Disclaimer
IMPORTANT NOTICE
This Web site is presented for informational purposes only. Use of this site by its readers does not create an attorney-client relationship with Brian C. Vertz or Pollock Begg Komar Glasser LLC, nor does such use constitute the receipt of legal advice from Brian C. Vertz or Pollock Begg Komar Glasser LLC. A detailed confidential discussion of your factual circumstances with an attorney is a necessary component of becoming a client. No user of this site, whether or not the user is an existing client of Brian C. Vertz or Pollock Begg Komar Glasser LLC, should act upon the content of this site without seeking specific legal counsel from a properly licensed attorney. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before choosing a lawyer, users should request free written information about our qualifications and experience. DO NOT send any confidential information concerning potential legal representation until you speak with one of our attorneys and get authorization to send the information to us. Our principal office is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The information published on this site is intended to be current and accurate, but may become stale or inaccurate due to the passage of time and changes in the law. It is necessary to speak with a lawyer to ensure the accuracy of this information as well as its applicability to a particular factual situation.
Please do not transmit confidential information by email or contact form to our offices if you have not previously established an attorney-client relationship by signing a written retainer agreement. Email communications may not be secure even if they are encrypted, and prospective clients or clients should not send confidential, time-sensitive or proprietary information over unsecured electronic lines.
This site provides links to a variety of other resources. However, this site does not intend such links to be referrals to, or endorsements of, the linked resources or information that they make available.
Photographic images contained in this website are dramatizations except for images provided in the staff biography section.
IRS CIRCULAR 230 NOTICE
Pursuant to the requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you any U.S. tax advice contained in this site was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under federal tax law.
PRIVACY POLICY
Introduction. We are committed to safeguarding your privacy. We believe that the best way to protect the privacy of users of our Sites is to tell you what information we gather and ensure that you understand and consent to our uses of information you provide.
Information we collect and how we collect it. We use the term “Personal Information” to refer to any information you provide in connection with your use of our Site by which you can be personally identified. Personal Information may include such things as your name, telephone numbers, email address, location (e.g. U.S.) and the name of your organization. We only obtain Personal Information about you when you submit it to us, such as when subscribing to a newsletter or legal article or requesting information. By using our Site and submitting Personal Information, you consent to the collection and use of your Personal Information by us as described in this Privacy Policy.
Besides Personal Information, when you access or visit our Site, we and our operational service providers and others who host our Site may use technology that can recognize, collect, and transmit information that is associated with you, but which does not personally identify you, including cookies. “Cookie” information typically includes such data as your referring domain, type of internet browser, operating system software, screen resolution, date and time of visit and other technical data related to your visit. No personally identifiable information is collected by this process.
Cookies allow our Site to recognize a users’ computer or access device each time it is used to visit our Site and cookies can keep count of how often you return to our Site. Cookies can also track how you use our Site, the pages you visit and your preferences for features and functions. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually change your browser settings to prevent it from accepting cookies. By modifying your browser preferences, you have the choice to accept all cookies, to be notified when a cookie is set, or to reject all cookies. If you choose to reject all cookies, you may be unable to use parts of our Site.
How we use information collected. We use information collected or obtained when you use our Site, including Personal Information, to ensure compliance with our Terms and Conditions and for our internal research purposes, such as to analyze trends, administer our Site, track user movements on our Site, gather aggregate demographic data about visitors so we can continually improve our Site. In addition, we may also use your Personal Information for the purposes set out below if you have indicated that you wish us to use your Personal Information in this way when submitting such information:
•Market research;
•Responding to feedback;
•Informing you about our services which may include contacting you by telephone;
•Sending you client bulletins or information that may be of interest to you.
Disclosure of Information to Third Parties. We always have the right to disclose your Personal Information to our operational service providers that we engage to assist us with our Site such as hosting, storage fulfillment and disaster recovery. We always request that our operational service providers protect your privacy and not disclose your Personal Information to third party marketers that are not associated with our Site, nor are our operational service providers allowed to use your Personal Information for their own marketing or promotional purposes.
We also reserve the right to make your Personal Information available:
•To co-counsel or experts that may be engaged to assist us in serving you;
•When compelled by a governmental agency, law, regulation, a court or other legal process;
•If we believe your use of our Site has or may violate any law, regulation or our Terms and Conditions;
•If we believe you are or may be a threat to safety, security, property, interests or rights of us or others;
•In order to investigate or respond to or resolve problems or inquiries or defend our interests;
Except as described above, we do not otherwise disclose information about your individual visits to our Site or information which identifies you to any third parties unless we have your prior consent.
Security. We take the security of your data seriously. Therefore, once we receive your transmission, we make our best efforts to ensure its security on our systems. The servers we store Personal Information in are kept in a secure physical environment. We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the Personal Information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it.
It is our policy to virus check documents and files before they are posted on our Site. However, we cannot guarantee that documents or files downloaded from our Site will be free from viruses and we do not accept any responsibility for any damage or loss caused by any virus. Accordingly, for your own protection, you must use virus-checking software when using our Site. You must not post or provide to us via any Site, any document or file which you believe may contain a virus. You must virus check any document or file which you intend to post or provide to us via any Site.
Unfortunately no data transmission or security program can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your Personal Information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us and you do so at your own risk. You remain responsible for the security of your computer at all times.
Worldwide transfer of data. The dynamics of the Internet may mean that information is sent electronically outside of the country where you originally entered the information. In addition, that information may be used, stored and processed outside the country where you entered that information. If you do not want your information to be transferred outside of the US please do not send us any Personal Information.
Online data versus offline data. This general Privacy Policy only applies to the collection of data online and not to offline information which are governed by the attorney-client privilege and the relevant local data protection laws. This Privacy Policy may be amended or superseded by a specific privacy policy for the collection and use of other data. Where this Privacy Policy is amended or superseded for the collection and use of other data, we will draw that amended privacy policy to your attention.