Direct Legal Support, Inc. (“Direct Legal,” “we,” “us”) has handled confidential litigation material since 1961. Protecting that material is central to how we operate, not an afterthought. This policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use and protect it, who we share it with, and the choices available to you.
The Two Ways We Handle Information
It matters which of these applies to you, because your rights differ:
- Information we collect for our own business purposes. This includes visitors to directlegal.com, people who contact us or request a quote, and our clients’ billing and account contacts. For this information, Direct Legal decides how it is used, and this policy governs.
- Information our clients send us to perform legal support work. This includes case documents, subpoenas, party and witness information, and records we retrieve on a law firm’s instructions. Here we act as a service provider to the law firm or company that engaged us. We process that information only to perform the requested service and only on our client’s instructions. If you are the subject of records we handled in a matter, the firm that engaged us controls that information. Direct your request to them, and we will support them in responding.
Information We Collect
| Category | Examples | Where It Comes From |
|---|---|---|
| Identifiers and Contact Information | Name, firm or company name, postal address, email address, telephone number | Directly from you, through our website forms, by email, or by telephone |
| Commercial and Account Information | Services ordered, order and matter history, billing contacts, payment records | Directly from you in the course of ordering and paying for services |
| Internet and Device Activity | IP address, browser and device type, pages viewed, referring page, date and time of visit | Automatically, through cookies, our website analytics provider, and our web server |
| Professional Information | Job title, role at a firm, bar or professional affiliation where you provide it | Directly from you |
| Case and Matter Information | Documents to be served or filed, party and witness names and addresses, subpoenas, authorizations, and records retrieved, which may include medical or other sensitive records | From the law firm or client that engaged us, from courts and public records, and from records custodians responding to lawful process |
We do not ask for and do not want Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, or similar identifiers except where a specific service requires them. We do not collect biometric information, and we do not use automated decision-making technology to make decisions about you.
How We Use Information
- To perform the services you or your firm order, and to communicate with you about them
- To prepare, serve, file, and return documents, and to obtain records under lawful authority
- To bill for services and maintain account and payment records
- To respond to inquiries, quote requests, and support questions
- To maintain the security and integrity of our systems and to prevent fraud and misuse
- To understand how our website is used so we can improve it
- To comply with legal obligations, court rules, and lawful process, and to establish or defend legal claims
We do not use case or records information for marketing, and we do not use it to train artificial intelligence or machine learning models.
Case Files, Subpoenas, and Records We Retrieve
Records retrieval carries obligations beyond ordinary data handling, and we treat them as controls rather than courtesies:
- We verify legal authority before records are released. For a California consumer’s personal records, we require either proof that the consumer was served with the required notice and subpoena within the statutory timeframes, or a written authorization signed by the consumer or their attorney of record. Where a consumer serves a timely written objection, production stops until the objection is resolved.
- We respect the limits that follow the records. Medical information obtained by authorization carries restrictions on further disclosure that survive delivery, and we deliver records accordingly.
- We deliver to identified recipients. Records are released to the firm and matter that ordered them, through our client portals or another agreed secure method.
- Medical and health information that we handle in the course of a matter is governed by the federal and California medical privacy rules that apply to it, and by the instructions of the firm that engaged us, rather than by this policy alone.
How We Protect Information
We maintain reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the information we hold. These include restricting employee access to a need-to-know basis, requiring confidentiality obligations of our staff, using established commercial platforms for order handling and records delivery, delivering sensitive records through authenticated portals rather than open email wherever practical, and contractually restricting our vendors’ use of client information.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we do not claim otherwise. If you have a specific security requirement for your matters, contact us and we will tell you plainly what we can and cannot commit to.
How Long We Keep Information
We keep information for as long as needed to provide the service and to meet our legal, professional, tax, and recordkeeping obligations, and then for the period required to establish or defend legal claims. Proofs of service, filing confirmations, and matter records are retained because their evidentiary value can be needed long after a case closes. Website analytics information is retained on a short rolling basis. To limit automated use of the rate lookups and forms on our website, our web server keeps a count of lookups and form submissions from each internet address for up to two days, stored under a one-way code rather than the address itself. Messages sent through the forms on our website are emailed to our staff, and a copy is kept on our web server for up to six months so that a message is not lost if an email fails.
When information reaches the end of its retention period it is deleted or destroyed securely. Copies may persist for a limited time in routine system backups before those backups age out.
Your Privacy Rights
We provide the following rights to California residents as a matter of practice. Depending on the request, some information may be exempt. For example, information collected in the course of legal proceedings, information in publicly available government records, and medical information governed by federal or California health privacy law.
- Right to know. Request the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the sources, the purposes, and the categories of recipients.
- Right to delete. Request deletion of personal information we collected from you, subject to the exceptions the law allows, including information we must keep to complete a transaction, comply with a legal obligation, or establish or defend legal claims. Because of our role in litigation, much of the information we hold must be retained and cannot be deleted on request, including proofs of service, filing records, and case materials we hold on behalf of a client. Where that applies, we will tell you so and explain why.
- Right to correct. Request correction of inaccurate personal information.
- Right to opt out of sale or sharing. We do not sell or share personal information, so there is nothing to opt out of. If that ever changes, we will update this policy and provide the required opt-out method before doing so.
- Right to limit the use of sensitive personal information. We do not use sensitive personal information for purposes beyond performing the services requested.
- Right to non-discrimination. We will not deny service, charge a different price, or provide a different level of service because you exercised any of these rights.
How to submit a request. Email privacy@directlegal.com or call 213-483-4900. Tell us what you are requesting and give us enough information to locate your records.
How we verify a request. Before we act, we confirm you are who you say you are, using information we already hold, typically matching the email address, telephone number, or account details on file. We may ask for additional information for requests involving sensitive records. We will not use verification information for any other purpose. An authorized agent may submit a request on your behalf with written permission signed by you, and we may ask you to confirm it directly.
How quickly we respond. We confirm receipt within 10 business days and respond substantively within 45 calendar days. If we need more time, we will tell you why and may take up to an additional 45 days.
If your request concerns a case or records matter handled for a law firm, we will let you know and, where appropriate, direct you to the firm that engaged us, since they control that information. We will assist them in responding.
Children
Our website and services are directed to legal professionals and businesses, not to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16 through our website. If you believe a child has submitted information through one of our web forms, contact us and we will remove that submission from our website records.
Other Websites
Our site and our client portals may link to sites we do not operate, including court and agency systems and our software vendors’ portals. Those sites have their own privacy practices, and this policy does not apply to them.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy as our practices or the law change. We will post the revised version here with a new effective date. Material changes will be identified so returning visitors can see what changed.
Contact Us
Direct Legal Support, Inc.
901 Corporate Center Dr., Suite 400
Monterey Park, CA 91754
Telephone: 213-483-4900
Privacy requests: privacy@directlegal.com
General inquiries: info@directlegal.com
Questions About Your Privacy?
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