NO CLE - Getting Restricted without Getting in Trouble: Negotiation and Settlement in a Post-WaMu World

Nearly two years have passed since Judge Walrath's September 2011 decision in Washington Mutual threatened to drastically alter the landscape of high-level financial restructuring negotiations. Since then, there have been few further developments in the case law to guide would-be participants in such negotiations. This panel will explore the legal and practical implications of obtaining confidential information in the course of restructuring transaction negotiations, including (1) whether the WaMu decision has had any lasting effects, or whether it has been superseded by subsequent events both in the WaMu case itself and in other major restructuring transactions; (2) how principals and professionals can best protect themselves in negotiating confidentiality agreements; and (3) the requirements for effective "cleansing" when settlement negotiations break down.