Ethical Disclaimer and Privacy Policy

No law firm’s website would be complete without a legal disclaimer. In a perfect world, perhaps it would not be necessary, but in a perfect world no one would need a lawyer either. Accepting these terms and conditions is a condition to visiting and responding to this website.

We try to provide useful information and try not to use too much gobbldygook and “lawyer talk.” But that is a common occupational hazard, so please forgive us if this disclaimer falls short of that simple goal.

THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT

Your decision on the need for legal services and the choice of a lawyer are extremely important decisions and should not be based solely upon advertisements or self-proclaimed expertise. Certainly such a decision should not be based on TV ads, billboards and bus placards. Before you decide, review the written information about qualifications and experience.

Remember the obvious fact that this website has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to be regarded as legal or medical advice. No information posted here is intended to constitute legal advice or to form an attorney-client relationship. We intend for this website to provide interesting information to visitors and function as the equivalent of a seminar attended by lawyers and lay people.

This website is intended, but not promised or guaranteed, to be correct, complete and reasonably up-to-date. However, statutes and court decisions change must faster than we update this website. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of posted information, especially as it relates to individual situations.

We intend to respond to all inquiries from potential clients who have matters of substance within our area of practice. However, there is no assurance that all queries will get a response.

Neither the receipt nor the distribution of materials, including the use of electronic mail, fax or telephone communications, shall constitute the formation of an attorney-client relationship. An actual attorney-client relationship will be formed with an attorney only upon the execution and delivery of an attorney employment agreement in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and the satisfaction of the conditions contained therein. Any attorney employment agreement that may result from communication initiated through this web site, shall be made only upon acceptance by the attorney in Atlanta, Georgia, and shall be subject only to the laws of the State of Georgia.

We are located and admitted to practice law only in Georgia (USA). We do not seek or accept employment in cases not legitimately related to or arising in Georgia, or in other states pursuant to any applicable multijurisdictional practice rules that may have been adopted in a particular jurisdiction reciprocal with the Georgia multijurisdictional practice rules, or in association with local counsel and compliance with pro hac vice admission requirements under the laws and court rules of the other state or Federal court.

The owner of this web site will not accept referrals for employment from unregistered referral services.

The information provided in this website is not intended to create any unjustified expectation about results that the lawyer providing the information can achieve, or to make any comparison between this lawyer’s services or qualifications and those of any other lawyer.

No Internet domain name or caption on any page within this website, or listed in any directory or search engine, is intended to constitute practice of law under a trade name.

The State Bar of Georgia does not now certify specialists in any field of law. However, it is permissible to reveal a specialized area of practice, certification by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and that the practice of the attorney providing the information in this web site is limited to the areas covered herein.

The attorney providing this information normally represents clients in personal injury, wrongful death and insurance cases, very selectively, on a contingent fee basis, charging only a percentage of the amount of money ultimately recovered for the client, and often advancing the expenses of litigation. In that regard, it is necessary to make the following disclosure:

“Contingent attorneys’ fees refers only to those fees charged by attorneys for their legal services. Such fees are not permitted in al types of cases. Court costs and other additional expenses of legal action usually must be paid by the client. ‘No fee unless you win’ or similar language refers only to fees charged by the attorney. Such contingent fees are not permitted in all types of cases. Court costs and other additional expenses of legal action usually must be paid by the client.”

Links are provided for your enjoyment and no endorsement should be inferred therefrom. The owner does not intend links on the Web site to be referrals or endorsements of the linked entities. No one shall be entitled to claim detrimental reliance on any views, opinions, links, forms, or models provided or expressed herein, or upon any publication purchased by link from this site to any other web site, or to claim that there is a duty to update information provided in this web site, or answers or materials provided, or to use care to protect the interests of the recipient.

You should not rely on any statements found here (or those in any other web site) for legal advice, and should always confirm such information with your lawyers, who should be responsible for taking whatever steps are necessary to check all information and personally assuring that the advice they provide is based on accurate and complete information and research from any available sources.

No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.

Memberships and offices in legal organizations, technical and professional licenses, and memberships in scientific, technical and professional associations and societies of law or field of practice do not mean that a lawyer is a specialist or expert in a field of law, nor do they mean that such a lawyer is necessarily any more expert or competent than any other lawyer. All potential clients are urged to make their own independent investigation and evaluation of any lawyer being considered.

The mere listing of any area of practice does not indicate any certification or expertise therein. A description or indication of limitation of practice does not mean that any agency or board has certified such lawyer as a specialist or expert in an indicated field of law practice, nor does it mean that such lawyer is necessarily any more expert or competent than any other lawyer. All potential clients are urged to make their own independent investigation and evaluation of any lawyer being considered.

While we will seek to protect the confidentiality of communications we receive by e-mail, there is no such thing as perfect security. The dominant view today is that the expectation of privacy in unencrypted email as comparable to the expectation of privacy in mail and telephone communication. However, it is possible that a court in some jurisdiction could hold, contrary to the current trend, that the use of unencrypted e-mail constitutes a waiver of confidentiality. Moreover, there is no such thing as perfect security in any means of communication. Moreover, while unlikely, it is possible for email messages to go astray and fall into the wrong hands. Therefore, each person should take responsibility for exercising prudence and discretion regarding the use of email for sensitive communications.

Effective Date: June 25, 2018

We understand the importance of your privacy and strive to take all reasonable efforts to be transparent about what information we collect about you and to safeguard that information against intrusion or misuse. Except as required by a court or other lawful order, we will never re-distribute or sell personal information collected on our web servers.

This privacy policy details the ways in which we collect information about you, what information we collect, and what we do with that information. You can always visit this page for the most up-to-date version of this privacy policy.

Collection and Use of Information

We collect two types of information from our visitors: anonymous information and personal information.

Anonymous Information

You do not have to provide any personal information to use many of the features of this website. However, your web browser or application may automatically provide certain information about you (“anonymous information”), such as your IP address, which may include your geographic location; details about browser software, operating system, and device; access dates and times; and referring and exiting URLs.

We use this information, both individually and in the aggregate, to help us understand how visitors use our site and to improve our content and your experience visiting our site. We may retain this type of information indefinitely, or to the extent permissible by law.

Personal Information

Our website contains certain features, such as contact forms, where you have the option to affirmatively provide information about yourself (“personal information”). You may be asked to provide personal information, including your name, address, email address, and telephone number(s). You have no obligation to use these features of our website. If you choose to provide us with personal information by submitting a contact form on this website, we may use that information to contact you back and to improve subsequent communications with you, if any. We may also use your voluntarily submitted personal information to keep you informed of law firm news and events, but only if you are provided the opportunity to opt out of that type of use (see Removal of Information and Opting Out section, below). We will seek your affirmative consent before using your personal information for any purpose other than those described in this policy.

Information transmitted on the internet, including via the contact forms on our website, is not secure and should not be considered confidential. The submission of a form on our website does not constitute attorney–client communication and does not create an attorney–client relationship.

Our website also may provide a third-party “Live Chat” feature, with which you can choose to provide personal information to the firm. Information provided on the Live Chat feature is not confidential, and your use of Live Chat does not constitute attorney–client communications and does not create an attorney–client relationship. If you choose to provide us with personal information by using the Live Chat feature, we may use that information to contact you back and to improve subsequent communications with you, if any.

The third-party Live Chat provider has its own privacy policy, which we encourage you to review. We are not responsible for the privacy policies of any third parties, including the Live Chat provider.

Do not disclose confidential information, including any information that may expose you to civil or criminal liability, via contact forms or Live Chat on this website.

We may retain information collected from contact forms and Live Chat indefinitely, or to the extent permissible by law.

Use of Cookies

We use “cookies” (small data files) to improve our website’s functionality and our visitors’ experience. These cookies do not identify you personally or give us access to your computer. You can disable cookies in your browser or application settings, but doing so may result in reduced website functionality. By visiting our website and not disabling cookies, you consent to our use of cookies for the purposes described in this policy.

We use a third-party analytics provider (Google Analytics) to help us understand how visitors use our site. Google Analytics uses cookies to collect information about our visitors, but it does not receive personally identifiable information through these cookies and is prohibited from combining, matching, or cross-referencing information from our site with any other information. You can review the Google Analytics privacy policy for additional information.

Our website may also use the Google AdWords “remarketing” service to serve advertising on third-party websites (including Google) to previous visitors of our site. This service also uses cookies, and any information collected will be in accordance with this privacy policy and Google’s privacy policy.

Distribution of Collected Information

We will not disclose, without your consent, personal information collected about you, unless we are required to do so by law. In certain limited circumstances, and in compliance with applicable laws, we may share personal information with government authorities or others as required to protect the firm or certain third parties; or as otherwise required for compliance with applicable law or legal process. We will not distribute or sell personal information to third-party organizations.

Do Not Track Requests

We do not respond or otherwise take any action with regard to “Do Not Track” requests.

Third Parties and External Links

Some pages on our website may contain hyperlinks to websites of third parties. We take no responsibility for third-party content or websites, nor for any information you disclose to third parties by visiting their websites.

Removal of Information and Opting Out

Users seeking to opt out of receiving communications from the firm may reply to any marketing communication with the subject line “unsubscribe.”