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Law360 (March 4, 2020, 12:34 PM EST ) New York Law School closed its campus Wednesday after a student reported coming into contact with a Lewis & Garbuz PC attorney who was diagnosed with coronavirus, and the attorney's wife and son have also tested positive, officials said.
The attorney's wife practices at the firm, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday. Other attorneys at the firm in Manhattan will be tested, he said.
Health and school officials are currently evaluating the Washington Heights campus of Yeshiva University, where the lawyer's son attends school as an undergraduate, according to Melanie Leslie, dean of Yeshiva University's law school, Cardozo Law School. The son was last on campus on Feb. 27, de Blasio said.
Meanwhile, the New York Law School student, along with a Cardozo student who also reported coming into contact with the lawyer, are in self-quarantine, according to Leslie and a separate announcement by New York Law School Dean Anthony Crowell.
New York Law School is cleaning and disinfecting its entire campus, canceled all classes and exams, and instructed everyone to stay away, according to Crowell's announcement.
"Our student acted responsibly and with great consideration for our community," Crowell said.
Yeshiva closed its Washington Heights campus, the school announced on its website. Cardozo is open, and the student who reported contact with the lawyer has not reported any symptoms, Leslie said.
The unnamed attorney, who lives in Westchester County and commutes into Manhattan, sought care Feb. 27 after developing symptoms consistent with coronavirus, whose official name is COVID-19. He recently returned from a trip to Miami but has not visited any of the areas known to be affected, according to health officials.
Lewis & Garbuz could not be reached for comment.
The firm's office is in Midtown Manhattan, across from Grand Central Terminal. It has six attorneys and focuses largely on estate planning and elder law, according to its website.
Many large, global law firms have already begun taking precautions over coronavirus concerns. Baker McKenzie temporarily closed its London office last week and asked employees to work from home, which it later revealed was prompted by an employee being tested for the virus. The office reopened after the employee tested negative.
Latham & Watkins LLP, meanwhile, announced last week that it was canceling its upcoming partnership meeting in New York over concerns about the virus, which can cause fever, coughing and shortness of breath. Most cases are mild, but some can become severe and lead to death.
Other firms have imposed travel restrictions on attorneys, such as Dorsey & Whitney LLP, which has suspended business travel to and from China, and Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, which has shut down travel to, from and between its seven offices in Asia.
Firms including Linklaters LLP, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP and Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP have asked all employees who have visited an affected area to work from home for 14 days, which is considered the maximum incubation period for the virus before symptoms emerge.
U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap on Tuesday ordered attorneys and parties to promptly notify opposing counsel if there is reasonable suspicion — "while erring on the side of caution" — that a hearing, trial or disposition may expose an individual to COVID-19, citing the Texas federal court's duty to protect individuals in the midst of the outbreak.
In particular, the Texas federal judge ordered attorneys or parties to communicate if court proceedings could cause someone to come into contact with an individual exposed to or infected with the virus, according to a standing order filed in the Eastern District of Texas. They should also disclose to opposing counsel if a hearing, trial or deposition would require travel to or from the U.S. or a country impacted by the virus, Judge Gilstrap said.
--Additional reporting by Emma Cueto, Natalie Rodriguez and Hailey Konnath. Editing by Marygrace Murphy.
Update: This story has been updated with additional information.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
