At Stephenson & Fleming, LLP we are working hard to maintain the health and wellness of our employees and clients while also continuing to meet their legal needs during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The State of North Carolina is under a “Stay at Home Order” signed by Governor Roy Cooper on March 27, 2020. It went into effect at 5:00 pm on Sunday, March 30th and will remain in effect for 30 days. This order restricts the movement of residents outside of their homes unless it is for an essential activity. Law offices are considered essential services and allowed to remain open. Click here to read the Executive Order in detail and to review a list of essential activities and services.

Stephenson & Fleming, LLP is a boutique law firm with three full time staff members and one part-time contract employee. Our staff are continuing to work during NC’s Stay at Home Order both in our office and in their homes as necessary. We are mitigating our risks by doing as much work as possible from home and following social distancing requirements at all times when we leave our homes for essential activities.

One of our primary intents in our adoption practice is to use as many efficiencies as possible to keep costs low for our clients. To that end, we already engage in the use of virtual, telephonic, and video conferencing as our first and primary mechanism for client interaction. Our current clients will likely find that during this period of social distancing, their experience in communicating with us has not changed.

We do anticipate that there could be Covid-19 related complications or delays for families completing adoption related work due to the nuances and complexities of adoption cases. We are making every possible effort to mitigate delays where possible and anticipate any complexities that may arise. Regardless of the current situation, we continue our commitment to transparency with current or potential clients and will always be up front and honest about any factors affecting your legal case.

North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley has entered three orders directing the management of court proceedings since the pandemic began. The most recent order, issued on April 2, 2020 can be read here. Face to face hearings must be scheduled or rescheduled for June 1, 2020 or later. However, this most recent order also provides the option for Clerks of Court to conduct proceedings by remote audio and video transmissions. This most recent order provides our Firm the opportunity to request that hearings related to specific adoption cases continue via remote video conferencing. We will be requesting this option of Clerk of Court’s offices, when appropriate, in an effort to efficiently meet the needs of our clients in a timely manner.

WE CONTINUE TO ACCEPT NEW CLIENTS! To learn more about our adoption practice, please visit our Adoption FAQ. You can also reach out to Jamie Bazemore, our Adoption Facilitator directly at jamie@childandfamilylawyers.com. As always, our initial consultation call is free of charge.

During this unprecedented time, Stephenson & Fleming, LLP continues in our commitment to the children and families of NC.