To think that a solicitor is not a key worker?

[Sandiepatterson]

Grrr, three sets of parents at our school are solicitors. Not family lawyers dealing with courts but plain old private client wills and trust lawyers. They most definitely could WFH but no, they've ALL sent their kids to school.
AIBU to think they are being unreasonable?

@Plonque

Bore off. Seriously!

And solicitors need to work, they can't stop working... so that makes them essential workers.

Is that the definition of essential worker then? Anyone who needs to work and is doing so?

YABU. It's not their fault if that's what they're classed as, OP. It's the government's, as usual.

I agree that the list of keyworkers is far too long though.

Dunno I think all the fines the police are handing out when people aren't actually breaking the law, just going out for a walk, means solicitors are probably quite busy!

Wills and trust not essential or urgent during the sinkhole end of a pandemic.

Now I've heard everything.

I doubt you know the ins and outs of the working day of 6 adults YABU.

Very few solicitors deal only in wills - most will have a mixed case load. Those specialising in them are likely to be dealing with complex cases involving trysts etc and yes they have to go to court, they are likely to be dealing the the court of protection etc as well. Whether they can work from home is very dependent on their situation which you dont know. My solicitor for instance does do wills but also house conveyancing, divorce/family and magistrates court representation (occasionally higher) for mostly low level anti social behaviour/teenagers out of contt type cases for his clients (typically ones who have used him for routine work). Normal high street solicitor work is keywork

@Sparklingbrook

No problem. Not all solicitors are critical workers, obviously - if OP had started a thread about three corporate lawyers she might have had a point. But wills and probate solicitors absolutely are (and were during the last lockdown too).

Case closed. No pun intended.

Some solicitors, but relatively few. It is quite specific (from Law Society):

Some solicitors that are essential to the running of the justice system are classed as critical workers.

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed to us that this category only applies to:

• advocates (including solicitor advocates) required to appear before a court or tribunal (remotely or in person), including prosecutors
• other legal practitioners required to support the administration of justice including duty solicitors (police station and court) and barristers, solicitors, legal executives, paralegals and others who work on imminent or ongoing court or tribunal hearings
• solicitors acting in connection with the execution of wills
• solicitors and barristers advising people living in institutions or deprived of their liberty

and you can still be a critical worker and be able to work from home. you can also need to work outside the home but not be a critical worker. they are quite different things!

I know this has been done to death but I have to get this off my chest. Guy in our school is a journalist. All his kids are in. I can see that’s it’s important for key workers to report the news but he works for something similar to a motoring magazine and his wife is a SAHM. My MiL knows his mum quite well and I’m pretty sure there are no hidden vulnerabilities.

I’m also key worker but I’m struggling on at home. Not because I’m noble but because with 1/3 of the school in it feels very risky at the moment. It’s awful and I feel like a mug but if 1/3 of the school is how long will this bloody lockdown go on for.

Rant over. I probably need to get out of the house.

I thought you had to be involved in the administration of justice eg advisers to magistrates or duty solicitor.

Not doing conveyancing or drafting contracts for big business. And yes people are dying, but they should have had wills in place already (and you can take instructions for wills online or over the phone, you don't have to visit people and I am sure they're not at the moment anyway).

What an original thread.
Not been mentioned on MN before. So glad you brought this dastardly ruse to everyones attention OP.

Ps you really don’t need a ‘Grrr’ for effect. Netmums is still alive and kicking

Try telling someone who's lost a relative in the last year that a solicitor who deals with wills/trusts isn't a key worker. On top of not being able/allowed to say goodbye to their loved one, they also should wait 9+ months to get matters settled so they can finally get some peace?

Some of the things that solicitors deal with are incredibly sensitive and should not be discussed in front of their children/loved ones. Therefore, they should be in work doing it.

YABU.

x posted with regular

What if someone is arrested today? They need legal representation.

Or have all criminals stopped completely with no crimes being committed due to lockdown?

Try telling someone who's lost a relative in the last year that a solicitor who deals with wills/trusts isn't a key worker. On top of not being able/allowed to say goodbye to their loved one, they also should wait 9+ months to get matters settled so they can finally get some peace

A lot of people can do their own probate. Delays aren't down to solicitors, they are down to the fact that the people who work in the probate office haven't been.

Solicitors are probably a bit busy dealing with the aftermath of 80,000 deaths OP

Yes we don’t need to sort out wills and probate when there are so many dying.
Absolutely it can all wait until...

@Sandiepatterson

Grrr, three sets of parents at our school are solicitors. Not family lawyers dealing with courts but plain old private client wills and trust lawyers. They most definitely could WFH but no, they've ALL sent their kids to school. AIBU to think they are being unreasonable?

My Dad had a stroke in December 2019, wasn’t discharged from hospital until end of February 2020. Because of the after effects of the strike and the fact he has advanced MS he was discharged straight to a care home. Because of COVID they stopped all visits some weeks before the full lockdown started. Only a few visits were allowed when things opened over summer, but only one person for one hour per week - which was his wife, my step mum. I haven’t seen him since Christmas 2019. He now desperately needs someone to have POA to help with his finances and pay his bills etc. He has mental capacity but limited physical capacity so can’t really write, use online banking, use phones very well. Thankfully my solicitor, behind classed as a key worker, is able to visit him in the home this week to set up the POA, or else the whole family would have a very difficult time sorting this out. He’s going to do his will at the same time. So yes, solicitors are essential key workers.

@OrigamiOwl

Houses are still being sold, cost e cases are still being held, wills are still needed, couples are still divorcing...

This. YABU.

I'm a civil court lawyer but my DH is not a keyworker so we can't get a childcare place. You both need to be keyworkers. My DH's job in a different sector is actually much more intense - more involved, far longer hours, he is more senior etc so I've been doing the legal work with a toddler and preschooler 'helping' me.

DH looks after the children for half an hour or so at a time when I dial in to appear in court for actual hearings but client meetings, meetings with other solicitors and counsel, experts, witnesses etc are often done with a 2 and a 4 year old in the same room, if not on my knee.

Frankly it's a nightmare but we're just getting on with it. Many people in the same boat and it's absolutely shit for everyone. I'm not working today so all is well

You can't work from home if the 300-year-old deeds you need to read are in the safe in your office.

You can't work from home and appear in court at the same time.

Of course they are key workers.

They’re not really rare, I do it for a living so far more qualified to comment on this. They also aren’t booked in with much notice so you need to be available.

You’ll just upset yourself stressing over other people’s jobs so it’s best not to worry.

@Buddytheelf85

LOL at ‘plain old private client wills and trust lawyers’. Solicitors dealing with wills are very firmly within the definition of critical worker. They’re specifically named. Because, in case you hadn’t noticed, there’s been rather a lot of death lately.

Also the ability to WFH doesn’t mean you’re not a critical worker.

That's what I thought as well. So much jealousy about critical workers, Covid really brings out the worst in some people.

The guidelines actually specifically say that solicitors offices don’t have to close, so they may still be required to go into the office if asked by employer, therefore they need to send their children to school.

Solicitors deal with safeguarding issues. As we've seen from some nhs workers just because you can work from home dosnet make it appropriate in some cases. Solicitors deal with court cases/conferences where children can be taken into care and the festivals as to why are read out not appropriate for a young one to be in the house. Particularly in cases of confronces these can take place at home even if not it's so important people get the representation.