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.

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.

Update on the Coronavirus Oversight and Recovery Ethics Act of 2020

On June 15, 2020, lawmakers in the United States Senate introduced the Coronavirus Oversight and Recovery Ethics Act of 2020 (CORE Act). This legislation contains provisions that would protect whistleblowers who are retaliated against for raising concerns related to the misuse of federal funds in COVID-19 relief programs and reports of danger to public health or safety.

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.

Overview of Tax Credits Available to Employers Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act

Choate’s Tax Group provides guidance on refundable tax credits that are available to employers under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the CARES Act.

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.