Privacy Policy

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This Privacy Notice is provided on behalf of Lidia Szczepanowski, Esq. at times using the trade name New York Start-Up & Business Development Law Firm & Network (at times referred to as the “Law Firm”). 

We recognizes that the foundation of our business and profession is maintaining your trust and confidence. In order to provide you with the most effective and beneficial service, we must receive and maintain information about you. Keeping that information secure and private is important to us. This notice is provided to you so that you may know how we collect information about you, the type of information we collect, what we may disclose to our affiliates and non-affiliated third parties, and the steps we take to protect personal information about you.

What We Collect

First, we must collect a certain amount of personal information about you in order to provide customer

service, offer our services, administer products, and fulfill legal and regulatory requirements.  Therefore, as part of our servicing of your requests, we may obtain certain nonpublic personal information about you. This information may include facts and data that we receive from you, your agents, lenders, government agencies, and/or other authorized persons in varying manners, including but not limited to company required forms, telephone calls, correspondence, and other processing forms; facts and data about your transactions with us, our affiliates or others; and facts and data we receive from consumer reporting agencies.

What We Share

Law Firm is committed to maintaining the confidentiality of the personal information we collect.

We welcome this opportunity to clarify our privacy policy for you. With respect to the information we collect about you:

• We collect and use the information to the extent needed to conduct our business and to meet our high quality service standards; 

• We restrict access to the information to authorized individuals who need to know this information to provide services and products to you; 

• We maintain appropriate safeguards to protect information about you; 

• We will verify that any persons requesting information about you or your relationship with us is entitled to such information prior to providing it. 

• We share nonpublic personal information about you outside our company only to service your request, or as authorized by you, or as required or permitted by applicable law;

• We require any organization that provides assistance to us in providing services on our behalf to you to maintain the confidentiality of nonpublic personal information about you and not use such information for any other purpose; and 

• Our Privacy Policy does not allow non-affiliates to offer their products and services to you. 

The law may permit us to share information about you with our affiliates, including i.e. insurance companies and insurance service providers. The law may also permit us to share information about you with companies that perform marketing services for us, or other financial institutions that have joint marketing agreements with us. The information we share with our affiliates or service providers need not be directly related to our transaction with you.

If we change our privacy practices, we will provide you notice of all material changes. This privacy notice

supersedes all previous notices with respect to matters described herein. It is our goal to ensure that all the information we collect is accurate and complete. Please notify us if you believe information is inaccurate.

This notice is meant to inform you of how we safeguard nonpublic personal information about you. You may wish to file this notice with your insurance papers. We strive to maintain your confidence and trust.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the New York Rules of Professional Conduct -  RULE 1.6 – Confidentiality of Information ,states as follows: 

(a) A lawyer shall not knowingly reveal confidential information, as defined in this Rule, or use such information to the disadvantage of a client or for the advantage of the lawyer or a third person, unless:

(1) the client gives informed consent, as defined in

Rule 1.0(j);

(2) the disclosure is impliedly authorized to advance

the best interests of the client and is either reasonable under

the circumstances or customary in the professional community; or

(3) the disclosure is permitted by paragraph (b).

“Confidential information” consists of information gained during or relating to the representation of a client, whatever its source, that is (a) protected by the attorney-client privilege, (b) likely

to be embarrassing or detrimental to the client if disclosed, or (c) information that the client has requested be kept confidential. “Confidential information” does not ordinarily include (i) a lawyer’s legal

knowledge or legal research or (ii) information that is generally known in the local community or in the trade, field or profession to which the information relates.

(b) A lawyer may reveal or use confidential information to the extent that the lawyer reasonably believes necessary:

(1) to prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm;

(2) to prevent the client from committing a crime;

(3) to withdraw a written or oral opinion or representation previously given by the lawyer and reasonably believed by the lawyer still to be relied upon by a third person, where the lawyer has discovered that the opinion or representation was based on materially inaccurate information or is being used to further a crime or fraud;

(4) to secure legal advice about compliance with these Rules or other law by the lawyer, another lawyer associated with the lawyer’s firm or the law firm;

(5) (i) to defend the lawyer or the lawyer’s employees and associates against an accusation of wrongful conduct; or (ii) to establish or collect a fee; or

(6) when permitted or required under these Rules or to comply with other law or court order.

(c) A lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure or use of, or unauthorized access to, information protected by Rules 1.6, 1.9(c), or 1.18(b).  

Preamble of NY Lawyer's Responsibilities states:

[1] A lawyer, as a member of the legal profession, is a  representative of clients and an officer of the legal system with special responsibility for the quality of justice. As a representative of clients, a lawyer assumes many roles, including advisor, advocate, negotiator, and evaluator. As an officer of the legal system, each lawyer has a duty to uphold the legal process; to demonstrate respect for the legal system; to seek

improvement of the law; and to promote access to the legal system and the administration of justice. In addition, a lawyer should further the public’s understanding of and confidence in the rule of law and the justice system because, in a constitutional democracy, legal institutions depend on popular participation and support to maintain their authority.