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?

I think being able to get a will drafted during a pandemic is essential.

I’m a Willwriters and the work has gone through the roof.

But it can so easily done from home
As can my commercial and legal job

@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?

Haha yeah, not like there's many people dying atm is it?

@Thisisworsethananticpated

But it can so easily done from home As can my commercial and legal job

So you'd be giving out your home adress for paperwork?

Brave.

@Kochicoo I’ve had the same experience this year and feel burnt out and exhausted. Finding this post a bit insulting. As well as the wills I’ve had lots of new probate and you can’t cut short time spent with someone who is in the immediate aftermath of a loss. Or a client whose husband has terminal illness and they want help with LPAs. I guess some people don’t understand these situations unless they are in them

Yes, people just don't understand. For example if you are giving your all to someone who is newly bereaved you simply cannot have 2 children of 5 and 6 in the room at the same time.

Also you will make mistakes disastrously for the client if there is any noise as you cannot concentrate unless I suppose you strap the children to their beds and lock their door and go off for 3 hours to do the complex work.

If you can work from home - homeschool like everyone else. Only if both parents cannot WFH should children be allowed in schools. No exceptions.

There are so many jobs where this is just not possible. Not all jobs are the same and just because you wfh doesn't mean you suddenly have free time and flexibility.

Everyone is a key worker now as apparently not only does the state aka the taxpayer have to feed your child but it also has to provide childcare facilities (schooling) so that mummy and daddy can continue to coin it in working whilst exporting child care bills to the state. Thats the long and short of it in many cases,pure greed.

Dont let anyone kid you,its dog eat dog. Always has been,always will be.

Of course the legal system is an essential service! Who knew teachers were so judgemental about the families of the kids they teach.

Who knew teachers were so judgemental about the families of the kids they teach.

Thankfully not all teachers. I spoke directly to my son's teacher and explained our situation. She was very understanding and kind.

Solicitors are essential of course.
All jobs should be considered as important as each other if mortgages are to be paid and food is bought.
Who's job is more important is becoming another way to divide us.
Why are earth all school staff, primary first, aren't being vaccinated now is beyond me. Then schools can re-open much sooner, parents can go back to work and the economy will recover.
Unfortunately school staff don't have the luxury of isolating themselves until they are vaccinated like some other groups can. They are face to face with known spreaders without proper ppe.

There’s so much bitterness and jealousy on these threads. Getting into a tizz on Mumsnet isn’t going to suddenly stop you seething that all those nasty, highly qualified and essential workers’ children get a place at school when yours don’t...

Totally agree about bitterness and divisiveness of society at the moment, it’s really sad.

My DCs school and teachers are amazing for the record, don’t get any sense that they’re resentful about the DC being in school,

It is very hard to decide whose job is worthy of a school place. In fact what we probably learn from all this is that we are like bees in a hive - all of us playing some kind of part to keep the whole thing continuing and that if you stop some parts of the system the rest collapses and that we all need each other in a sense from the Governor of the Bank of England down to my son driving a food delivery van.

It really isn’t as simple as if you can wfh you don’t need a key worker space. Lots can some can’t hence Govt and Law Society Guidance that some Solicitors are key workers. 15 minute remote court hearing and a sensible 8 year old fine to leave them on iPad and say do not come in under any circumstances. 4 and 5 year old and a one day remote hearing not safe or appropriate to leave them all day hence qualify for a place. Lots of work it’s totally inappropriate from both child and client confidentiality point of view to have a young child in room or interrupting - crime, child protection, domestic violence, mental health. All areas of work on increase due to covid. Hearings or taking witness statements can take hours. You’ve led a very sheltered life if you can’t imagine the types of things that are spoken about - child abuse, horrible language, violence, violent sexual assaults. Solicitors need to be precise you can’t use euphemisms. I don’t do those areas of work now but vividly recall a child protection court hearing as a trainee where all the older female barristers wouldn’t let me see the photos as they were too upsetting and I was 22! And no you can’t just do it at night if there’s a court hearing or child protection conference with other parties.

This kind of argument is why the schools should have had some kind of a rota for children, rather than the key worker=in and everyone else=out rule. Lots of people HAVE TO work, i.e. self employed with no back up - their clients/customers will leave them if they don't do their work. The Key worker idea was fine at first for a short duration, but now we're nearly a year on, there should be a better way of dealing with it, or there'll be no economy left and that will effect everyone.

My solicitor is definitely not a key worker. I can't get a hold of him for love nor money. I hired them to deal with my mothers estate thinking it would be easier.. how wrong I was. Nobody has updated me since August despite me emailing and calling repeatedly. So I hope he is tied up homeschooling his kids!

@VanGoghsDog I've had the same nanny since my youngest was 8 months and he's now 5 and a half. Norland trained actually and although we were moving towards school run/homework/tea plus full time in the holidays (with her enthusiastic agreement as she has other part time work in school hours) we went back to paying her 3/4 of full time salary so that she is on retainer to drop everything and do full time hours when there is no school. She did only 3 full days before Christmas but will be full time now until schools return. Her other job is SE and can't be done during lock down.

She's still a nanny even if she is part time and frankly my very tricky 5yo needs just as much input as he did at 3 (although less likely to throw himself under a moving car these days!).

But that was a lucky happenstance of timing and there are many people who either can't afford a nanny or let theirs go once their youngest started FT school. We had a chance to keep her part time and it's been life saving from a work perspective (if a lot more expensive than I hoped for childcare at this point in my children's lives!). But they go to state school so at least I'm not paying private school fees on top!

@Arnoldthecat

Everyone is a key worker now as apparently not only does the state aka the taxpayer have to feed your child but it also has to provide childcare facilities (schooling) so that mummy and daddy can continue to coin it in working whilst exporting child care bills to the state. Thats the long and short of it in many cases,pure greed.

Dont let anyone kid you,its dog eat dog. Always has been,always will be.

Well aren't you busy this morning, spreading your spite around Mumsnet?

Well aren't you busy this morning, spreading your spite around Mumsnet?

Are you suggesting that what i have stated isnt the case? I know it seems ugly and unpleasant but its survival of the fittest. I shall be off out to work to do my bit to keep the state afloat shortly and leave mumsnet in middle class fluffiness.

I'm on the fence. As a solicitor I could get a place I think (dont need one atm). Agree wills and trusts prob need to be in atm and wont be able to visit or conduct vital urgent work with young children around. There are in addition to practical issues, issues around confidentiality. In respect of my work, some tribunals and courts have gone online for hearings, but those that I deal with for many cases are still insisting on attendence in person, and refusing applications for remote hearings (even in circs where they have the facilities to do so). When you have remand courts and criminal trials that need to go ahead then that is essential. The frustrating thing is that the government could force the courts to hear most stuff online, but they chose not to. And the courts I have been to are NOT Covid safe!

@formerbabe

You missed the memo. EVERYONE is a key worker now. And if home learning will cause you a mild inconvenience, then apparently you can get a school place for your kids...

I work for the government and have been working from home for 9 months. All staff have been offered a letter to say we are key workers in order to get a school place for children none of these staff are required to attend the office or leave their house for any work reasons so, yeah, ‘key worker’ doesn’t really mean anything

My Ddad died in the autumn of 2019. His will (and estate) was quite straightforward , it's still not concluded despite the fact the solicitors have worked through the lockdowns, I presume there must be someone in their offices as the mail is franked from there. I imagine they are pretty busy!

I've heard solicitors dealing with property conveyancing are snowed under at the moment

I'd imagine there would be A LOT of people fucked if they suddenly stopped working to homeschool and chains weren't able to complete before the stamp duty holiday ends.