Local attorney taking steps to avoid COVID-19

Though fears and concerns of the COVID-19 virus have forced many local business operations to a grinding halt, the wheels of justice continue to roll for local attorney Carl M. Joerger.

Specializing in numerous critical areas of law, Joerger, a self-admitted “clean freak,” has conceived a unique method of conducting business with his clients in a safer setting, as to avoid the potential of contracting and the spreading of the virus at his 1231 E. Basin Ave. location.

“Before the governor issued his directive, we have all made efforts to wipe down all of the tables, but we just took it up a notch,” he said. “After someone leaves, the door handles and the bathroom are sanitized. Each time somebody comes in, it’s clean and when they leave, it’s clean for the next group of people coming in. We Lysol everything here, and we also use the Lysol wipes. We were always clean freaks to begin with.”

For public good

As a result of Governor Steve Sisolak’s directive for all non-essential businesses to cease operations, Joerger said many people who are out of work will have a tough time making ends meet, especially when it comes down to paying one’s rent.

He noted that his law firm will likely handle the issue Pro Bono.

“If you are getting evicted or somebody is actually trying to take over your property in a district court setting, we will do those pro bono, so regarding eviction cases, our policy is pro bono on the defense of eviction,” he said. “We did pro bono cases in the past during the financial crisis, so defensive eviction cases will be pro bono. They halted eviction cases in Las Vegas, but they haven’t halted them here, so we are offering defense of eviction cases. If there is somebody trying to evict you, we can go into court and stop that. We can get you in here and file the affidavit for the tenant, get a hearing and stop eviction from going forward. If you are a landlord, however, you have to hire us.”

Business as usual

Additionally, this week’s closure of both justice and district court have not affected the business side of Joerger’s practice.

“I have a regular custody matter that’s coming up at the end of March and the court has directed us all to appear telephonically, and that’s fine,” he said. “We will have our client in here where we can do the whole telephonic thing. Emergency cases like abuse, neglect, and eviction cases are important and they have to go forward, as well as emergency custody orders, to keep one parent from kidnapping the child. Those are priorities for the court, and us also. We have a full-time staff and we’re ready to go.”

Shaking off handshakes

After practicing law full-time for more than 25 years, 17 of which have been in Pahrump, Joerger has shaken countless hands of clients, defendants and colleagues.

At present, he said he no longer partakes in the greeting ritual.

“We’re not doing the shaking hands thing out of an abundance of caution,” he noted. “We stopped that before the governor’s declaration. My staff got on me for that because I like shaking people’s hands, but a couple of weeks ago my staff told me that I had to stop shaking people’s hands.”

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes