Document Destruction Services for the Legal Profession

It’s a well-established fact that attorneys who deal with their clients' financial activities fall under the mandated provisions of the Financial Modernization Act of 1999 – better known as the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act, or GLB. If your practice menu includes real estate closings, financial planning, or estate planning – or if you represent a client in any other financial area – you fall under GLB guidelines.

In 2002, the American Bar Association filed an action in Federal District Court to exempt Attorneys from Title V of the GLB Act. The action is pending and will likely not be resolved for years. In the meantime, attorneys are still bound by GLB strictures.
But there’s good news: Compliance with the safeguarding provisions of GLB is simple, as is the disposal by shredding of files and financial records that contain your clients' Non-Public Information (NPI).

When you engage the services of a document shredding company like Accurate Document Destruction, Inc., GLB compliance incurs no additional cost. Accurate's document destruction process, prior to the enactment of GLB, was based on Department of Defense guidelines for the destruction of secret and sensitive documents, so Accurate's guidelines far exceed the destruction guidelines of GLB.

Attorneys who hold financial information are bound by two issues of GLB compliance. First, they must perform due diligence in choosing a reliable vendor to shred NPI-containing documents. Second, they are required to give written permission to the vendor to remove NPI for the sole purpose of disposal by shredding. Accurate would be in violation of certain provisions of GLB if we did not receive written permission from the generator of NPI (the attorney) to posses such information for the sole purpose of shredding.

Accurate has simplified your due diligence portion of the regulation by supplying the name and phone number of our Insurance Claims Representative who will verify that Accurate, in our eleven-year history, has never had an employee dishonesty claim or any suit filed against us for any wrongdoing on our part whatsoever (Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page and read Question One for the name and phone number of our insurance representative).

Attorneys practicing in the fields of personal injury, workers' compensation, social security disability and/or medical malpractice are also bound by the enactment of the Heath Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, commonly known as HIPAA.

HIPPA protects the privacy of protected health information (PHI). If your files and records contain any of your clients' medical records you must comply with the HIPAA provisions for safeguarding and disposal by shredding of these records.

SAMPLE BUSINESS ASSOCIATES AGREEMENT (ON YOUR LETTERHEAD):

Business Associate Agreement

Agreement made on this date, (Insert Date) by and between (Company Name) and Accurate Document Destruction, Inc.  Both parties being desirous of being in compliance with the GLB and HIPAA Regulations recognize the Accurate Document Destruction, Inc. is a Business Associate as defined by the GLB and HIPAA Regulations. Accurate Document Destruction, Inc. will receive NPI (non-public information) and PHI (Protected Health Information) from (Company Name) for the sole purpose of disposal of this material by shredding in conformity with GLB and HIPAA Regulations.

Accurate Document Destruction, Inc., will issue a Certificate of Destruction in the format recommended by GLB and /or HIPAA.

In the case of any electronically stored confidential material we may supply Accurate Document Destruction, Inc. with, they must employ the recommended HIPAA process of magnetically distorting or shredding of the stored information and rendering it non-retrievable.

(Company Name) has done due diligence in choosing Accurate Document Destruction, Inc. as a Business Associate in relying on the information presented to us by Accurate Document Destruction, Inc., and have verified the information given.

Agreed and Accepted By

________________________
On behalf of (firm's name)

Agreed and Accepted By

________________________
Stephen Mandarano
General Manager
Accurate Document Destruction, Inc.