Questions and Professional Answers

• Criminal Law Confidentiality

  What laws are there on confidentiality?What are lawyers taught in school about it?Is a lawyers confidentiality with his' or hers' client considered immorality and dishonesty?How do you personally feel abotu the matter?

• Confidentiality after death

  Is there confidentiality after death? If a patient with no will, no siblings, no spouse, and no children, commits suicide, does his therapist have the right to identify the person as a patient and discuss his case by name? If the therapist has been designated as the deceased's ''representative'' does that change concerns about confidentiality?Thanks for your assistance

  • Re: Confidentiality after death

    see California Civil Code Sections 56.10 through 56.16 at:http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection=civ&codebody=&hits=20see also:http://www.usdoj.gov/04foia/04_7_1.html

    Donald Field
    Donald L. Field, Jr., Attorney at Law

• Confidentiality clauses and criminal activity

  I have a question relating to confidentiality clauses in internal college hearings. If during the hearing, it is found out that the accused has committed a severe crime, like rape or murder, are the participants in the hearing not able to report the crime to appropriate law enforcement officials due to the confidentiality clause?

  • Re: Confidentiality clauses and criminal activity

    No, the public policy concerns favoring full disclosure to law enforcement of allegations of serious crimes in such a situtaion as described would necessarily trump any constraints that would ordinarily be imposed on the participants by the college's confidentiality requirements.

    Michael E. Hendrickson
    Attorney & Counsellor at Law

• Agreement - Need Help

  Hi there, I have a question to which I am seeking answers to. How do I go about putting together a Confidentiality Agreement or NCND & Confidentiality Agreement together without disclosing the where-abouts of the premises. Seems a bit risky to let the other Broker / Buyer / Client know the address on the agreement before he signs it. He just might go ahead and see the address and not even sign the paper. It is quite difficult. Please help me out -maybe if you have the proper agreement in this case. I eventualy may have to type up a confidentiality agreement with th address of the property. (Maybe if I am allowed I can have my client sign a confidentiality agreement with no address and then make him sign another one with the address). I dont know what to do, It is so stressfull please help me. Thanks for your time.

  • Re: Agreement - Need Help

    Contact me Monday if you want me to prepare this agreement for you and discuss your options.

    David W. Nance
    DWNance.com founding member of NanceGroup.com

• Confidentiality/Non-Compete - change in work status

  I am curious if a confidentiality/non-compete agreement signed back in 2003 will still stand now given that I was full time until 2006 then changed to part-time employee. If my status changes, does the initial confidentiality agreement still hold up in court? Thanks for your help.

  • Re: Confidentiality/Non-Compete - change in work status

    The enforcement of a confidentiality agreement is always something of a roll of the dice, dependent on facts and circumstances unique to each case. A mere reduction in hours would not, in my view, be enough to render a confidentiality obligation imposed as a condition of employment unenforceable. The answer might be different, however, were an employee moved to contractor status or there was no guarantee of a specific number of hours per pay period after the change from full-time status.

    Edward Wiest
    Edward R. Wiest, PC

• Confidentiality

  Is there an age requirement in order to be privie to Doctor Patient Confidentiality Law.

  • Re: Confidentiality

    I do not know. My guess is that if you are a minor, the doctor must disclose to the parent. The only exception to this is when it is built into the statute that allows abortions without parental consent. Bill Stern

    William Stern
    William Stern, P.C.

• Picking a pre-nup atty

  What should I be asking attorneys in trying to decide who to use for a pre-nup review? (I prefer total confidentiality, so I will not ask ESQ friends for a referral...) What qualifications should I look for? Is it appropriate to ask for references? Can a pre-nup have a confidentiality cl

  • Re: Picking a pre-nup atty

    It is quite appropriate to ask any and all questions that you believe you need to have answered to make sure that you are comfortable with the attorney that you select. The attorney should be qualified in the area of both family law and have knowledge of what is required in a pre-nup. All attorneys are required to keep their client's matter confidential. Keep in mind that this advice is based purely on the little bit of information that you have given to me. There may be other factors that would change my opinion. Further, no one can rely on advice from an attorney who has not been retained. Since you have not retained an attorney in this case, you need to contact an attorney as soon as possible (either me or someone else) to discuss your matter in more detail. Only then will you be able to rely on the advice. I will be happy to assist you. However, you need to call me at 856-546-8010. If you mention LawGuru, there will be no charge for your first consultation. Good luck! Rob Gleaner

    Robert Gleaner
    Robert A. Gleaner, P.C.

• Facsimilies and confidentiality

  Are there any laws pertaining to the confidentiality of a facsimile?

  • Re: Facsimilies and confidentiality

    Unless you are a lawyer, nothing is confidential unless you make it so.Sending a fax blows the expectation of privacy in the business setting, as you have no control over who will see it on the receiving end and, knowing this, and chosing to do so anyway, kills the expectation.If you require confidentiality you must send the message in a way which ensures that it will be so, such as certified or registered mail.We routinely claim confidentiality in the cover pages of our faxes, but we advise clients that it is impossible to maintain such in the daily business setting and that they should expect that others will read the fax. If that is unacceptable, then use other means.Emails likewise.

    Charles Aspinwall
    Charles S. Aspinwall, J.D., LLC

• Confidentiality Clause

  The case went before a settlement judge. The defendant, who actually dictated the terms of the settlement according to what he was willing to settle, (Pursuing a trial was explained to me as being prohibitively expensive and winning was uncertain, could be transferred out oof the state, etc. etc.,) The defendant demanded a confidentiality clause and the judge agreed to this. During the period of negotiations (ENE) I was asked for substaniating data for which I had to contact people regarding the case. In addition, I did have contact with my representative. What does the confidentiality clause mean in terms of the people who already know about this case and what is the meaning of a demand for confidentiality? Admittedly, the case was settled precipitously. Will my broaching the subject with my lawyer who was present be a mistake? Is she free to give me a truthful answer about my wish to report to people who helped me. What I want to know is the meaning of a confidentiality clause as part of a settlement agreement? Am I not at liberty to discuss the outcome with people who already are aware of the proceedings?

  • Re: Confidentiality Clause

    A confidentiality clause is a category, not a fixed set of words. Confidentiality clauses, like attorney-fee clauses, non-compete clauses and all other generic contract components have to be read and interpreted. I can therefore predict but not guarantee that it permits you to discuss all aspects of the settlement with your lawyer. After all, isn't that what your lawyer is for? To interpret and explain your settlement for you, and make sure it's fair to you and is carried out according to its terms?

    Bryan Whipple
    Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

  • Re: Confidentiality Clause

    These are questions your attorney can--and should--discuss with you. In addition to going to court on your behalf, your attorney has a obligation to counsel you and explain to you anything you don't understand about your case, the law, and especially anything you are asked to sign.

    Keith E. Cooper
    Keith E. Cooper, Esq.

• confidentiality agreement

  The owner of a janitorial franchise has been asked to sign a confidentiality agrement for an account wherein they provide services. The janitorial franchise would have employees at this location that may have access to information. Should the owner sign a confidentiality agreement? If an employee breeched this agreement, would the owner/employer be responsible?

  • Re: confidentiality agreement

    It does not sound at all unreasonable for a janitorial service to be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement, if the material they get to casually view is truly sensitive. It does put the owner of the service in somewhat of a difficult situation. Even if he/she gets employees to sign similar confidentiality agreements, clearly they would not be in as vulberable a position as the company would. It might, however, put them on notice of their personal liability and probably the risk is an insurable risk. Have the owner check out liability coverage. If that is difficult, he can talk to the customer about such coverage, and additional charges to cover such payment. This is not a simple problem.

    Sheldon G. Bardach
    Law Offices of Sheldon G. Bardach

  • Re: confidentiality agreement

    If the janitorial franchise wants the account, it appears it has no alternative but to sign the agreement. It may mean the owner of the franchise or administration will have to be more careful in their assignment of individuals for work at that location and more screening may be necessary. Make certain they each receive direction in this regard and sign off on their own agreement with the janitorial franchise. Insurance may be available. 800-685-6950

    Donald Holben
    Donald R. Holben & Associates, APC

  • Re: confidentiality agreement

    Whether to sign the confidentiality agreement or not is as much a matter of business judgment as a question for the company lawyer. A lawyer should, however, review any proposed agreement to advise the business on whether the proposed terms seem reasonable and fair.An employer is liable for its employees' indiscretions in the course and scope of employment, so if a janitor pilfers sensitive documents while emptying wastebaskets (for example), the employer can be held liable for misappropriation of trade secrets.

    Bryan Whipple
    Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law