Office Procedures

Our regular office hours are approximately 9:00 AM until 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday.  On closed days and after 4:30 PM, the regular phone number will roll over to voicemail.  The fax, (330) 643-0732, is on 24 hours a day.

We are always closed for National Holidays: Labor Day, Memorial Day, President’s Day, Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving Thursday and Friday, Christmas Day (sometimes Christmas Eve, too, depending on the day of the week upon which it falls), and New Year’s Day.

You may leave a confidential and detailed message with the real, live human beings who answer the phone during business hours.  They are very intelligent people and very capable of writing a detailed message.  Any message you may leave on voicemail after hours is also confidential.

The lawyers are sometimes in Court for entire days, and often gone for several hours, so please do not get upset if a lawyer does not call you back right away.  Three calls within the same day do not get quicker attention if we are in Court for all of them.  Sometimes email is the better way to communicate, for clarity and ability to respond in a timely manner.

Often the person who is answering the phone will be able to answer your questions so long as you are not asking for legal advice and can certainly take information from you.  Sometimes there will be a break at Court, and we can call the office for messages and can relay a short answer to you.

We will never interrupt a client meeting with me to take a call from another client, so please do not expect other clients to have their time interrupted either.  We will, however, always take a call from a Judge or a Magistrate and will take a call from opposing counsel in your case while meeting with you.

You will receive a copy of every pleading, every letter, every fax, every email and everything else that comes in or goes out of the office concerning your case, so you will be informed of the status of your matter at every stage.  Be aware, however, that there may be psychological reports, CSB investigatory findings, and other documents stamped “Confidential – not to be released,” so we cannot by law, give you copies of those.  All else, though, is about your life, and you will receive copies of everything.  Do not leave these papers in a place where the other side or your children may have access to them.  If there is a place other than your residence address where you wish to receive written correspondence, make sure we have that preference in your file.

We will usually read email the same weekday you send it and will try to respond within two (2) business days (a business day is Monday through Friday, excluding holidays), unless some major unusual incident involving Internet access occurs, which will happen about once a year despite the assurances from the utility provider.

It is important that you provide the information requested from you as soon as you possibly can.  You can help us help you in this way.  

Melissa Graham-Hurd