Confidentiality
How we hold information, and the honest limits of that protection.
How information you give us is held, who can see it, how long it is kept, and the specific circumstances in which the protection has limits. The qualifications are the part you actually need, so they are on this page rather than in a footnote.
The firm's standing commitment is short: we do not name clients, we do not cite engagements, and we do not publish or publicly confirm that a relationship exists. This applies during an engagement, after it ends, and to anyone who asks, including a journalist who reasonably wants a comment.
References are the one private exception
A prospective client who wants to speak to someone the firm has worked for is asking something reasonable, and the answer is sometimes yes. Where it is appropriate, we ask a client whether they are willing to speak with that person specifically. They are asked each time, they are free to decline, and some do. Nothing is published either way.
The distinction the firm draws is between a private introduction a client consents to on the day, and a name printed on a website that works for the firm forever without their ongoing say-so. We will do the first. We will never do the second.
What this protection is not
It is not legal privilege, and that distinction matters more than almost anything else on this page. Communications with your attorney carry protections in law; communications with an advisory firm generally do not. If a matter is likely to become litigation, that difference can become consequential.
This is why, for any matter with a legal dimension, we ask to be engaged through your counsel. Under that arrangement our work may fall within the protections applying to their work product. It is straightforward to set up at the start of a matter and cannot be applied retroactively, which is the single most useful thing on this page.
What we hold, and for how long
An engagement generates working material: the baseline documentation, correspondence with counterparties, drafts, and our own notes. We hold it while there is an operational reason to and then delete it. Where you ask for deletion at the conclusion of a matter, we do it and confirm in writing.
Inquiries sent through this site are stored in our own systems and reviewed by the firm. They are not sold, shared, or used for anything other than responding to you. The privacy policy sets out the specifics.
Where confidentiality has a limit
We would disclose information where a court compelled it, and we would act if we became aware of an imminent risk of serious harm to someone. These are narrow and we have stated them rather than leaving them implied, because a confidentiality promise with unstated exceptions is worse than one with stated ones.
In practice
What this looks like day to day.
- A mutual non-disclosure agreement is available before the first substantive conversation, on request.
- Access to a matter is limited to the people working on it, by role.
- Nothing is published under your name without your written approval of the final text.
- Your name is never published as a client, and never given to a journalist.
- A reference is arranged only where you agree to it, for that specific conversation, each time it is asked.
- Where you prefer to speak rather than write, call and we will take nothing down that you have not agreed to.
Questions we are asked
- Is what I tell you privileged?
- Not by itself. Attorney-client privilege attaches to communications with your lawyer, not with us. Where we are engaged by your attorney, our work may fall within the protections that apply to their work product, which is a substantial difference and the reason we prefer that arrangement for any matter with a legal dimension.
- Will you sign a non-disclosure agreement?
- Yes, and we will send you a mutual one before any substantive discussion if you ask. Many clients prefer to have it in place before the first conversation, and that is a sensible instinct.
- Who inside the firm sees my matter?
- Only the people working on it. Access is limited by role, and the review reader sees the work product rather than the full file where the matter is sensitive.
- What happens to my information when the engagement ends?
- Working materials are retained only as long as there is a reason to hold them, then deleted. Where you ask us to delete everything at the conclusion of a matter, we will and we will confirm it in writing.
- Would you ever confirm I was a client?
- Never publicly, and never to a journalist. Not during the engagement, not after it ends, and not if you offered. The one exception is one you would control: if a prospective client asks for a reference, we may ask whether you are willing to speak with them about their situation. You would be asked at the time, for that conversation, and declining costs you nothing.
- Will you give a prospective client my name as a reference?
- Not without asking you first, and not as a standing arrangement. Consent is given per introduction rather than once and for all, so agreeing one time does not put you on a list. For some matters we do not make the ask at all, because involving a former client would expose them to more than the introduction is worth.
Under a mutual NDA, if you prefer.
Ask for one in your first message and we will send it before we discuss anything substantive.