The number of bankruptcies—often referred to as “restructurings”— have risen in the U.S. this year due to the pandemic and other economic headwinds. But some parts of the bankruptcy process remain shrouded in a cloak of obscurity and industry jargon.

On Wednesday, December 2 at 11:00 am CT, a panel was led by Luckey McDowell, partner and team leader of Shearman & Sterling’s Financial Restructuring & Insolvency Practice, and included Michael O’Hara, co-head of U.S. Restructuring & Managing Director at Jefferies, and associate Sara Coelho. They had a candid and informative discussion on the details involved in the bankruptcy process.

Topics included:

• Industry jargon
• Executive bonuses 
• Retention plans
• Independent directors
• The timeline
• Releases 
• Extracting value - not all creditors are equal
• Identifying troubled companies – is your company’s name on the list?
• Management compensation at exit 
• Retainers for professional services
• Disclosure – there are no secrets in bankruptcy