O’Connell Law Firm, P.C. Update

As we finish February 2021, I’d like to give you an update on how we are working here in the office on cases including divorce and mediations following our winter storm event, power outages in Denton County, and the current coronavirus requirements and restrictions.

Business Hours

First of all, we are open for business during our normal business hours: Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon.  We are handling all consultations, meetings, mediations, and filings in cases electronically.  That means that we use Zoom and other online platforms to have initial consultations about divorce and other family law issues with existing clients, new divorce clients, mediation clients, and others by setting up a meeting online.  We are scheduling and receiving documents online as well as continuing to file pleadings in divorce cases electronically.  Most people are probably happily unaware that divorce attorneys have been filing all divorce pleadings and required documents electronically for years.

Communicating with Your Divorce Lawyer

We use email to communicate on a regular basis, in addition to online meetings and scheduled phone calls.  I don’t believe that we need an online meeting for everything.  Phone calls still work. I am a firm believer that any phone call, even short calls, can be easily and quickly scheduled to avoid wasting time calling, returning calls, and missing the connections to talk when we need to talk.  and we use other electronic document sharing methods for both our clients’ ease and peace of mind.

Flexible Availability in Law Office

Next, we are also flexible with availability.  We know that it may be difficult to take time to meet with a divorce attorney right now.  We know that kids are home and doing online school, spouses are working from home in the same house and sometimes the same shared office.  Right now, we are able to have some flexibility for meetings and initial consultations if one needs it to get an initial consultation scheduled.  We can be available on some days during lunch hours, and other days we can be available outside of the normal working day hours for online divorce attorney consultations and phone calls when needed.

We are able to start a divorce and finish a divorce even with the restrictions imposed on all of us due to the pandemic.  In our office, we have been electronically filing Original Petitions for Divorce and other divorce pleadings for years.  So, there’s no change in our office process due to Covid-19 to start a divorce.  And, our Denton County courts have made electronic filing available for the entry of final orders, as well, during the pandemic.  We are concluding divorces and filing all the necessary final documents for entry of a Final Decree of Divorce and other final orders in family law cases.

As of the writing of this blog post, we are open again after the winter storms last week.

Call to set up initial consultation or meetings at 972-203-6644 or 940-497-5454.

Over the last year, Jill O’Connell, Esq. has been trained in online mediation by leading online mediator Susan Guthrie, Esq., a 40-hour training in January 2021 focusing on family law issues in mediation in Texas, and became a certified divorce coach using the Better Apart Method and was trained and certified by Gabrielle Hartley, Esq.