COVID-19: Important Resources
Evolving guidance on issues related to the coronavirus pandemic.
A new business reality
Choate’s COVID-19 Client Advisory Resource is a collection of alerts, advisories, and resources —all of which are intended to help our clients maintain key operational and business functions, despite pressing challenges related to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Choate partners and principals are available to help you digest and assess the impact of COVID-19 and navigate the potential effects of the outbreak on your businesses. We invite you to bookmark and return to this page as attorneys from across the Firm issue new advice and insights. Please contact the authors of each article below or your regular Choate contacts directly to answer your COVID-19-related questions.
U.S. Supreme Court Ends CDC’s Residential Eviction Moratorium
The United States Supreme Court has sided with realtor associations and rental property managers in the battle over the Center for Disease Control’s authority to impose a nationwide eviction moratorium. On August 26, the Court effectively terminated the current moratorium.
To read the alert, please click here.
Lessons Learned for Compliance from the Global Pandemic
For a compliance partner, developing relationships with business units and the people within them, engendering trust, and creating an environment of collaboration is a challenging process, pandemic aside. However, since COVID-19 has forced companies and their employees to work remotely, new challenges for building relationships from a compliance partner’s perspective have emerged. In this episode of our Enforcement and Investigations Updates podcast series, Emily Hodge, a partner in our Government Enforcement & Compliance Group, is joined by Heather Golding, General Counsel and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at Sobi North America, and David Ryan, Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at Epizyme, to discuss strategies compliance partners can implement to overcome a range of challenges in the virtual world.
To listen to the episode, please click here.
Vaccinations and the Return to Work: The State of the Law and the Potential Risks
In the inaugural episode of Choate’s Litigation Updates podcast series, Joan Lukey, chair of Choate’s Complex Trial and Appellate Group, and Alison Reif, chair of Choate’s Labor and Employment Group, discuss the interplay between vaccinations and the decision to either require or allow employees to return as well as potential litigation risks associated with the return to the workplace.
To listen to the episode, please click here.
Evolving Small Business Administration Guidance
April 4th - Treasury Department Finally Issues Affiliation Guidance for Paycheck Protection Program
April 24th - Three Steps to Take Now to Avoid Enforcement Risk Relating to New COVID-19-Related Federal Funds
April 28th - Understanding the SBA’s New PPP Certification Guidance
May 2nd - IRS Denies Deductions for Expenses Paid with Forgiven PPP Loans
May 4th - Infographic: Roadmap to SBA PPP Loan Forgiveness
May 13th - SBA Clarifies Part Of Its Guidance on PPP Need Certification
May 26th - SBA Issues Additional Guidance on PPP Forgiveness and Review Processes
June 4th - Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act Gives Borrowers More Leeway
December 22nd - New Stimulus PPP Package: What You Need to Know
Podcast Episode: The Regulatory Landscape of the Paycheck Protection Program
Podcast Episode: New Year, New PPP Loans: Here’s What You Need to Know
Three Points of Caution in the USPTO’s COVID-19 Deferred-Fee Provisional Pilot Program
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) recently issued a notice announcing a pilot program that allows applicants to defer the filing fees for a provisional application in return for making the technical disclosure of the application accessible to the public via a searchable database maintained by the PTO.
To continue reading, please click here.
Investment Guidance from ChoateIA
Our colleagues at ChoateIA have been communicating with clients on evolving market conditions and ways to mitigate loss during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
March 10th Update - A Growing Pandemic
March 17th Update - Increasing Market Volatility
March 23rd Update - Weathering Volatile Markets
March 31st Update - The Unfolding Economic Impact
April 6th Update - Examining the Road to Recovery
April 14th Update - Stock Valuations Amid Uncertainty
April 21st Update - Turmoil in the Oil Market
April 27th Update - Investment Implications of China’s Reopening
May 4th Update - Searching for Balance in an Uneven Recovery
May 11th Update - China’s Ongoing Economic and Political Developments: a podcast with ChoateIA featuring Andy Rothman, Investment Strategist at Matthews Asia
May 19th Update - Navigating an Uneven Market
June 1st Update - Examining the Economics of a Complicated Recovery
June 26th Update - Long-Term Stock Investing in a Noisy Market
August 25th Update - Applying Investment Insights from the Keynes Era
September 10th Update - Where do we go from here?
November 4th Update - What is next for the markets?
Borrowers Beware: US Attorney Announces New Initiative to Combat CARES Act Fraud
Those who sought loans in connection with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 should take note that on July 28, 2020, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts announced a new law enforcement collaboration focused on combatting CARES Act fraud.
To read the alert, please click here.
Director Fiduciary Duties: Additional Risks in Times of Financial Distress
Our Private Equity Group provides practical guidance for directors of companies incorporated under Delaware law, particularly in the context of a business that is or may become insolvent.
To read the alert, please click here.
Estate Planning During the COVID-19 Pandemic – Challenges and Opportunities
Our Wealth Management Group outlines a new Massachusetts law that allows Massachusetts-based clients to sign and notarize their estate planning documents remotely during the pandemic, and highlights three common planning techniques that are especially effective in the current market environment.
To read the alert, please click here.
Fed Expands and Releases New Details of Main Street Lending Program
On April 30, 2020, the U.S. Federal Reserve published an FAQ and revised term sheets with new details regarding the Main Street Lending Program, including expanded eligibility for program loans and a new loan category.
To read the alert, please click here.
CARES Act Changes Relevant to High Net Worth Individuals
Several provisions of the new COVID-19 relief legislation signed on Friday, known as the CARES Act, will be useful for high net worth clients. Choate’s Wealth Management Group describes two of the most relevant CARES Act provisions, as well as three pre-existing planning techniques that are even more attractive in the current environment.
To read the alert, please click here.
Current Guidance in Labor, Employment, and Benefits Law
The business community has never seen anything like COVID-19. It is unprecedented in scale, scope, and impact. Choate’s Labor, Employment, and Benefits team outlines current guidance related to common issues on coronavirus and its effect on the workplace.
New Paid Leave Obligations for Employers with Fewer than 500 Employees
What Should Employers Be Thinking About if Considering a Furlough or Lay-off?
OSHA and Managing The Workforce
Application of Medical Leave and Accommodation Rights to the Virus
What Benefits Issues Should Employers Be Considering?
Further Guidance Issued on Paid Leave Obligations Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
COVID-19 Task Force
Robert M. Buchanan, Jr.
Partner
Michael H. Bunis
Partner
Charles A. Cheever
Co-Managing Partner
Mark Edgarton
Partner
William P. Gelnaw, Jr.
Co-Managing Partner
Douglas R. Gooding
Department Co-Chair - Business
Robert A. Kole
Partner
Peter M. Palladino
Partner
Alison F. Reif
Chair - Labor & Employment
Daniel P. Riley
Partner
Choate's Enforcement and Investigations Updates Podcast 07.08.2021
Lessons Learned for Compliance from the Global Pandemic
Emily Hodge is joined by Heather Golding, General Counsel and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at Sobi North America, and David Ryan, Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at Epizyme, to discuss strategies compliance partners can implement to overcome a range of challenges in the virtual world.