--- title: "Good Reads You Might Have Missed: The Legal Side of Events" id: "52343" type: "post" slug: "good-reads-you-might-have-missed-the-legal-side-of-events" published_at: "2021-04-28T21:46:16+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-17T12:39:54+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2021/04/28/good-reads-you-might-have-missed-the-legal-side-of-events/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2021/04/28/good-reads-you-might-have-missed-the-legal-side-of-events.md" excerpt: "COVID-19 has reshaped the landscape for events, raising legal issues that organizations may not have grappled with before. These recent articles feature practical advice from legal experts and insurance pros." taxonomy_category: - "Meetings / Events" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "book events" - "Business" - "Legal" - "Meetings" - "pandemic" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "Director" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Good Reads You Might Have Missed: The Legal Side of Events Between the cancellations, the insurance claims, the precautions, the reopenings, and the social distancing protocols, association meetings have been thoroughly disrupted over the past year. By most accounts, they’ll likely remain substantially different for the foreseeable future. And you might want to talk to a lawyer about it. Fortunately, we’ve done a little of that already, so we can point you in the right direction. Here are some highlights on legal aspects of events from the *Associations Now* archives: [The New Business Essentials for Meetings](https://associationsnow.com/2020/11/the-new-business-essentials-for-meetings/) . Meeting fundamentals have shifted during the pandemic. “In order to mitigate risk, experts say organizations need to understand and navigate the changes that COVID-19 has brought to event insurance, contracts, and safety guidelines,” Rasheeda Childress writes. [How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Event Cancellation Insurance (opens in a new tab)](https://www.asaecenter.org/resources/articles/an_plus/2021/february/how-the-covid-19-pandemic-affected-event-cancellation-insurance) . Lou Novick, national director for associations and nonprofit practice at Gallagher, offers the insurance perspective on pandemic cancellations. “The scale of lost revenue from pandemic cancellations in all sectors is well into the tens of billion dollars worldwide,” he writes. Three areas of significant change in the insurance market are pending claims, premiums, and communicable disease coverage. [A Return to Meetings: COVID Protocol Document](https://associationsnow.com/2021/02/return-meetings-covid-protocol-document/) . Julie Ann Schmidt, CMM, CMP, a certified COVID compliance officer, explains the protocols that associations may need to consider to ensure a safe in-person event. “Your protocol document is your standalone document that states everything your association is doing to keep everyone safe,” Schmidt tells *Associations Now*’s Samantha Whitehorne. “It encompasses several elements—from cleaning, to screening and testing, to transportation, and everything in between.” [Can Your Association Adopt a COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement? (opens in a new tab)](https://www.asaecenter.org/resources/articles/an_plus/2021/february/can-your-association-adopt-a-covid-19-vaccine-requirement) Here’s a tough one for association leaders to parse, because the law isn’t entirely clear. Peter D. Guattery of Whiteford Taylor Preston LLP outlines the issues involved in decision-making around vaccine requirements for meetings and workplaces. “Mandating vaccinations for annual conferences or regional meetings presents a different scenario [from the workplace], despite similarity in the language used in the legal analysis,” he writes. Ultimately, “a vaccination mandate requires planning and coordination to the same extent as other safety measures.“ [‌Legal Issues for Meetings: Lessons Learned and Planning Ahead (opens in a new tab)](https://www.asaecenter.org/resources/articles/an_plus/2021/april/legal-issues-for-meetings-lessons-learned-and-planning-ahead) . Guattery’s partners Eileen Morgan Johnson, CAE, and Jeff Altman break down legal issues related to post-pandemic in-person events. “It is difficult to predict what restrictions different states and localities may apply to large gatherings and whether attendees will be willing and able to return to in-person meetings anytime soon,” they write. “Experience tells us that associations should plan for pandemic restrictions and precautions to continue in some form indefinitely.” (BrianAJackson/iStock/Getty Images Plus) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#book events](https://associationsnow.com/tag/book-events/) [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#Legal](https://associationsnow.com/tag/legal/) [#Meetings](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meetings/) [#pandemic](https://associationsnow.com/tag/pandemic/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoSneak Peek: Highlights from Day 3 of the 2024 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 13, 2024](https://associationsnow.com/2024/08/13/sneak-peek-highlights-from-day-3-of-the-2024-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoASAE TV Daily Recap: Day 2 from the 2024 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 13, 2024](https://associationsnow.com/2024/08/13/asae-tv-daily-recap-day-2-from-the-2024-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoSneak Peek: Highlights from Day 2 of the 2024 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 12, 2024](https://associationsnow.com/2024/08/12/sneak-peek-highlights-from-day-2-of-the-2024-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoASAE TV Daily Recap: Day 1 from the 2024 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 12, 2024](https://associationsnow.com/2024/08/12/asae-tv-daily-recap-day-1-from-the-2024-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2021%2F04%2F28%2Fgood-reads-you-might-have-missed-the-legal-side-of-events%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !