Court Closures in Massachusetts: How do I manage my legal issues?

The Supreme Judicial Court has ordered that all jury trials that were in progress on March 15, 2020 and were suspended by the court closures on March 16th and 17th are now declared to be a mistrial. This means these cases will have to start all over again. The time and expense of preparing all of these trials, the emotional toll on the litigants and the liberty interest that were and are at stake cannot be overstated.  It is almost unimaginable. The cost of doing these cases over is staggering and may make re-trial virtually impossible. 

Courts will be open, but primarily to deal with emergencies. Matters will be addressed via teleconferences or video conferences. Final decisions in all types of legal matters may be held at bay for months.

As an alternative, parties in civil matters, family and domestic relations matters, such as divorce, modifications, custody and support actions have an alternative. They and their attorneys can seek an alternative to pursuing their remedies in court. The alternative is attorney assisted mediation and arbitration. There are many arbitration services in which by agreement the parties can litigate their dispute of legal matter to a final resolution, often for less than the cost of litigating the matter in court.             

If you have a legal matter of any type that has been delayed or interrupted, contact us so we can determine if there are viable alternatives to pursing your important legal matter in court, or suffering by court closures and uncertain delay.  Our attorneys can also act as experienced neutrals should you desire our services in mediation matters.