Legal
Confidentiality Charter
Last updated: TODO(content) — effective date to be confirmed by Mihir
Every instruction received by First Precedent is treated as confidential as a matter of course, not as a matter of request. This Charter describes what that means in practice.
1. Purpose
This Charter sets out the confidentiality obligations that First Precedent imposes on itself with respect to every instruction received, every piece of material provided, and every work product produced.
It is published not as a legal formality but as a commitment. Clients are entitled to know, without asking, how their materials are handled.
2. What Is Treated as Confidential
The following are treated as confidential from the moment of receipt: the identity of the instructing party; the nature and scope of the research requested; all factual and legal materials provided with the instruction; all correspondence relating to the engagement; and the work product itself.
Confidentiality is not limited to materials marked as such. Everything received in the context of an engagement is confidential.
3. Who Has Access
Access to confidential materials is limited to the research lead assigned to the engagement and, where a team is involved, only those researchers assigned to that specific engagement. No other personnel have access.
All personnel are bound by confidentiality obligations as a condition of their engagement with First Precedent.
4. Storage and Handling
Supporting documents uploaded through the brief submission form are stored in encrypted form in Firebase Cloud Storage. Access is controlled at the individual-engagement level.
Materials are not downloaded to personal devices, printed, or transmitted by unencrypted means.
5. Destruction on Completion
On completion of an engagement, all supporting documents provided by the instructing party are securely deleted from our systems. Brief metadata (reference number, contact details, scope description) may be retained for conflict-check purposes for up to two years.
The work product is retained only to the extent necessary to enable us to respond to any dispute about its content.
6. No Secondary Use
Materials received in the course of an engagement are used solely for the purpose of that engagement. They are not used for training, research, marketing, publication, or any other purpose.
Work product produced for one client is not shared with, or adapted for, any other client.
7. Conflict of Interest
First Precedent undertakes a conflict check on every instruction before confirming an engagement. Where a conflict exists with a prior or current engagement, the instruction will be declined.
The conflict check is conducted by the research lead. The result is communicated to the instructing party as part of the intake process.
8. Exceptions
Confidentiality will be overridden only where First Precedent is compelled to disclose by a court order or other binding legal obligation. In any such case, we will notify the instructing party as soon as reasonably practicable unless prohibited from doing so.