NACBA CONVENTION ANNOUNCEMENT
In light of on-going developments with COVID-19 and after thoughtful discussions with our Board of Directors and several dedicated NACBA volunteer members, NACBA has decided to move our 2021 Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida to a fully online, virtual experience that will take place on Thursday, May 13, Friday, May 14, Thursday, May 20 and Friday, May 21, 2021. Each day, (11:00 a.m. Eastern to 4:00 p.m. Eastern) will feature 4-5 hours of online bankruptcy professional development including ethics. We believe this is the safest approach for the well-being of our national audience and we are excited that a virtual event makes it possible to broaden the learning opportunities and engagement with the consumer bankruptcy profession at this time.

 

Attendees will be able to participate virtually in vital conversations around bankruptcy and other areas of related focus within the profession. Networking is a cornerstone of our annual event and attendees will be able to partake in interactive and engaging experiences through post session Zoom conferences from the comfort and safety of their home or office.

 

The virtual convention agenda will now be spread out over two weeks with shorter 4-5-hour days to ensure that content is delivered in more digestible segments. Best of all, plenaries and breakout sessions will be easily accessible on-demand for convention attendees to view at their own convenience. Please note, all sessions will be applied for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits, both substantive and ethics. While each state has its own set of requirements for online CLE, we will post accreditation from individual states on the convention homepage. The virtual convention days are offered a la carte so you can choose which days you want to attend virtually and earn CLE credit.

 

Please note, while this may be disappointing to many of you who were planning to attend and or who have already been vaccinated, the safety of all NACBA Convention attendees remains our highest priority. With a changing landscape across the United States regarding COVID-19, we wanted to ensure members from all 50 states can safely travel to the convention location and participate in a comfortable environment. As state regulations are relaxed and more importantly, vaccine distribution expands, the NACBA in-person event experience is set to return November 30 to December 3, 2021 at the Grand Hyatt, Kauai, Hawaii. NACBA has secured significantly discounted hotel rates at this award-winning hotel on the stunning island of Kauai. We hope to see you in November at this members-only event. Mahalo.

What You Will Learn: The panel will discuss recent caselaw allowing discharge of student loans in bankruptcy including decisions reinterpreting the Brunner standard and narrowing the discharge exception of Section 523(a)(8)(A)(ii).  The panel will also discuss and provide examples of non-standard Chapter 13 plan provisions to address student loans and provide examples of plans which have been confirmed.

 

Why You Should Attend: You need to know the most recent caselaw allowing discharge of student loans, how to enforce the discharge, and how to address student loans in Chapter 13 and support that treatment.

 

NACBA applauds House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Congressman Ben Cline (R-VA) for introducing this bipartisan legislation into the U.S. House and working hard to garner unanimous support until its enactment. We also appreciate that NACBA has been able to directly assist our friends in the U.S. House and Senate, including Chairman Nadler, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA), with crafting the language and helping to gain the bipartisan support for the passage of this legislation. H.R. 1651 extends for one year all of the bankruptcy-related provisions that were included in the CARES Act passed on March 27, 2020. These provisions will now expire on March 27, 2022.

 

Read more about the legislation and of NACBA's involvement in NACBA News.