Client Alerts

04.29.2020 | Client Alerts | Covid-19

Governor Baker Signs COVID-19 Virtual Notarization Act

Governor Baker has signed and enacted into law, An Act Providing for Virtual Notarization to Address Challenges Related to COVID-19. The Act permits Massachusetts lawyers and their paralegals, who are already Massachusetts notaries, to notarize real estate closing documents with the assistance of electronic video conferencing technology during the… Read More

04.21.2020 | Client Alerts | Covid-19

Governor Baker Signs Moratorium for Evictions and Foreclosures in Massachusetts

Governor Baker has just signed and enacted into law a Moratorium for Evictions and Foreclosures in Massachusetts. The law impacts both residential and specific commercial properties, and has several key parts. First, it provides that a landlord or owner of a residential dwelling unit shall not, for the purposes of… Read More

04.07.2020 | Client Alerts | Covid-19

Legislation Seeks to Force Insurers to Cover COVID-19 Business Interruption Losses

Massachusetts Senator James B. Eldridge recently filed Massachusetts Senate Bill 2888, “An Act Concerning Business Interruption Insurance.”  If enacted, the proposed legislation decrees that every policy of insurance insuring against loss or damage to property which includes the loss of use and occupancy and business interruption shall be construed to… Read More

04.06.2020 | Client Alerts | Covid-19

State Authority and Municipality Deadlines Extended at Least 45 Days After State of Emergency Ends

On April 3, 2020, Governor Charlie Baker signed an emergency bill into law aimed at addressing the logistical challenges COVID-19 has forced municipalities and state authorities to face. Specifically, the bill extends certain deadlines for applicants to municipalities and state authorities for at least 45 days after the state of… Read More

04.03.2020 | Client Alerts | Covid-19

Carpenters Union Orders All Members to Cease Working Effective April 6, 2020

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, through its North Atlantic Regional Counsel, has issued a directive that effective Monday, April 6, 2020, all its members are “to cease working until it is safe to do so.” The directive does not apply to any health facilities being built… Read More

04.03.2020 | Client Alerts | Covid-19 | In The News

Lenders to start accepting PPP applications

The attorneys at Bernkopf Goodman are committed to guiding our clients through this uncertain time. We have spent the time to read the 880-page stimulus act in order to best advise our clients. The Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), a key component to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act… Read More

04.01.2020 | Client Alerts | Covid-19

Governor Baker Reduces List of Essential Construction-Related Services

During last Thursday’s webinar, COVID-19’s Impact on the Massachusetts Construction Industry, Bernkopf Goodman LLP attorneys Peter McGlynn and Bob Stetson reported on Governor Charlie Baker’s Emergency Order dated March 23,2020, closing non-essential businesses until April 7,2020. The Emergency Order included a list of “Essential Services” that contained a general… Read More