As disorganised as Federal government is in the USA, as always, private enterprise comes up with solutions within a very short period of time.
Law Firm Byrd and Byrd no longer takes walk-in clients at its North Jackson office, but clients can still call the office to set up consultations through online video chat. Legal documents for everything from real estate transactions to divorces to wills can be signed without clients having to leave their car.
Legal services, to-go
Snider said clients call the law office when they arrive in the parking lot and an attorney delivers legal documents to their vehicle, standing at least six feet away after transferring the paperwork.
Attorneys can answer questions via telephone and witness the signatures for notarization purposes, all while maintaining proper distance. Usually, clients wear gloves and bring their own pen to sign the papers, cutting down contact even further.
The process is akin to the legal version of restaurant take-out, Snider said. It reminds her of her first job as a carhop at a Jackson Sonic at 16 years old, though she said she no longer wears roller skates. Jokes aside, she thinks her waitress past helped her come up with the idea.
“We’re very mindful of anything we can do just to stop the spread,” Snider said. “Our mayors, city and county have been so diligent and our health department. … We’ve got to integrate that into every business practice and every part of our lives.”
At their North Jackson location, Byrd and Byrd offers several curbside signing services, including:
- Real estate closings
- Wills
- Powers of attorney
- Adoptions
- Divorce papers
- Child support
- Child custody
- Conservatorships