A leading North East commercial law firm has launched a new helpdesk, which enables businesses and organisations to speak to a team of lawyers for pointers on legal concerns arising from the coronavirus crisis.

The COVID-19 Business Helpdesk is a free service created by Muckle LLP, the Newcastle-based independent law firm, to back up its existing online hub and give businesses and organisations an extra helping hand following the outbreak.

Calls and emails to the helpdesk will be picked up by dedicated lawyers who will personally help guide people through the myriad of information available online, or connect them to specialist advice if needed.

Through its existing online hub, the firm has also produced a series of articles, podcasts, webinars and Q&A guides which explain how businesses and organisations can respond to all kinds of coronavirus related legal challenges.

Jason Wainwright, managing partner at Muckle, said: “It is fantastic to see how everyone in the business community is pulling together and trying to help each other during the crisis, but there is so much information that is changing all the time and it is confusing for businesses and organisations.

“After launching a COVID-19 support hub on our website a few weeks ago, which has seen a lot of traffic, we have created our helpdesk to guide companies to the material and resources that are most helpful for their situation. It’s a step further than our online hub because it is a personal service with free access directly to our lawyers.

“Every business and organisation is different and having someone knowledgeable available to listen and respond to queries over the phone, on email or face to face through Skype, can save people valuable time and give them confidence that they are following the right guidance.

“We won’t be able to answer every query there and then. Some are going to be more complex and require detailed advice, maybe from an accountant, a tax adviser or one of our specialist legal teams, but even in these cases we can point people in the right direction.

“We don’t want any business or organisation to feel lost because of coronavirus. There is a wealth of free support available that the Muckle COVID-19 Business Helpdesk can put people in touch with and that’s a great starting point.”

Businesses and organisations can call the helpdesk on 0191 211 7773 or email covid19businesshelpdesk@muckle-llp.com for pointers on how to tackle coronavirus related business legal concerns.

Go to www.muckle-llp.com to learn more and view the firm’s COVID-19 support hub.