Orlando Regional Chamber Executive Vice President John Davis hosts BakerHostetler Partners Jim Etscorn and Kevin Shaughnessy for a discussion on managing and minimizing liability risks associated with COVID-19 in the workplace.
The Orlando Economic Partnership’s top priority is to keep the business community informed and prepared and help individuals and organizations obtain the needed resources currently available as we all navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Responding to COVID-19 Webinar Series: Business Liability When Reopening is installment 12 of a series of webinars focused on sharing guidance on how best to respond to the realities of COVID-19.
In this webinar, Orlando Regional Chamber Executive Vice President John Davis hosted BakerHostetler Partners Jim Etscorn and Kevin Shaughnessy for an engaging discussion on how businesses can manage and minimize the liability risks associated with COVID-19 and returning to the workplace.
Attendees were walked-through a “Return to Work” toolkit, gaining insight on general reopening planning and practices. Topics covered included potential benefits issues now and in the future, in-office safety protocols including personal protective gear and other office considerations as well as sick policies and leave, commercial relationships, customer payment issues or bankruptcy, information governance transition and cybersecurity.
Guest Speakers
James V. Etscorn
Partner, BakerHostetler
Jim Etscorn is a skilled trial lawyer who has been recognized for his commercial litigation experience and his aggressive defense of product manufacturers and business entities in product liability litigation. Jim has successfully represented clients in complex business litigation involving business torts, breach of contract actions, copyright and trade secret cases, and health care disputes. He is trusted for his sound judgment in advising corporate clients involved in crisis situations and catastrophic matters. Jim’s product liability experience includes the handling of numerous wrongful death cases stemming from product defects, chemical and carbon monoxide exposures, swimming pool entrapments, explosions and cases involving exposure to Legionella. He also helps clients design and implement product warnings, and routinely represents clients before the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in product recall matters.
Jim is the managing partner of BakerHostetler’s Orlando office, where he is responsible for the management and professional development of more than 100 attorneys and staff. Jim was elected as a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America© since 2010. He is the former leader of the firm’s national Product Liability team, continues to lecture on product liability matters and has presented on the topic of swimming pool accident prevention at the World Aquatic Health Conference.
Kevin W. Shaughnessy
Partner, BakerHostetler
Kevin Shaughnessy is a class action litigator who provides high-level consultation to employers on sensitive internal matters and corporate compliance issues. Working primarily with general counsel, C-level executives and human resources professionals, he helps clients avoid the potential negative impact of bet-the-company litigation while concomitantly helping to create and preserve productive working environments. Kevin focuses on each client’s specific needs and develops unique strategies to place his clients in the best light, legally and publicly, while handling litigation and non-litigation matters efficiently and effectively. Clients seek Kevin’s counsel on business and legal issues due to his understanding of corporate missions and operations, and his appreciation of the personal and professional challenges clients face every day.
Kevin is board certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Florida Bar. He is ranked by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, is named in The Best Lawyers in America© and was recently named by Best Lawyers in America as 2017 Lawyer of the Year Orlando, Litigation – Labor and Employment, and is also ranked by The Legal 500 in Labor and Employment Law