COVID Response

Restaurant People Care About the Things That Matter Most”

With the industry he’s served for years hard-hit by COVID-19, Riley Lagesen, chair of DWT’s restaurant practice group, saw the need for immediate, big, and visible support. Working pro bono, Riley teamed up with his longtime client Guy Fieri to launch the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund (RERF). The idea caught on big. Along the way there was a Jimmy Fallon appearance, a nacho showdown featuring Bill Murray and Shaquille O’Neal, and other fun for a cause. Here’s how it all went down.

In addition to RERF, our pro bono team created a comprehensive resource guide for restaurant and retail workers on how to access unemployment, housing, health care, and other forms of assistance. These guides were individually tailored to four states where we have large offices—California, New York, Oregon, and Washington—and distributed to the affected workers of some of our largest clients and to qualified legal service organizations providing pro bono representation to those impacted.