As the leader of a law firm employing more than 1,000 attorneys, and as someone who has helped lead national pro bono initiatives to reunite separated immigrant families, promote gun control, safeguard LGBTQ rights, protect reproductive freedom and secure voter enfranchisement, I am daunted by the carnage our nation is about to confront involving the tens of millions of American workers devastated medically, emotionally and economically by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. While we fear that the loss of life resulting from this pandemic may be catastrophic, we know for certain that our most vulnerable citizens will be ravaged economically as a result.

In this time of fear and isolation, it is imperative that we in the legal profession not lose sight of our professional obligation to help others in need. While this pandemic will continue to impact all Americans, its devastating economic consequences will not be equally shared. The impacts will be felt most acutely by those in our society who are least able to endure loss. To slow the spread of the virus, states and localities across the country are closing schools, restaurants, bars, retail shops, museums, theaters, libraries, parks, stadiums and other public venues and directing people to stay home—actions that will be catastrophic both to the tens of millions of hourly workers in our country who live paycheck to paycheck, and to small business owners dealing with lost revenue and mounting costs.