I've lost track of the number of emails I've received from law firms around the world, letting me know that they're still operating despite the coronavirus, and informing me of the steps they're taking to protect the health of their employees and their clients. Guys, unless your firm consists entirely of octogenarians, it's not going to wipe out your entire firm, and I'm not worried that I'm going to have an urgent filing in Timbuktu and no one will be around to attend to it. In fact, coronavirus probably isn't going to claim anyone at your firm. If I do have something urgent, I'll clarify first that you can deal with the matter right now, whether or not you've sent me a reassuring email beforehand. And I personally am not really not worried about being infected by this virus, or by any other pathogen, from someone located hundreds or thousands of of miles away.
The emails aren't limited to law firms. I think every retailer I've ever dealt with online has sent me something to reassure me that they're still in business. And in the case of travel-related companies, hoping I'll book a flight or reserve a hotel room or a rental car. But I put law firms in their own category, because, as a lawyer friend of mine once pointed out, "If we weren't risk-averse, we would have gone to business school."
The Israel PTO informed us that it would carry on with examination of patent, trademark and design applications as usual, but there would be no in-person meetings with members of the public, and all hearings in adjudicative proceedings are deferred until further notice. Then last night the PM told us the public sector is going to be pared back even further, so I expect an announcement today that ILPTO examiners will be working from home.
What I'm surprised about - and this is the cynic in me talking - is that I haven't yet seen an attempt by a law firm to capitalize on the current situation, in the way, for example, that lots of firms tried to make money in 1999 by scaring people about the potential "Y2K" disaster that never materialized. But clearly, some people are being advised by lawyers. I saw a letter circulated to residents at a retirement home, explaining that, as precautionary steps, no visitors would be allowed, social functions and gatherings would be prohibited, meals would be delivered to residents' rooms, and residents would need to practice "social distancing" in the common areas that were still open (which, the letter didn't state but is an obvious conclusion to be drawn from it, precludes playing card games or board games or doing puzzles. You can still do mad-libs, though, and charades.). Those steps are, of course, justified by the advice being given by the health authorities (although there were no government orders mandating such action in that particular home at that time), but I couldn't help thinking that the letter could just as easily have said, "Dear residents, if we don't take these steps and one of you contracts coronavirus and as a result is injured or dies, we could be exposed to significant financial liability. But we have no exposure if you all die of boredom, so this one's a no-brainer."
Looking forward to a resumption of normalcy, sometime.