On January 30, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order entitled “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs.”[1] As the title suggests, the order is intended to reduce the burden imposed by federal regulations and establish a cap on the costs that such regulations impose on the United States economy. It could prove to be one […]
This Client Alert offers a “Playbook” for employers to navigate the choppy waters of the coming COVID-19 vaccines. We set out key considerations, both for employers who want or ultimately may be required to pursue a mandatory vaccination program and for employers who wish to encourage voluntary compliance.
In light of the market impacts of the 2020 global coronavirus outbreak, Gibson Dunn lawyers examine common formulations used in force majeure provisions in LNG sale and purchase agreements and identify considerations for clients when negotiating and seeking to enforce such clauses.
Gibson Dunn discusses key areas of focus for private equity sponsors seeking to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on their portfolio companies.
Gibson Dunn lawyers provide an update on temporary changes to Nasdaq’s rules following an SEC announcement regarding regulatory relief during the COVID-19 outbreak, as part of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance Monitor blog.
As companies around the world respond to COVID-19, questions arise about whether coordinated or even unilateral efforts to deal with the virus could prompt antitrust scrutiny. Gibson Dunn lawyers address some of the most common questions regarding COVID-19 responses and antitrust laws in the United States, Europe, and China.
Gibson Dunn lawyers identify some of the key considerations for businesses working to reduce the risk of employee exposure to COVID-19, and outline key steps to take when an employee tests positive for the virus or must care for someone with the disease.
Gibson Dunn lawyers discuss announced adjustments by antitrust and competition enforcers in the U.S. and Europe to how they will process and review reportable transactions in light of COVID-19 mandatory remote working requirements.
Gibson Dunn chairman and managing partner Ken Doran provides information for clients about Gibson Dunn’s response to COVID19, including implementing a temporary work-from-home protocol and creating a Resource Center for updates.
Gibson Dunn lawyers identify some of the key considerations for UK businesses working to reduce the risk of employee exposure to COVID-19, and outline key steps to take when an employee tests positive for the virus or must care for someone with the disease.
Hong Kong partner Michael Nicklin and Singapore partner Jamie Thomas are the authors of “Coronavirus: Time for Companies to have a Financing Check-up whilst the Black Swan is Circling,” [PDF] published by Asian Legal Business on March 13, 2020.
Gibson Dunn lawyers review the U.S. federal government’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak as of March 18, 2020.
Gibson Dunn provides a checklist to assist companies in navigating the M&A process in an environment overshadowed by COVID-19 concerns, focusing on areas of particular risk and uncertainty.
On March 18, 2020, President Trump announced that he was invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) in order to allow the administration to marshal American industry to prioritize production of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals that are in short supply to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
On March 16 and 17, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission announced additional temporary changes to their civil merger investigation processes in response to COVID-19.
Gibson Dunn lawyers outline steps taken by the European Commission in mid-March 2020 to allow the use of State aid to salvage the European economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
Gibson Dunn lawyers provide an update on the United Kingdom’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak and related considerations for employers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
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..
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Partner Eduardo Gallardo discusses considerations for company boards related to shareholder rights plans, aka “poison pills, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 25, 2020, the German Parliament (Bundestag) passed a far reaching rescue package to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its dramatic economic effects.
The UK Government has launched two funding mechanisms to assist firms with the potential impact of COVID-19 on their businesses: the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). Gibson Dunn lawyers provide an overview of the CCFF and CBILS and provides practical guidance as to how firms can make use of these facilities.
Gibson Dunn lawyers discuss how the Small Business Administration provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), as passed by the Senate on March 25, 2020, will impact businesses.
As already described in Gibson Dunn’s client alert of 20 March 2020, the European Commission (Commission) has announced that it will authorize the grant of State aid to the real economy for liquidity shortages and financial losses resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak in at least two ways.
Gibson Dunn lawyers discuss the constitutionality of proposed and actual legislative and executive action during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 27, 2020, the New York State Empire State Development Corporation (ESD) revised its guidance for determining whether businesses are “essential” and therefore exempt from the in-person workforce restrictions under Governor Cuomo’s March 20, 2020 “New York State on PAUSE” Executive Order (EO 202.8), which requires that all non-essential businesses keep 100 percent of their workforce at home.
The COVID-19 outbreak has caused major disruptions in global economies, including merger and acquisition activity. In response to the pandemic, we are seeing changes to the representation and warranty insurance (“RWI”) market. Specifically, RWI insurers are currently proposing certain exclusions from coverage with respect to COVID-19 risk and are requiring buyers to conduct focused diligence regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the target’s business.
Gibson Dunn lawyers summarise key developments in UK employment law over the week of March 22 in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Click for PDF On Friday, March 27, 2020, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law the third major piece of legislation intended to address the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The bill, titled the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), provides for a number of temporary and […]
Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Notice 2020-18, issued March 20, 2020, provides updated guidance on the extension of the April 15, 2020 U.S. federal income tax return filing and payment deadlines for individuals and corporations to July 15, 2020 as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Governments of many EU Member States – as well as the European Commission – have announced special measures to support businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Gibson Dunn identifies some of the key fiscal measures being put in place by the governments of the UK, France and Germany to help companies manage their cash flows during these times.
A compilation of links to Gibson Dunn alerts regarding the COVID-19 pandemic published on March 28, 2020.
Courts around the world have responded to the COVID-19 outbreak by delaying or suspending proceedings. Gibson Dunn lawyers outline key features of online arbitration and mediation options which are particularly attractive not only for times of calm, but particularly in times of crisis.
The COVID-19 outbreak has caused major disruptions in global economies, including to life sciences companies conducting clinical trials and manufacturing and marketing pharmaceutical products. Gibson Dunn lawyers note ten actions that life sciences companies may wish to consider in light of the pandemic.
A compilation of links to Gibson Dunn alerts regarding the COVID-19 pandemic published on March 30, 2020.