New Temporary Meeting Policies - COVID 19 updates
Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Clients,
With a careful eye on the circumstances surrounding COVID-19 and the evolving recommendations regarding “social distancing,” we at Rice Law Office are taking steps to ensure continuing service and accessibility while limiting in-person contacts.
We have been hard at work with our technology team establishing greater opportunities for connectivity, web meetings, remote document sharing and ways to connect with our clients and those we work with regularly in a way that limits in-person interaction. The plan is to do this while simultaneously limiting disruption as much as possible. That said, we do anticipate changes to the way we normally do things and we ask for your patience and suggestions if you have them!
For now, we have been advised the State Courts will be suspending all trials for 30 days and the Federal Courts will suspend in-person hearings, etc. until May 1st. The Department of Labor is transitioning to telephonic hearings for now, but that could change at any time. Cancellations and modifications are being added every day.
We will keep on top of any developments and do our best to keep you informed. We ask that you check in on our website for general updates, and of course, that you call us directly if you have any questions specific to your case and how these changes might impact how things like deadlines and hearings will be handled.
For the next month, through May 1st, we will suspend all in-office meetings and instead, offer clients the choice of telephonic conferences or video conferencing. In addition, we will be available by phone and email to assist you. If you need an appointment, we will discuss these options with you. We also have ways to share documents with you to view and, in some cases, for your “remote” signature.
We will also close our doors to “walk-ins” and any other “in-person” business to help maintain social distancing for staff’s health and that of our community.
In short, be assured we will do all we can to limit disruption while doing our part to limit exposure. That said, there are bound to be some hiccups and inconveniences for everyone and we thank you for your patience.
In time, we expect we will all be taking this sort of remote contact in stride, but for now, do not hesitate to contact us to ask questions about your case, our process and practicality.
Please also check in first on our website as we will try to post updates about cancellations, tech tips for remote contact and other important information you might find helpful.
Thank you for your understanding and stay well.
All the best,
Rice Law Office
