Over the last week, COVID-19 has affected everyone in the United States in unexpected ways—forcing social isolation, shuttering many businesses indefinitely and costing thousands of workers the critical paychecks they need to pay their bills — with hospitality workers among some of the hardest hit by these mandated closures.

Winthrop & Weinstine’s Ryan Schildkraut and Michelle Johnson partnered with the owners and key employees of Utepils Brewing, to help create The Silver Linings Fund, which will be used to support hospitality workers and their families in the midst of closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When we heard about the project, we were eager to step in and provide pro bono counsel to help navigate the challenges that came with setting up a 501(c)(3) non-profit to collect donations,” Schildkraut said. “The legal process should be the last thing standing in the way of critical charitable efforts during this uncertain time.”

The charitable fund, called The Silver Linings Fund, will pair with limited-run series of beers produced by a number of Minnesota breweries and sold under the Silver Linings name. Every dollar made from Silver Linings Series beers will be donated to the fund and distributed to hospitality industry employees and their families who are facing hardship as a result of COVID-19. Additionally, Utepils Brewing plans to announce streamed concerts to support the launch.

During this difficult time, companies of all sizes and industries are facing incredibly challenging decisions. We are proud to support Utepils and other craft brewers in their quest to create greater financial stability for those in the hospitality industry—and to inspire creative ways to get through these trying times.

To learn more about the project or to donate to The Silver Linings Fund, visit the charity’s GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/silver-linings-series.

The safety and well-being of our employees, clients, and community is of utmost importance to us. In these uncertain times, open communication is vitally important, and we are reaching out to advise you of the steps we are taking to continue to serve your legal needs while protecting the health of our employees and community amid the outbreak of COVID-19. Our firm leadership is closely monitoring the situation as it develops; the policies and procedures below are evolving, based on the Interim Guidance for Business from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Beginning tomorrow, March 17, 2020, all attorneys and the staff that support them will be working remotely to the extent possible, and you should not experience disruption to our ability to serve your legal and business needs. Our team will be fully accessible by phone or email, and will continue to have secure access to all the documents and resources necessary to provide the same service you always expect from Winthrop.

To protect our employees, we have imposed restrictions on business travel and gatherings, and eliminated all non-essential in-person meetings in our office. By implementing this “social distancing” policy, in conjunction with heightened sanitizing procedures within the office following the guidance by the CDC and other authorities, we hope to mitigate the risk of infection and spread of COVID-19.

As always, our attorneys are available to you; please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. We know that this is a stressful time for businesses and individuals across the globe, and there is no doubt that the days ahead will continue to bring challenges. But we believe that one of the defining elements of our firm culture is that we look out for each other, and our community as a whole. Together, we will navigate these new challenges, and with all hope the global community will recover soon.