| |
To our valued clients and colleagues,
As you all know, the spread of the novel Coronavirus which causes COVID-19 has been categorized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Strategies to combat the exposure of this virus have been put into place by our firm's partnership, in all of our offices across Ontario. In fact, we have been closely monitoring the situation for many weeks and have been proactively ensuring that firm policies are implemented quickly and responsively to protect the safety and well-being of our lawyers and staff, as events evolve, out of an abundance of caution.
We have asked our lawyers and staff to try to eliminate or reduce personal contact, such as handshakes. We have hand sanitizer available to all firm members at all of our respective premises and we have increased our office-cleaning efforts. We have encouraged our lawyers to work from home and to hold meetings remotely rather than meet in groups, as much as it is practical to do so. We have discouraged non-essential business travel and have measures in place to allow firm members to work from home, on a staggered schedule, in all of our offices, if necessary.
We would be grateful to be alerted to any travel restrictions that have been put in place by any of our clients, or any company policy that would affect attendance at appearances, such as examinations for discovery, mediations and pre-trial conferences. Although personal attendances at mediations and pre-trial conferences are sometimes mandatory, in accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure and subject to the jurisdiction at issue, we would be pleased to work with you should you be instructed to attempt to limit personal attendances. Please do not hesitate to reach out to any of our lawyers to discuss such policies and limitations that might have recently been put into place by your employers.
To protect our lawyers and staff, as well as our clients, we will be reducing the number of meetings and seminars within our office in favour of remote video or teleconferences. We would ask for, and look forward to, your cooperation in this regard. We would also ask that anyone who is feeling unwell to please refrain from attending work or visiting any of our offices. We are working towards ensuring a safe and comfortable experience for everyone, which is our top priority.
We continue to monitor this situation closely by consulting the most current information possible on Canada's Public Health website. As new developments are occurring on almost an hourly basis, we will provide ongoing updates as needed.
Our relationships with all of you are of utmost importance. We very much value your support and assure you that we remain completely able to provide you with the highest quality of legal services in accordance with our professional obligations. We know that this pandemic will pass and our thoughts are with all during this trying and difficult time.
|
|
TORONTO | OTTAWA | KITCHENER | BARRIE | LONDON
416.860.0001 | mccagueborlack.com | Follow us on Twitter or Linkedin
McCague Borlack LLP is a member of the Canadian Litigation Counsel,
a nationwide affiliation of
Independent law firms. Through CLC's association with
The Harmonie Group,
our clients have access to legal excellence
throughout North America, the U.K. and Europe.
clcnow.com | harmonie.org |
