< PreviousC oronavirus disease 2019 (CO- VID-19) – nothing could be more topical. Everyone has been writing about COVID-19 for months since there is little other news. No sports events to recap. No concerts or plays to critique. No craft brewery or restaurant experiences to review. No celebrity hook-up/spit- up drama to report. But hey - we are magazine columnists and obliged to fill the page each month, so here are our musings about intellectual prop- erty and COVID-19. By the time you read this, the status of everything may have changed – that’s the danger of trying to write about current events in a monthly column. TRADEMARKS Americans have never had a short- age of bad ideas, and our federal trade- mark filings often serve as an early warning system of our idiocy, based on news-of-the-day and pop culture. For instance, 44 U.S. trademark ap- plications were filed for the term COVFEFE since Donald Trump’s cu- rious and aborted Tweet shortly after midnight on May 31, 2017. None of those applications became registra- tions and only five remain pending including (of course) one for the Pandemic IP Panic Z. PETER SAWICKI AND JAMES L. YOUNG | Intellectual Property Z. PETER SAWICKIJAMES L. YOUNG Mr. Sawicki and Mr. Young are shareholders at Westman, Champlin & Koehler. Pete and Jim both have over 30 years of experience obtaining, licensing, evaluating and enforcing pat- ents. Each has also developed an extensive practice regarding the clearance, registration, licensing and enforcement of trademarks. They work closely with clients to understand their values and business plans and provide customized and effective strategies for intel- lectual property asset procurement, growth, management and protection. To contact Z. Peter Sawicki, call (612) 330-0581 or call James L. Young at (612) 330-0495. Please email them directly at either psawicki@wck.com or jyoung@wck.com. term COVFEFE-19 filed March 23, 2020 (for clothing) by a New Jersey resident. Since February 1, 2020, over 200 U.S. trademark applications have been filed based on the terms COVID, CORONAVIRUS and PANDEMIC, for all sorts of products and services. We must admit that we are involved in a couple of these. Many legal pun- dits opine that these terms will be considered as descriptive or generic by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). We agree. Such applica- tions for T-shirts are stupid, and in- clude COVIDiot, #CORONAVIRUS and PANDEMIC COUTURE. None Suddenly, the “secure” corporate office network now includes branches that lead to all sorts of “secure” home office networks (and just as suddenly, the most “essential” employee at any company became its network administrator).” ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · MINNESOTA · VOL. 9 NO. 6 10of these will effectively serve as a T- shirt source identifier – the funda- mental purpose of a trademark. Other applications seem more legitimate (at least in part), such as COVID-STAT for diagnostic test kits. We’ll see if any of these applications survive exami- nation by the USPTO. PATENTS Many claim to be filing new patent applications for devices, machines, tests or treatments for COVID-19. Again, we must admit some involve- ment in that activity. Worldwide, many patent offices suspended operations to help flatten the curve. The USPTO did not do so, but did extend the time to take certain actions – if accompanied by a state- ment that the delay was “due to the COVID-19 outbreak.” Such a delay was triggered when an applicant, pat- ent owner, inventor or patent attorney was “personally affected by the CO- VID-19 outbreak” (while considering factors like office closures, cash flow interruptions, travel delays or even … duh, illness). Many have been trying to avoid making such a statement as it may provide some lawyer (ten years from now) one more line of question- ing to explore while trying to invali- date the patent under scrutiny. A patent owner has the right to ex- clude others from using the patented invention. It’s a personal right. Can you see the tension here when those private rights come up against the need for serving the public good in the face of a pandemic? Numerous proposals have been floated about how to access private patent rights in our collective battle against COVID-19. Compul- sory licensing, government taking and “The Open COVID Pledge” for licensing are just some of those pro- posals. For the most part, we believe such access will happen organically, at least for patent owners that aren’t merely patent trolls. No one wants to be the company that sued someone for patent infringement because the alleged infringer’s actions were going to save lives from COVID-19. That would lead to a public relations and social media firestorm. COPYRIGHTS Stay-at-home orders mean that ev- eryone is on-line, all the time. Schools at all levels moved to a 100% distance learning model. Librarians, astro- nauts and Michelle Obama all held virtual story times. Places of worship used livestreaming to stay connected to worshippers. Online fitness ses- sions (backed by music) were there to get us off the couch. All of this raises some interesting copyright is- sues where teaching materials, books, images and music may have been licensed for in-person use/perfor- mance, but the online distribution of those works exceed those licenses. Anecdotally, we’ve heard that such li- censors have generally and graciously allowed these expanded uses (at least for now). Again – we believe in good human nature, but we’ll see where all this goes when we land on our “new normal” way of doing things. TRADE SECRETS Stay-at-home meant work-from- home for many in the corporate world. Those affected are the folks who routinely handle and commu- nicate about a company’s most sensi- tive information like financials, mar- ket plans, customer lists and pricing. Suddenly, the “secure” corporate of- fice network now includes branches that lead to all sorts of “secure” home office networks (and just as suddenly, the most “essential” employee at any company became its network admin- istrator). Time will tell what all this means in the world of trade secrets protection. Stay tuned …. AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 11I’ ve always loved history. U.S. history in particular, and Minnesota history especially. The story of our great state is fascinating, whether of its Native American heritage, industrial development, urbanization, arts and culture, wilderness preservation, sports, or politics. I truly enjoy discovering, exploring and experiencing it. As some proof of my passion, my wedding ceremony was held in the atrium of the beautiful Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. And now I find myself living a historical moment with the COVID-19 pandemic, and a new challenge exploding as I write in the wake of the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis— certainly not the history I would have wished for. Having worked in Minnesota’s legal and corporate community since 1989, I’m also a student of the state’s business history. From our early beginnings in agriculture, milling, railroads and medicine, we evolved to engineering, computing, banking, food, retail, healthcare and tech- nology. Our roster of famous inventions is impressive (among them Spam, the snowblower, the pacemaker, the supercomputer, and Post-it Notes), and our list of notable corporations is extensive, including 16 in the current Fortune 500. Many of our early companies were founded with a strong organizational purpose and a mis- sion larger than simply products and services. This sense of service and public spirit came to define our most iconic companies, as they emphasized not just the bottom line but also the common good. A nice example of this is the Five Percent Club begun in the mid-1970s to promote corporate philanthropy; now known as the Keystone Club, the coalition of companies donating a percentage of profits to charity is still going strong and symbolizes generosity and civic purpose. I believe that this purpose-driven approach will serve our Minnesota companies well during the pandemic. Under extremely difficult operating conditions, they can use their higher call- ing to anchor themselves and inspire their stakeholders while also attending to new urgencies and business problems. This is what we are striving to do at U.S. Bank, where our purpose is to “invest our hearts and minds to power human potential.” The public health crisis quickly became an economic crisis too, and banking has been deemed an essential service because people still need to conduct their financial lives even during a pandemic. In response, we’ve modified branch operations, enhanced digital banking capabilities, adjusted money movement services, employed consumer relief programs, and of- fered funding through CARES Act initiatives such as the Paycheck Protection Program. U.S. Bank also committed $30 million to COVID-19 relief efforts in the places where we live and I believe that this purpose- driven approach will serve our Minnesota companies well during the pandemic. “ ” WE MUST MANAGE AND LEAD BY JAMES L. CHOSY ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · MINNESOTA · VOL. 9 NO. 6 12work. In these ways, we’re fulfilling our purpose and car- rying forward banks’ historic legacy of serving as corner- stones of the communities they serve. The U.S. Bank Law Division too has stayed focused on its purpose of guiding our clients to remarkable results with expert counsel. Our lawyers have risen to the occa- sion by not only continuing to meet the everyday legal needs of the company, but by tackling various new pan- demic-specific challenges. These have included addressing employee health and safety, implementing the emergency government funding programs, advising on consumer forbearance measures, assisting newly distressed com- mercial borrowers, reinforcing the importance of ethical conduct, and supporting our board of directors in meet- ing its oversight responsibilities. Fortunately, we corporate lawyers are good at creative problem-solving—exactly what’s needed right now. The pandemic has brought change not only in the legal work we do, but to where and how we do it. We’re adapting to working from home and to engaging virtually without any in-person contact. It’s been an adjustment, but we’re managing well as most lawyers can operate from pretty much anywhere armed with only a phone and a computer. We’re also emphasizing our Law Division programs focused on lawyer well-being, diversity, equity and inclu- sion, and pro bono. The physical and mental well-being of our lawyers is paramount, so they can perform optimally despite long hours, new stresses and feelings of isolation. To this end, we’re leveraging our newer well-being pro- gram, launched following the American Bar Association’s recent call to action to address mental health and well- being in the broader legal profession. Diversity remains critical; we need di- versity of perspective within our own ranks and in our outside law firms to ensure we’re bringing the best intelligences to our work. The pandemic has dramatically in- creased the need for pro bono legal servic- es in our communi- ties, and our lawyers have been volunteer- ing virtually with le- gal clinics and other aid organizations. Amid the uncer- tainty, all of us in the Law Division are needing to show strength not only as managers but also as leaders. Managers handle workflow and find solutions, while leaders think ahead to what’s next. We must be and do both, no matter our position, to allow us to learn our way forward under the difficult circumstances and with no road map. At U.S. Bank, we’ll continue to rely on our fundamen- tal purpose to guide our actions during these challenging times. This purpose-driven approach and sense of com- munity has served great Minnesota companies well over time and through all kinds of business conditions. I be- lieve that such history will repeat itself as we face this mo- ment. JIM CHOSY IS SENIOR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND GENER- AL COUNSEL OF U.S. BANCORP, THE PARENT COMPANY OF U.S. BANK, THE FIFTH LARGEST COMMERCIAL BANK IN THE UNITED STATES. CHOSY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL ASPECTS OF THE COM- PANY’S LEGAL AFFAIRS. D AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 13 Helping You Get Back to Work (in the office & remote) www.loffler.com 952.925.6800 TEMPERATURE SCREENING SOLUTIONS REMOTE WORK ENABLEMENTIn recent days, it seems like every webinar, article, and technology-related post has something to do with the techno- logical impact of COVID-19—and with good reason. With remote work environments posing new threats, cybercriminals taking advantage of already vulnerable people with COVID-related phishing scams, and the operational difficulties associated with keeping business and organiza- tions afloat from afar, the topics of consideration are far-reaching. How- ever, as we continue to cope with this pandemic and manage our new “nor- mal”, it is important to not allow cy- ber fatigue to creep into our routines. Just as we should continue to dili- gently wash our hands, wear masks, and avoid large gatherings, we should make sure to maintain best security practices while working outside of the physical office. The primary technical challenge brought about by an increased reli- ance on remote work is ensuring that employees can securely and efficiently access organizational networks. Mov- ing away from our physical work- spaces opens up a greater number of vulnerabilities for potential cyber at- tackers and puts organizations at risk. A diminished ability to control and manage employee cyber habits con- founds the issue and highlights the two-sided human element of security. The human element of security is essentially the “make it or break it” factor when it comes to creating a strong security posture in the face of constantly evolving threats. Through- out the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber attackers have been taking advantage of these already fearful times by capi- talizing on widespread unemploy- ment, uncertainty, and the fact that so many are working from home. The May 19th Federal Trade Commis- sion’s COVID-19 Complaints report states that there have been 49,989 scam reports since January, and $36.68 million in total losses to con- sumers. Communication tools that many utilize during this time, such as Zoom and online classrooms, are be- ing targeted as well. Combined with the typical slew of threats we face in our digital landscape, remote employ- ees have to contend with a barrage of pandemic-related attacks that often exploit human vulnerabilities rather than technological ones. Training employees on best securi- ty practices while working from home is crucial in addition to providing a clear and effective way for communi- cating security concerns and report- ing incidents. Best practices include but are not limited to using VPNS, multi-factor authentication, avoid- ing public WiFi, securing endpoints, strong passwords, email encryption, updating software when necessary and using only approved technologies and devices while working remotely. Recognizing phishing scams and be- ing trained to avoid clicking on links are also critical factors, as well as communicating how and when cer- tain types of information will be re- ceived and sent. The general advice to “slow down” helps to mitigate the risk that employees will act quickly to ful- fill any requests contained in phishing emails or scams, as they often urge victims to act quickly, and will seek out appropriate parties to confirm the legitimacy of digital communications. Remaining vigilant in our cyber- security practices during this time is challenging when we are trying to maintain normalcy in the face of so much uncertainty. However, devel- oping and strengthening cultures of security will only make normal or- ganizational operations that much more possible. Acknowledging the human element of security, and the new threats we face as the result of COVID-19, is critical as we continue to work remotely. MARK LANTERMAN IS THE CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OF- FICER OF COMPUTER FO- RENSIC SERVICES. BEFORE ENTERING THE PRIVATE SEC- TOR, MARK WAS A MEMBER OF THE U.S. SECRET SERVICE ELECTRONIC CRIMES TASKFORCE. MARK HAS 28 YEARS OF SECURITY AND FORENSIC EXPERIENCE AND HAS TESTIFIED IN OVER 2000 CAS- ES. MARK IS FACULTY FOR THE FEDERAL JUDICIAL CENTER IN WASHINGTON, D.C., THE MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW SCHOOL AND IS A PROFESSOR IN THE CYBERSE- CURITY PROGRAM AT THE ST. THOMAS SCHOOL OF LAW. MARK COMPLETED HIS POSTGRAD STUDIES IN CYBERSECURITY AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY AND IS CERTI- FIED AS A SEIZED COMPUTER EVIDENCE RECOVERY SPECIALIST (SCERS) BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. The Digital Challenges of COVID-19 BY MARK LANTERMAN “Training employees on best security practices while working from home is crucial in addition to providing a clear and effective way for communicating security concerns and reporting incidents.” AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 15In 1992, the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team earned the nickname, the “Dream Team.” Described as the greatest sports team ever assembled, they defeated op- ponents by an average of 44 points. What was so different about this team? Many versions of the Dream Team’s story point to a number of different factors. What stands out to me is the team’s composition of pro- fessional ball players, when histori- cally Olympic teams were comprised of amateur players. These were ball players at the top of their professional game. They had the ability to move quickly, anticipate plays, and outper- form any opponent. Business operations and corporate strategy, however, are nothing like basketball. The Dream Team played with an agreed-upon set of rules, structure, boundaries, game clock, and one simple objective—to put a rubber ball in a basket more times than their opponents. Winning a bas- ketball game requires a finite skill set. In contrast, law firm leaders pursue hundreds of objectives, monitor a myriad of metrics, and utilize strate- gic plans to focus on primary goals— often not knowing for years if these core directional choices helped or harmed the firm. Olympic teams uti- lize weathered playbooks. There was no playbook for legal services’ reac- tion to COVID-19. The coaches who constructed the Olympic Dream Team focused on a narrow skill set. COOs must build their own teams with diverse exper- tise and wide-rang- Dream Team: The Multifaceted C-Suite That Guides Robins Kaplan Through COVID-19 and Beyond SHONETTE GASTON | Leadership Shonette Gaston joined Robins Kaplan LLP as chief operating officer in 2017. As COO, she leads the business man- agement of Robins Kaplan and oversees the daily operations of eight offices with over 250 attorneys across the country. She participates as a key strategic partner with the firm’s Executive Board and works closely with senior leadership and department chairs, advising on the constantly evolving legal market and the firm’s continued growth. Shonette directs a team of accomplished business professionals responsible for finance, technology, marketing, tal- ent and diversity, pricing, legal project management, firm strategy, and other business functions of the firm. ing experience. A flood of research proves that teams with heterogeneous backgrounds are smarter, challenge each other’s assumptions, and drive innovation. I’ve seen these benefits play out in the various roles I’ve held in major law firms over 25 years. I am fortunate to have worked with several great leaders and strive to emulate the best in them when building and lead- ing a team that embodies strength, agility, and diversity. Our Chief Business Intelligence Officer holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and leads our group of spe- cialized experts and consultants, in- cluding forensic and economic con- sultants, engineers and scientists, and our talented eDiscovery team. Our Chief Talent and Diversity Officer led a nonprofit during graduate school and worked as a tax lawyer for eight years before making the leap to law firm operations. Our CFO is a former leader in healthcare accounting. Our Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer started in journalism, then managed the firm’s trial consulting department for over a decade, and also spent four years moonlighting in law enforce- ment. Our Chief Information and Technology Officer is the closest ex- ample we have of following a tradi- tional career path, spending a dozen years at an AmLaw 50 firm before honing his skills as CIO for a Midwest firm, then coming to Robins Kaplan. Through the sum of these experienc- es, knowledge, and talent, our team is able to draw upon its depth, face un- precedented challenges, and win. Our team officially started prepar- ing for the unexpected on March 2. On March 9, we began concrete dis- cussions about working remotely as a proactive measure and how to pre- pare for that transition. On March 12, we began the mass remote exodus. Anyone who currently works for or has ever worked in a law firm knows how unfathomable it is to move to completely remote operations in the blink of an eye. Sure, remote work has been around for many, many years— it’s the norm for some workers glob- ally. The majority of law firms are ad- ept at having their lawyers and senior leadership work remotely. Lawyers do it well and are self-sufficient, ef- fective road warriors. We all work in airplanes, hotels, and from the occa- sional beach chair. However, moving non-lawyer professional staff out of the office is a different story and re- quires significant change. The Great Recession spawned a more-for-less mindset. Corporate clients drove law firm efficiency, alter- native fee arrangements, IT security, and expense predictability—but the Big Law business model remained mostly unchanged. Our operations team and executive board champi- oned initiatives in recent years that made our move to remote work easy. For example, our Chief Innovation & “The most valuable currency in our team, and in our relationships with clients, is trust.” ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · MINNESOTA · VOL. 9 NO. 6 16Technology Officer made the decision to adopt Zoom firm-wide just months before COVID-19 made Zoom a household name. And our Chief Talent & Diversity Officer has been working closely with our legal project management and professional devel- opment teams to emphasize cross-of- fice case staffing and develop metrics that help us quickly determine when someone has excess capacity so we can efficiently staff cases in a way that maximizes value to our clients. When our team sat down the week of March 9 to talk about how to pro- tect our firm members and clients by supporting remote work for the entire firm, it was an impressive operation. Each team member brought some- thing unique to the table, and it wasn’t necessarily based on the function of the team they oversee. They relied on their experience in and outside the firm, their intuition, and their passion for helping the firm succeed. We op- erated seamlessly in a crisis situation, with team members moving in and out of my office all day long to pro- vide updates and suggestions before reconvening with other members of their departments to execute on the next step of the plan. We all trusted each other to deliver what we prom- ised, and to be honest in providing feedback about what would work and where we saw challenges. As a result, we were able to transition the firm using a clear, firm-wide strategy and openly share what to expect with our firm members. Like our peers and corporations around the world, we now face a re- evaluation of commercial real estate needs, an assessment of our expense posture, and impact analysis on cli- ent pricing. As uncertain as these times are, it’s exciting to consider how operations, talent retention, and technology will evolve. We have al- ready discovered new ways to more efficiently and effectively serve our clients using technology, which is an opportunity we can’t pass up. Moving to an all-digital proforma manage- ment system has been one of the most impactful implementations this year and helps ensure timely, accurate in- voices. Other changes in finance and accounting like payment portals or electronic-payment policies enable more professional staff to remain pro- ductive outside of the office. Our team expects the disruptions caused by COVID-19 to reverberate long after the pandemic crisis passes, and so we continue to seek out new, long-term solutions. We exist to serve clients, so have remained laser focused on cut- ting through the pain and economic shockwaves we are experiencing to create value for our clients. In early March, our Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer focused our teams on providing valuable guidance and resources to our clients through the firm’s website. With general counsel and business owners inun- dated with emails and news reports, we worked diligently to organize re- sources on our website and ensure the highest search-engine ranking so clients could find answers quickly. For example, a focus of our content cura- tion included information for retail tenants asserting lease rights when stores were closed, and insurance cov- erage and antitrust considerations re- lated to the pandemic. We also created an internal work product sharing site for our lawyers to find answers other attorneys at the firm had provided to other similarly situated clients. This allowed us to respond to client ques- tions as quickly and as cost-effectively as possible. More information than ever before is available publicly. Online databas- es, such as the one created by Stan- ford Law School for COVID-19, and external intelligence and technology solutions have made knowledge shar- ing more efficient and powerful. This will make it challenging for law firms to differentiate themselves through work product alone. As a result, we believe our firm’s historic and contin- ued dedication to developing the next generation of trial lawyers and leaders will be our strongest differentiator in the future. I want to close with my reinforced conviction that the most valuable currency in our team, and in our re- lationships with clients, is trust. Our diverse group of leaders solves prob- lems and leads through challenges by bringing to bear their disparate views, experiences, strategies, and priorities. It’s magical to see the respect for each viewpoint, and then consensus and solidification of action plans through iterative improvement. This solidar- ity is only possible through the trust we have for each other. Likewise, the success of the firm and the solutions we’ve been able to achieve with our clients in the wake of COVID-19 are the result of the endurance of client relationships forged long before 2020. This confidence, belief, and trust had to come quickly for members of the Olympic Dream Team and couldn’t be forged in the big game. In legal ser- vices and in any relationship, it must be earned, often through time and taking action. Mark Bradley Chief Innovation & Technology Officer Shelley Gilliss Chief Business Intelligence Officer Daniel Owen Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer Thomas Schwartz Chief Financial Officer Chandra Kilgriff Chief Talent & Diversity Officer AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 17C hurches and other places of worship are having to make dif- ficult decisions as they decide when and how they will reopen for in- person worship and, eventually, other activities and programs. We all want to again be together in our faith com- munities but need to keep in mind COVID-19 remains a serious threat and the disease is easily spread among people who are close to each other. Our places of worship need to take protective measures to reduce the risk of spreading the disease within our faith communities, primarily for the obvious ethical and moral reasons but also to reduce the risk of legal liability. We strongly recommend Churches and other places of worship carefully consider how they will reopen and document their plan for reducing the risk of spreading COVID-19 through a written (and followed!) COVID-19 Preparedness Plan. At a minimum, the Plan should state: • the place of worship’s planned schedule for reopening different aspects of its worship, ministries, and programs, • making clear the schedule is sub- ject to change if conditions war- rant or additional legal restric- tions are imposed, • outline protective actions the place of worship will take to re- duce the risk of spreading COVID-19 through its ac- tivities, • Identify persons re- sponsible for “Reopening” Churches – Balancing Rewards and Risks JAMES E. SNOXELL | Nonprofit Law Attorney James Snoxell is Director, Officer and Shareholder at the Maple Grove, Minnesota based law firm, Henning- son & Snoxell, LTD. As chair of the Business Law and Nonprofit Organizations Department, James works primarily with the firm’s business and nonprofit clients by advising about business and corporate law issues. implementing the Plan, • ways to get further information about COVID-19 and what the risks are, and • make clear there is a risk of CO- VID-19 spreading among par- ticipants in worship and other activities participants are assum- ing that risk. The Plan should be communicated to all those who participate in the faith community’s worship and activi- ties by all appropriate means such as email, US mail, posting on the faith community’s website and including in emailed or mailed newsletters, and posting at the place of worship. Also, give notice of changes in the Plan as they are made. Churches and other faith com- munities will want to do what they can to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading through their worship and activities. These efforts will probably revolve around maintaining “social distancing”, pre-screening, and clean- ing and sanitizing surfaces. Social distancing, of course, is the notion of people staying at least six feet apart. This separation can be en- forced in worship by measures like blocking off every-other row in the Sanctuary or auditorium and leaving such distance within a row between families reminding attendees, which can be encouraged and enforcing through in-worship reminders and with the help of ushers and commu- nity leaders. Limiting attendance to accommodate social distancing may be necessary and can be done by re- quiring pre-registration to keep at- tendance low enough to allow proper social distancing. Places of worship should also post- pone resuming before and after wor- ship programs, childcare, education, fellowship time and the like until CO- VID-19 is under much better control and CDC and the Minnesota Depart- ment of Health loosen their restric- tions on such activities. Remember Churches and other places of worship can continue their “online” presence, so accommodating social distancing does not need to keep people from worshiping with their faith commu- nity. Advisable “housekeeping” mea- sures presumably will include regu- larly disinfecting armrests, backs of seats or pews, door handles, rest- rooms, tables, and countertops, and other such places. Churches may also consider requiring worshipers to wear masks and gloves. Masks and gloves should be made available even if their use is not required. When announcing the resump- tion of worship or other programs Churches seemingly should clearly state that anyone who is feeling ill, has any symptoms associated with CO- VID-19, or has been around someone who has or may have been, exposed to COVID-19, should not attend. Some places of worship we know of are considering screening people as they come to worship by taking temperatures and watching for signs of Covid-19. Such screening may seem contrary to a place of worship’s desire to welcome all, but current cir- cumstances are making people more aware of the need to protect against the spread of the virus so such screen- ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · MINNESOTA · VOL. 9 NO. 6 18ing may not be offensive as the con- cept might seem at first impression. While perhaps less obvious, Churches should consider remind- ing people who are elderly or have medical issues that they presumably are at higher risk and should seriously consider participating only through the on-line program. The same point should be considered in connection with young children, not because they are unwelcome but since they may not be able to grasp the need for social distancing, not touching others and covering their coughs and sneezes, and they can be impulsive increas- ing the risk of not following the an- nounced protective rules. Additional recommendations in- clude reminding people not to con- gregate in close proximity outside of the Church and not to form groups standing in the street or Church park- ing lot Without after-worship fellow- ship, there may be a tendency for people to gather in groups and being both too close together and standing where cars will be moving, so watch- ing for and reminding people about these risks seems advisable. Churches and other places of wor- ship should monitor and adhere to the relevant directives and guidance from local, state, and federal au- thorities related to COVID-19. These guidelines may be found in a variety of places, including but not limited to, the following: A. Centers for Disease Control rec- ommendations for Faith-Based Organizations located at https:// www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019- ncov/community/organizations/ index.html B. “Maintaining Healthy Business Operations” for additional guid- ance located at https://www.cdc. gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/ community/guidance-business- response.html C. Minnesota Department of Labor has a great page with a variety of guidance for specific organi- zations located at https://www. dli.mn.gov/business/workplace- safety-and-health/mnosha-com- pliance-novel-coronavirus-cov- id-19. D. OSHA guidance located at https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/co- vid-19/ Plans should be updated as these agencies offer new guidance and change their recommendations. We have been asked about Church- es or other faith communities requir- ing a written waiver and release of liability for its in-person activities, including worship services. There are obvious concerns about taking this action, especially since such waivers and releases must clearly and unam- biguously identify the involved risks, including, among others, the poten- tial exposure to COVID-19, and there are practical challenges associated with obtaining binding releases and waivers from or for children. Some places of worship may be more comfortable with what we are calling an “assumption of risk” ap- proach. Faith communities seemingly should make clear that its protective measures are meant to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading among those participating in worship or other ac- tivities but does not ensure the vi- rus is not present in and around the Church. Simply put, the risk of infec- tion still exists no matter how many protective measures are taken. Places of worship should consider stating that anyone participating in wor- ship or any other activities assumes the risk of COVID-19 infection. As- sumption of risk, like waivers of li- ability, require clearly identifying the risks, including potential exposure to COVID-19, and state participa- tion means participants accept that risk. Such measures do not ensure a Church or other place of worship will have no liability for the spread of the virus through any of its activities, but both put people on notice that the risk of infection exists and they can choose not to attend. Such warnings should be included online, in mailed or mailed announcements, and at the place of worship or other activity. We do not know if Courts will ac- cept liability waivers and releases or apply the assumption of risk con- cepts in our current circumstances. COVID-19 is a new challenge and principles of public policy may over- ride the legal basis for liability waiv- ers and releases and assumptions of risk. Nonetheless, these may be useful tools that potentially might help pro- tect Churches against possible future claims of liability. Please keep in mind the foregoing observations are subject to change, and the practical and legal aspects of COVID-19 will change with time. This article is provided for general information only and does not con- stitute medical or legal advice and should not be relied on by itself and/ or without consultation with a read- er’s professional advisors. These rec- ommendations are subject to change, as this continues to be a changing and evolving area of the law. This article is meant to be informational only and does not create an attorney-client privilege, and readers are encouraged to consult their legal counsel for ad- vice about the risks and possible pro- tective measures related to “reopen- ing” faith communities for worship and other activities. “ “Places of worship should also postpone resuming before and after worship programs, childcare, education, fellowship time…until COVID-19 is under much better control.” AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 19Next >