March 21, 2020
Governor Lamont’s Executive Order: Legal Services are Essential

On March 20, 2020, Governor Lamont issued Executive Order 7H, which severely restricts the presence of staff at non-essential workplaces. The order explicitly recognizes that the provision of legal services is essential, and thus those services will not be subject to the workforce restrictions.

The order will go into effect at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, March 23, and will remain in effect through April 22 unless earlier modified or extended by the Governor.

No later than 8:00 p.m. on March 22, the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) shall issue lawfully binding guidance about which businesses are essential and thus not subject to the in-person workforce restrictions. The order states that those businesses shall include, but not be limited to, the 16 critical infrastructures as defined by the Department of Homeland Security.

The order further sets out a long list of other services, such as banking and insurance, that shall not be subject to the in-person workforce restrictions. As noted above, that list recognizes that legal services are essential and thus not subject to the restrictions.

Once the DECD guidance is released, we will provide you with further information concerning the ramifications of this Executive Order.

CATIC is open for business and ready to help.
Please let us know how we can assist you.

Please continue to check out our dedicated webpage for COVID-19 information and guidance, on a regular basis. We will be updating the material as we learn of new developments.