COVID-19 First-Person Perspective: Shelley Abel
Shelley Abel
Shelley Abel serves as Bankruptcy Administrator for the Western District of North Carolina in Charlotte by appointment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She was a shareholder in Rayburn Cooper & Durham prior to her appointment in 2017. Below is her interview with Russell Rawlings.
How quickly did you and the court adjust to the coronavirus?
I remember attending a meeting during the first week of March when I thought the coronavirus might be discussed, but it did not come up. Then, on March 12, we got word of a suspected coronavirus diagnosis within a federal agency in Charlotte. Before four hours had passed, it proved to be a false alarm, but several federal agencies in the Western District took the opportunity to test their continuity of operations plan.
We followed suit that afternoon, but it was more than a test for us – we put a sign on the door and have been working from home nearly 100 percent since March 12. We were on the leading edge, but we had been preparing for the possibility for a little over a week. We had a fair amount of telework before all of this happened, so our people were ready with equipment and space to work from home, and everyone stocked up on supplies before they left. Several people already had a VPN (virtual privacy network) telephone at home, so we’ve maintained our phone lines like in the ordinary course of business without much disruption.
A big part of what we do is conduct 341 Meetings of Creditors (11 U.S.C. § 341, which requires the debtor to meet with a trustee or the Bankruptcy Administrator and any creditors that wish to attend) within the first 40 to 60 days of a debtor’s bankruptcy case filing. We switched to holding those either telephonically or by videoconference the following Tuesday, March 17, and that is what we have been doing ever since.
I have been really pleased with how effective it has been despite the challenges; that has been a big positive.
How many people are there in your office?
There are six total, so it is a pretty small operation. It is wild to think that when we first did this we were prepared to work from home through the end of the month. I did not have any idea it would be quite this long. We have had people volunteer to go in and check the mail once a week, most of which we already received electronically. Whoever goes in waters everyone’s plants. It has worked out well.
What has happened with your hearings before the Bankruptcy Court?
Our staff attorney and I have attended court telephonically, which has gone better than I ever expected. I have been really impressed with how much the Bankruptcy Court has been able to continue doing. Electronic docket filings via CM/ECF has kept cases moving and kept us busy.
How do you see your operations returning to some sense of normalcy?
I think there probably is transition in store, at least for our office, between our prior normal course and how we operate with the door locked. We anticipate as the governor steps through his phases that we will be doing the same, and we are formulating those plans as we speak. Our 341 meeting room in Charlotte regularly has seating for 90 people – we host a room full of attorneys, their clients, and their clients’ family members every week. It is hard to think through what will be required for those to resume in person. When will it be safe to have that many people together? How can we modify our procedures to promote social distancing? How will we procure the supplies we need to make 341 meetings as safe as possible? The challenge is figuring out how to hit the right balance, because a lot of trustees would prefer to look the debtor in the eye. Losing that ability is a big downside but not enough to risk people’s health in the current environment.
That is one of the harder things to consider. There is a desire to get back to normal, but how long will this stick around? It is tough to backtrack sometimes, and it will be interesting to see how much of what we have done on a temporary basis will become more permanent. I think all areas of the law will be looking at this. What has proven better or more efficient? So many of us are mourning the things that we have given up. It will be interesting to see where we are at the end of it all.
This article is part of the August 2020 issue of North Carolina Lawyer. Access a curated view of NC Lawyer or view the table of contents.