Please join IWIRC New England and TMA Northeast for a lively breakfast discussion on the issue of bankruptcy venue reform:

Restructuring and insolvency professionals across the country have routinely trekked to Wilmington, Delaware, the Southern District of New York, or, more recently, the Southern District of Texas to represent their clients in bankruptcy cases.  In 2017, out of 94 federal judicial districts, over 25% of Chapter 11 business filings were in these three districts alone.

In 2018, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced S. 2282, titled the "Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act of 2018."  The latest in a long line of such bills, S. 2282 would have provided that a corporate debtor could only file a Chapter 11 case in the district where its principal assets or principal place of business in the United States are located, rather than where such debtor is incorporated or where its filing affiliates are located. 

A similar bill is nearly certain to be attempted again.  If venue reform ultimately proves successful, what consequences would it have for bankruptcy and restructuring professionals in Massachusetts and the clients they serve? How can we prepare ourselves, our clients, and our bench for the effects of venue reform, both inside and outside of Chapter 11?