In this reduction phase of the pandemic, i.e., reduced staff, reduced hours, reduced visitors, reduced office conversations about last night’s dream (turns out not all reductions are bad), don’t let an upcoming deadline get reduced to a legal malpractice claim.

As the Ohio Supreme Court has stated, a court complete shut down is not currently an option. Justice O’Connor will address this issue at a conference March 19, 2020 around 2 pm. However, if you are coming up on a deadline within the next month or two or three, now is the time to make sure the filing is filed forthwith. Not all counties have had the resources to shift to efiling. Get that car accident case that you have been “developing” for 23 months filed! Do not count on a blanket judicial order tolling the statute of limitations while the clerk’s offices are currently open (albeit commonly on restricted hours and staff).

OACTA, the Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys, has a publicly available list of court and judicial updates due to the Coronavirus on their website. It is a great resource put together by its members that will save you sitting on hold with the clerk’s office to find out the same information.