Dear clients, contacts and friends,

The health and safety of our lawyers, staff, clients and colleagues is our top priority during this period of uncertainty surrounding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Our office is open and our client services are continuing as usual. We are closely monitoring the situation and are following best practices recommended by local and international authorities to minimize the risk of exposure, while ensuring that service to our clients remains uninterrupted.

Below are some measures we have implemented, both within the firm and for our clients:

  • Sanitization: Hand sanitizer is available on every floor and disinfectant wipes have been distributed throughout the firm. Work areas are wiped down at the end of each day. We also have a full-time, dedicated cleaner to clean railings, door handles, elevator buttons and other hard surfaces in the high-traffic areas and common spaces.
  • Hygiene: We have implemented best practices with respect to hand washing and personal protection. We have distributed resources and posted flyers throughout our firm with instructions on proper hand washing techniques. We strongly encourage everyone to follow stringent personal hygiene guidelines.
  • Business Continuity: We have contingency plans in place in case lawyers and staff do not have physical access to our office, whether because of COVID-19 or another emergency. We are putting these plans into action. We are working closely with our IT, accounting and client operations departments to ensure that we have uninterrupted access to all our critical systems in order to continue to serve our clients effectively and efficiently. We have significantly expanded our capabilities in light of the current crisis.
  • Travel, Events and Meetings: All non-essential firm travel and firm events will be evaluated and most will be cancelled, postponed or converted to video/telephone conferencing. We will screen attendees at the few events and meetings that do go ahead on firm premises. Immediately following the event, the area where the event took place will be thoroughly cleaned.
  • Client Education: Earlier this week, we hosted a webinar on COVID-19 (Coronavirus): Assessing the Risk, Managing the Workplace. To watch the archived webinar, click here.

We continue to monitor, evaluate and respond to this situation as it evolves, and will take all necessary precautions to safeguard our lawyers, staff, clients and the communities in which we live and work. This is a difficult situation for all of us, and we are fortunate to have the resources to invest in helping our lawyers, staff and clients minimize the disruption to their professional lives. We remain committed to providing you with the same service you have come to expect from us. If you have any questions or concerns about how we are responding to the outbreak, or how this will impact your business, please reach out to me or your relationship partner.

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