Update: We offer both In-Person and Remote Meetings

Since March 2020, we have incorporated and developed best practices for representing our clients whether in-person or remotely online. 

We will continue to monitor and follow all recommended safety precautions and we look forward to regularly welcoming clients into our office for in-person services.

Below is our original post from March 16, 2020: 

Law Firm Remains Open During COVID-19 Closures

Thank you for entrusting your family law matter or divorce process to our firm. We take all family law and divorce matters seriously and we want to share with you our planning during the current COVID-19 outbreak.

Coronavirus, COVID-19, is having a significant impact on all families and businesses, including law firms and the court system, and during these confusing times you should not have to worry about putting off your legal goals or worry about the progress of your family law or divorce case. Our firm remains open to assist you and to work toward resolving your case.

Due to our many roles as a family law mediator, divorce attorney, guardian ad litem, parenting coordinator, and divorce financial analyst, many clients and families depend on our firm to help resolve their family law matters.  Clients also depend on our staff to provide ease of communication through either in-person meetings, emails, and/or telephone calls. We expect to continue to deliver the same high level of service even during the voluntary and mandatory closures of offices, schools, businesses, and even court houses. Many of you will not even notice a change in our services but please know that we will continue to effectively work on your case.  

The following is what we have planned to ensure your continued success in achieving your legal goals:

Availability of Attorney, Paralegal & Support Staff:

The challenges of legal work mean that our attorney and paralegal can be working from any county in Illinois at any time. While on most days, we work from our office in Wheaton, IL, our attorney, paralegal, and support staff are equipped to connect with each other and our clients in a secure environment while working remotely. All of our remote systems such as email communication and the collaborative program CLIO have been tested to ensure privacy.

Some of our staff will be working remotely due to school and office closures for the next few weeks.  We will still be able to operate as if we are in the office. We will continue to focus on:

• secure sharing of legal and financial documents via our secure program, CLIO
• scheduling telephone conferences for non-urgent matters and to address our clients questions, concerns, or updates on their case
• scheduling video conferencing via FaceTime, Zoom, GoToMeeting for those with access and preferring virtual face-to-face communication for attorney or paralegal meetings and for mediation sessions and/or settlement conference meetings
• appearing in Court as approved by the Chief Judge of the county (each courthouse is implementing different procedures and protocols for court appearances over the next 30 days.)

Availability to the Court System

Currently, non-urgent court matters are being continued until after April 15, 2020. Please note that we still need to work on any deadlines such as discovery deadlines, updating financial documents, answering pleadings, and answering customary deadlines for settlement discussions.  The Judges and court system will expect us to either resolve certain matters or be thoroughly prepared for when court re-opens without restrictions.

Available to Help

As always, we are here to help you succeed with resolving your family law, parenting, and/or divorce matter. We remain committed to ensuring that you have access to information about your case and the support of our firm to ensure that your family matter reaches the best possible resolution.

The Law Firm of Erin N Birt, PC wishes you, your family members, and your loved ones good health, safety, and peace of mind during these challenging times. 

Sincerely,

Erin Birt, JD, CADC & Tyler Birt, Paralegal