispute.

On Monday, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and the remnants of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. will ask for approval of a $1.42 billion settlement that resolves claims that J.P. Morgan illegally siphoned billions of dollars from Lehman before its collapse.