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KEY BUSINESS PROGRAMS AT ABA ANNUAL MEETING TO ADDRESS EFFECTS OF ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN ON BANKS, HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY AND MORE
Banks and health care delivery systems in financial crisis and the future of securitized residential loans are among critical business law programs featured at the 2008 American Bar Association Annual Meeting, Aug. 7-12, in New York City.
With more than 1,500 top-quality legal programs and events, and presentations by the foremost law experts and speakers, including U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the ABA Annual Meeting is the nation’s premier gathering of legal professionals.
Online registration for news reporters is easier than ever. Register by July 11 to take advantage of ABA negotiated hotel rates. Credential guidelines are at www.abanews.org/credentials.html.
The 555-member ABA House of Delegates will meet on Aug. 11 and 12 in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton New York to consider policy recommendations and vote on resolutions. During the meeting, Mukasey will address the assembly. Also, Patricia Wald, former U.S. and international war crimes judge, will receive the ABA Medal, the association’s highest honor.
Among business law program highlights are:
· “Banks in Crisis — Are the Government Safety Nets Working?”
In light of the Bear Stearns bailout, unprecedented liquidity shortages and asset writedowns at commercial and investment banks, the future stability of these institutions is uncertain. Key topics examined in this program will include: the adequacy of federal safety nets and how they work; the benefits and risks of using these services; and how regulators are approaching the current crisis.
Aug. 10, Grand Hyatt, Empire State Ballroom A, Ballroom Level
· “The Looming Financial Crisis for Healthcare Delivery Systems”
Although the healthcare industry accounts for more than 15 percent of the gross domestic product and for almost 25 percent of all federal outlays, it operates on razor-thin profit margins and without access to capital. The ongoing economic crunch in the United States has exacerbated the scenario, causing a financial crisis for health care delivery systems. This program will provide an overview of the current situation, the result and a short-term prognosis for the industry.
Aug. 9, Grand Hyatt, Broadway, Conference Level
· “Back to the Future—Revisiting the Basics of Securitization and Looking at What Lies Ahead”
Despite current market conditions, securitization remains an important and necessary financing tool for residential and other types of mortgage loans and receivables. A panel of securitization experts will examine what asset securitization is and why it is important, and discuss what went wrong in recent years and what should be corrected. In addition, possible changes that may be made to future securitization programs and documents, including enhanced loan due diligence and third party review for breaches of loan representations will be explored.
Aug. 10, Grand Hyatt, Empire State Ballroom E, Ballroom Level
· “Claims Trading in Bankruptcy—Trading Up or Trading into Trouble?”
Trading claims against bankrupt companies has become a billion-dollar industry. This program will discuss the growing commercial market for buying and selling claims against corporate debtors in bankruptcy, and the rules and recent cases related to that trading. In addition, the risks to claims traders inherent in claims companies, including the impact on net operating losses will also be addressed.
Aug. 8, Grand Hyatt, Empire State Ballroom D, Ballroom Level
· “Public Nuisance Litigation — The State's New Regulator”
From cigarettes to lead paint, to handguns and subprime mortgages, public nuisance is becoming a chief legal theory for municipalities and states to combat perceived societal ills. Today the alternative theories of liability that stemmed from product liability claims against individual manufacturers are being used in the mortgage and investment banking industry by cities like Cleveland for enabling the subprime lending and foreclosure crisis. Panelists in this program will discuss the history and current state of public nuisance litigation as it affects this and many other industries.
Aug. 10, New York Hilton, Clinton Suite, 2nd Floor
· “Automatic Enrollment and Beyond—What Techniques Really Work to Encourage Employees to Prepare for Retirement, and What More Needs to Be Done?”
As defined benefit plans continues to fade, eclipsed by section 401(k) plans with self-directed investments, and retiree health plans are cut back or eliminated, employees are being asked to shoulder a larger and larger share of the economic and administrative burden of preparing for their own retirement. This panel will explore the best practices that are being used in this environment to ensure that employees have the tools and incentives they need to do that job, and whether still more needs to be done via legislation, regulations, or the development of new plan designs or products.
Aug. 10, Grand Hyatt, Broadway, Conference Level
· “I Have Something to Say But I Can't Tell You! The Impact of EU Data Protection Laws on Corporate Whistleblowing Hotlines”
Corporate whistleblowing hotlines are commonplace in U.S. compliance programs. For companies that operate within the European Union, however, implementing and operating them is a bit more complex due to the application of data protection rules there. This session will explore the challenges the EU faces
Aug. 8, Grand Hyatt, Empire State Ballroom B, Ballroom Level
Among other programs:
Aug. 7
“New York, New York —If You Can Make It Here, You Can Make It Anywhere: How to Succeed in the Bar Leadership Business without Trying”
Hilton New York, Morgan Suite, 2nd Floor
“Micro-inequities and Bullying: Cry-Baby Employees or Young Frankenstein Employers?”
Hilton New York, Morgan Suite, 2nd Floor
Aug. 8
“SOX at Six: Is It Working?”
Hilton New York, Regent Parlor, 2nd Floor
“Hot Topics for Religious Organizations”
Grand Hyatt, Empire State Ballroom D, Ballroom Level
“Workers’ Compensation in the Post 9/11 and Natural Disaster Era”
New York Hilton, Gibson Suite, 2nd Floor
“Annuity Suitability under the Microscope”
New York Hilton, Madison Suite, 2nd Floor
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: Business Development and the Economics of Practice for Diverse Attorneys in Large Firms”
Sheraton New York, Conference Room H
“The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act — TRIA’s Nuts and Bolts and Lessons”
Waldorf=Astoria, Duke of Windsor, 4th Floor
“Selected Issues in Cross-Border Outsourcing”
Grand Hyatt, Julliard/Uris, Conference Level
Aug. 9
“The Restructuring of America”
Hilton New York, Sutton north, 2nd Floor
“Blackwater and Other Private Contractors: Clearing the Muddy Waters”
Sheraton New York, Conference Room K, Executive Conference Center
“Topsy Turvy Markets? When Lenders and Credit Providers are in Financial Trouble”
Grand Hyatt, Empire State Ballroom E, Ballroom Level
“Getting Blood from a Stone — Commercially Reasonable Foreclosure on Collateral and the Availability of a Market”
Grand Hyatt, Empire State Ballroom E, Ballroom Level
“Do You Need a ‘CDO’? The Role of Chief Diversity Officers in American Corporations and Institutions”
Grand Hyatt, Morosco, Conference Level
“Down and Dirty — How Are Coal Projects Being Developed and Financed?”
Grand Hyatt, Morosco, Conference Level
“International Trends — Trading in Carbon Emission Credits”
Grand Hyatt, Broadway, Conference Level
“Nuts and Bolts of SEC Enforcement Investigations in 2008”
Grand Hyatt, Alvin/Carnegie Hall, Conference Level
“Anything Goes: What Corporate Clients and Their Lawyers Need to Know About Immigration Laws and Policies”
Sheraton New York, Conference Room F
“The Wage-Hour Litigation Wars: Successful Strategies for Plaintiff and Defense Counsel in Litigating Wage-Hour Claims and Class Actions”
New York Hilton, Gibson Suite, 2nd Floor
“What Do You Mean I Can’t Spy on the Board? Strategies for Conducting Effective (and Legal) Internal Investigations”
Hilton New York, Regent Parlor, 2nd Floor
“It's a Small World After All — Commercial Finance in Global Markets”
Grand Hyatt, Empire State Ballroom A, Ballroom Level
Aug. 10
“Toward One World — Customary U.S. Practice for Outbound Cross-Border Opinions”
Grand Hyatt, Julliard/Uris, Conference Level
“Claim Trends after the Subprime Meltdown”
New York Hilton, Gibson Suite, 2nd Floor
Aug. 11
“Dialogue with the Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission”
Grand Hyatt, Empire State Ballroom E, Ballroom Level
“The SEC's Recent Initiatives Affecting Foreign Issuers — Is the Tide Turning?”
Grand Hyatt, Empire State Ballroom B, Ballroom Level
During the Annual Meeting, a press room for working journalists will be set up at the Hilton New York and will be open for on-site media registration at 8 a.m. on Aug. 7. Thereafter the press room will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and will close one hour after the adjournment of the House of Delegates on Aug. 12.
With more than 413,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.
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