Savannah law firms and courts have closed in advance of Hurricane Dorian, which on Tuesday was still hovering off the Florida coast.

As the hurricane slowly approaches, the Georgia coast east of I-95 is under an evacuation order that went into effect at noon on Monday. The Georgia DOT reversed the eastbound traffic lanes on I-16, so all lanes flowed west, at 8 a.m. on Tuesday to help people leave the coast.

Most law firms are closed through either Wednesday or Thursday and waiting to decide if they will reopen on Friday, depending on the weather.

Melanie Marks, Bouhan Falligant's managing partner, said her firm, located in downtown Savannah by Forsyth Park, is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Whether it reopens on Thursday depends on if I-16 is reopened, she said, but it will probably be open by Friday.

"If the trees hold, we will be fine," Marks said. "The big problem after Matthew was we lost thousands of trees in Chatham County."

Hurricane Matthew hit Savannah and the surrounding coast hard in 2016, and then Hurricane Irma struck in 2017.

Marks said she and her family, who live on Skidaway Island, left for Hurricane Matthew but this time plan to relocate to her sister's house in downtown Savannah, which is the highest ground in the area and has fewer trees than on the islands.

Another Savannah firm, Hunter Maclean, is also closed Tuesday and Wednesday. "Unless there is a change in the forecast and the mandatory evacuation order is lifted, the firm will likely be closed Thursday as well," said a recording on its main number.

Chatham County courts are closed from Tuesday through Thursday, according to a judicial declaration of emergency issued by Chief Judge Penny Freesemann of the Eastern Judicial Circuit's Superior Court. Chatham County Courthouse will reopen for business on Friday, according to the order. Filing deadlines are suspended during that time.

The Savannah U.S. Attorney's Office is closed Tuesday and Wednesday, but the Augusta U.S. Attorney's Office is staying open. Savannah Law School also is closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

Miles Mediation and Arbitration's Savannah office is closed through Thursday, said Dan Cohen, Miles' primary neutral for Savannah. Most people have evacuated, he said.

"It's a great disruption for everyone, but our first concern is safety," said Cohen, who is staying with his daughter in Charlotte. "We've had some near misses, but two hits in the last three years. Matthew was devastating, with trees down and no electricity. Irma was mostly water from the storm surge."

Friday is still up in the air, Cohen said. "A lot has to do with whether the attorneys are all back and available."

Cohen said he and other neutrals are busily rescheduling and rebooking mediations on the calendar for this week. "Everyone has been very understanding," he said.

Cohen said he's booked through October already, so he's offering Saturday availability to try and fit in the cases canceled this week.

"What concerns me the most is the trees falling from high winds," Cohen said, adding that he's got two live oaks in his yard. "They've been there 200 years, so my guess is they're not going anywhere, but high winds are always troublesome."

"Hopefully I'll be back at work doing a mediation on Friday," Cohen said.

Coastal areas in Florida from Palm Beach County northward were also under mandatory evacuation orders on Tuesday. In Miami, courts and many law offices are closed.