Cancellations Increase as Firms, Legal Groups Face Coronavirus Uncertainty
The American Bar Association cancelled a national event for white-collar lawyers, Baker Botts will hold its partner meeting virtually, and other organizations are reconsidering plans.
March 04, 2020 at 11:29 AM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The American Lawyer
Airport travelers in China were wearing masks around the Chinese New Year as the coronavirus began to cause disruptions. (Photo: B.Zhou/Shutterstock.com)
As the coronavirus spreads, law firms and legal industry organizations have continued to announce changes and cancellations of long-planned events that would have involved domestic or international travel for many.
The American Bar Association and its Criminal Justice Section on Wednesday canceled the 34th National Institute on White Collar Crime, scheduled for next week in San Diego. The organization said it made the change because of travel restrictions placed on a significant number of speakers and attendees by their employers.
The Legal Marketing Association, meanwhile, said Wednesday that it will decide by next week if its annual conference will go on as scheduled. It is currently planned for March 25 to 27 in Denver.
"We are aware that several organizations have canceled their conferences, and some firms/companies have restricted travel. We are taking all of these data points into consideration, together with the insights and guidance from medical/health experts, and local and national government officials," LMA officials wrote in an email statement.
The spurt of announcements comes in the wake of an increasing number of COVID-19 diagnoses and deaths in the U.S., and in other countries.
Law firms have continued to announce changes to planned meetings and retreats as well
Baker Botts has decided to hold its partners meeting remotely, instead of in person this weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona, as the coronavirus continues to spread in the U.S. The partners meeting was scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
"Out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of providing the safest possible environment for our people, we have decided not to gather in person at our partner conference in Scottsdale. We will hold the meeting remotely instead," a spokesman for the firm said in an email on Wednesday morning.
U.K.-based Linklaters also said Wednesday that it is canceling its in-person partner conference, which was scheduled to be held in Berlin at the end of April, and having a remote meeting instead.
Elsewhere in Europe, Simmons & Simmons has called off its annual partner conference, which was set to start on Thursday in Monaco. The two-day meeting was canceled because the number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase in Europe, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
On Tuesday, Sidley Austin announced that it had canceled its all-partners meeting scheduled for April in Florida.
Latham & Watkins canceled its global partners meeting, which had been scheduled for this week in New York. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe postponed its partner retreat, which would have taken place in San Antonio last week. Duane Morris canceled its Asia partners meeting, which was scheduled to take place within the next month. And Norton Rose Fulbright excluded lawyers from certain locations, including China, from its partner meeting in Austin last week.
Baker Botts' announcement shows an increased eye toward precautionary measures. The firm had announced a week ago that it would move forward with its long-scheduled partner conference in Scottsdale, but as a precautionary measure, partners in Asian offices would not attend "due to transmission concerns related to air travel." Also, the firm said that, for all personnel, travel to mainland China is prohibited, and travel to Hong Kong must be for essential business purposes and approved by management.
The firm's Asian offices are in Beijing and Hong Kong. Baker Botts, founded in Houston, had 734 lawyers and 287 partners at the end of 2019.
Read More
Sidley Austin Cancels Partners Meeting in Florida Amid Coronavirus Spread
Linklaters Cancels Partner Conference Amid Coronavirus Fallout
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Am Law 100 Lateral Partner Hiring Rose in 2024: Report
JCPenney Seeks Return of More Than $1.1M From Jackson Walker For Bankruptcy Work
3 minute read
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1US Supreme Court Considers Further Narrowing of Federal Fraud Statutes
- 2Rudy Giuliani's Story Arc in the Southern District of New York
- 3Don’t Blow It: 10 Lessons From 10 Years of Nonprofit Whistleblower Policies
- 4AIAs: A Look At the Future of AI-Related Contracts
- 5Litigators of the Week: A $630M Antitrust Settlement for Automotive Software Vendors—$140M More Than Alleged Overcharges
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
