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?

You know that during a crisis/recession, employment lawyers are needed more than ever? Yes, we have to go to court (all hearings are currently either remote hearings or postponed) but there’s a shit storm of everything else to deal with that comes with the current situation - employees needing advice on pay/dismissal, companies needing support with redundancy, restructures and furlough, settlement agreements, liquidation.

I’ve managed to WFH 50% of the time for about 10 years, but to do that you need support staff in the office. Given that they’re nearly all furloughed, lawyers themselves now have to go and do the support work in the office on a rota basis. You can’t just tell the court you can’t comply with their deadlines because you can’t get childcare!

YABVU.

Can we have a new topic on mumsnet about who people think key workers should or shouldn't be then I can hide it!
Every time I see this topic I rol my eyes and then get sucked in! I must lean to cut the wheat from the chaff when it comes to reading threads!

Every time I see this topic I rol my eyes and then get sucked in!

I have resisted getting sucked in up to now - it is difficult though!

Are references to "critical workers" new - or did I just not notice before? Are they the same as key workers?!

I just don't understand why people think it was justified to close schools but then at the same time defend individuals or industries that while important, clearly could manage WFH and a child or three between them if they had to. I have many close friends who are solicitors and while WFH with children would be an absolute pain, it is in no way comparable to a nurse who has to actually be out the house, or a social worker taking vulnerable people zoom calls all day. I just think we should have kept the schools open if 50%+ children are in them anyway, instead of causing so much stress and risking our children's education and mental health again, for what??

YABU. Solicitors are key workers no matter what discipline, IMO. Whether it's family law property law, wills etc it's all important work that needs to be done.

I am a solicitor and a key worker (due to area I practice) but I am currently almost always able to work from home and therefore I am keeping my children home.

However, certain types of solicitor absolutely cannot just work from home and Wills and Probate would be one of those areas. They regularly need to actually see people for a number of reasons.

@notalwaysalondoner - agree completely. Some people are just taking the easier option because it’s there and they think they can get away with it. Someone I know is a 3 day a week university marketing officer (wfh since March) with a husband who runs his own flexible & totally non essential business. Kids are in 4 days a week. She is clutching a letter from the uni claiming she’s a critical worker despite school asking people not to send kids in if they can work from home. Why should they not have to juggle this between them like lots of other people are? It’s really infuriating and not fair on school staff or those children stuck at home.

Surely will and trust lawyers are snowed under right now, along with family lawyers doing divorce, orders of protection and other DV related business, child protection, and personal bankruptcy?

People have a right to get their legal business seen to in a timely manner, and a lot of legal business related to personal finances and domestic violence is vital.

FFS, is everyone a perpetual victim in MN?

Of course solicitors are key workers. Most legal proceedings are going ahead and I’d prefer it if my legal team was able to work not being distracted by noisy kids or homeschooling.

“Plain old private client and trust lawyer” 🤔

Bit rude. If you’d ever had to do a deathbed will for someone you’d understand that cannot be fine from home and is rather important to that individual and their family. Lockdown or no lockdown, If a Will isn’t executed and witnessed properly it won’t hold up. Plus if someone passes away, family members still need and want assistance in administering the estate. Whilst probate work can be carried out at home, some degree of office attendance is often necessary for original documents. Also telephone interviews etc are confidential and can be sensitive in nature- not always appropriate to have kids running around in the background. When you lose a loved one I think it’s reasonable to expect a degree of respect and professionalism, even if your solicitor contacts you from home.

Whilst not ‘front line’ And definitely not in the same league as the NHS or shop workers, Solicitors have worked hard during the Pandemic keeping services accessible for clients who are often going through a difficult time, whether that be a divorce, litigation, bereavement or a house move.

I’m a solicitor and don’t consider myself a key worker. I accept parts of my job would be supremely difficult if I had kids in tow (turning up for hearings for example) but that’s true of many jobs and doesn’t itself make me a key worker imo.

What planks! If you say so.

You have no idea why they may or not be a key worker and you don't really care because you're jealous, which is a very unattractive trait.

'Of course solicitors are key workers. Most legal proceedings are going ahead and I’d prefer it if my legal team was able to work not being distracted by noisy kids or homeschooling.'

I don’t dispute legal proceedings are going ahead however whilst wfh they should do what everyone else has to do and take turns looking after their dc. Time management. Look it up!

Obviously if they are single and aren't part of a support/childcare bubble that everyone else on mn seems to be then school may be their only option.

It should surely be a last resort not a first choice though.

Solicitors are key when you need one

Of course it is. House moves are still happening , court cases are still happening

I've just got home from being in court all day as a judge. What an arsehole am I hey! Not all cases can be adjourned forever nor heard virtually.

Just to cover my own arse my children are at home atm because my DH is looking after them, homeschooling etc

@GetOffYourHighHorse

'Of course solicitors are key workers. Most legal proceedings are going ahead and I’d prefer it if my legal team was able to work not being distracted by noisy kids or homeschooling.'

I don’t dispute legal proceedings are going ahead however whilst wfh they should do what everyone else has to do and take turns looking after their dc. Time management. Look it up!

Obviously if they are single and aren't part of a support/childcare bubble that everyone else on mn seems to be then school may be their only option.

It should surely be a last resort not a first choice though.

Key worker bashing, makes you sound jealous, controlling and miserable. It's all "unfair" and soooooo mean.

I suggest you leave it up to the schools to decide who gets and who doesn't get a key worker space and focus on your own life or train in a key worker role ready for the next pandemic

OP you haven’t got a clue

I work in private client.

Will drafting is not always simple and there are many, many ways solicitors can be sued by disappointed family members if someone dies and the Will hasn’t been drafted and executed correctly. You also need to make sure that there is no undue influence, to follow the golden rule where clients are older and their instructions deviate from previous Wills (which you may not have seen at the time instructions are taken), or where there is the possibility of mental incapacity, for example a diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Then there’s second marriages with children from previous marriages, where you might need to give different advice as well as IHT planning and trusts and so on and so on and so on.

This work is hard to do over the phone as you cannot see your client and you can pick up lots of information from what a client does not say during face to face meetings that just cannot be done on the phone. A lot of my clients who are in their eighties wouldn’t know how to have a Zoom meeting or a Skype call.

And some people are dying. Not necessarily death bed Wills but where there is a terminal illness. In my opinion this needs to be done in person.

These are not transactions, they are people who need help, support, advice, comfort, sympathy and care. Like the man I saw today who has no family and lost his wife of 60 years four weeks ago and who sobbed in my office.

It’s not always possible to work from home unfortunately.

'Key worker bashing, makes you sound jealous, controlling and miserable. It's all "unfair" and soooooo mean.'

No no you misunderstand I absolutely support keyworkers like hcps, police, shopworkers, van drivers and teachers to name but a few but imo those that can work from home shouldn't send their dc to school at the moment.

I accept the rules mean they can, but as has been said throughout this pandemic just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Ok, I’ll bite op.

Solicitors are not key workers. I hope you’re ok with an indeterminate amount of time waiting in your local police cell, should you ever be arrested, as obviously you’ll not be wanting a duty solicitor should an ex (arsehole) bf have you arrested for running an imaginary brothal.

I hope you don’t want to buy a new house or any land or contest any parking fines......

🥴🤦‍♀️🥴🤦‍♀️🥴

I feel like this is soo bitter OP, home schooling’s an absolute ballbag but you probably should of thought about this when you chose your career path...

This is light hearted btw I’m not in the mood for a keyboard spat this evening

Are we going to do this for every job on the critical worker list??

I've been amazed at how many people not only apparently know the ins and out of individual family circumstances but are also very knowledgeable about the details of so many professions.