Interview John A Cochran, Esq.

This weeks Interview John A Cochran, Esq. discusses a little about what his firm is experiencing due to COVID-19. John is an attorney in Greensburg, PA and has been in the legal field for fifteen years. As an accountant combined, he’s been in the tax profession for thirty-four years. He practices tax, estate, and business law.

John’s love of numbers and knowledge of all things taxes makes him a versatile attorney able to help individuals and businesses alike. Let’s see what John had to say about taxes and law during this Coronavirus situation in his Interview John A Cochran, Esq…

Interview John A Cochran, Esq. Image of John sitting at a desk in a dark gray suit coat and dark tie.
John A Cochran, Esq.
Question 1:

77 Design Co: Let’s get right to it. How has this COVID-19 stuff affected your practice?

John A Cochran, Esq: Oh, it’s drawn things to a crawl. Firstly, the government closed the IRS, or rather, they are working from home. This makes it difficult to get ahold of anyone. So, their responses are lacking.

They extended filing deadlines until July. This has stretched out what was due in April. A lot of businesses I work with are shutdown or constricted. As a result, that’s made my practice constricted as well.

Interview John A Cochran, Esq. Photograph of John sitting at a desk in a pink dress shirt.
Question 2:

77: You’ve been open through all of this? Why?

JAC: I’m a CPA as well as an attorney. Also, the Governors Order didn’t apply being that I’m the only employee.

Question 3:

77: So, can you explain a little about how this crisis changed taxes or tax laws?

JAC: There’s the Employee Retention Credit to keep employees on. That’s a 50% refundable tax credit. Filing and extended tax dates have been changed. Penalties have been waved for late fees. The second estimate is due June fifteenth, and the first estimate is July fifteenth. Go figure.

Question 4:

77: Further, do you have any tax advice for anyone reading?

JAC: Yea. I’ll say get your stuff done regardless of extensions. Don’t wait. Then, I will also say, in order for compliance for the PPP you have to file taxes. If you get a line of credit from a non-government source you’ll still have to have the taxes done.

Photograph of John A Cochran, Esq business card and calculator laying on tax forms.
John A Cochran, Esq business card and calculator.
Question 5:

77: Have you spoken to any of your local or regional colleagues? How are other attorneys doing through all of this?

JAC: Everyone I’ve spoken to, with the courthouses shut down, nobody really knows what’s going on. A lot have reluctantly laid off employees. It’s thrown everything out of whack. Meanwhile, hearings and meetings by phone or video, in some instances, is proving difficult on all parties involved.

Question 6:

77: Additionally, you mentioned business and estate law. Generally, how can your services help others with these?

JAC: Well, I can work on estate plannings. We still have to get their assets to the beneficiaries that they want them to get to.

With business, for example, everyone’s kind of upside down. Business is hurting everywhere. For that reason, I’ll give them whatever advice I can with a free consult. Any way I can help I will. I’ve been dealing with businesses for thirty five years, so there’s some experience there. Finally, if you need business law advice, give me a call.

Question 7:

77: We always end these interviews on a positive note. Can you tell us something positive that you’ve noticed during these times?

JAC: So, I think businesses in the U.S. are resilient. Look at the stock markets. People are still buying. Next, the U.S. economy is resilient. We will all get through this mess.

Interview John A Cochran, Esq. Image of the John A Cochran, Esquire sticker on his law office front door.
A word from 77:

Thanks to John for taking the time to talk with us for this: Interview John A Cochran, Esq. Here is John’s website. You can check out more about him and his services here: https://www.jacochranlaw.com

To sum up, we’ve mentioned in our last blog, law is of significant importance to us here at 77. We see what our attorney friends go through and the extensive amounts of work involved. There’s also reasons why hiring one is not always the least expensive thing you can do. However, we highly respect them and their dedication to their practice. When the dust settles, subsequently, it will be the attorneys and judges rulings that will define what is happening with these COVID situations.

On a daily basis, attorneys can help with almost any situation in life. Whether it’s a divorce, business, criminal, tax, estate, or the myriad other amounts of laws being practiced, they can be of great importance. Our advice, when you find a great attorney for any situation you need help with, treat them well. They could wind up helping you more than you’d ever imagine.

Conclusion:

77 Design Co. is committed to helping small business succeed. We want to help keep their doors open, and keep roofs over their family’s heads. Keeping your business alive during this mess is crucial.

Finally, contact us if you own a business, or know of a business owner that needs marketing help. We are volunteering work at heavily discounted rates (or in some instances free) to keep business stable in our county and local area. Any way we can help, we will.

Additionally, here’s our services: https://77designco.com/services-2/

77 Design Co logo