COVID-19 Response

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has upended our business, our families, and our lives. Every day, we experience profound impacts on the way we do business and interact as a community. These impacts have a broad reach and have left many industries adrift without a response to the legal consequences that loom in an uncertain future.

Bullivant Houser’s COVID-19 Response is led by the firm’s most experienced lawyers—professionals who understand that adapting to tumultuous times is a complex challenge that can have far-reaching effects on our clients’ businesses, relationships, and communities. Our experience allows us to quickly synthesize changes to the law at the federal, state, and local levels to present a coordinated, cross-disciplinary, and creative response for our clients. We use our understanding to identify effective legal strategies that will position our clients to respond to the changing landscape in a way that will minimize disruption, reduce exposure to future liabilities, and maximize responsiveness. 

Given the wide variety of complex legal issues, our COVID-19 Response practice uses a team approach—bringing together the appropriate mix of senior litigators and business advisors, associates, paralegals and support staff. Our goal is to leave no resources untapped to support our clients with a robust and well-reasoned response to this unprecedented pandemic. 

To keep you informed, we have prepared articles on a variety of topics. Check back regularly for updates in the News & Insights section.

Protecting the interests of insurers and self-insured businesses

Bullivant Houser’s insurance and defense teams are primed to assist insurers and self-insured businesses with COVID-19 related issues.

Business interruption

We are exceptionally situated to help insurers respond to the extraordinary scrutiny that the COVID-19 pandemic is placing on triggers of coverage under business interruption coverage (including civil authority extensions and communicable disease broadening endorsements).

Property insurance

We’re actively counseling several property insurers on COVID-19 business interruption claims in our region and nationwide. These types of claims aren’t new to us as we’ve been litigating and counseling property insurers on them for decades, including in other mass catastrophe situations.

Professional liability

Our team has extensive experience defending professionals, including accountants, attorneys, architects and engineers, directors and officers, insurance agents and brokers, medical, real estate, and financial service professionals. We also represent professional liability insurers as coverage counsel related to challenges COVID-19 presents. Bullivant’s professional liability attorneys are at the forefront of potential issues, ready with recommendations for reducing our clients’ liability and preparing for post-pandemic realities.

Surety cases

COVID-19 has also been disruptive to businesses in construction and development that are experiencing an increase in emergency work, slowdowns, and shutdowns of ongoing projects. Bullivant Houser’s surety team stands ready to assist with the challenges COVID-19 presents to sureties.

Employment law

Bullivant is actively counseling employers and triaging or litigating employment issues related to COVID-19 in California, Oregon, and Washington. We are also actively monitoring COVID-19 legislation and executive orders that impact the employer/employee relationship and are providing regular updates to our clients on COVID-19 issues.

Commercial Litigation

Bullivant Houser’s Commercial Litigation teams are led by experienced lawyers who understand that now, more than ever, our clients’ futures may depend on the outcome of a case. Our attorneys regularly litigate disputes involving breach of contract, landlord-tenant, partnership and corporate, fiduciary duty, securities, and intellectual property law. We monitor COVID-19 legislation and executive orders that impact the landlord/tenant relationship, lending and borrowing disputes and contractual agreements.