Client Alert - Gibson Dunn

Client Alert

Senate Advances the CARES Act, the Largest Stimulus Package in History, to Stabilize the Economic Sector During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Gibson Dunn provides a comprehensive look at the CARES Act passed by the Senate on March 25, 2020, the largest emergency stimulus package in United States history.

March 26, 2020

SEC Enforcement Focus on Fallout from COVID-19: Insights for Public Companies and Investment Advisers During a Crisis

On March 24, 2020, the co-directors of the SEC Enforcement Division took the unusual step of issuing a cautionary statement emphasizing “the importance of maintaining market integrity and following corporate controls and procedures” during the COVID-19 crisis. Gibson Dunn lawyers provide a list of potential issues to be considered in light of the SEC Enforcement Division’s notice.

March 26, 2020

Department of Labor Issues Guidance on Families First Coronavirus Response Act

Gibson Dunn lawyers provide an overview of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act, part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and discuss which employers they cover.

March 26, 2020

Practical Solutions for Resolving Commercial Disputes When the Courthouse Is Closed

When negotiating a commercial contract, forum selection is often the least disputed issue. But given the daily expansion of COVID-19 court closures, now is the time to assess forum selection clauses in key contracts, before litigating a dispute in the chosen forum becomes indefinitely and prejudicially delayed.  

March 25, 2020

European and German Programs Counteracting Liquidity Shortfalls and Relaxations in German Insolvency Law

Gibson Dunn lawyers provide an update on actions by the European Central Bank and the German Federal Government (Bundesregierung) and the State Governments (Landesregierungen) implementing several programs to counteract a break-down of companies from large multinationals to sole entrepreneurs.

March 25, 2020

Tax-Favored Financial and Other Assistance to Employees in the Face of COVID-19

Gibson Dunn lawyers discuss the ability for employers to provide tax-free financial assistance to employees who are affected, directly or indirectly, by COVID-19, while preserving the employer’s ability to deduct the payments of financial assistance, as a result of the President's declaration of a national emergency.

March 25, 2020

New York Department of Financial Services Emergency Regulations — Mandatory Forbearances for Residential Mortgage Loans

On March 24, 2020, the New York Department of Financial Services promulgated emergency regulations implementing a recent executive order issued by Governor Cuomo. The order aims to ensure that banks grant 90-day forbearances for borrowers that are suffering financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

March 25, 2020

Competitor Collaborations During COVID-19 Pandemic: Practical Antitrust Guidelines and an Update from the DOJ and FTC

Gibson Dunn lawyers provide practical guidance for companies considering competitor collaborations or discussing such plans with competitors during the COVID-19 pandemic, in compliance with antitrust and competition laws..

March 25, 2020

Force Majeure Clauses: A 4-Step Checklist & Flowchart

To assist clients in identifying issues they should evaluate in connection with their contractual obligations in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gibson Dunn lawyers have prepared a 4-Step Checklist and Flowchart to review and assess force majeure clauses.

March 24, 2020

Enforcement of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s March 20, 2020 Executive Order Restricting Non-Essential Business Activity

Gibson Dunn lawyers provide an update as of March 24, 2020 on actions by the New York State government to enforce Governor Cuomo's March 20 executive order restricting business activity.

March 24, 2020

Emergency Lending Round 2: Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility, Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility, Term Asset-Backed Lending Facility and Expansion of Other Programs

On March 23, 2020, in an unprecedented action, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System invoked its emergency lending authority under Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act to create additional programs to stabilize important financial markets.  It announced three facilities: the Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility (PMCCF), the Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility (SMCCF) and the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF)

March 24, 2020

European Competition Regulators Publish Guidance on COVID-19 Enforcement Policies and UK Amends Competition Legislation

The Coronavirus crisis will undoubtedly have an impact on competition enforcement, as companies face seismic shocks to their industries in light of mass lockdowns and supply chain issues.

March 24, 2020

Supreme Court Unanimously Holds That A Plaintiff Suing For Discrimination Under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 Must Allege But-For Causation

On March 23, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held 9-0 that a plaintiff who sues for racial discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 must plead facts plausibly showing that the discrimination was a “but-for” cause of the challenged action. 

March 23, 2020

Crisis Management & COVID-19 Response: Plan Now to Mitigate Against the Ripple Effects of COVID-19 Crisis

Gibson Dunn lawyers identify some of the key steps that companies with strong crisis management plans have taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic, and considerations that all companies should keep in mind moving forward, to reduce business and legal exposure.

March 23, 2020

Privacy and Cybersecurity Issues Related to COVID-19

Gibson Dunn lawyers summarize key privacy and cybersecurity implications of collecting and sharing personal information from employees, site visitors, and other individuals to manage COVID-19 risk, as well as cybersecurity risks of these and other management and mitigation efforts.

March 20, 2020

Delaware Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Federal-Forum Provisions

In Salzberg, et al. v. Sciabacucchi (“Blue Apron II”), a unanimous Delaware Supreme Court, with Justice Valihura writing, confirmed the facial validity of federal-forum provisions (“FFPs”)—provisions Delaware corporations adopt in their certificates of incorporation requiring actions arising under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “1933 Act”) to be filed exclusively in federal court.

March 20, 2020

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Introduces New Executive Order Restricting Non-Essential Business Activity

In a press conference held on the morning of March 20, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that he would be signing an executive order requiring businesses—with the exception of those providing “essential” services—to keep 100 percent of their workforce at home, effectively shuttering any non-essential business whose workforce cannot work from home.

March 20, 2020

Senate Majority Leader Introduces Emergency Stimulus Bill

Gibson Dunn lawyers provide an update on a $1 trillion stimulus package introduced in the U.S. Senate on March 19, 2020, to address significant economic concerns surrounding the COVID019 pandemic.

March 20, 2020

U.K. Employment Law – Updated Considerations for Companies Responding to COVID-19

Gibson Dunn lawyers provide an update on the United Kingdom's response to the COVID-19 outbreak and related considerations for employers.

March 20, 2020

COVID-19: The German Infectious Diseases Protection Act – What Makes You Stay at Home

Gibson Dunn lawyers provide background information and compliance considerations for the German Infectious Diseases Protection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz or "IfSG"). The IfSG provides the state with strong executive powers to prevent diseases, pathogens etc. from spreading. Germany has already used such powers and might further use them in the near future due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

March 20, 2020