Overview

 

Alston & Bird’s COVID-19 Response & Relief Team has been working to advise clients on the business and legal implications of the coronavirus pandemic. We are also deeply involved in assisting our clients to access Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding, and state and local relief mechanisms. As you consider strategies for changing your operations in response to government orders and returning to work, Alston & Bird is here with the advice and guidance needed to walk the line between rebounding from economic losses and keeping your employees and customers safe and healthy.

Our multidisciplinary team assists and advises a broad range of economic sectors on responses to coronavirus news and proactive steps to ensure business continuity, supply-chain alternatives, data security for employee remote access, and new product development. We regularly work on coronavirus-related issues with the gamut of relevant regulatory bodies as well as congressional policymakers who are leading the response to and recovery from this fast-moving event. We also advise on concomitant litigation and litigation risk resulting from novel company measures and competitor conduct, including consumer class actions, securities litigation, price-gouging investigations, and contract disputes.

Our team includes members with extensive experience advising on the regulatory interplay between issues ranging from employment matters to health care services, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals, as well as every type of business interruption scenario. Members of our team have previously worked for, or represent clients before, the White House, Congress, HHS—especially staff and operating divisions such as the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR)—FDA, CDC, CMS, USDA, EPA, DEA, DOD, SEC, DHS, DOS, and OSHA. We also interact with members of the Administration’s Coronavirus Task Force and Operation Warp Speed.

We bring focused experience in these sectors:

• Hospitals, physicians, home health, nursing homes, and clinical laboratories
• Pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, pharmacies, distributors, and supply-chain managers
• Telemedicine
• Hospitality, events, and entertainment 
• Industrials and manufacturing
• Public companies
• Public and private employers 
• Travel, transportation, shipping, and logistics
• Food, beverage, and agriculture
• Import and export 
• Emergency response and planning
• Colleges, universities, and other educational institutions

Spanning several Alston & Bird practices—including health care, public policy, corporate governance, capital markets and securities, labor and employment, litigation, global services, privacy, and environmental—the COVID-19 Response & Relief Team can give insight and guidance to clients facing immediate questions and challenges about planning for or responding to the threat posed by the coronavirus and the resulting global economic impact.