Oil-Patch Cases
In Houston, which will soon be swamped with insolvent oil industry companies, Judge David R. Jones and Judge Marvin Isgur have been holding training sessions for lawyers on how to use the court’s videoconferencing software to smooth out proceedings.
Corporate bankruptcy lawyers, who often charge more than $1,000 an hour, have been busier than ever preparing cases. Still, they are holding back on filing them because the system is under so much strain.
The cases that may be ready to go probably won’t make it to court until the end of June, said Robert Hirsh, a bankruptcy partner with the law firm Lowenstein Sandler.
There will be fewer filings in April “unless it’s a true, dire emergency or pre-arranged case,” he said. “There’s so much backlog and things are on hold. Getting first-day hearings are not going to be easy.”
--With assistance from Jeremy Hill, Katherine Doherty and Allison McNeely.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.