COVID-19 Resources

The MSBA is adhering to CDC guidelines for events and in-person meetings. Unless the county where the event or meeting is being held is currently in a high rate of transmission, masks will not be required as per CDC guidelines. Specific requirements will be sent out to attendees in advance of the event. Check the CDC Covid by county tracker here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html 

If you are feeling ill or recently tested positive for Covid-19 but wish to attend an event, please also see the CDC guidelines on isolation and quarantine here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/quarantine-isolation.html

This page is updated as needed to reflect new information, orders, and advisories. If you see a professional resource related to the COVID-19 pandemic that you think we ought to post, let us know by sending the link to COVIDinfo@mnbars.org. 

Official public health information

• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 homepage.
• Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) COVID-19 homepage. 
• Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (University of Minnesota) COVID-19 homepage. 

Coronavirus-related tracker pages

•  Star Tribune’s Minnesota coronavirus tracking map, based on MDH data.
• The Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracking page is considered by many experts to be the gold standard in parsing global COVID-19 data.
• New York Times U.S. coronavirus tracking map. 
• Microsoft coronavirus-tracking map. 
• Google COVID-19 tracking map. 
• Unacast’s “Social Distancing Scoreboard” uses cell phone data to track how well the people in particular areas around the United States are conforming to social distancing guidelines. 
• The “U.S. Health Weather Map” tracks data on fever collected by 162,000 smart thermometers manufactured by a company called Kinsa. It doesn't track COVID-19 per se. See the page for further explanation.  
• The data company Safegraph has posted a geographically sortable shelter-in-place monitoring page. 

 Minnesota courts

• Minnesota Judicial Branch Emergency/COVID-19 page. (Please note: This page includes county-specific district court information.) 
• Key spring/summer 2020 orders: Minnesota State Courts Remain Open with Certain Precautions (3/13); Late Penalties, Collections Referrals, and Drivers’ License Suspensions Temporarily Stopped to Reduce Courthouse Visits (3/17); Continuing Operations of the Courts of the State of Minnesota Under a Statewide Peacetime Declaration of Emergency (3/20); Administrative Order: Continuing Operations of the Courts of the State of Minnesota Under a Statewide Peacetime Declaration of Emergency (3/23); COVID-19: Update March 26, 2020 (amending certain provisions of 3/20 order in light of Gov. Walz's EO 20-20). Administrative Order: Continuing operations of the Minnesota Judicial Branch under Emergency Executive Order 20-33 (4/9); Virtual hearings to continue as state courts extend in-person restrictions. MN Courts (5/1); Order Governing the Operations of the Minnesota Judicial Branch under Emergency Executive Order Nos. 20-53, 20-56 (5/15).  
• Key fall/winter 2020 orders: Order regarding continuing operations of the Minnesota Judicial Branch (11/20/2020); related MN Courts news release: State courts limit in-person activities in court facilities for 60 days. (11/20/2020) 

• Remote hearing resources: This MN Courts page details how litigants, attorneys, and others required to participate in a remote hearing can download the appropriate software and prepare to participate in remote court proceedings (5/4).

• 2nd Judicial District (Ramsey County) emergency orders.

• The 2nd Judicial District has posted its plan for catching up on the backlog of juvenile and family cases exacerbated by the pandemic.

• 4th Judicial District (Hennepin County) COVID-19/emergency orders.
• Other districts/counties: Find your state district court homepage here at the MN Judicial Branch website. 
• Minnesota Judicial Branch online help topics index. 
• The offices of the Board of Law Examiners (BLE), Board of Continuing Legal Education (CLE), Board of Legal Certification (BLC), and Office of Lawyer Registration (LRO) are closed to the public but remain fully staffed. CLE and LRO now accept American Express for payment through U.S. Bank. Any updates to the status of each Board will be posted to the news pages. (3/24) Current updates: CLE; BLE; BLC; LRO.  

Minnesota governor’s office and state agencies

• Spring/summer 2020 executive orders from Gov. Tim Walz.
  • Executive Order 20-20 Directing Minnesotans to Stay at Home (3/25) (PDF).
  • Excerpt: The language regarding “essential” legal services in EO 20-20. 
  • Clarifications regarding critical personnel/activities exemptions from EO 20-20 are being posted at this MN Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) page. 
  • Executive Order 20-33: Extending stay at home order and temporary closure of bars, restaurants, and other places of public accommodation (4/9) (PDF).  
  • Excerpt: The modified language regarding "essential" legal services in EO 20-33.

  • EO 20-38: Allowing for safe outdoor recreation (4/17). (PDF)

  • EO 20-56: Safely Reopening Minnesota’s Economy and Ensuring Safe Non-Work Activities during the COVID-19 Peacetime Emergency (5/14). (PDF)

• Fall/winter 2020 executive orders from Gov. Tim Walz
  • Executive Order 20-96 Restricting Social Gatherings, Celebrations, and the Hours and Operations of Bars, Restaurants, and Venues to Prevent Further Spread of COVID-19 (11/10/2020). (PDF)
  • Executive Order 20-97 Extending the COVID-19 Peacetime Emergency Declared in Executive Order 20-01 (11/12/2020). (PDF) 
  • Executive Order 20-98 Rescinding Emergency Executive Order 20-22 (11/12/2020). (PDF)
  • Executive Order 20-99 Implementing a Four Week Dial Back on Certain Activities to Slow the Spread of COVID-19 (11/18/2020). (PDF)
    
    

• Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) COVID-19 homepage
• State of Minnesota testing facilities directory page: 'If you are sick...' (created 4/24).
• Minnesota Department of Revenue COVID-19 homepage
  (including any information on tax deadline updates).
  • MSBA Tax Section Council Alert: Tax filing season impacted by COVID-19 (updated 3/23). 
• Minnesota Attorney General’s Office homepage 
  (includes COVID-19-related updates on consumer law and AG Office operations).
• Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry: Worker protections related to COVID-19. 
• Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED): 
  • COVID-19 and unemployment benefits.
  • A guide for Minnesota small businesses who need help. 
• Minnesota Management and Budget Office: COVID-19 info for state employees.

U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota

• United States District Court, District of Minnesota news & announcements page.
• Key spring/summer 2020 orders: General Order #1 (3/13/2020); General Order #2 (3/17/2020); General Order #3) (3/23); General Order #4 (3/26); General Order #5 (3/30); General Order #6 (3/31); General Order #7 (4/3);  General Order #8 (4/10); General Order #9 (4/15); General Order #10 (4/20); General Order #11 (4/22) (all links PDF). 
• Key fall/winter 2020 orders: Order No. 20 In Re: Updated Guidance to Court Operations (updates General Order No. 18) (11/04/2020); Order No. 21 In Re: Updated Guidance to Court Operations (updates General Order No. 18) (11/05/2020). 
  

U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Minnesota

• The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Minnesota has created a COVID-19 page summarizing its operations and procedures during the pandemic, covering subjects that run from access to the clerk’s office, courthouse entrance protocols, hearings & trials, procedural changes being applied during the pandemic, mortgage forbearance under the CARES Act, and more.

United States Court of Appeals for the 8th District

• 8th Circuit Court of Appeals homepage (includes coronavirus-related alerts & announcements).

Coronavirus & the law

• •  A title-by-title summary of the federal CARES Act prepared by the office of Senate Appropriations Committee vice-chair Patrick Leahy.
  • The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s COVID-19 business toolkit includes a lot of information that will be useful to law firms as well as their business clients. 
  • The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s Loans and Grants page includes links to apply for federal (U.S. Small Business Administration) and state (Department of Employment and Economic Development) forgivable loans. 
  • Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development (DEED): COVID-19 information for employers.
  • Got questions about how to tap the stimulus moneys included in the U.S. government’s $2 trillion COVID recovery package? The business news website Inc. has been posting very useful resources for small businesses on its Stimulus 2020 Q&A page, including this recorded webinar, “What you need to now to get your stimulus loan faster.” 
  • The U.S. Small Business Administration: Coronavirus Small Business Guidance and Loan Resources.
  • Best Accounting Software has published this guide to state-level small business support resources available during the COVID-19 crisis. (8/3/2020). 

   

  Law firm operations

  • Fastcase, the MSBA’s free-to-members legal research tool, has developed a COVID-19 resources page that features federal legislative and regulatory developments as well as COVID-related cases, pleadings, briefs, and motions.   
  • Notary Bulletin: Remote notarization: What you need to know.
  • Minnesota Lawyers Mutual’s 'Change in Plan' campaign offers programming and resources to help lawyers manage their practice safely and ethically while adhering to social distancing protocols. 
  • Thomson Reuters: global coronavirus toolkit. 
  • Harvard Business Review: How to keep your team motivated, remotely.

  • Clio has released The Complete Guide to Working Remotely as a Lawyer. It’s free but registration is required to download.

  • Lawyerist: Laura Briggs: How to draft a freelance attorney work agreement.
  • American Bar Association (ABA) Disaster Resources page.
  • ABA Coronavirus (COVID-19) Task Force homepage.
  • LexBlog has launched a Coronavirus Legal Daily.
  • Lexis/Nexis’s Law360 has launched a free coronavirus coverage page.
  • Above the Law’s COVID crisis BigLaw layoff tracker. 
  • LexisNexis’s Law360 platform has introduced its own regularly updated free chart showing what steps particular BigLaw firms are taking in response to the COVID crisis and the economic dislocation it’s causing.
    
    

  • Student practice rules: On 4/20/2020, the Minnesota Board of Law Examiners (BLE) filed a petition with the MN Supreme Court seeking rule amendments to the Student Practice Rules that will permit recent graduates to practice under a supervising attorney. The Board is proposing that the Court adopt these changes as a pilot with a report due July 1, 2021. The details are summarized at the BLE’s homepage and the proposed language of the amendments is here (PDF).

  • The ABA has compiled this list of solo & small firm disaster resources.

  • Law360: Tips for minimizing law firm liability during COVID-19. 

   

  Employment law

  • A number of Felhaber Larson attorneys have posted a coronavirus FAQ for employers (part 1) (part 2) as well as several subsequent entries on the coronavirus and other employment law issues at the firm’s MN Employment Law Report. 

  • The attorneys at Felhaber Larson have created The Employers’ Guide to Returning to Work During Covid-19 (part 1)  (part 2) (part 3) (5/12).

  • Video: Felhaber Larson’s webinar on reopening your business during the pandemic (5/13).

  • Corie Anderson’s Minnesota Wage and Hour blog is all about coronavirus employment issues these days.
  • Winthrop & Weinstine employment attorneys prepared these client alerts: “Employer policy considerations for COVID-19” and “Relevant considerations for banks in light of COVID-19.”
  • From Stoel Rives attorney Adam Schurle: Tax Law Update: CARES Act includes tax relief for businesses and individuals (3/27). 
  • The MSBA released a statement condemning the anti-Asian discrimination that has flared during the coronavirus pandemic. (4/8) 
  • CDC: Interim guidance for businesses and employers to plan and respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (4/8). 
  • MSBA member Linda Couch is offering this template as a model for employers in documenting COVID-related requests for employment leaves, as required by the IRS. 
  • OSHA coronavirus guidance for employers (PDF) (March 2020).
  • Law360: 7 takeaways from Labor Department’s COVID-19 paid leave rule (4/9). 
  • The employment law firm Littler released a flash survey of 900+ employers in North America that offers a snapshot of how they’re responding to COVID-19 (3/30) (PDF). 
  • Law360: Analysis: EEOC coronavirus guidance no silver bullet for ADA risks. 

  • Law360: Department of Labor issues new guidance on unemployment expansion (4/27).

  • Law360: OSHA, CDC lay out blueprint for meat plant worker safety (4/27).

  • Law360: 4 tips for complying with coronavirus benefit mandates (5/1).

   

  Other practice areas

  • The MSBA Elder Law Section has posted a page of COVID-19 resources specific to elder law.

  • MSBA Probate and Trust Section: Serving estate planning clients in the midst of COVID-19 (recorded CLE webinar, 49:55) (4/17).

  • The MSBA Tax Section Council has issued this alert: Tax filing season impacted by COVID-19 (updated 3/23).

  • The IRS Newsroom gathers all IRS communications related to COVID-19 and other matters.

  • The ABA Section of Taxation has published this page of COVID-19 tax news and information.

  • The MSBA Civil Litigation Section has prepared this summary of emergency court orders (3/25).

  • The MSBA Probate and Trust Section advisory: Practicing in the age of covid-19 (3/26).
  • National Consumer Law Center’s COVID-19 page. 
  • Student loans: U.S. Department of Education: Coronavirus and forbearance info for students, borrowers, and parents. (4/2) (PDF)
  • Frost Law (Md.): CARES Act temporarily expands streamlined small business process in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

  • The ABA Business Law Section has published this page of COVID-19 resources.

  • The ABA Section of Litigation has published this page of COVID-19 articles and resources.

  • The ABA Section of Litigation has posted an hour-long audio presentation entitled “COVID-19: Force Majeure, Impossibility, and Frustration of Purpose.” 

  • ABA: COVID-19 and Family Law Issues (5/1). 

   

  Pro bono & access to justice

  • If you’re looking for a pro bono opportunity that provides social distancing and helps low-income Minnesotans who are facing hard times, check out MN Legal Advice Online.  Lawyers provide information and basic legal advice without any expectation of long-term representation. 
  • LawHelpMN.org  provides a range of information to assist the low-income client, including a new page on coronavirus legal issues. 

  • The Twin Cities law firm of Sieben Edmunds Miller is temporarily offering free criminal-expungement services to people who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 (posted 4/28). 

  • ABA Young Lawyers Division announces national hotline for pandemic-related civil legal needs.  
  • Legal Services State Support (MN): Delivering legal services safely: COVID-19 resources and tips.

  • The ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense has compiled this page of COVID-19 resources related to access to justice.

  • The ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice has developed a multi-part webinar series exploring how the COVID-19 pandemic highlights critical legal issues of criminal justice, civil rights, human rights, and economic concerns. 

  • Want to provide COVID-19 pro bono help? Try this new portal launched by ABA and Paladin.

   

Coping & wellness resources

• Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (LCL) homepage (includes information on virtual LCL support group meetings for those who usually attend them in-person).

• Minnesota LCL has updated its roster of scheduled weekly online support group meetings (8/3/2020).

• Minnesota LCL resource listing on COVID-19 and Wellbeing (PDF).
• Minnesota LCL has posted a listing of Minnesota-based online recreational resources, from virtual tours of state parks and museums to home-gardening resource sites. (4/7)
• ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAP) COVID-19 Mental Health Resources. 
• The MSBA's SOLACE program exists to help members who are experiencing hardship or illness. Learn more about giving, and getting, help through SOLACE. 
• During this time of social distancing, self-quarantine, and adjusting to our new normal, the MSBA Council encourages members to make time to pause, reflect, refocus, and recalibrate (PDF). 
• Working at home with a spouse or partner? Find a ‘do not bother me’ spot, expert says. USA Today

• The Mindfulness in Law Society is (quoting the website) “the education and support hub for mindfulness in the legal profession, bringing together lawyers, law students, faculty, judges, and other legal professionals across the nation, and supporting their interests in mindful lawyering, yoga, and other contemplative practices.”

• The wellness site 10 Percent Happier is offering this free Coronavirus Sanity Guide.

General

• Hennepin County’s Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) page lists closures and service suspensions and includes information on processing of titles and other paperwork. 
• Ramsey County’s Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) information and resources page contains similar information.
• Hennepin County COVID-19 real estate recording information page.
• Tracking coronavirus-related legislation in Minnesota and other states. National Conference of State Legislatures
• A regularly updated listing of what's open, closed, and canceled in Minnesota. Star Tribune  
• WCCO-TV reporter Jason Derusha’s map of metro-area restaurants offering curbside pickup.

MSBA remote work resources

• MSBA remote work resources page

Remote work: tech tips and resources

• How to work from home during the coronavirus: Pro tips from the editors of PCWorld
• Free products and resources for legal professionals during coronavirus crisis. LawSitesBlog
• The essential remote work tools you need to get things done. Skillcrush
• Nicole Black: Zoom videoconferencing tips and tricks. Above the Law 
• New to working remotely? These resources can help. LinkedIn Learning Blog
• How to work from home, if you've never done it before. New York Times
• Adjusting to remote work during the coronavirus crisis. Harvard Business Review 
• Essentials for your new home office. FindLaw Technologist
• The best (free) tools for video-conferencing. FindLaw Technologist
• Six ways to keep your team productive while working from home. US Chamber of Commerce