{"id":34063,"date":"2021-02-18T11:33:17","date_gmt":"2021-02-18T16:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=34063"},"modified":"2021-02-19T18:14:40","modified_gmt":"2021-02-19T23:14:40","slug":"during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/02\/during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"During COVID Pandemic, Attorneys Face Challenges In Courts And Business Law Cases"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Matthew F. Fuller, partner at Meyer, Fuller & Stockwell PLLC in Lake George.
Courtesy Meyer, Fuller & Stockwell PLLC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Susan Elise Campbell
\nAs businesses adjust to the unprecedented challenges of a pandemic, so do the attorneys who advise them.
\n\u201cThere have been a whirlwind of legal issues that we never thought we would have to deal with,\u201d said James T. Towne Jr. of The Towne Law Firm PC, with offices in Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls.
\nUnique issues about government relief, bankruptcy and foreclosures, contracts, COVID-19 fraud, cybersecurity and much more are on a daunting list of topics attorneys are being challenged to address this past year.
\n\u201cDuring the first 120 days we were confronted with a variety of labor and employment inquiries,\u201d said Towne.
\nMany of these were rooted in the logistics and liabilities of sending non-essential staff home to work and as a condition of employment, he said.
\n\u201cManagers are accustomed to taking their laptops and working from home, but maybe not the support staff,\u201d he said. \u201cMatters come up about restrictions on the equipment taken offsite, using that equipment for personal matters, and businesses not enforcing obligations in connection with work performed at home.\u201d
\nMatthew F. Fuller, partner at Meyer, Fuller & Stockwell PLLC in Lake George, said that whether an employer can mandate that staff get vaccinated has \u201cno clear cut answer. If someone gives you a straight answer, don\u2019t listen.\u201d He is addressing the issues of testing and vaccinations for the municipalities he represents.
\n\u201cThere are conflicting directives from the federal government and from the governor\u2019s office,\u201d Towne said. \u201cIn New York, different classes of employees need to negotiate their contracts,\u201d he said. \u201cIf the municipality\u2019s internal staff is under a collective bargaining agreement we have to go through that agreement very carefully to see what we\u2019re dealing with\u201d as to what can be mandated.
\n\u201cThere is always a concern that company data may be breached, but now there is a whole new set of questions about cybersecurity and liability,\u201d he said. These are issues to be researched and potentially litigated.
\nAn employee may be injured while working at home, which raises concerns whether workers compensation will cover the lapse in employment income.<\/p>\n

\"\"
James T. Towne Jr. is a principal partner at The Towne Law Firm PC.
\u00a92021 SaratogaPhotographer.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAt most offices there is a designated place for lunch or break and an injury suffered there would be covered. At home you might trip on a rug wearing your slippers,\u201d he said. \u201cWill these claims be recognized by the comp board?\u201d
\n\u201cThere are all kinds of provisions about what to cover,\u201d Towne said. \u201cThis is a literal Pandora\u2019s box. Guidelines might be more liberally applied going forward, which means workers compensation rates will go up. But I believe in the longer term society will be better off as more of these compensation issues have been settled.\u201d
\nThere are also legal ramifications in regard to accommodating returning employees who are recovering from the virus.
\n\u201cAn employee may have some form of disability as a result of infection,\u201d Towne said. \u201cThe law requires there be a conversation about their needs and employers must make reasonable accommodations.\u201d
\nWith this particular virus affecting the lungs, a worker may have a persistent breathing condition that requires he work from home, Towne said in example.
\n\u201cEvery employee has value and employers have to protect them, so they will have to balance the needs of the recovering employee with the rest of the employees,\u201d he said.
\nHe also posed the question of how a business might handle learning that an employee coming into the workplace had been to a gathering and never wore a mask. \u201cWhen applied to a mass group of individuals, it will be challenging to deal with them on a case-by-case basis.\u201d
\nLike the businesses they represent, attorneys continue working remotely and through video conferencing, but so do the courts.
\n\u201cThe judge says to try this case over Wi-Fi, but what about third party opinions? Who will swear them in,\u201d Towne said. \u201cBut I have been impressed with witnesses and with employees dealing in this two-dimensional world of video.\u201d
\nRegarding contracts, Fuller said they are not the same from union to union or from municipality to municipality. \u201cEach case is very fact specific and context specific, but we are navigating through them.\u201d
\nEven with a blanket term like \u201cessential worker\u201d there are layers within that definition, he said. Who is deemed essential can inform the vaccine discussion, given that essential workers are further up in line to receive a vaccine.
\n\u201cWith smaller municipalities each staff member may have several roles,\u201d he said. \u201cJob classification may be more or less essential in one municipality than in another.\u201d
\nFor the private sector, Fuller said he sees a context within which business can lawfully require employees to be vaccinated, but that \u201cavailability is not broad enough at this time to drive those decisions.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t have a feel for whether a client\u2019s staff wants to or will take a vaccine,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is largely personal to people. But I believe there are legitimate issues to be cognizant of and medical and personal objections to hear.\u201d
\n\u201cIn 20 years of practice I have never seen so many nuances as this past year, but it makes our work very interesting,\u201d Fuller said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Susan Elise Campbell As businesses adjust to the unprecedented challenges of a pandemic, so do the attorneys who advise them. \u201cThere have been a whirlwind of legal issues that we never thought we would have to deal with,\u201d said James T. Towne Jr. of The Towne Law Firm PC, with offices in Saratoga Springs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":34064,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nDuring COVID Pandemic, Attorneys Face Challenges In Courts And Business Law Cases - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/02\/during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"During COVID Pandemic, Attorneys Face Challenges In Courts And Business Law Cases - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Susan Elise Campbell As businesses adjust to the unprecedented challenges of a pandemic, so do the attorneys who advise them. \u201cThere have been a whirlwind of legal issues that we never thought we would have to deal with,\u201d said James T. Towne Jr. of The Towne Law Firm PC, with offices in Saratoga Springs […]\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/02\/during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-18T16:33:17+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-19T23:14:40+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2021\/02\/covid-legal-fuller-c.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"438\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"687\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"jessewinters\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"jessewinters\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/02\/during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/02\/during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases\/\",\"name\":\"During COVID Pandemic, Attorneys Face Challenges In Courts And Business Law Cases - Glens Falls Business Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-18T16:33:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-19T23:14:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/b937a48daf87d7a8bd713a73b5d6a1ae\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/02\/during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/02\/during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/02\/during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"During COVID Pandemic, Attorneys Face Challenges In Courts And Business Law Cases\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/\",\"name\":\"Glens Falls Business Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/b937a48daf87d7a8bd713a73b5d6a1ae\",\"name\":\"jessewinters\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b496e0843f9d888b12500994b6a8562b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b496e0843f9d888b12500994b6a8562b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"jessewinters\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/author\/jessewinters\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"During COVID Pandemic, Attorneys Face Challenges In Courts And Business Law Cases - Glens Falls Business Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/02\/during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"During COVID Pandemic, Attorneys Face Challenges In Courts And Business Law Cases - Glens Falls Business Journal","og_description":"By Susan Elise Campbell As businesses adjust to the unprecedented challenges of a pandemic, so do the attorneys who advise them. \u201cThere have been a whirlwind of legal issues that we never thought we would have to deal with,\u201d said James T. Towne Jr. of The Towne Law Firm PC, with offices in Saratoga Springs […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/02\/during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases\/","og_site_name":"Glens Falls Business Journal","article_published_time":"2021-02-18T16:33:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-02-19T23:14:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":438,"height":687,"url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2021\/02\/covid-legal-fuller-c.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"jessewinters","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"jessewinters","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/02\/during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases\/","url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/02\/during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases\/","name":"During COVID Pandemic, Attorneys Face Challenges In Courts And Business Law Cases - Glens Falls Business Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-02-18T16:33:17+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-19T23:14:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/b937a48daf87d7a8bd713a73b5d6a1ae"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/02\/during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/02\/during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/02\/during-covid-pandemic-attorneys-face-challenges-in-courts-and-business-law-cases\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"During COVID Pandemic, Attorneys Face Challenges In Courts And Business Law Cases"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/","name":"Glens Falls Business Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/b937a48daf87d7a8bd713a73b5d6a1ae","name":"jessewinters","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b496e0843f9d888b12500994b6a8562b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b496e0843f9d888b12500994b6a8562b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"jessewinters"},"url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/author\/jessewinters\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34063"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/196"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34063"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34066,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34063\/revisions\/34066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}