A MESSAGE FROM THE OWNERS AND DIRECTORS OF HHG LEGAL GROUP – PERTH, ALBANY, MANDURAH AND JOONDALUP

The following plan is aligned with recommended measures of the Australian Government Department of Health, the Government of Western Australia and the Australian Medical Association of Western Australia.

HHG Legal Group will continue to conduct daily reviews of this plan to determine if additional measures are needed whilst the threat of COVID-19 remains dire.

BUSINESS CONTINUITY

On 2nd March, HHG has assembled a COVID-19 Continuity Committee of senior staff members who are meeting daily to review and manage the firm's response to the threat. These considerations will reflect changing recommendations of Government and experts to ensure firm operations, client service, confidentiality, office locations and face-to-face meetings remain, to the best of our knowledge and efforts, risk free for staff and visitors.

Office Hygiene Scheduling – all offices

At HHG our safety standards are extremely high as part of our commitment to reducing the risk to visitors and others. Since 2 March 2020, the following cleaning schedule has been in place to reduce the impact of coronavirus:

  • Increased ongoing commercial cleaning throughout the day in all four offices.
  • Bi-hourly antibacterial surface cleaning of all tabletops and surfaces including door handles, lift access buttons and other surfaces across all areas accessible to clients and staff.
  • Thorough cleaning of all meeting rooms and reception area following each meeting.

Working remotely

HHG Legal Group already embodies a flexible, family-friendly workplace culture. Staff have had remote access as part of a very secure portal system so our transition has been handled with ease. Client work will be responsive and seamless in the likely event that we need to close our offices fully.

Our latest investment in state of the art communications and security technology relating to a crisis like this was already in place, so you can be assured we are well ahead of our competitors in these areas.

  • Through legal industry best practice and standards accreditations (feel free to ask for more detail), you can rest assured that our remote working practices are both safe and effective. You will pay no more, and you will notice no difference in service levels, no matter where your solicitor is physically located. At all times the owners of the firm can be contacted on their personal mobile numbers, listed far below.
  • Investment in Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business and Zoom capabilities enable us to deliver state of the art video meeting and conferencing facilities.
  • Face-to-face consultations and conferrals with our solicitors and clients are still possible, seamless and instant. We can guarantee you will never be closer than 2 metres to anyone you are talking to in any of our offices.
  • Access to over 60 staff will remain unaffected and they will be on hand to assist you across any of the following areas:

In fact, from a client perspective, nothing changes if you don't want it to.

MEETINGS

Visitation Restrictions

In line with the restriction put on our employees, any client, supplier or contact of the firm wishing to enter any office of HHG Legal Group, will not:

  1. Have travelled internationally and/or domestically within the past 14 days, or live with someone who has returned from international or domestic travels within the past fortnight; and/or
  2. Be currently showing respiratory symptoms such as a sore throat, cough or runny nose, in conjunction with a fever.

CONTINUITY PLANS

Even with these restrictions mentioned above, HHG Legal Group is running as business as usual and have technologies in place to be able to offer clients and contacts alternative meeting options. These include:

  • State-of-the-art video meeting and group teleconferencing – HD, large screen, PC or mobile options are all on tap;
  • Telephone consultations;
  • Large meeting rooms that adhere to the 'safe from transmission' distance of at least 2m between meeting attendees; and
  • Alternative meeting points for necessary document signage or face-to-face meetings. We have already coined the phrase 'the two-metre meeting".

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.