Legal Notice No. 406 of 2020 seeks to extend the waiver period for late filing penalties under the Companies Act, Chapter 81:01, from December 31, 2020 to March 31, 2021. We have also closely followed updates from the Department of Health and the government. Like all citizens, we are relieved that the sacrifices we have made so far have allowed the number of reported cases to remain stable in recent days. However, we are well aware that such statistics are no reason to rest on one`s laurels. On 25 April 2020, the Prime Minister announced that: (i) the stay-at-home order will be extended until 15 May 2020; (ii) effective Monday, April 27, there would be an increase in COVID-19 testing; and (iii) based on the results of enhanced surveillance tests, paragraph 10. An announcement will be made in May 2020 to determine whether Trinidad and Tobago is able to ease restrictions. Our lawyers are eager to help you in this crisis and are actively looking for ways to do so. On April 3rd, we hosted the company`s first Covid-19 webinar, a recording of which was posted on our website, and we also created a dedicated Covid-19 information portal with information and resources to help you navigate this unprecedented situation. We will post legal updates on the portal on relevant local developments and issues of interest to you. We are also aligning with the guidance of other Lex Mundi companies that are responding to the crisis in various jurisdictions around the world. As a priority for the health and well-being of all our employees, we have decided to extend our Work from Home protocols until May 15, 2020.
As before, we will operate exceptionally outside our premises according to the needs of our customers. Over the coming days, we will focus on making appropriate arrangements to resume our activities in our offices, keeping in mind the need to continue to take prudent measures to mitigate the risks of the spread of the virus. Please send your CV to mhs@trinidadlaw.com or careers@trinidadlaw.com. Your request will be treated as strictly confidential. The Prime Minister announced last week an extension of his call for citizens to stay home until April 30, 2020. As a result, we have made the decision to extend work-from-home protocols until April 30, 2020. While we at Mr. Hamel-Smith & Co. continues to monitor reports on the impact of COVID-19 in Trinidad and Tobago, we remind you that we stand with you and remain committed to providing exceptional business-focused legal solutions and services and working with you during this crisis. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. As you know, on March 27, the government asked all citizens, except those who provide some basic services, to stay home until April 15. While law firms were deemed essential, we made the decision to have the entire firm work from home during that time.
Our decision was limited by the exception that members would leave their homes as soon as necessary to fulfill our obligations to you, our valued customers. As expected, such extraordinary circumstances occurred and we were able to overcome these challenges thanks to the efforts of our frontline employees. There is no doubt that Covid-19 poses a threat to the economic survival of many businesses around the world. Trinidad is not immune. In order to mitigate the risks to you, we are committed to (i) continuing to anticipate your needs; (ii) a rapid and professional response to these needs; and (iii) position ourselves to meet your existing and new needs at the other end of this crisis. We promoted the measures identified by health authorities to reduce the risk of transmission. We advised against all non-essential client visits to our offices and switched to online meetings and video conferencing. Our lawyers have the tools to work remotely and remain reachable by phone and email. Individual phone numbers and email addresses for each lawyer are available on our website. We continue to strive to support you, our customers, even in this crisis. Having already had to make this adjustment last year, we are confident that we can implement this measure for you without any loss of performance.
I hope all of you and your family members are well. Therefore, following yesterday`s announcement by the government to require non-essential employees to stay home from midnight on Sunday, March 29 until April 15, we have decided to close our offices and fully switch to our remote office protocol for the prescribed period. The Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs announced an extension of the amnesty for late sentences for businesses. Since my last update, we have continued to focus on providing transparent customer service despite our circumstances. We are monitoring the situation and will provide an update when full service is restored. Your friendly understanding is greatly appreciated. We have been notified that the following email message was sent to specific people during a phishing attempt. This message was not generated by this company. As the outbreak developed in Trinidad, we anticipated that further adjustments to our operations would likely be required to align with WHO and our local health authorities, and we took proactive steps to ensure that our entire organization would be able to operate remotely. Under the Trinidad and Tobago Police Services Act, there are no restrictions on the exercise of the power to arrest a police officer in accordance with the direction indicated in the false message, either on the basis of the gender of the arresting officer or the alleged offender, nor any such restriction on the time of day at which the officer may make an arrest. Our offices will reopen on Monday, January 3, 2022. The health and well-being of our employees, customers, their families and the wider community is our top priority, and we are taking proactive steps and aligning our activities with WHO and local health guidelines.
This situation has affected the Internet connection to several providers in Trinidad and Tobago. As a result, the company is currently without internet service and currently cannot confirm when service will be restored. At this time, we are unable to access or respond to your email communications. However, you can contact our lawyers directly via the firm`s phone number (868) 299-0981 or their individual mobile phone numbers. A message that is supposed to be a statement from our office about the ability – or rather the inability – of male police officers to arrest female citizens at night is disseminated via email and WhatsApp. The message states that “it is a procedural matter that a woman can only be arrested between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. if she is stopped by a female officer and taken to a women-only police station. If she is stopped by a male officer, it must be proven that a female police officer was on duty at the time of the arrest. The Trinidad and Tobago Telecommunications Authority (TATT) announced that international cable connection via Curacao has been interrupted. If you`re a customer-centric, creative, solution-oriented thinker with excellent technical and interpersonal skills, as well as a proven team approach, we`d love to hear from you.
We offer exciting career opportunities in a collegial work environment. Given the dynamics of this situation, we anticipate that further adjustments may be required and we are ready to make them and keep you informed. Please note that due to the Tropical Storm Warning from the Meteorological Service of Trinidad and Tobago, the company will be closed from 13:00 today, Tuesday 28 June 2022. This crisis is testing us all, reminding us how closely connected we all are, and challenging us to be our best. If we do this, together we will emerge stronger and more resilient than ever. Please note that only suitable candidates will be considered. The health and well-being of our employees, customers, their families and the wider community remains our top priority. Please ask the people in your company who received the message to ignore the related links and not click on them. Please make it available to your internal IT department so that they can take appropriate action. Please note that the company will be closed from Friday, December 24, 2021 to Sunday, January 2, 2022.
Our lawyers remain available by phone and email. Individual phone numbers and email addresses for each lawyer are available on our website. Thank you for your understanding and support during this difficult time. Best wishes for continued health, well-being and patience as we tackle this public health challenge together. The message is fake news. The connection with our law firm is deeply regretted. As a result, we have proactively decided to suspend our remote desktop protocol effective September 4. May 2021 by May 23, 2021. Our lawyers remain available by phone and email. Individual phone numbers and email addresses for each lawyer are available on our website. As this dynamic situation develops, we anticipate that we may need to make further adjustments and we will certainly advise you. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.
In addition to the fact that our firm has been wrongly associated with advice that we have not given, it is doubly worrying that the advice itself is wrong. In the next course, we will keep you informed. Our lawyers can be contacted via their email addresses and mobile phone numbers listed on this website. The business will reopen on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at 8:15 a.m. This message is not from our law firm. Unfortunately, our name was mistakenly associated with this news about 10 years ago when it was circulated via email.
