Disclaimers, Comment Policy & Copyright Notice
DISCLAIMERS
I suspect few people actually read attorney website disclaimers. You, then, are one of the curious few. I’d like to first take a moment to explain why these disclaimers are so ubiquitous.
I STRONGLY URGE YOU TO READ ALL OF THIS PAGE.
Some people may joke about legal ethics being an oxymoron. But in fact lawyers, our insurers, and state attorney regulators take ethical rules very seriously. We can be disbarred for violations.
Open communications with the general public, particularly if they provide free and useful information and/or invite dialogue on legal issues, can cause legal malpractice insurers and attorney licensing authorities to worry. Their imaginations run wildly through all the conceivable “what-ifs,” such as:
- What if someone chooses an incompetent lawyer because they are impressed by a slick advertisement or blog?
- What if someone reads information on a lawyer’s site, takes action based on it, and then learns the information was incomplete, outdated, incorrect, or not applicable to their jurisdication or circumstances?
- What if such a reader is located in a place where the lawyer is not licensed to practice law?
- What if someone emails a lawyer from a blog, discloses confidential information, and then winds up suing the lawyer’s long-time client, causing a conflict of interest?
For these and similar reasons, law firm websites normally contain disclaimers such as those below to protect against a variety of problems that keep our insurers up at night.
THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS CAUTION YOU REGARDING IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS, AS RECOMMENDED BY STATE ATTORNEY REGULATORS, ETHICAL EXPERTS, AND/OR INSURANCE CARRIERS
Personal Opinions Only
George’s Employment Blawg is published by Attorney George L. Lenard as my personal weblog. Any opinions expressed are my own or those of quoted sources or guest authors, not those of my law firm, partners, or clients.
Not Legal Advice
George’s Employment Blawg is not legal advice, and the information contained in it shall not be construed as such.
All information provided by this blog is general in nature and provided for informational purposes only. This information is not intended as legal advice, and should not be taken as such.
Legal advice involves an attorney’s application of legal knowledge and judgment to specific facts and circumstances presented by a client. Before providing specific advice, a lawyer may need to conduct legal research and/or obtain additional facts.
Therefore, nonlawyers should not draw conclusions about what may be legally required, permissible, or advisable based solely upon consultation of general sources of legal information, including this blog and linked web pages, without first seeking appropriate legal advice.
Do Not Rely Upon This Blog in Selecting a Lawyer
The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements, including a website or blog — to the extent such Internet communications may be viewed as advertising.
This statement must be included because attorney licensing authorities continue to be concerned that attorney advertising and marketing may unduly influence individuals who are under the stress of a situation requiring a lawyer. No matter how urgent the need, this important decision should be considered very carefully.
No Attorney-Client Relationship
Use of this blog and/or transmission of information to and from me via this blog and/or by email is not intended to create, and does not create, an attorney-client relationship. No attorney-client relationship is created absent an express agreement to create such a relationship.
This means that generally information you provide me is not subject to the attorney-client privilege and the attendant duty of confidentiality until we have clearly and mutually decided to initiate an attorney-client relationship. Until such time, you should therefore refrain from communicating highly sensitive or confidential matters.
No Encryption
At this time my routine email communications are not encrypted, a fact you should take into account in communicating highly sensitive or confidential matters.
In my judgment, email is generally a very secure means of communication. However, for maximum security, use other means of communication.
Licensing and Specialization
I am licensed to practice law in Missouri and Illinois only. These states do not license attorneys based on their legal practice area specializations.
I can truthfully say I have devoted the great majority of my legal career, since 1986, to practicing labor and employment law representing employers, and have developed substantial expertise in this area of the law. But the ethical rules do not permit use of the word “specialist.”
I cannot represent clients in states or jurisdictions in which I am not licensed. This blog shall not be construed as a solicitation of such representation, though it is visible worldwide via the Internet.
Not Responsible for Linked or Quoted Content
This site links to and/or quotes other resources on the Internet that I have identified as potentially helpful and of interest.
However, the linked and/or quoted websites are not under my control, I am not responsible for the accuracy of their content, and I make no representation concerning such content’s quality, currency, accuracy, safety, or suitability for a particular use.
This statement must be included to remind you that the Internet consists of billions of interlinked pages, most of which have not been subjected to any peer review or formal fact-checking process.
This is another reason not to take action based on Internet research without seeking appropriate legal advice.
Information May Not Be Current or Complete
The information on this blog may not reflect the most current legal developments, and is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up-to-date. I do not research legal issues for this blog in the same manner or to the same depth as I would if hired to provide legal advice for a client.
I have taken reasonable measures to make this blog into an accurate and useful website. However, labor and employment law is often complex and rapidly changing, so what is true today may no longer be true days, weeks, or months from the date of publication. This blog includes items dating back as far as May 2003.
This is another reason not to take action based on internet research without seeking appropriate legal advice.
No Guarantees
The information on this blog should not be taken as a promise or indication of future results.
This statement must be included to remind you of the fundamental risks inherent in the American justice system, as a result of which no lawyer, no matter how skilled, can predict the outcome of any matter with certainty.
Responsible Party
To the extent the attorney professional conduct rules in your jurisdiction require designation of a principal office and/or a single attorney responsible for this blog, I designate 15400 South Outer Forty, Suite 202, Chesterfield, Missouri, USA, as my principal office, and myself, George L. Lenard, as the responsible attorney.
COMMENT POLICY
George’s Employment Blawg typically opens its blog posts up to comments.
Comment Spam
I have taken two precautions due to the high volume of comment spam:
- Comments are automatically filtered for spam using the Aksimet plugin for WordPress blogs.
- Remaining comments are moderated, so they will not appear unless and until I approve them.
I will not publish comments that pretend to be legitimate, but are clearly made for the sole purpose of promoting a website, as I consider these to be spam. Feel free to promote your website by including your url in a comment, but make sure your comment contributes meaningfully to the content of this blog.
Not Responsible for Content of Comments
I believe in freedom of speech and will generally let my readers express their opinions, however right or wrong they may be.
Any information or advice in the comments on this blog should therefore be taken at your own risk.
The comments on this blog are solely the opinions of the individuals leaving them. In no way does George’s Employment Blawg or George L. Lenard endorse, condone, agree with, sponsor, etc. these comments.
Disagreements and Complaints About Comments
If you don’t like another user’s comment you can contact me or leave your own comment disagreeing or pointing out the inaccuracies in the previous commenter’s statement(s).
If you have an issue, a thought, a suggestion, a complaint, or a disagreement with anything I write, please leave your own comment or contact me).
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Copyright to Original Content
All original content is copyrighted by me, George L. Lenard, or by the author, if written by another.
Policy on Copyright Infringement
It is my intention to fully comply with all applicable copyright laws. I do not knowingly place any infringing items on this blog.
I do quote from the works of others in a manner I consider protected by the Fair Use Doctrine. I also use materials, particularly photographs, that are under Creative Commons licenses.
Furthermore, it is my policy to, at my discretion, deny commenting or other access to any reader or contributor who knowingly infringes upon the copyrights of others.
It is my policy to fully comply with the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) and to remove any article that I am notified infringes upon the copyrights of any party.
Notice of Copyright Infringement
Please contact me immediately with any concerns regarding copyright infringement. You may also mail me at 15400 South Outer Forty, Suite 202, Chesterfield, MO 63017, or telephone me at 636.532.0300.
Your notification should comply with the requirements of the DMCA. At a minimum, the notice should include:
- An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest.
- A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed, including the URL (i.e., web page address) of the location where the copyrighted work exists or a copy of the copyrighted work.
- Identification of the URL or other specific location where the material that you claim is infringing is located and a description of the precise information contained on that site that you feel infringes upon your rights.
- Information that permits me to contact you, including your address, telephone number, and email address.
- A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
- A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.
Upon receipt of a notice that “substantially complies” with the DMCA, I will take action to remove or disable the material that is claimed to be infringing.
I will contemporaneously notify the party responsible for such material that I have received your notification. This notification will include a statement that this party has the right to give a counter notification which complies with the requirements of the DMCA.
If I receive a counter notification from the party responsible for the allegedly infringing content, I will notify you that I shall replace the removed or disabled material in 10 business days unless you notify us that you have commenced court action against the allegedly infringing party within that 10-day period.
If you file court action, the allegedly infringing materials will remain disabled until an order of the court determines the matter.
For a complete description of the rights that you have under the DMCA and the procedure that I will follow, I refer you to the full text of the DMCA. Nothing in these policies is intended to supplant the requirements and procedures contained in the DMCA. If there is conflict between these policies and the terms of the DMCA, the terms and requirements of the DMCA shall control.
See Copyright Office Home Page; Summary of Digital Millennium Act.
