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WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
LONE LOANS - Through their own professional associations, more than 50 equity partners at Florida law firms took Paycheck Protection Program loans separate from the loans their firms took, in a trend that is likely reflective of firms nationally, Law.com’s Dan Roe reports. This, of course, begs the question: “Uh, why?” In some instances, the loans were taken by individual partners to cover reduced monthly draws or salaries for their assistants who were employed by the partners’ professional associations rather than the firms. That most of this activity occurred at midsize and boutique firms may have had a lot to do with optics, according to legal consultant Peter Zeughauser. “At most large firms, the leadership of the firm would frown on [equity partners taking PPP loans] because it might reflect poorly on the firm, and there were many firms that did not avail themselves to PPP who could’ve, but thought it would look poorly on the firm,” Zeughauser told Roe. “At a smaller firm, I don’t think that would happen. I think people see themselves as being below the radar screen and I think there was a general view that the program was loosely regulated. They qualified for it, and therefore they could do it, and they didn’t have the same level of brand concern.”
