The most important service the Registry provides our families and litigants is the front counter experience. In recognition of this fact, Register McDonough reconfigured the front counter so all employees at the front counter would be able to answer questions about both the Domestic Relation and Probate sides of our office. All employees were cross trained, a rotation was established so every employee spends time on the counter and our department system was replaced with a team organization that focuses on processing cases by number instead of subject matter. The result has been faster processing of cases, more experienced employees interacting with the public at the front counter and an employee environment where team members support each other.
In order to better serve the growing number of families who are struggling with the Opioid Crisis, Matt worked with local attorneys to create a Guardianship Legal Clinic in the Registry. Hundreds of families have received high quality, free legal advice about Guardianship of incapacitated adults as well as children whose parents cannot take care of them due to substance abuse disorder. The Clinic is open to the public on the first and third Wednesday’s of the month at 1pm in the Plymouth Registry. The Guardianship Clinic has grown in this county and is now being implemented in other counties.
As a supplement to the work of the Legal Guardianship Clinic, Matt has started a partnership with The Massachusetts Guardianship Academy to provide training for families who are guardians of incapacitated adults. The trainings cover responsibilities of the guardian, limitations to authority, rights of the person under guardianship and other topics that are important to be familiar with when becoming a guardian.
Matt partnered with the PLATT program (paralegal training program for students with intellectual challenges) and for two years has been hosting a student on the Autism spectrum as an intern. The internship has been a resounding success with our student learning our filing system and assisting the Registry with processing of many tasks. The PLATT internship has shown our staff, litigants, Attorneys and colleagues in the Trial Court that those who may be considered disabled might just have a different type of ability. Register McDonough is currently developing a program that will expand upon this internship opportunity within the Registry.
The Attorney of the Day Program in the Plymouth County Registers’ Office is run by Register McDonough and The Pilgrim Bar Advocates. Register McDonough has provided training, computers and printers for the volunteer Attorneys as they provide general legal advice to litigants in both offices on a daily basis. Annually, over 130 attorneys volunteer their time for this program and serve over 3,500 litigants who otherwise could not afford legal advice.
