Nashville partner Shane Ramsey will serve on a panel for a Strafford Webinar on the key issues regarding retail and restaurant bankruptcies on Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. The panel will discuss "how to best guide retail or restaurant clients through a bankruptcy proceeding, all while deploying every available tool to maximize the value of inventory and assets, protect the client's equity, and preserve long-term customer goodwill," according to Strafford's preliminary description. The panel will also address the assumption and rejection of leases, franchise agreements, gift cards, consignment rights, going-out-of-business sales, and how they influence one another. 

In addition, the panel will discuss key issues by answering the following questions: 

• What is the procedure and timing for assuming or rejecting leases in bankruptcy?
• What steps may vendors take to protect their rights to consigned goods?
• What are some of the constraints on going-out-of-business sales and how are they resolved in bankruptcy?

The webinar schedule is outlined below: 

• The upswing in retail and restaurant bankruptcies
• Assumption and rejection of leases--treatment of rent pre- and post-petition
• Customer incentives post-petition--gift cards and loyalty programs
• Vendors--consignment, stay relief and other issues
• Inventory--going out of business sales
• Future trends and miscellaneous issues