A.Y. Strauss, a leading boutique law firm focused on commercial transactions and litigation in the areas of real estate, bankruptcy, franchising law, construction contracting, and labor & employment, is pleased to announce that Matthew L. Holden, Esq., has merged his law firm Holden Legal Group, LLC with A.Y. Strauss, effective June 1, 2021. Holden joins as a partner in A.Y. Strauss’s Real Estate and Corporate practice groups.

Holden represents developers, borrowers, lenders, and other entities in large-scale commercial real estate transactions related to retail, office, multifamily, hotel, condominium, and industrial spaces. He also provides counsel in risk-avoidance and complex transactions and disputes. His clients include startups, emerging companies, and Fortune 500 companies alike.

Holden earned his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law, where he was a member of the Real Estate and Trust Law Society. He earned his BBA in Finance from Emory University Goizueta School of Business. He is licensed to practice in New York and New Jersey; the United States District Court, Southern District of New York; and the United States District Court, District of New Jersey.

Prior to founding Holden Legal Group in Hackensack, NJ and New York City in June 2009, Holden practiced corporate and securities law at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and thereafter served as in-house counsel at Ospraie Management, LLC, the investment manager for the Ospraie Funds, where he worked on corporate, hedge fund, securities and real estate matters. Prior to earning his law degree, Holden worked in investment banking for Lehman Brothers Inc.

Leslie D. Corwin has joined Duane Morris LLP as of counsel in the firm’s Trial Practice Group in its New York office. Prior to joining Duane Morris, Corwin was the managing partner of Eisner, LLP’s New York office.

Corwin is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer focusing his practice on disputes, mergers and acquisitions, liquidations, dissolutions and bankruptcies. He has broad experience with the full range of valuation, accounting and ethical issues that typically arise in business disputes. Corwin has litigated issues of first impression and his practice also includes elements of finance, securities, entertainment, employment law, ERISA, real estate and bankruptcy. He has represented and negotiated on behalf of principals, partners and senior executives of many of the country’s leading investment banks and private equity firms, international and national law and accounting firms, broker-dealers, investment banks, hedge funds and real estate developers.

Corwin is a member of the American Law Institute, the Committee on Character and Fitness for the Supreme Court of the State of New York, First Judicial Department, and serves on multiple other court committees. In 2019, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the New York Law Journal and was named one of its inaugural New York Trailblazers. He was named last month to the American Lawyer’s 2021 Inaugural List of Northeast Trailblazers. He is a frequent analyst on CNN, CNBC, Fox, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. His book Law Firm Partnership Agreements, which he co-authored, remains the definitive treatise on the subject. Corwin also writes extensively for law journals and industry publications and has lectured for the judiciary, bar, legal associations and law schools, industry organizations and Harvard Business School. He participated in the Aspen Institute’s 2017 Justice & Society Seminar, an annual, invitation-only seminar co-founded by the late Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun that is composed of 20 distinguished participants from various professional fields.

Corwin is a graduate of Fordham University School of Law (J.D., 1973) and Brown University (B.A., 1969).

June 1, 2021– Foley & Lardner LLP is pleased to announce that Koree Khongphand-Buckman has joined the firm as its new Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer, effective today. In this role, Khongphand-Buckman will be responsible for leading Foley’s business development, marketing, client service and branding efforts across all practices, industries, sectors and offices to help the firm achieve its strategic objectives. She will be based in Foley’s Denver office.

Khongphand-Buckman brings 20 years of professional services marketing experience crafting and implementing growth strategies for new and existing clients. She previously served as Head of Marketing and Business Development for the Americas at a Top 10 global law firm where she developed many innovative initiatives and programs to enhance business performance, improve client engagement and increase revenue growth.

Khongphand-Buckman earned both a B.S. and M.A. in Mass Communications from the University of South Dakota.

Venable LLP is pleased to announce that it has launched a Native American Law and Policy Practice, which will focus on representing the interests of tribes and Alaska Native corporations across a variety of areas, as well as state and local governments and non-Indian entities seeking to engage with, or invest in, Indian Country. In addition, the firm is happy to announce that Kyle E. Scherer has joined Venable as a partner in the Environmental and Natural Resources Group in the Washington, D.C., office. Scherer will co-chair the Native American Law and Policy Practice with David A. Mullon Jr., a current partner at Venable who has spent the majority of his career addressing issues that impact tribes and tribal interests.

Prior to joining Venable, Scherer served as the principal deputy general counsel for the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). There, he helped implement and defend CEQ’s revised National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations and coordinate the review of agency-specific NEPA rulemaking. He began his career in federal service at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as a White House Fellow and counsel to the associate attorney general. Among other things, his portfolio included oversight of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, the Office of Justice Programs, and the Office of Tribal Justice.

In 2017, Scherer joined the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) as a counselor to the assistant secretary for Indian affairs. He was later appointed the deputy solicitor for Indian affairs and the acting deputy solicitor for parks and wildlife. There, he concurrently led two of the largest divisions within the DOI Office of the Solicitor, managing more than 60 career attorneys across seven practice areas. In these roles, he provided advice to the secretary of the interior and other administration officials on issues ranging from Indian gaming and tribal trust land acquisitions to Endangered Species Act (ESA) enforcement and national monument designations. During his tenure at DOI, he represented the United States as senior agency counsel on nearly all significant Indian affairs litigation, including affirmative cases brought on behalf of tribes as federal trustee and appellate matters, such as the defense of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Notably, Scherer was further responsible for supporting the DOJ Office of the Solicitor General in more than 10 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, which, over four terms, considered matters involving the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), the ESA, Indian reservation boundary disputes, tribal sovereign immunity, and tribal treaty rights.

Scherer began his legal career working on the Navajo Nation as a staff attorney for DNA-People’s Legal Services, a nonprofit organization that provides access to justice for low-income Native Americans living in the Four Corners region of the United States. He then spent five years at a leading international law firm, where he advised clients on corporate finance transactions and liability management. Scherer is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and is a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is an enrolled member of the Munsee Delaware Nation and a descendent of the Chippewa of the Thames First Nation.

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, today announced the addition of four attorneys and one law clerk to its Mexico City office. Shareholder Jorge Sales Boyoli was previously a founding partner and managing director of Bufete Sales Boyoli, a labor and employment law boutique that he dissolved in joining Littler. He arrives with former Sales Boyoli associates Jesús S. Escárcega Martínez, Erik Daniel García Coronel and Valeria Cutipa Hernández, as well as law clerk Sofia Hernández Gutiérrez.

Boyoli is well-known for advising clients on individual labor litigation, collective matters and procedural labor law, and has handled high-profile union matters in a variety of industries. including electrical utilities, renewable energy, transportation and entertainment. He regularly represents clients in collective contract negotiations, strikes and other matters against some of the country’s largest unions on behalf of major local and international employers.

Boyoli graduated, with special mention, from the law school of the Universidad Panamericana and received a master’s degree in Strategic Management of Human Capital at the Universidad Anáhuac del Sur. He is active in the International Bar Association; the Mexican Institute of Financial Executives; the Mexican Direct Selling Association; and the National Association of Business Lawyers, where he was National Coordinator of the Labor Law Committee. Boyoli regularly speaks and publishes on labor, human resources and management issues.

Boyoli brings with him an experienced team of employment and labor lawyers, including Escárcega who guides clients through various aspects of litigation, from pre-litigation disputes to post-judgement settlements. In addition to advocating for clients in the courtroom, he advises on resolving disputes before litigation arises. García is a litigator and counselor on labor law matters. He counsels employers on litigation strategy, human resources matters, proper labor documentation, benefits and contract negotiations and employee disputes. Cutipa is counselor on labor law matters.

This team’s addition follows the arrival of senior associate Jorge Cerda Chapa to Littler’s Monterrey office in May.

RumbergerKirk kicks off the 2021 Summer Associate Program today with eight law students participating. The summer associates will be working in each of the firm’s office locations including Birmingham, Miami, Orlando, Tallahassee and Tampa. Additionally, they will come together virtually for seminars and workshops, and they will meet in-person for RumbergerKirk’s mock trial competition at the end of the program.

The 10-week program offers law students, who are entering their final year of school, the hands-on training and development that will prepare them for a career in litigation.

They work closely with partners and their associate mentors on real client cases, including attending hearings, depositions and mediations. They will also receive hands-on training during professional development seminars and workshops. At the end of the program, the summer associates compete in a mock trial to put into practice all that they have learned.

The summer class of 2021 includes:
• Birmingham: Julie Potts (University of Alabama)

• Miami: Harris Blum (University of Miami ) and Andre Chinchilla (University of Miami)

• Orlando: Meghan Kennedy (University of Florida), Graham Marcus (Stetson University), and Joseph Tracy (Florida State University)

• Tampa: Adam Poe (Stetson University)

• Tallahassee: Elizabeth Pearce (Florida State Unversity)

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP is pleased to announce that Scott Naturman has joined the firm as Corporate partner in the firm’s New York office.

Naturman represents public and private companies and private equity firms in mergers and acquisitions, dispositions, corporate and other formations, joint ventures, strategic investments, reorganizations, corporate governance matters, commercial contracts, representation and warranty insurance policies, engagement letters and confidentiality agreements. He often serves as lead lawyer and also has acted as outside general counsel for a pharmaceutical start-up and legal lead for numerous restructuring projects for a multinational corporation.

Naturman has advised clients in several industries including life sciences, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, energy, education, communications, entertainment and consumer products.

Naturman joins from Covington & Burling. He earned his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, magna cum laude, and received his B.A. from Duke University, magna cum laude.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that the firm and four partners were nationally ranked for Product Liability & Mass Torts by Chambers and Partners in the 2021 edition of the prestigious and independent

Chambers USA legal industry referral guide. Chambers USA ranked Bradley as one of only seven firms in the country as “Tier 1 – Highly Regarded” for its Product Liability & Mass Torts practice.

The following Bradley attorneys were ranked nationally for Product Liability & Mass Torts:

– Lindsey C Boney IV (Birmingham)
– William F. (Will) Goodman, III (Nashville)
– Tripp Haston (Birmingham)
– Kimberly B. Martin (Huntsville)

In addition to the Chambers USA recognition, the firm was ranked nationally as a Tier 1 firm for Product Liability and Recall in the 2021 edition of Benchmark Litigation, and five partners were recognized as National Practice Area Stars for Product Liability. Part of the Litigation Practice Group – which is the firm’s largest practice and includes almost half of the firm’s nearly 550 attorneys – Bradley’s Product Liability team represents clients in industries and jurisdictions throughout state and federal court systems in litigation over a diverse range of consumer products, including tires, construction equipment, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. The team serves as national and regional counsel in all aspects of litigation, such as expert development, company witness preparation, factual and medical discovery, trial, and appeals. Whether preemptively developing strategies for litigation of specific products or product lines or taking litigation to the trial stage, the firm’s attorneys have a superb record of taking cases to verdict and handling all aspects of the appellate process.

Chambers USA 2021 ranked more than 8,000 law firms and almost 22,000 lawyers across more than 2,000 practice areas/sectors on a state and national level. Chambers and Partners determines its rankings of leading U.S. firms and attorneys through in-depth research and interviews with law firms, clients and third parties, and this year reviewed more than 10,000 submissions. Chambers assesses attorneys on attributes most valued by clients, including technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial astuteness, diligence, and commitment. Most attorneys are ranked in bands of 1-6, with all band rankings considered to be a significant achievement. Some attorneys earn specialized Chambers designations including “Recognised Practitioner,” which indicates an attorney who handles notable matters and/or has received some recommendation, and “Star” individual, which is awarded to lawyers with exceptional recommendations in their fields. The Chambers USA guide is widely read by industry-leading companies and organizations nationwide. For more information, visit https://www.chambersandpartners.com.

“GoExpedi, an innovative e-commerce, supply chain and analytics company that is reinventing procurement for industrial and energy MRO (maintenance, repair and operations), today announced that it has appointed Julie Gremillion as General Counsel,” posts GoExpedi in their Media.

“Gremillion is a corporate attorney with more than 10 years of experience in working with energy companies. She will be responsible for leading all aspects of GoExpedi’s legal strategy, managing compliance and risk throughout the organization; working closely with senior leadership and the Board of Directors as a strategic advisor on legal and business matters affecting the company; and providing legal support for transactional matters, strategic opportunities and day-to-day operations.”

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“McDermott Will & Emery is picking up six transactional partners as builds out across the U.S. amid record levels of corporate and transactional activity for law firms in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic,” reports Meghan Tribe in Bloomberg Law’s US Law Week.

“The six new partners are joining from Kirkland & Ellis, Goodwin Procter, DLA Piper, Foley & Lardner, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. They are joining McDermott’s Chicago, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas, New York, and Los Angeles offices, respectively.”

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“Two weeks after their second dose in a two-dose series (such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines), or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine,” report John A. Rubin, Natalie D. Fluker and Robert J. Simandl in The National Law Review.

“Individuals who do not meet these requirements are not considered fully vaccinated: They are still subject to the prior masking and social distancing requirements. The CDC stated that individuals with compromised immune systems still may not be fully protected after vaccination.”

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“PG&E Corp. agreed Wednesday to pay $43.4 million to settle claims filed by local governments over a 2019 wildfire that ravaged California’s wine country and a deadly fire last year in Shasta County,” reports Dale Kasler in The Sacramento Bee.

“The settlement resolves claims by cities and counties from the damages wrought by the Kincade Fire, which forced the evacuation of nearly 190,000 residents of Sonoma County, and the Zogg Fire west of Redding, which killed four people.”

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Venable LLP is pleased to announce that Benjamin C. Hsing has joined the firm as a partner in the Intellectual Property Litigation – Life Sciences Group in the New York office. Hsing is an accomplished trial lawyer with significant experience litigating patents across a broad range of technologies, including pharmaceutical compounds and formulations, telecommunication cables, treatment methods, genetically engineered seeds, medical devices, memory chips, light switches, imaging devices, and pet products.

Hsing has secured favorable results for major pharmaceutical and technology companies in numerous high-profile cases. He regularly calls upon his experience as a patent examiner to provide comprehensive counsel to clients on matters before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), including post-grant and contested patent office proceedings. He also conducts intellectual property (IP) due diligence investigations in connection with acquisitions and licensing deals. Hsing is deeply involved in his clients’ matters, ensuring that he understands all aspects of their businesses and cases so that he can identify, dissect, and solve potential challenges facing his clients.

Hsing received his J.D. form the George Washington University Law School in 1991, his M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University in 1986, his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University in 1984, and a B.A. from Columbia University in 1983.

Typical Google Vault exports provide limited metadata and data files that are not properly formatted for ediscovery needs. Incomplete information can be problematic for review platforms and result in wasted time and effort when loading files for review. Hanzo’s innovative approach to Google Workspace ensures you’re not missing out on enhanced metadata while providing review-platform-ready load files, saving you time and mitigating risk when loading data.

In this session, learn more about how to use your Google Workspace metadata effectively for discovery and see a quick demo of how Hanzo Hold can help.

Speaker – Dave Ruel, Senior Product Manager, Hanzo

Dave is a Senior Product Manager at Hanzo, a pioneer in the contextual capture, and preservation of dynamic web and collaboration content for corporate legal and compliance departments. Dave has more than 20 years of experience in software and product development and has spent considerable time in the legal, compliance, and information governance space. He has helped develop a broad range of products and solutions for big data challenges and is passionate about emerging technologies like machine learning, artificial intelligence, and visual analytics.

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, is pleased to announce the elevation of three executives within its Littler CaseSmart® (LCS) and Littler onDemand (LoD) platforms. Erik C. Johnson has been named Senior Program Director of LCS and LoD, Emily H. Morris has been promoted to Program Director for LCS – Single Plaintiff Litigation (SPL), and Meg Coppley is now Program Director for LCS – Class Action.

Johnson, who is a shareholder with Littler and joined the LCS team in 2014, will oversee the legal operations across all business lines of LCS, as well as LoD, with a focus on meeting and exceeding the needs of the firm’s clients. He previously served as Program Director for LCS – SPL.

Morris joined the LCS team in 2013 and most recently served as Program Manager of LCS – SPL. In her new role, she will collaborate with Littler clients and attorneys to manage single-plaintiff litigation defended in the LCS model, as well as monitor and manage key performance indicators and financial performance.

A member of the LCS team since 2016 and former Program Manager for LCS – Class Action, Coppley will coordinate with attorneys to manage class, collective, mass and representative actions defended in the LCS model. She will also assist clients in monitoring litigation metrics and manage financial performance.

Littler disrupted the legal industry when it launched the Littler CaseSmart platform in 2010. LCS reengineered the process of managing employment litigation by combining proprietary technology, alternative staffing and project management to control costs and increase fee predictability, while enhancing quality and consistency. LCS has proven to reduce legal spend by 10 to 50 percent and has collected substantial case data over the past decade that helps drive stronger business decisions and reduce risk. Initially created for administrative agency charges, LCS has expanded over the years to manage the full-range of employment litigation, including single-plaintiff, multi-plaintiff, class and collective actions, and mass arbitrations and related litigation. LCS has revolutionized Littler’s approach to managing employment litigation and has helped further solidify its reputation as a forward thinking and innovative law firm.

Building on the use of a unique combination of technology, staffing and project management, the firm launched Littler onDemand in 2019. LoD provides companies with quick, consistent and thorough answers to workplace legal questions, as well as data-driven insights to identify trends, manage risk and drive stronger business decisions. When COVID-19 hit, the firm was able to quickly repurpose LoD for internal use to manage the high volume of workplace-related questions resulting from the pandemic.

LCS and LoD, as well as Forman’s innovative leadership, have led to numerous awards from organizations that recognize innovation in the legal industry, including from the American Lawyer, Association of Corporate Counsel, College of Law Practice Management, FastCase 50, Financial Times, International Legal Technology Association, Law360 and National Law Journal.

Venable LLP is pleased to announce that Thomas E. Perez has joined the firm as a partner in the Washington, D.C., office. Perez previously served as the chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and as secretary of labor and assistant attorney general for civil rights under President Barack Obama.

As chair of the DNC, Perez oversaw the rebuilding of the organization’s infrastructure and implementation of vital reforms, enabling the party to secure critical victories at the local, state, and national levels. As labor secretary under President Obama, Perez was a member of the president’s economic team, led a top-to-bottom transformation of the agency, and worked closely with key Department of Labor (DOL) component agencies, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Wage & Hour Division, and Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). He forged meaningful partnerships between workers and businesses on a range of important issues and settled two major labor disputes – one involving port workers in the West Coast ports and the other involving 40,000 telecommunications workers.

Perez spent over a decade at the Justice Department during multiple administrations and multiple tours of duty, starting as a career civil rights prosecutor, deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights, and ultimately leading the division during the first term of the Obama administration. During his career at the Civil Rights Division, he prosecuted and supervised the prosecution of numerous high-profile civil rights cases and handled a wide range of important civil rights matters. As assistant attorney general for civil rights, he led an expansive effort to restore and transform civil rights enforcement in a wide array of areas, oversaw an active police reform practice, reached landmark settlements to change the culture of policing in numerous cities, and settled the three largest residential fair lending cases in the history of the Fair Housing Act.

Perez previously served as secretary of Maryland’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR) and led the effort to enact a sweeping package of state reforms to address the foreclosure crisis in Maryland. He was the first Latino elected to serve on Montgomery County Maryland’s County Council and served as council president in 2005. He also served as special counsel to Senator Edward Kennedy, and was Senator Kennedy’s principal advisor on civil rights, criminal justice, and constitutional issues. For the final two years of the Clinton administration, he served as the director of the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HSS).

Perez received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, his master’s in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government, and his A.B. in international relations and political science from Brown University.

The partnership of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP has elected three partners as co-chairs of the firm. Lucia Coyoca, David Steinberg and Greg Hessinger will succeed current co-chairs Kevin Gaut and Nimish Patel.

Coyoca is a litigation partner based in the Los Angeles office. With extensive trial experience, her practice involves entertainment industry disputes and insurance coverage work. She also represents employers in wrongful termination, discrimination and sexual harassment cases. Coyoca has held various leadership positions in the profession’s efforts to diversify, including serving as co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Woman Advocate Committee. Since joining the firm in 1988, she has served multiple terms on the firm’s governing board.

Steinberg is a partner in the entertainment & IP litigation practice based in the Los Angeles office. Steinberg is known for his work on intellectual property issues focusing on copyright, trademark, anti-circumvention/Digital Millennium Copyright Act, unfair competition and trade secrets. He also has extensive experience in entertainment and general business litigation. He joined the firm in 1987 and served two terms on its governing board.

Hessinger is a partner in the labor and employment practice based in the New York office. He represents a variety of regional and national employers in all aspects of labor and employment law. Prior to returning to private practice 15 years ago, Hessinger was the executive director of each of the two largest performers’ unions, the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which have since merged. He joined the firm in 2016.

Gaut, who has been with MSK for 37 years, served as co-chair of the firm for nearly a decade and Patel has been co-chair since joining the firm six years ago. Both will remain at the firm and return to their full-time practices.

Detroit – May 26, 2021 – Dykema, a leading national law firm, today announced the addition of Janet L. Conigliaro to its Products, Class Actions and Professional Liability Practice Group as a Member in the firm’s Detroit, office. Conigliaro, who previously practiced at Dykema from 2012-2019, rejoins the firm after serving as Director, Legal Regulatory Counsel at ZF Group, a global technology supplier for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and industrial technology.

In her practice, Conigliaro focuses on automotive and products liability litigation. She has extensive experience managing automotive product liability and class action cases, including serving as national discovery and e-discovery counsel for cases in multiple jurisdictions covering numerous allegations and subject matters of first impression.

Conigliaro has led fact investigations, prepared discovery responses, handled motion practice, negotiated protective orders and e-discovery protocols, and developed pre-class certification discovery plans in accordance with overall case strategy. Additionally, she has worked closely with in-house counsel to develop and implement best practices and strategies in pattern product liability litigation matters.

Conigliaro has handled many class actions from inception through class certification briefing managing discovery, fact development, taking and defending depositions, expert discovery, and drafting motions and briefing. She also has experience in handling NHTSA inquiries and investigation responses and recall management for the automotive industry.

Conigliaro has made significant contributions to Dykema’s pro bono efforts, defending immigrants in unlawful removal proceedings and human trafficking. She also taught first- and second-year law classes on Civil Procedure and Advanced Advocacy and Writing.

Conigliaro earned a J.D. from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and a B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Detroit Mercy.

“KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) announced that James L. Waters will be joining the bank as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary effective July 6, 2021. Mr. Waters will lead Key’s Law Group and serve as the company’s senior legal officer,” posts KeyCorp in their Press Releases.

“Mr. Waters brings more than 20 years of experience in corporate law with a focus on finance. Prior to joining Key, he served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. Previously, Mr. Waters was a partner at Haynes and Boone, LLP where he spent eighteen years as a corporate lawyer representing banks and corporations.”

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“The centrality of law as a public health intervention has been undeniable during the Covid-19 pandemic. In just the first half of 2020, more than 1000 laws and orders were issued by federal, state, and local authorities in the United States in an effort to reduce disease transmission,” discuss Scott Burris, J.D., Evan D. Anderson, J.D., Ph.D., and Alexander C. Wagenaar, M.S.W., Ph.D. in The New England Journal of Medicine’s Perspective.

“Legal interventions include stay-at-home orders, mask mandates, and travel restrictions, as well as more particular rules for business operations, alcohol sales, curfews, and health care. Given their heavy use, importance, and obvious socioeconomic side effects, and the social and behavioral complexities of their implementation, one might have expected the National Institutes of Health (NIH), other research funders, and the research community to jump to the work of determining the right mix, intensity, and enforcement approaches of legal restrictions to control transmission with the least and most equitably distributed harms.”

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