Litigation – Open for Business

The world is still reeling from the very much current Coronavirus pandemic.  The country has now gone into an extended period of lockdown with people getting rather used to either working from home or undertaking other jobs around the house whilst currently on Furlough.  Those of us who are working are finding new ways of dealing with our everyday tasks and here at Poole Alcock it is no different with us undertaking the majority of appointments by way of video conferencing rather than seeing Clients face-to-face as would have happened historically.  It has actually given us a greater breadth of ability and the opportunity to potentially assist Client’s more swiftly than we would have been able to do before. I am sure, like lots of our clients and friends, that many of the “new” practices we are developing now will be with us and used long after the lockdown restrictions are lifted. Here in litigation, the world of the Courts is still very much “open for business” despite what the outside world may perceive. I have had a number of clients express pleasant surprise when I advise that their matter is still progressing or that they can issue proceedings in a matter should they so wish.  The majority of Hearings are still going ahead, with the Courts, just like the rest of the world, utilising alternative methods of dealing with the cases rather than leaving parties to wait for justice to occur. From personal experience, the majority of Hearings are proceeding by way of telephone which means that Barristers, Solicitors and even Clients can listen in to the Hearing from the comfort of their own home.  The Courts have also attempted a number of Video Hearings and experience so far appears to indicate that these have been good, although the Courts do tend to have a preference towards Telephone Hearings which is what they have been more used to doing prior to the Coronavirus outbreak – the technology has been there for some time and I have conducted hearings by telephone for a number of years but the facility is now at the forefront of the modern judiciary. Whilst the media has advised members of the public of the changes to commercial and residential possession matters (please see our other Articles for information on how the Coronavirus Act 2020 has amended earlier Acts for the time being) the reality is that other avenues of the litigation arena, which are vast, have not been effected by the current outbreak. There are still plenty of steps that can be taken to progress your litigation matters, even in the areas affected by the Coronavirus Act 2020, so please do make contact at this time to see what steps we can take to progress your matter. We confirm that we are regularly seeing new Clients, commencing and furthering proceedings in light of the present environment.  Please do not think that because a lot of the country is having a break, or other aspects of life have been brought to a halt that you cannot look to deal with your legal affairs now.  The rest of Poole Alcock is very much open for business just the same as Litigation and we can assist you in dealing with any of your legal needs at this time.