Fall/Winter 2018 instructive to have an understanding of the governing law. Authority for bankruptcy law is derived from Article I of the United States Con- stitution,1 and the main body of bankruptcy law is comprised of Title 11 of the United States Code (referred to as the “Bankruptcy Code”), the Federal Rules of Bank- ruptcy Procedure (referred to as the “Bankruptcy Rules”), the Local Bank- ruptcy Rules applicable in each Dis- trict, and the case law interpreting and applying each of the above. To- gether, these elements create an intricate web of rules that can have far-reaching, outcome- determinative impacts, including on non-debtor third parties. First, everything is faster (or much, much, slower). Bankruptcies often proceed on a sig- nificantly faster timeline than ordinary federal cases. Prior to filing for bankruptcy, debtors in complex reorganizations can negotiate deals with creditors and craft “prepackaged plans,” by which third-party and non-consenting credi- tors’ rights may be irrevocably affected. In such cases, bankruptcy courts will enter “first day” orders on little to no notice immediately after filing of the case to prevent dissipation of the debtor’s assets, sometimes analogized to pre- serving a melting ice cube. First day orders can have a profound effect on the rights of creditors and third parties, and practitioners must be ready to appear and defend their clients’ inter- ests on very short notice. For example, Brown Rudnick represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the bankruptcy case of Fisker Automotive Holdings, Inc., then one of the nation’s premier electric car manufacturers. The committee successfully defeated the debt- or’s proposed prepackaged liquidation plan (Continued from page 1) which provided pennies on the dollar for unse- cured creditors. Instead, the Committee facili- tated a competitive auction resulting in a $149.2 million winning bid, increasing the cred- itor recovery by $90 million.2 The pace of discovery and motion practice in bankruptcy may also feel like a fire drill. For example, under the Bankruptcy Rules, the de- fault rule is that a notice of motion and motion must be served seven days prior to the hearing date, in contrast with fourteen days under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (the “Civil Rules”).3 Under the Civil Rules, a par- ty may have up to sixty days to file an answer to a complaint, whereas under the Bankruptcy Rules a party must file an answer to an adversary complaint within thirty days unless the court expressly orders otherwise.4 Finally, it is commonplace in Bankruptcy Court to file applications to shorten the ordinary no- tice period for bankruptcy motions, which may mean significant motions are determined with- in days of filing.5 Motion practice in bankruptcy proceedings of- ten proceeds pursuant to a “negative notice” process,6 whereby notice is provided to interest- ed parties, and if no response or objection is received during the specified period, the court may grant the relief requested without holding a hearing. On the other hand, proceedings in other, non- prepackaged bankruptcy cases may move much, much, slower than civil litigation. Once a bankruptcy is filed, an automatic stay goes into effect that operates as an injunction against any collection efforts for pre-petition debts. Thus, parties are precluded from engaging in “self-help,” and must rely on the bankruptcy process to recover their debts—and the process may take time. For example, an unsecured (Continued on page 7) Bankruptcy Basics Page 5 “First, everything is faster (or much, much, slower).”