As we started working from home in March 2020 which seems so long ago, there was concerns of client engagement in new technologies and if clients would be happy to instruct us without meeting at one of our offices.
Whilst working from home has had many challenges for us all both personally and professionally, our team have managed to provide the same level of service to their clients as we did before. Our IT systems were ready with video conferencing software and we have been able to transfer calls to our work phones seamlessly. We have overcome the issues of limited office access and are now quite used to logging in from home and working using the ‘online’ files for our clients.
We have spoken with new enquiries and undertaken our initial appointments over the telephone and via video calls and these have worked well. We are now in the process of opening our offices and therefore those clients that wish to meet in person will be able to do so following social distancing guidelines which have been put in place.
There has definitely been a noticeable change with both clients and other family solicitors to try and reach settlements outside of Court proceedings. Before lockdown there were significant delays in the Court process and this is even more acute now. This has however led to clients negotiating and reaching agreements that may well not have been so forthcoming in the past. We do hope that this continues as we start to return to ‘normal’.
Here at Ellisons we offer flexible appointments over the telephone and via video conferences for those that need to speak to someone in the evening or at the weekend. If you need help with any matter relating to family law please contact us to arrange an appointment with one of our family law experts.