COVID-19 UPDATE

Batley COVID-19 Firm Update

One of the core values of our Firm is providing excellent client service.  We cannot think of a recent time in history when our clients have been more in need of care and excellent service than during this challenging time of navigating our world with COVID-19.  Batley Family Law, P.A. is dedicated to helping New Mexico families and now, more than ever, as a business and a member of our community we believe we must do our part to slow the spread of virus.

Please know we are acting from a place of concern, not fear and panic.  We understand that for our clients this crisis comes at a most difficult time to you personally as you are potentially navigating the world of co-parenting and are likely concerned about the volatility in the financial markets and how that may affect your ultimate divorce settlement. 

To our colleagues and friends who refer their friends and loved one to us, we will continue to schedule consultations and to advocate for the best interest of those you have sent to us.  Remember, we are family law attorneys who are trained to care for and represent our clients in times of crisis and we will continue to do so throughout this time.

Internally, we are taking careful precautions to ensure your safety and wellbeing by closely following the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as the State of New Mexico Department of Health.  We want to be a part of the solution.  To that end, we are taking the following immediate steps to ensure the health and safety of our Clients, our Team and our Community:

Taking Care of our Clients:

• We have increased our levels of electronic and telecommunications with our employees and clients.  Currently, all person-to-person consultations, client meetings and case-related proceedings are by telephone, email and/or video conferencing.

• We have deployed our lawyers and paralegals, who already work together, to combine their efforts to cover for one another, should someone become ill. If you have an active family law matter, you will continue to hear from an attorney or paralegal with any updates on your case.  We are planning for those communications to come from the lawyer you are working with and their paralegal, but in some cases, you may hear from one of our other Team members.  We believe in strong and frequent communication with our Team, so please know that we are constantly sharing information internally about your case.

• The courts in most New Mexico judicial districts have also moved to new temporary procedures.  Unfortunately, there is not a clear state-wide mandate at this time regarding court appearances.  We expect that non-emergency hearings and trials currently scheduled through the end of March, 2020 or longer will be vacated and reset. 

• It is our hope the judges will establish some form of 30 day emergency relief procedure to be handled by phone with lawyers, but to date we have not received any word this is coming.

• Temporary rules that may limit in-person access to the courts do not, in any way, limit our ability to file new cases or advance our clients’ existing cases. Also, we continue to offer and encourage our clients to utilize Mediation, Settlement Facilitation and Collaborative Divorce; all processes that do not rely on the court system.

Taking Care of our Team:

• As this situation unfolds in the coming days and weeks, we are continuing to operate at full-capacity while we are also implementing our Firm’s preparedness plan by encouraging our attorneys and staff to work remotely and to be present in the office in shifts.  Our Team is nimble and able to work remotely as needed. 

• This helps encourage “social distancing” while ensuring our Team has the capability to remain fully-functional and available to continue supporting our clients with their family law matters.

• Additionally, we are providing regular updates to our Team regarding the latest Coronavirus data and information so we can adjust our plan of action as needed.

We value and support you and greatly appreciate your business during this time.  It is our goal that we can continue to be a steady and reassuring force for our clients and Team during these uncertain times.  Even though it may not be “business as usual,” we plan to maintain service as usual.  Your patience and understanding as we all face the impacts in our personal lives and businesses is appreciated.  We will continue to reassess the situation and hope that by making these simple changes we can all be part of eliminating the threat of COVID-19 and restoring the health of our community. 

Take care of yourselves and each other,

Your Batley Family Law Team