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Month: October 2019

WJH Hosts Open House and Celebrates 25 Years

Posted on by WangerJonesHelsley
October 18th, 2019

WJH Hosts Open House and Celebrates 25 Years

Event

Hundreds of colleagues, clients, and friends gathered on October 3, 2019 to celebrate Wanger Jones Helsley PC entering its 25th year of practice.  For nearly 25 years, Wanger Jones Helsley PC has demonstrated an unwavering ability to successfully pursue our clients’ interests with confidence, creativity, and zeal.  That is why businesses of all sizes and referring attorneys alike rely on WJH to provide expertise and value in a wide range of fields, including commercial litigation, employment and labor, construction and defect disputes, environmental, real estate, land use, and white-collar crime.  Most recently, WJH has added family law, estate planning, bankruptcy, and business and real estate transactions to its growing practice.  In every practice area, we are proud to provide an elite level of legal service, including tailored solutions and clear and regular communication with our clients.

WJH would like to thank its local vendors, Chef Paul’s Café and Sequoia Brewing Company, for catering the Open House event.  Finally, a big THANK YOU to our clients who have trusted us and our expertise for over two decades.

While You Were Sleeping The Bankruptcy World Changed

Posted on by WangerJonesHelsley
October 7th, 2019

While You Were Sleeping The Bankruptcy World Changed

Legal Updates

By Riley C. Walter, Wanger Jones Helsley PC

While you were probably watching the political debates, with little fanfare, Congress made sweeping changes to the American bankruptcy laws on August 1, 2019.  The President signed the Bills into law on August 23, 2019.

With respect to Chapter 12, the chapter that is only for family farmers, Congress significantly increased the “debt limit” for farmers from about $4 million to $10 million.  This will potentially make Chapter 12 relief more available to farmers in the Central Valley.  There are specific provisions in Chapter 12 that benefit family farmers.

Congress was not satisfied with just increasing the Chapter 12 debt limit.  Congress also passed the “Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019.”  This Act adds a new subchapter to Chapter 11.  It will loosen certain requirements for small business debtors who are those persons engaged in a commercial or business activity with total non-contingent liquidated and secured debts of not more than $2,725,625.00.

The new sub-chapter V of Chapter 11 is geared toward an expeditious and economical resolution of the case by requiring the court to hold a status conference within 60 days of the petition and requires the debtor to file a Plan within 90 days of the petition date, unless extended by the court.  The new law also relaxes the standards for confirmation of a Plan which should make it less burdensome for small business debtors to reorganize.

When the next downturn comes, as it surely will, both of these enactments will aid people in need of business reorganization.

This article was originally published in the October 2019 edition of the Bar Bulletin, a newsletter by the Fresno County Bar Association.  Riley C. Walter is a shareholder with Wanger Jones Helsley PC and a well-known specialist in troubled businesses, bankruptcies, and business reorganizations.  Mr. Walter has been recognized by his peers as a Top 100 Attorney in Northern California seven times and has been designated as a Northern California Super Lawyer every year since 2004.  This article is intended to notify our clients and friends of changes and updates to the law and provide general information.  It is not intended, nor should it be used, as legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship between the author and the reader.