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Updated August 31, 2020

On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, which provides for various economic stimulus measures, including a new loan program regulated by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) called the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). You can read more about the PPP and the other stimulus programs here.

On June 5, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (the Flexibility Act), which amends the CARES Act to make certain changes to PPP loans and to provide more flexibility to borrowers. For an overview of the changes made by the Flexibility Act, click here. This blog post has been updated to incorporate the changes made by the Flexibility Act.

On July 4, 2020, President Trump signed into law a bill that extends the application period for PPP loans from June 30, 2020, to August 8, 2020, which provides eligible borrowers additional time to contact participating lenders to facilitate a PPP application.

Continue Reading Applying for a Loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

On Friday, March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the CARES Act, which contains many provisions designed to mitigate the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. Liskow & Lewis attorneys John T. Bradford and Jeffrey P. Birdsong wrote about four of those provisions which affected the implementation of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) here. The following blog post walks through another round of changes to the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) contained in the CARES Act.Continue Reading Liskow & Lewis CARES Act Tax Analysis – Part II

Day-to-day life has been dramatically impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and many businesses have been forced to close or limit their service to slow the spread of COVID-19. In response, Congress has passed several pieces of legislation to assist individuals and businesses affected by the virus.

Continue Reading COVID-19 Federal Legislative Response

This article was updated on April 14, 2020.

Day-to-day life has been dramatically impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and many courts in Louisiana and Texas have been forced to close or limit operations in conjunction with stay-at-home orders.  A brief discussion of how COVID-19 has affected Louisiana and Texas courts is discussed here.Continue Reading Louisiana and Texas COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Orders and Effects on State Courts

On Friday, March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the CARES Act, which contains many provisions designed to mitigate the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on businesses. Those provisions include the following four significant changes to the business tax provisions contained in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.Continue Reading CARES Act Makes Significant Changes to Four Key Business Tax Provisions Enacted in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

Today, countries worldwide are responding to a pandemic of respiratory disease spreading from person-to-person caused by a novel coronavirus.  The disease has been named “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated “COVID-19”).  The pandemic poses a serious public health risk, and government response has included closure of schools and businesses, declarations of emergency, and issuance of a variety of “stay home” orders—typically instructing all but “essential personnel” to remain in their residences other than to gather necessaries.  These events have dramatically impacted the world economy, and wreaked havoc on the day-to-day functions of individuals and businesses in the United States and elsewhere.  Does this pandemic and resultant disruption constitute a force majeure event under Louisiana and Texas law?Continue Reading COVID-19 as a Force Majeure? The Texas and Louisiana Perspectives

In response to the continuing COVID-19 epidemic, the United States Coast Guard, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have issued a series of administrative guidelines or regulations broadly affecting international maritime commerce. In addition to this agency action, the AWO and other sectors of the maritime industry have voluntarily formulated several response plans aimed at protecting the nation’s vital maritime commerce during this public emergency. We have reviewed these guidelines and regulations, and have organized them into general topics of common questions in our industry.Continue Reading Maritime Industry COVID 19 Update

It has been an extraordinary few weeks as businesses face challenges presented by the COVID-19 outbreak.  Companies are grappling with a multitude of issues — from the health and safety of employees to increased cyber security risks to financial and operational stability.  Understandably, assessments of significant contractual and market exposures have been prioritized.  Potential exposures under over-the-counter derivatives contracts should be included in those reviews.  Many companies maintain active OTC derivatives portfolios to hedge commercial risk, whether interest rate, foreign exchange, commodity or other hedges.  The OTC market has experienced large movements in reaction to COVID-19 and the related containment measures.  Below we highlight key OTC considerations for companies in relation to COVID-19:Continue Reading Key Issues in OTC Derivatives Contracts as COVID-19 Disrupts Global Financial Markets

Delaware corporations routinely include “exclusive federal forum” provisions in their charters and bylaws to designate federal courts as the exclusive forum for litigating claims under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “’33 Act”).  Corporations generally prefer to litigate these claims in federal court as state court is viewed as inefficient and more inclined to grant plaintiffs a summary judgment ruling.  The practice of adopting exclusive forum provisions is intended to avoid state court litigation of ’33 Act claims and state court forum shopping by plaintiffs.
Continue Reading Delaware Corporations Can Rely On Federal Forum Provisions for ’33 Act Claims