03/21/2020
To All of Our Extended Family,
We want to share with all of you an update on our commitment to serving our clients and colleagues during this delicate time. Our office is also closely monitoring the developments with the COVID-19 virus, as well as the Federal, State and Local Government’s response. We will do everything in our power to keep our family, yes this includes you, as safe as possible by practicing all of the safety measures issued by the CDC and all levels of our government. We have provided a safe work space for our staff to remain in house, as we do almost all of our internal communication electronically with one another and 100% of our communication with the outside world via email, phone and through video conferencing when necessary. While the effects of this virus are being dealt with, we felt obligated to be here for our clients during this difficult time. Our associations and owners are encountering new issues they have never had to deal with, our small businesses are navigating health issues and mandates that are forcing difficult decisions, our landlord and tenant clients are trying to deal with the harsh realities of what to do under this financial stress and all of our clients are facing anxieties and fears they could have never anticipated. We feel it is our responsibility to be here to alleviate whatever we can for each and every one of you. This too shall pass and we will all get through this together…..well, preferably without the spring breakers. Hopefully, they have all taken the hint at this point. Stay positive and we are here for whatever you need, even if it is just to talk.
Although we are still operating out of our physical location in Downtown Hollywood, we stopped accepting in-office appointments over a week ago. We have implemented virtual conferencing for face to face meetings when necessary. If you intend to utilize this feature of our practice, we advise you to download the “Zoom” application to your desktop or electronic device, as this is the platform we use for those appointments. While it is not required to be on anyone’s device other than the host, we have seen this become the application of choice in several sectors and it can even be used for your personal communications with family and friends so you don’t lose touch prior to things getting back to normal. We are still available for phone conferences on our regular business line of 954-241-0154. In the event we need to further distance ourselves and close the physical location of our office, we will still be able to accept calls as per usual through remote access and VOIP (Voice Over Internet Phones). At this time, we have reduced our operating hours to 9-5 Monday-Friday for real time responses, but are still available via email to assist even outside of those parameters.
Our contingency plan is already in place for our team to work on your legal files remotely and in a secure and stable environment. We will have full access to our case management system, electronic versions of your files, your documents from all parties received and distributed on your files, and our contact lists. This includes your contact information as well as opposing parties, Judges, and courthouses. We also have an amazing network of attorneys that are doing what they can to help our community with all of their legal needs. No matter what type of attorney you are looking for, if we don’t handle it, we have an attorney we can send you to that we have faith in to assist you.
We all need to do our best to help prevent the transmission of this virus. Don’t forget to thank all of the health professionals and first responders who are doing their part, as well as those that are staying out there cooking and delivering meals and stocking those grocery store shelves with everything. We also ask that as a community, we all come together to help slow the virus by listening to the guidelines put in place by the various health department to keep us all healthy and safe. We live in an era where technology can assist us in completing social distancing much easier yet still keeping in touch with our loved ones. Continue to nurture the relationships it took a lifetime to build whether it is picking up the phone, sending a text or email, or figuring out how to FaceTime or video conference. I’m even here if you need help with that.
Every time you wash your hands or sanitize when stepping out, please know that you are doing your part in keeping our community safe. We all need to be mindful of how much of an impact we can have on one another. A kind gesture of holding the door open for your fellow patron or saying thank you to the employee at your local grocery store can do wonders keeping people’s spirits up and strengthening our community.
If you are in need of financial assistance, please take the time to look into all of the different assistance programs offered by our state and federal governments.
• Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program, which can assist small businesses impacted by COVID-19. The bridge loan program will provide short-term, interest-free loans to small businesses experiencing economic injury from COVID-19. The application opened up just this week and will run through May 8, 2020. For more information please visit https://floridadisasterloan.org/application/.
• In addition, the US Small Business Administration offers Federal Disaster Loans for Businesses, Private Nonprofits, Homeowners, and Renters and the information can be found at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.
• For those of you that encounter the need to seek out unemployment benefits, the website is https://www.stateofflorida.com/articles/florida-unemployment/.
Through this confusing time, please be confident that we are still here to assist in any way possible. We need to be there for each other and we hope you are all doing well. Don’t forget to hug those that you are sheltered with and tell them how much you love and appreciate them….after you wash your hands!
