It's April 2020 and Moons Solicitors has been established, with a brand new website to go with it.
Feel free to browse the site to see what the firm is all about, and above all to let me know if there are any glitches with anything! I have tried it out on a number of different computers, tablets and phones, but if something isn't working as it should, do please say so.
This news page will be used to give you updates on legal news, legal issues in the mainstream news, and everything that's new with this firm.
Obviously the news is dominated by Coronavirus at the moment, with the lockdown meaning many people, myself included, are working from home where possible. Fortunately most of the work we do can be adapted to be done remotely.
I encourage clients and opponents to contact me by email and phone where possible anyway. These days, whilst there is a certain nostalgia value in getting letters on paper, there are all kinds of reasons to do things electronically instead. Almost everybody has email (I will of course continue to use the post for those that don't), and letters and documents sent by email arrive almost instantly. Email is also greener, not only cutting down on paper use, but saving the carbon emissions of the need to physically transport an envelope to its destination.
Our office will be closed for the duration of the lockdown, but I am still hard at work at home. The office telephone number, 01733 807407, is diverted to my mobile number so you can get hold of me as normal. If a face-to-face meeting is required, I can see you by Skype or Zoom.
The lockdown does make things more difficult of course. Courts are much less able to deal with hearings, and they were already working with a difficult backlog of work even before Coronavirus struck. They are doing what they can to do hearings by Skype and other video meeting providers, and both the courts and defendants' solicitors are generally pretty understanding about the need to extend deadlines and make allowances in these abnormal times.
On a more personal note, my wife and I are getting used to our new roles as home school teachers, and as a GP she has first hand experience of the damage the virus is doing. Given what is happening, the inconveniences of home working and home schooling are a small price to pay.