Events & Speaking Engagements

Dykema, MICHauto and The Right Place recently surveyed automotive industry businesses and professionals to better understand the challenges they are facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this webinar program, professionals from these organizations will review these survey results in detail, highlighting the pandemic impact and discussing how COVID-19 will shape the future of the automotive industry. Topics to be addressed include the short and long-term U.S. economic outlook, government stimulus programs, supply chain disruptions, the impact of COVID-19 on automotive operations and revenues, and the forecast for the future.

Join Dykema, ACG Austin/San Antonio, ACG Columbus and ACG Detroit for a webinar to discuss the results from of our flash survey to gauge how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the M&A market and what the M&A market will look like as the world adjusts to the "new normal."

Please join Dykema attorneys Dawn Williams and Adam Nunnallee for a presentation discussing new activity within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). Among other topics, our speakers will address (i) what to expect from the CFPB following the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and (ii) recent litigation related activity within the CFPB impacting mortgage servicing.

With the State of Michigan extending the deadline to file a property tax appeal to August 31, 2020, there is still time to reduce your overhead costs without impacting your cash flow. This webinar covers the new filing deadlines, how to evaluate whether an appeal is warranted and the process to appeal your taxes in 2020. In addition, Dykema’s newest member of the Property Tax Appeal Group will present a brief overview of appealing taxes in Illinois.

U.S. antitrust enforcement agencies have recently encouraged businesses to engage in collaboration efforts to help respond to the COVID-19 crisis, and rolled out a process to provide agency guidance for these efforts. At the same time, these agencies have warned they will continue to aggressively prosecute “hard core” antitrust violations such as price fixing (including agreements to pass on material price increases), bid rigging, market/territory/customer allocations and colluding on employee compensation and recruiting. Historically, major civil and criminal antitrust cases have arisen after periods of disruption when companies were scrambling to deal with supply and demand shocks, such as those caused by financial crises and national disasters.

Please join us for a webinar on July 14 where RSM Partner Leslie Garcia and Dykema Member David Vanderhider will review the impact of COVID-19 on the construction industry.

Join Dykema on July 8, 2020 for an hour-long program addressing hot topics in employment law.

What can owners and contractors do now to protect themselves from construction bid disputes? The construction industry is feeling the pain inflicted by the COVID-19 crisis, logistically, and economically. Moderated by Scott Shaffer, Steven Mroczkowski and Alex Koltsov will provide insight on the pandemic’s impact on construction bidding and how construction firms can protect themselves and leverage future opportunities with new knowledge and practices and procedures implemented as a result of COVID-19.

One year ago, a company’s data security protocol could reasonably address likely external security threats in light of a stable, office-based IT system and workforce and incrementally changing technology. In 2020, COVID-19 abruptly scattered IT systems and workforces, requiring companies to use technology in ways they could not have foreseen. Simultaneously, malicious breach tactics have evolved to counter companies’ data security efforts and to take advantage of today’s societal disruption. Additionally, the geopolitical implications of the upcoming US election have impacted the data security of various companies, regardless of their political orientation. In this webinar, commercial litigator and certified privacy professional Sean Griffin and data privacy attorney Christina Hernandez-Torres will discuss these new data security challenges from a privacy and a litigation perspective, and review various ways companies can safeguard their data during this uncertain time. 

Effective July 1, 2020, the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and last week, the three countries agreed and adopted Uniform Regulations for companies to follow. Among the industries impacted, the automotive industry and other manufacturing companies should pay close attention to the new rules going forward. With the regulations released, please join us for a webinar on Thursday, June 18 at 2:00 pm EDT where we will address the major provisions of USMCA, key changes from NAFTA to USMCA and pitfalls to avoid starting July 1.  

Dykema and Exponent discussed premise liability implications for COVID-19 in the workplace. During this program, Exponent scientists Michael McCoy, M.S., CIH, DABT and Michael Posson, M.P.H., CIH provided a brief overview of the current state of the science regarding SARS-CoV-2 (the virus associated with COVID-19), focused on workplaces and potential premise liability. They also addressed current guidelines and recommendations from Federal and State regulatory agencies, as well as professional technical and trade organizations, and how these guidelines may apply to employers’ responsibility when hosting contractors at their facilities in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dykema’s Brian Smith explored the legal interaction of COVID concerns within the premise liability framework. 

Please join Dykema for a webinar on Friday, May 22, 2020 at 11:00am ET, where our panel will discuss the ERC program, including how to qualify as well as the factors that will be considered in the computation of the credit. There will also be time for a Q&A.

Like many industries, construction has been and will continue to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Moderated by Steven Mroczkowski, panelists David Vanderhider and Scott Hollingsworth will provide practical insight on what parties in the contracting chain can do now to document, anticipate and mitigate the pandemic’s impact on projects, performance, and potential claims

The Federal Reserve is leveraging funds provided by Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund under the CARES Act to provide up to $600 billion for loan purchases under the Main Street Lending Programs targeted at mid-sized businesses (15,000 employees or fewer or 2019 revenues of $5 billion or less).

As companies in the construction industry begin to return to work, numerous questions will arise regarding job site requirements, workplace safety precautions, etc. Executive Order 2020-70 adds significant obligations that may be difficult to follow, will surely increase costs of performance and challenges to profitability. 

Join us on Thursday, May 7 for a live Q&A as Dykema labor and employment attorneys address your questions on the current and potential challenges employers are coping with due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Registrants will also receive the results of Dykema’s 2020 COVID-19 Employer Survey, which will be highlighted during the program.

In light of recent announcements about states’ plans to reopen for business by lifting existing stay-in-place orders, countless issues for employers arise. As the government tries to strike a balance between protecting the health and safety of citizens and restarting the economy, employers will be faced with similar challenges. In addition to adhering to these modified laws, executive orders and ordinances, employers must remain aware of the existing employment laws that protect worker privacy, prohibit discrimination and retaliation, and protect worker health and safety.

As the employer landscape continues to evolve due to COVID-19, many employers are thinking about how their business model may change both today and in the future. What does this all mean for employers from a cost cutting perspective, an HR perspective and a legal perspective? This webinar will discuss answers to employment and benefit related questions that are most frequently being asked by our clients in the current COVID-19 pandemic environment, as well as impacts of existing and developing statutory and regulatory provisions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised issues of force majeure in a wide range of businesses, prominently including manufacturing, where parties are encountering sharp disruptions both as buyers and as sellers. The pandemic also differs fundamentally from the “usual” sort of force majeure event, in that it is global and persistent. These differences have implications for the effects of the event, the legal and practical positions of clients, and the options for management of disruptions to maintain working relationships where possible and optimize the client’s position in the event of a dispute.

Join Dykema attorneys Ed Weil, Diana Tsai and Mark Silverman, along with Bruce Goldstein (Managing Director, Financial Consultant at Amherst Partners) for an interactive discussion that addresses your most pressing concerns. 

Register now for this informative webinar featuring insights and thought leadership from Dykema, TCF Bank and the Detroit Regional Chamber.

With governmental restrictions on in-person visits, telemedicine has become one alternative for the delivery of patient care. This webinar focuses on the telemedicine regulatory environment in Michigan in light of the COVID-19 pandemic – both what has changed and what has not.

This new law will impose significant new requirements on all employers when it goes into effect on April 2, 2020. During this webinar, Dykema labor and employment attorneys Jim Hermon and Dan Stern discuss the act and address many frequent questions being asked by employers.

This program will discuss key legal issues that arise in many corporate compliance programs and internal investigations. We will examine government enforcement trends aiming to expand the False Claims Act to more industries. We will also offer insight on the use of data analytics in investigations. We will review recent cases addressing the expansion of the “crime/fraud” exception to attorney-client privilege, and its ramifications for in-house counsel. Additionally, we will discuss the trend of applying 4th and 5th Amendment protections to electronic data and devices, both commercial and personal. 

During this webinar program, we will discuss what duty employers have to protect employees from the coronavirus, what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is advising, what Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) obligations may exist, the impact of reasonable accommodations and what personnel policies may be implicated, and whether updates to employer policies are in order.

This webinar will discuss drafting legal strategies that help mitigate these risks, including damage and ADR provisions. In addition, we will review key legal issues to keep in mind during litigation – from the investigation/fact-gathering stage through trial.