Dear Clients & Friends,
We write to you today to update you with Phillip Ballenger’s action plan in light of the escalating spread of the novel Coronavirus. This situation is new & unique to all of us - our core values have guided us to the following decisions regarding how Phillips Ballenger will operate for the benefit of our most precious assets, our clients, until it is safe to return to business as usual.
Please be assured that, thankfully, no one at Phillips Ballenger, nor any of our family members are displaying any symptoms of COVID-19, nor has anyone tested positive.
However, in an abundance of caution and in light of the CDC’s & local health department recommendations, we have made the decision to take the precautionary measures to limit further spread in our community and to safeguard the health of our clients & team members by closing the office to walk-ins/ in-person meetings until further notice.
We will continue to send further information on our procedures as this develops, all of which will also be posted on our blog, so please check back for updates.
Our Office:
- Our staff will continue to work normal hours (9:00 am – 5:00 pm), so please feel free to give us a call or send an email as you would normally do;
- We will be implementing a closed-door policy, so we will not be accepting any walk-ins or in-person meetings for the time being;
- If you have an in-person meeting scheduled, you’ll receive a call or email from Becky or Diane to explain the transition to a phone meeting or virtual meeting via Zoom Meeting at your convenience.Please kindly await their instructions, so that they’re not bombarded all at once with calls; they’re both extremely efficient so don’t be concerned that you’ll be overlooked.
Dropping off documents:
- If you need to drop off any documents, we strongly prefer that you send these over via email or fax if possible.Our fax # is: 702-905-1208.
- If you’re unable to send via email or fax, please feel free to drop them off in our temporary office “in-box”, located outside our office doors starting 3/17, in the following manner:
- Please wash your hands and don’t touch your face prior to handling the documents;
- Make sure you have your documents sealed in an envelope clearly marked with the attorney’s name & matter reference, as applicable;
- Leave your document(s) in the container that will be OUTSIDE the office doors;
- Please notify us via phone (702-997-5701) or email (becky@phillipsballenger.com)that you’ve dropped them off; and
- Make sure that these are delivered between 9 am – 5 pm only.
In order to do our part to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, and in concert with the recommendations by our public health agencies and officials, some members of our firm will be working remotely all or part of the time. However, be assured that any documents delivered to our office will be taken inside as soon as possible- as always, your confidentiality is extremely important to us.
Court Updates:
For any of our current Probate & Trust administration litigation clients, as well as any Guardianship Matters, the following resources are available for your reference; Information on all the orders from the Eighth Judicial District Court can be found at https://eighthjdcourt.wordpress.com.
- If your matter is currently part of a Court proceeding in Clark County, Nevada, the Chief Judge has issued an order setting forth that all “non-essential” hearings will be made by telephone or videoconference.
- Please find the link to the Court Order referenced.
- The order sets forth which matters are considered “essential” – please note that as of 3/16/2020, there are no cases in which Phillips Ballenger is representing a client in an “essential matter”.
- If your case is currently set for trial, or if there are other deadlines that are upcoming, the Court may continue and/or extend the dates for trial or response.
- If your matter is currently set for a hearing, the hearing may go forward, but no in-person attendance is permitted unless you are notified by Phillips Ballenger before.
- Matters that are not currently pending before the Court will continue in the normal course as the situation permits.
For the most up-to-date information, visit the courts' websites, the News section of www.nvbar.org or follow the State Bar of Nevada on social media.
Filings:
- For Court-related and Secretary of State Filings- these will continue to be electronically filed, per usual, so no changes are needed;
- We currently have access to the ability to record documents with the Clark County Recorder remotely and electronically for any Deeds that need recording.
Resources:
Finally, we would like to share some great, fact-based resources:
We encourage you to support small businesses during this trying time. Be smart & practical- stay away from crowds, implement social distancing, wash your hands, don’t touch your face… we’re all in this together, so please stay healthy and sane… we will get through this.
We are confident that we will still be able to service all our clients through this period of uncertainty and simply ask that you stay in contact with us and communicate any special concerns that you may have during this time.
All our best,
--- Tiffany Ballenger Floyd, Chris Phillips, & the Phillips Ballenger Team