Our Re-Opening Plans

As we move closer to the proposed date when professional offices can re-open in Central New York (currently May 29th), I wanted to check-in and let you know our thoughts at The Marrone Law Firm regarding re-opening our offices. Historically (before COVID-19), we provided the opportunity to our team to work remotely at their option. We found that our team could leverage remote work to be more productive in less time, which meant a faster response for our clients and lower bills for them as well! We converted to being fully operational as a remote law firm at the close of business on March 13, 2020.

The past ten weeks presented challenges and opportunities we did not envision when closing the office the Friday after our 5th Anniversary Party. We have adopted our client meeting and will signing systems to operate using video technology and have delivered clients their estate plans faster than ever before! We rolled out a brand new platform, Will Builder©, which allows individuals and families to get started with writing their Will from the comfort of their own home, while still getting a chance to meet with an attorney from our team to guide them through that process. We have assisted dozens of businesses with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application process and are now tooling up to work on the loan forgiveness program. We've sent you all tons of emails, and had more than 2,500 people tune into our live videos on Facebook and webinars on Zoom. Thank you for sharing your time and attention with us.

As we progress toward being legally allowed to re-open our office, I am reminded of the famous line from the movie Jurassic Park, when Dr. Ian Malcolm, brilliantly portrayed by Jeff Goldblum says,

"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should."

That perfectly summarizes my thinking about offices that are re-opening on May 29th. The State of New York may be allowing us to do this, but should we be doing this?

With that in mind, we are planning to slowly move toward phasing back into a traditional office environment. In the meantime, starting May 29th (assuming all goes well in CNY), we do plan to offer a BRAND NEW service for clients not comfortable meeting using video chat or telephone, CURBSIDE WILL SIGNING© by The Marrone Law Firm. Our plan is to simplify the process of getting your Will signed for those who want to do that in person. Using a similar plan to many of your favorite restaurants, two members of our team will greet you at your vehicle, and walk you through signing your Will (and other planning documents) in a contact-free, socially-distant manner.

We're going to see how that goes for a few weeks before we decide to bring anyone back to the office. We're still open and able to provide legal services to clients in need, even though we're working remotely.

In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you all as soon as possible, and hope you continue to thrive and stay strong during these times.