DeAngelis Legal spent a substantial amount of time advising business owners with employment, insurance, real estate and operational matters caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, essentially acting as in-house counsel for those businesses who are not large enough to hire full time legal counsel. On the employment side, we reviewed employment handbooks and assisted owners with work at home policies, separation agreements, layoffs, furloughs and other employee matters. On the insurance side, we spent time reviewing and advising owners with applicable force majeure clauses and business interruption coverages. In most of these cases, claims were denied unless the claimant had extended coverage for interruptions based on civil authority or communicable or infectious disease. Real estate leases were reviewed and re-negotiated. On the operations side, we reviewed and explored alternatives for limiting exposure to customers, employers and vendors. While most businesses are thriving, certain industries have been hit hard and several will not reopen again.
