Covid 19 Update Procedures and Plan

COVID-19: An Update from 9 Park Place Chambers on our Procedures and Plans

We wanted to contact you to update you on our procedures around the COVID-19 outbreak. We are following the relevant guidance issued by Public Health Wales, National Health Service, our regulatory bodies, HMCTS and the Ministry of Justice.

As matters have continued to develop we have maintained three key priorities as part of our Business Continuity Plan:

• • The health and safety of members, staff, clients and visitors to chambers;

• • Chambers remaining open for business and functioning as normally as possible for as long as possible;

• • Keeping members available to attend to their hearing commitments.

Hand sanitiser is available in all public areas and guidance has been issued on hygiene, including “Catch It”, “Bin it”, “Kill it” and the importance of hand washing generally. We have been limiting all footfall in chambers since Monday and have suspended all face-to-face meetings – of any sort - indefinitely.

From Monday March 23^rd we will move into the next phase of our plan which will include staff working from home remotely on a rota basis. This will provide that Chambers will remain physically open unless until the government advice changes and we move into a more restrictive social setting. If that does happen we will all work remotely.

When working remotely we will have full access to our system and emails will be dealt with as usual. Calls will be forwarded from the main switchboard (02920 382731) to staff working either remotely or in chambers. If we all need to work remotely for any reason please call the switchboard number above and you will be given a list of options to press to reach staff members.

We would ask that case papers now be provided digitally wherever possible to avoid people having to deliver or travel to collect unnecessarily.

Chambers is able to offer a remote-access telephone conferencing facility for all case conferences. Skype facilities can also be made available. Please ask the clerks for further details.

We appreciate that these are worrying times but wanted to assure you that we are very much business as usual for now and have contingency plans in place for the future.

If you have any queries please contact our Senior Clerk, Michael Lieberman, in the first instance please by email to mlieberman@9parkplace.co.uk

Best wishes

Paul Hopkins QC [Head of Chambers]

Michael Lieberman [Senior Clerk]

9 Park Place Chambers

Information correct as at 19^th March 2020 [@ 1400 hours]