This Practice Note discusses legal and business issues to consider when dealing with a crisis, such as a wildfire, flood, earthquake, pandemic (such as the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus, the 2009 H1N1 flu, or the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)), or other public emergency that results in a disruption of the supply chain. This Practice Note addresses the potential impact of a crisis on upstream and downstream contracts, force majeure clauses and other possible defenses for non-performance, insurance coverage, maintaining supplier and customer relationships, and additional steps to protect the company.