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Proctor : April 2018
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51 PROCTOR | April 2018 Personal Injury Medical Negligence Motor Vehicle Accidents WorkCover Claims CONTACT Wanting to focus on your area of law? Shine Lawyers are now purchasing personal injury files. Shine has a team of dedicated personal injury experts in Queensland who can get these cases moving, allowing your firm to concentrate on your core areas of law. We are prepared to purchase your files in the areas of: Peter Gibson General Manager – Queensland E pgibson@shine.com.au T 1800 842 046 Are you protecting your confidential information? by Robert Stevenson Your firm relies on the confidentiality of sensitive information from both professional and business standpoints. However, there can be inadvertent leaks and employees (and contractors) leaving for new pastures can be tempted to take confidential information with them. There are a number of steps that can be taken to reduce this risk: 1. Work out what information is important to the firm, where it is stored and who has access to it. Prepare a list of the most important types and locations of confidential information and who has access to it. This will include client personal and financial details, client files, firm financials and pricing, marketing information and strategic plans as well as employee details. 2. Make sure employment agreements include a suitable confidential information clause. This will contractually protect the status of confidential information both during and after the employment. This provision should be drawn to a new employee’s attention before they commence work. This provision can work in conjunction with a restraint provision to help protect your firm from having its clients poached by departing employees. 3. Establish and implement a confidential information policy. A policy should be simple and direct. Important aspects to address include talking about client and firm matters outside work, taking files and documents out of the office, and downloading information to private devices or the cloud. A training session should be provided to employees along with yearly refreshers and employees should be required to acknowledge having received the policy and training. Policies should also be reviewed annually. 4. Be vigilant. It is important to have tools to monitor data access, including establishing alerts for activity at odd hours or the transfer of unusual amounts of data or large attachments being sent to personal email addresses. 5. Prepare to respond when an employee resigns or their employment is terminated. Consider the implications for your business: • What is the risk if the employee serves out their notice period? Is it possible the employee could sabotage the employer’s systems and databases? • How likely are they to copy confidential documents or download information? • Should the employee be placed on ‘gardening leave’ pending the end of their employment? • Should the employee’s access to databases and emails be suspended or monitored during their notice period? • Should an audit of the employee’s computer/phone records be conducted to ensure there has been no breach of obligation by the employee? • Consider asking the employee to confirm in writing that they do not hold any documents of a confidential nature and have not downloaded or copied any confidential information. • Remind an outgoing employee of their ongoing obligations of confidentiality, notwithstanding the end of their employment. The unfortunate reality is that it is usually too late once confidential information has left the building and it can be difficult to undo damage. Rob Stevenson is the principal of Australian Workplace Lawyers, rob.stevenson@workplace-lawyers.com.au. Your legal workplace
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