Risk Management in a Pandemic: What to do Now

COVID-19 has affected Commerce, Travel, and all Transatlantic Transactions for weeks. Without a clear picture on the end of this global pandemic and no guarantee that there won’t be a second or third wave, businesses must re-evaluate their management, their HR strategies and their supply chains and contracts. Our Transatlantic panel of experts share their insights on the following business topics: Workforce Issues Companies are facing in a Pandemic ● Getting your workforce through a Pandemic – balancing economic survival and being a supportive employer ● The new reality of remote work security, sanity and childcare ● Sick leave and protection of employment in the US and EU Risk Management related to Commercial Contracts ● Impossibility and force majeure – possible legal implications of the Coronavirus epidemic ● Damage / compensation claims against government authority in case of closures? ● M&A: Transactions In Times Of Corona: The Return Of The MAC? Foreign Direct Investment Restrictions increased ● Real-life examples from a corporate perspective · Negotiating with suppliers during COVID-19 · Re-booking versus Canceling Management of Companies during a Pandemic: Corporate Governance & Compliance ● What happens to Shareholders' meetings (postponement, e-meetings); related governance issues ● Need to set up a Pandemic task force/rescue plan [potential integration/harmonizing with ESG planning] [e.g., conflict: because of climate change employers encourage public transport or car-sharing, in case of pandemic individual travel recommended / mandatory] Expropriations/Nationalizations ● Indemnification criteria, related litigation, regulatory issues, investment protection ● State backed guarantees / state participation / restraints on executive pay and other conditions What to expect now? Will there be a new Normal & What will it look like? ● How to prepare and provide business-level awareness of major risks and requirements to address the next pandemic ● Will there be a new trend and how will this pair up with the current trend towards a ‘sharing economy’ ● Trends towards more digitalization and toward more localization/regionalization vs. globalisation SPEAKERS: ● Prof. Dr. Christian C.-W. Pleister, Partner, NOERR ● Cecilia Carrara, Partner, LEGANCE ● Steve Wilson, Partner, OSBORNE CLARKE ● Frederique Henriot, Director of Sales & Business Development, North America, GL EVENTS ● William M. Taylor, Partner, PEPPER HAMILTON LLP