03/18/2020
Dear Clients:
We have had to make a lot of adjustments along with the rest of the country as the recent pandemic as the recent pandemic has forced us to shut down our offices. Lack of guidance from the courts and federal agencies with which we work as to how they would be proceeding with business has made things difficult. Thankfully, we received updates yesterday that have allowed us to issue updates to our temporary policies. Please read these carefully and save this email in case you need to come back to it.

1)  TELEPHONE HEARINGS AND COURT APPEARANCES:

SSA:  The Social Security Administration (SSA) will be proceeding with hearings as scheduled, but by telephone only.  We are suggesting most of our clients agree to appear by telephone. However, telephone appearance is not required and SSA will be granting continuances for people who wish to require an in-person hearing. This is not recommended for most clients as it will likely cause a substantial delay in your case.

State and Federal Court (including Family Law): Other hearings will continue by telephone unless you are notified otherwise beforehand. There will be some cancellations, but we will of course attempt to avoid cancellations where it is in our clients‘ interests. We do not expect there to be any live in-person court appearances over the next several weeks, but we will give you at least 24-hours notice if your live attendance is required.  As usual, the best way to get information to or from the Family Law team regarding these issues will be to email or “reply all” where appropriate to the entire team.

2) OFFICE IS CLOSED:

Please contact us by telephone or email only and avoid drop-in visits.  We have a mail slot to the right of our front doors for documents that need to be dropped off. This box is checked daily.

Although we have a couple of people working at the office, they have been instructed to keep the doors locked and not allow anyone to visit the office.  As usual, our answering service is backing us up and sends us written messages when we cannot answer the phone. However, even the answering services are running short staffed so please be patient with them as well. We have been in touch with them to ensure they are prepared and we are satisfied that they are taking the appropriate steps to remain up to speed.

3) RETURN CALLS AND EMAILS

Please allow 48 to 72 hours for us to reply to non-urgent calls and emails. Unfortunately, we are a few days behind and do not expect to catch up until the middle of next week at the earliest. We know how important your cases to you and we very much appreciate your patience. if an email is truly urgent please mark the subject line “URGENT“ to help us spot those issues that need attention quickly.

4) HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR NON-LEGAL PROBLEMS:

You can call call 2-1-1 just as you would call 9-1-1 for emergencies, for human service information and assistance. They are available 24 hours a day to listen and provide emotional support, crisis counseling, suicide prevention, and information & referrals. You do not have to be in crisis to call. This organization, 211 Big Bend, is a great resource to see if there are any local, state or other agencies who can assist you with any possible issues in your life.

Thank you again for trusting us with your case. We know how important this is for you and your family and that is guiding us even as we deal with the same challenges the rest of the country is facing. We are optimistic that we will avoid unnecessary delays and other problems for our cases caused by the pandemic. We will continue to update you as any important policies change. In the meantime, and as always, we invite you to contact us if you have questions or concerns.

 

Sincerely,

Matt Liebenhaut