Large Cap
-
September 12, 2025
Real Estate Recap: CMBS Distress, Nuclear AI, Campus Golf
Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including attorney perspectives on commercial mortgage-backed securities distress, the dawn of nuclear-powered data centers, and the albatross of golf courses on colleges and universities.
-
September 12, 2025
Exile's Wife Loses Appeal Over $6.9M Connecticut Mansion
The wife of Chinese exile and convicted security fraud defendant Miles Guo lost her bid to shield a $6.9 million Greenwich mansion from her husband's creditors when a Connecticut federal judge ruled Friday that the properly ultimately belongs to his Chapter 11 estate.
-
September 12, 2025
Justices Urged To Skip Highland's Ch. 11 'Gatekeeper' Appeal
An alternative investment firm pressed the U.S. Supreme Court to not review a Fifth Circuit decision narrowing releases and so-called "gatekeeper" provisions in bankrupt Texas investment group Highland Capital Management's Chapter 11 plan.
-
September 12, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen former Master Chef presenter Gregg Wallace sue the BBC, Elon Musk's xAI take legal action against a staff engineer, and fashion mogul Kevin-Gerald Stanford file a fresh claim against Lion Capital-owned Klotho and EY amid a long-running All Saints share acquisition dispute.
-
September 12, 2025
New Bankruptcy Group Modernizing Data Hack Response
A trio of claims and noticing agents is working with chief clerks from two of the nation's most influential bankruptcy courts to standardize the way they will respond if there is a data breach that compromises creditors' personal information.
-
September 11, 2025
Girardi's Atty, Judge Debate If His Conviction Is 'Debatable'
A California federal judge pushed back Thursday on arguments by Tom Girardi's lawyer that he should be free on bond while he appeals his wire fraud conviction, saying that debating the case doesn't automatically mean it raises "fairly debatable" questions sufficient to meet the Ninth Circuit's standard for remaining free on appeal.
-
September 11, 2025
Capital One Sues FDIC Over $149M SVB Bailout Charge
Capital One has sued the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in Virginia federal court challenging a $149 million charge in a special assessment levied by the agency as part of an effort to recoup losses from the 2023 regional banking crisis, saying the FDIC improperly included certain data in its calculation of the special assessment.
-
September 11, 2025
3rd Circ. Won't Toss Talc Co. Whittaker Clark & Daniels' Ch. 11
Defunct talc supplier Whittaker Clark & Daniels properly filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2023 and its bankruptcy case should not be dismissed, the Third Circuit has ruled, siding against talc claimants who argued the company already being in receivership precluded it from filing for bankruptcy.
-
September 11, 2025
Sunnova Gets Tentative OK To Take Votes On Ch. 11 Plan
A Texas bankruptcy judge on Thursday signaled he was prepared to approve solar power company Sunnova Energy International Inc.'s bid to take votes on a Chapter 11 plan after the debtor agreed to make changes to third-party releases described in a disclosure statement.
-
September 11, 2025
Part Of FTX's $167M Ch. 11 SkyBridge Suit Sent To Arbitration
A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Thursday partially denied investment firm SkyBridge Capital's bid to arbitrate most of FTX's $167 million lawsuit against it, while staying bankruptcy-specific portions to let an arbitrator first decide breach of contract claims.
-
September 11, 2025
JCPenney Settles Fee Dispute Over Jackson Walker Romance
The corporate entities formerly known as JCPenney on Thursday asked a Texas federal court to greenlight a $1.4 million settlement with Jackson Walker PC in a dispute concerning the romance of a partner with a bankruptcy judge, the latest and largest of several settlements to seek approval in recent months.
-
September 11, 2025
Weil's New Appellate Co-Head On His Meteoric Rise
In a little more than five years, Robert Niles-Weed rose from beginning as an associate at Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP to being named co-head of its appeals and strategic counseling practice.
-
September 10, 2025
NIST Links Start Of Surfside Towers Collapse To Pool Deck
The National Institute of Standards and Technology's ongoing investigation into the 2021 partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, shows the collapse likely began in the 12-story residential building's pool deck, rather than in the main tower structure.
-
September 10, 2025
Oakland Diocese Looks To End Ch. 11 Over Mediation Impasse
The Diocese of Oakland has asked a bankruptcy judge to dismiss its more than two-year-old Chapter 11 case, saying it cannot afford a contested confirmation hearing after hitting what it called a mediation deadlock with unsecured creditors.
-
September 10, 2025
Wind Co.'s DIP Gives Lender Too Much Control, Creditors Say
The unsecured creditors of an insolvent wind turbine blade maker have asked a Texas bankruptcy court to reject the terms of the debtor's proposed Chapter 11 financing, saying it would hand the reins of the bankruptcy case to one secured creditor.
-
September 10, 2025
Guo Trustee, Law Firms Get OK For Deals On $4.4M Disputes
A Connecticut bankruptcy judge has approved deals between Chinese exile Miles Guo's Chapter 11 trustee and the law firm McDermott Will & Schulte, four other law firms and one consulting firm, ending $4.4 million in potential clawback claims without formal litigation.
-
September 10, 2025
Firm Seeks To Toss Lowenstein Sandler Claims Over Affidavit
Trif & Modugno LLC has reiterated to the Essex County Superior Court in New Jersey that part of a malpractice suit filed against it by Lowenstein Sandler LLP must be dismissed because the national firm did not file an affidavit of merit within the time limit.
-
September 10, 2025
Subprime Lender Tricolor Auto Hits Ch. 7 With Over $1B Debt
Tricolor Holdings, a Texas-based company that provides car loans to low-income buyers, and several affiliates filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in Texas bankruptcy court Wednesday with more than $1 billion of debt.
-
September 09, 2025
Jones Asks Justices To Hear 'Death Penalty' Sandy Hook Case
Right-wing media firebrand Alex Jones asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up his appeal of a $1.4 billion defamation damages award conferred by a Connecticut state court over statements about the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, saying the lower court's default judgment on liability is an unconstitutional "death penalty" for Jones and his media company.
-
September 09, 2025
Claire's Can Sell US Stores For $104M In Ch. 11
A Delaware bankruptcy judge Tuesday approved a request from jewelry chain Claire's for permission to sell some of its U.S. stores and intellectual property to a private holding company for $104 million in cash, along with other inducements, after stakeholders reached a consensus.
-
September 09, 2025
Wind Turbine Maker Gets OK To Hand Off Turkish Subsidiaries
A Texas bankruptcy judge Tuesday gave wind turbine blade maker TPI Composites permission to hand off its Turkish operations to a local owner, a move the company said will save it $31 million in intercompany obligations.
-
September 09, 2025
2nd Circ. Allows NY AG To Curb Nonprofit's Debtor Coaching
The Second Circuit vacated a lower court order that prevented New York Attorney General Letitia James from stopping a bankruptcy education nonprofit from advising low-income debtors Tuesday, saying that while the state's unauthorized practice of law statutes regulate speech, they are content neutral and should be reviewed under intermediate scrutiny.
-
September 09, 2025
Butler Snow Bankruptcy Duo Joins Vartabedian Hester
Dallas area litigation boutique Vartabedian Hester & Haynes LLP announced Tuesday that a pair of experienced bankruptcy attorneys joined the firm from Butler Snow LLP.
-
September 09, 2025
Catching Up With New Bankruptcy Case Action
A bankrupt trucking company's founders asked for U.S. recognition of their own foreign insolvencies, bids the court rejected on Tuesday. Also, a biotech company filed for Chapter 11 with at least $2.7 million in liabilities, and a bowling and eatery chain hit bankruptcy in Delaware.
-
September 09, 2025
Approach The Bench: Judge Shannon Discusses Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy might seem like a technical and obscure practice area, but not to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon.

What's Happening In Bankruptcy Court This Coming Week
Purdue will ask a bankruptcy court to approve a retention incentive package for its CEO. Tilson Technology is scheduled for a hearing on its request for permission to complete a proposed asset sale. And the judge overseeing Steward Health Care's bankruptcy will consider whether to compel two hospital buyers to make payments and defend against accusations of contempt.

Under The Radar: Bankruptcy News You May Have Missed
Cryptocurrency miner Rhodium asked a bankruptcy judge to impose sanctions on a company that is asserting patent infringement claims in its Chapter 11 case. An implant manufacturer asked for a court's go-ahead to incentivize certain staff to stay with a $220,000 bonus. And an Austrian biotechnology company's representative wants subpoena power in its Chapter 15.

Spirit's Shake-Up In 2nd Ch. 11 May Not Save Budget Airline
In its second bankruptcy case in under a year, Spirit Airlines has vowed to use the tools of Chapter 11 to ditch jets and change where it flies, but even a comprehensive restructuring this time may not save the business from an eventual liquidation, experts told Law360.
Expert Analysis
-
2 Approaches To Atty Ethics Liability For Agentic AI Errors
As lawyers increasingly use autonomous artificial intelligence agents, disciplinary authorities must decide whether attorney responsibility for an AI-caused legal ethics violation is personal or supervisory, and firms must enact strong policies regarding agentic AI use and supervision, says Grace Wynn at HWG.
-
Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI
Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.
-
Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process
Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.
-
What New CFPB Oversight Limits Would Mean For 4 Markets
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to centralize its resources, proposals to alter the definition of larger market participants in the automobile financing, international money transfer, consumer reporting and consumer debt collection markets would reduce the scope of the bureau's oversight, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
-
Advice For 1st-Gen Lawyers Entering The Legal Profession
Nikki Hurtado at The Ferraro Law Firm tells her story of being a first-generation lawyer and how others who begin their professional journeys without the benefit of playbooks handed down by relatives can turn this disadvantage into their greatest strength.
-
How Bankruptcy Law Caps Landlords' Rejected Lease Claims
With corporate bankruptcy filings for the first half of the year at a 15-year high, landlords should be prepared for commercial tenants to use the bankruptcy process to reject unwanted leases in order to lessen corporate footprints and improve liquidity, say attorneys at Mintz.
-
Ruling Puts 11th Circ. At Odds With Bankruptcy Courts
While an Eleventh Circuit majority recently found in BenShot v. 2 Monkey Trading and Lucky Shot USA that corporate debtors, like individuals, face certain exceptions to discharge under a nonconsensual Subchapter V plan, the ruling not only reverses the lower court, but opposes the holdings of many other bankruptcy courts, say attorneys at McDermott.
-
Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Make A Deal
Preparing lawyers for the nuances of a transactional practice is not a strong suit for most law schools, but, in practice, there are six principles that can help young M&A lawyers become seasoned, trusted deal advisers, says Chuck Morton at Venable.
-
What 2 Profs Noticed As Transactional Law Students Used AI
After a semester using generative artificial intelligence tools with students in an entrepreneurship law clinic, we came away with numerous observations about the opportunities and challenges such tools present to new transactional lawyers, say professors at Cornell Law School.
-
Law School's Missed Lessons: Negotiation Skills
I took one negotiation course in law school, but most of the techniques I rely on today I learned in practice, where I've discovered that the process is less about tricks or tactics, and more about clarity, preparation and communication, says Grant Schrantz at Haug Barron.
-
Bar Exam Reform Must Expand Beyond A Single Updated Test
Recently released information about the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ new NextGen Uniform Bar Exam highlights why a single test is not ideal for measuring newly licensed lawyers’ competency, demonstrating the need for collaborative development, implementation and reform processes, says Gregory Bordelon at Suffolk University.
-
Asbestos Trusts And Tort Litigation Are Still Not Aligned
A recent ruling by a New York state court in James Petro v. Aerco International highlights the inefficiencies that still exist in asbestos litigation — especially regarding the continued lack of coordination between the asbestos tort system and the well-funded asbestos trust compensation system, says Peter Kelso at Roux.
-
The Legal Education Status Quo Is No Longer Tenable
As underscored by the fallout from California’s February bar exam, legal education and licensure are tethered to outdated systems, and the industry must implement several key reforms to remain relevant and responsive to 21st century legal needs, says Matthew Nehmer at The Colleges of Law.