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Law360 (April 1, 2020, 11:04 AM EDT) --
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| William Poplin |
Today's perspective comes from William "Robbie" Poplin, an Atlanta-based partner on the construction and infrastructure team, as well as the international arbitration team, at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.
What challenges has the pandemic created in your specific area of work?
With respect to corporate clients in general, the main focus has been upon analyzing and understanding governmental mandates/requirements as well as contractual rights/responsibilities, insurance coverage issues, workforce issues, and access to capital.
With respect to dispute resolution proceedings, the main focus has been upon seeking to maintain a reasonable schedule with appropriate accommodations where necessary, heightened use of technology platforms and, in the case of international matters, managing the communication channels in a manner that accounts for stress points in client operating systems and the dictates of arbitral administrators/tribunals.
How are you and your family adapting at home?
While some adjustments and accommodations have been required, the available technology platforms have made working at home when necessary efficient and productive.
As a family spending more time together than is customary, we committed to several external projects, principally consisting of hosting GoFundMe campaigns for the employees of our favorite restaurants who are so materially impacted in the current situation.
Deploying and implementing these campaigns has been a real bonding experience and the results have been phenomenal. More important, we have been able, as a family, to really make a difference in the lives of others and put the entire situation in a better focus.
What is the most creative or productive response to the crisis you've witnessed so far?
In order to generate revenue and maintain its employees, virtually every business has been forced to be creative and flexible in the manner in which they endeavor to continue to operate. That creativity and flexibility has manifested itself in a variety of ways, some indigenous to the industries and sectors in which they operate.
Personally, witnessing legendary restaurants — in which dine-in reservations heretofore required enormous lead time and any notion of a take-out or delivery arrangement was unimaginable — not only be humbled but altogether transform to take-out and delivery models (often with curbside pick-up) has been fascinating.
In the legal industry, I was fascinated to find a local lawyer who chartered a helicopter in order to attend a client meeting in person when the technology his firm had invested substantial resources in failed and he never would have made it via automobile.
The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm, its clients, or Portfolio Media Inc., or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.
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