Coronavirus travel bans force ABA to cancel San Diego event

The American Bar Association’s annual white collar crime conference scheduled for March 11-13 in San Diego has been canceled due to travel restrictions placed on participants in the midst of the rising coronavirus threat, event organizers said Wednesday.

Jack Rives, executive director of the ABA, said the decision to cancel was not because of the hazards associated with the San Diego region but due instead to the growing number of canceling speakers and panelists who have been placed on travel restrictions by their companies or government employers.

The event was largely dependent on the participation of federal government officials and global law firm attorneys, Rives said.

Among the scheduled speakers for the three-day conference was Brian Benczkowski, head of the Department of Justice Criminal Division, along with the division’s assistant attorney general, Joseph H. Hunt, and Steven R. Peikin, director of the Enforcement Division at the Securities and Exchange Commission. James M. McDonald, director of Enforcement Division of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, was also on the bill.

“We take the health and safety of our members and staff very seriously,” Rives said Wednesday. “This is the first conference where we see that policies have an inordinate impact on the number of people scheduled to be there and give presentations.”

Multiple global law firms that have offices overseas have been taking steps to reduce risks associated with employees traveling during the public health crisis.

“Our priority is the health of our people and our clients. We have taken appropriate steps in our locations around the world where there have been outbreaks by implementing remote working protocols and are limiting non-essential travel,” said Mary Kate Martin, communications manager for Baker McKenzie.

A spokesman for Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe also confirmed the firm postponed its annual global partners meeting, scheduled to take place last week in San Antonio, because of the virus threat and said the firm is limiting travel for partners based in Europe and China.

Orrick, which has more than 25 offices globally, has closed offices in greater China. Team members based in that area are working remotely. Employees based in Italy have the option of working remotely or commuting during alternative hours, according to the firm’s spokesman.

The ABA said it began monitoring the situation closely a few days ago as the number of participants canceling their appearance began to spike, said Rives.

“The impact it had on the conference reached the point where we decided it was reasonable to cancel the event,” he said.

The COVID-19 scare is not, however, affecting another conference: the ABA Health Law Section’s 21st Annual Conference on Emerging Issues on Healthcare Law, taking place in an adjacent hotel that same week.

The ABA has another meeting in a few months in Seattle which is being closely monitored for potential cancellation or postponement, Rives noted.