Jim Stang and Michael L. Cohen to Present “The Other Courtroom: What Consumer Attorneys Should Know About Bankruptcy Court to Protect Their Clients and Themselves” for CAALA and AAJ

Beginning in September 2026, Jim Stang and Michael L. Cohen will present a series of webinars for the American Association for Justice (AAJ) and for the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) in which they will delve into the intersection of bankruptcy and insurance. The webinars will cover everything from the fundamentals to more advanced topics, including:

• The differences between various kinds of bankruptcies—chapter 7 vs. chapter 11 vs. chapter 13
• How to review a notice of bankruptcy
• The scope of the automatic stay
• How to file a proof of claim that is both timely and properly substantiated
• How to evaluate a plan of reorganization, including third-party releases
• The creation and function of a creditors’ committee
• The increasingly common overlap between bankruptcy and mass tort litigation, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Co., which confirmed that insurers with financial exposure have a statutory right to be heard in chapter 11 proceedings

Jim has represented more than 20 creditors’ committees in mass tort chapter 11 bankruptcies, including the Boy Scouts of America, the women of USA Gymnastics, and survivors of sexual abuse by priests in dioceses across the nation. Jim is frequently called upon when the stakes are high. Michael devotes much of his practice to representing policyholders and insureds against carriers in coverage disputes and bad-faith claims handling. They often see the same mistakes: defective proofs of claim, clients’ prior bankruptcies, and the interplay between the debtor’s insurance rights and a client’s goals.

These AAJ and CAALA webinars are designed to help consumer attorneys who encounter bankruptcy occasionally and for those who are about to encounter it more than they think.