Privacy policy

Expert Retainer, LLC ("Expert Retainer," "ER," "we," and "us") has provided this privacy policy ("Privacy Policy" or "Policy") to explain how ER obtains, utilizes, shares and safeguards information collected from you. This Privacy Policy applies to information that ER may collect from you or that you may provide on the website owned and controlled by ER, https://expertretainer.com (the "Website"), and to the Expert Retainer member and expert platform at https://app.expertretainer.com (the "Platform"). References in this Policy to the Website include the Platform unless stated otherwise.

This Privacy Policy supplements but does not replace other applicable terms and conditions that you have agreed to related to ER. To the extent that specific terms and conditions conflict with this Privacy Policy, the applicable terms and conditions shall govern.

If you are a California resident, please also see Appendix A "Privacy Information for California Residents" for supplemental California-specific privacy information. If you are a resident of another U.S. state with a comprehensive privacy law, please see "Other U.S. state privacy rights" below.

Please read this Policy carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your information and how we will treat it, including any rights you may have. By visiting or using our Website, or by uploading or submitting any information through the Website to Expert Retainer, you consent to the collection, use and transfer of your information pursuant to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our Policy, your choice is not to use our Website. This Policy may change from time to time. Your continued use of our Website after we make changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so please check the Policy periodically for updates.

Information collection

Information we collect about you

In the course of using our Website, ER may ask users for their name, contact information, employment information, biographical information, information regarding your areas of expertise, statement of qualifications, fee schedule, references, and any feedback you provide, or any other information you provide through the Website.

Case materials and medical records

Attorneys and law firms who use our services submit case materials to ER. Those materials may include intake notes, case summaries, correspondence, and complete medical records relating to a patient who is not a user of the Website. ER receives these materials by whatever method the submitting firm chooses, which may include an email attachment or a link to a file transfer or cloud storage service selected by that firm.

Case materials are used only to perform the service the submitting firm has requested. They are made available within ER to the medical director who assigns the matter and to the physician who performs the review, and to no one else. ER does not use case materials or medical records for marketing, does not sell them, does not disclose them to any expert or third party except as directed by the submitting firm or as required by law, and does not use them to train any artificial intelligence or machine learning system.

ER retains case materials only for as long as is needed to complete the requested review and deliver it to the submitting firm. At the conclusion of the engagement, ER permanently deletes the case materials it received, including any copy held in email.

If you are a patient whose medical records may have been submitted to ER by a law firm, ER holds those records on behalf of that firm. Requests concerning those records should be directed to the firm representing you, and ER will respond to the firm in accordance with its instructions.

Expert identity and anonymity

Physicians and other clinicians who join the ER expert network are not listed in any public directory, and their profiles are not browsable or searchable by attorneys or by other experts. ER does not disclose an expert's name or contact information to an attorney unless and until that expert affirmatively accepts a specific matter, and then only to the attorney who submitted that matter. ER does not accept payment from any expert or any attorney in exchange for placement, position, or priority.

Payment information

Membership is billed on a recurring basis, and ER collects payment card information in order to establish and bill a membership. Payment card details are collected and stored by our third-party payment processor, not by ER, and ER does not retain complete payment card numbers on its own systems. ER receives and retains limited transaction information, such as the last four digits of the card, the card brand, the expiration date, the billing name and address, and the amount and date of each charge.

Information collected automatically

We may collect additional information from you automatically. This information is referred to herein as "Usage Information." Such Usage Information may include information that we automatically collect when you use the Website, such as your IP addresses, browser type and language, referring and exit pages and URLs, date and time, amount of time spent on particular pages, what sections of the Website you visit, and similar information concerning your use of the Website. As you navigate through and interact with our Website, we may use automatic data collection technologies, such as cookies, to collect such Usage Information. Cookies are small packets of data that a website stores on your device so that the site will "remember" information about your visit.

The Website is hosted on the HubSpot platform, and HubSpot acts as a service provider to ER. HubSpot sets cookies on the Website that allow us to measure traffic and page views, to understand how visitors reach the Website, and to associate a form submission with the visits that preceded it. These cookies are used for analytics and for our own customer relationship management. ER does not use advertising cookies, advertising pixels, or cross-context behavioral advertising technology on the Website, and does not permit third parties to collect information on the Website for their own advertising purposes.

If you want to disable the use of cookies by the Website, you may be able to turn that feature off in your browser. However, if you decide not to accept cookies from us, the Website may not function properly. For more information on deleting or controlling cookies, please see www.aboutcookies.org. For information on how HubSpot processes data as our service provider, please see HubSpot's privacy policy.

Information we receive from other sources

From time to time, we may also receive information about you from our third-party service providers, affiliates, customers, and partners, including marketing and conference partners and social media networks. We may also collect information about you from publicly available sources, including professional licensing records, published literature, institutional and practice websites, social media, or information transmitted by other users of the Website or third parties. Where a physician is being considered for or has accepted a matter, we may collect and review publicly available information relevant to that physician's qualifications and credibility.

Information usage

The personal information that you provide to ER may be stored, processed, and used by ER and its affiliates for the following purposes:

1. To provide our products and services and present our Website and its contents to you;
2. To provide you with information that you request from us, including updates, notifications, and details of any offers or promotions;
3. To provide you with text communications which may include marketing materials with your consent;
4. To provide you with notices about your account, including billing, renewal, and cancellation notices;
5. To comply with our legal obligations or requests from law enforcement and government agencies;
6. To analyze information for trends and statistics;
7. To enforce or protect the terms of our services, rights, property, safety, or that of our users or third parties;
8. As part of due diligence for, or the consummation of, a transaction involving the merger, sale, divestiture, or other transaction involving the equity or assets of ER;
9. To match you with consulting opportunities if applicable;
10. To match an expert with your consulting requirements if applicable;
11. To provide you with information about our products and services or to send you surveys, promotional materials, newsletters, or special offers; and
12. For any other purpose with your consent.

Disclosure of your information

ER may disclose your information with third parties as follows:

1. With our affiliates;
2. With experts or clients, as the case may be, in an effort to make an engagement possible, and subject to the limits described under "Expert identity and anonymity" above;
3. To our partners and service providers that assist us in providing services offered through the Website, including, but not limited to, services related to website hosting and customer relationship management, processing payments, verification of professional credentials, providing marketing assistance, information technology support, and customer service;
4. To the extent permitted by law, we may also disclose personal information and the Usage Information when required by law, court order, or other government or law enforcement authority or regulatory agency, or whenever we believe that disclosing such information is necessary or advisable, for example, to protect the rights, property, or safety of Expert Retainer or others;
5. In the event of a corporate sale, merger, reorganization, sale of assets, dissolution, or similar event, the personal information and Usage Information may be disclosed or be a part of the transferred assets; or
6. In accordance with the consent you've provided.
7. No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.

ER does not sell personal information, and does not disclose personal information to any third party for that third party's own advertising purposes.

In addition, in an ongoing effort to better understand users of our Website, we might analyze the Usage Information in aggregate form in order to operate, maintain, manage, and improve the Website. This aggregate information does not identify you personally. We may share this aggregate data for any legal purpose. For example, we may disclose aggregated user statistics in order to describe our products and services to current and prospective business partners and to other third parties for other lawful purposes.

Your choices

Cookies and analytics

You can limit or block the cookies set by the Website by adjusting the settings in your browser. Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies, delete cookies already stored, and receive a warning before a cookie is stored. Instructions differ by browser; see www.aboutcookies.org for general guidance. Because ER does not use the Website for cross-context behavioral advertising, there is no advertising profile associated with your visit to opt out of.

Email marketing opt-out

You may choose not to receive marketing materials from ER by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any marketing email, or by contacting us at admin@expertretainer.com. Upon receipt and processing of an "opt-out" request, ER will, within a commercially reasonable amount of time, remove your information from any future unsolicited marketing communications. Your request regarding marketing materials will not apply to information that you request to receive or that is transactional, such as billing and account notices.

If you are a California resident, please also see Appendix A titled "Privacy Information for California Residents" for further supplemental information about additional rights you may exercise.

SMS and MMS opt-out

If you wish to unsubscribe from receiving marketing-related SMS or MMS messages from Expert Retainer, you may reply STOP to any such message, or contact us at admin@expertretainer.com. Your request will generally be processed within a commercially reasonable amount of time. Standard message and data rates may apply. Once we process your request, you will no longer receive marketing text messages from us at that number; however, you may still receive transactional or service-related messages necessary to complete transactions or provide updates regarding your account.

Other U.S. state privacy rights

A number of U.S. states have enacted comprehensive consumer privacy laws that give their residents rights similar to those described in Appendix A, including the right to know what personal information a business has collected, the right to request correction or deletion of that information, and the right to opt out of targeted advertising, the sale of personal information, and certain profiling. ER does not sell personal information and does not process personal information for targeted advertising or for profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

If you are a resident of a state with such a law and you wish to exercise a right it provides, contact us at admin@expertretainer.com or 1-800-593-5036. We will verify and respond to your request in the manner and within the time period that the applicable law requires, and we will not discriminate against you for making one.

Links to other websites

The Website may contain links to other websites or may otherwise provide access to other sites that are not operated or controlled by ER. ER is not responsible for the information collected on any such sites, the privacy policies or terms of use on those sites. We encourage you to review any privacy policies or terms of use posted on any of these sites. You agree to look solely to the third party site owners in the event of any claims related to use of your information on those sites and waive any such claims against ER.

Information security

We use commercially reasonable physical and technological security measures designed to protect your information both online and offline from unauthorized access, processing, accidental loss, and damage. Access to case materials and medical records is limited to the ER personnel who require it to perform the requested service. However, we cannot guarantee the security of data sent over the internet.

Policy updates

Expert Retainer may update this Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting a notice on the Website and updating the "Last updated" date above. Any changes to our Privacy Policy will become effective upon notice. Your continued use of the Website and membership in Expert Retainer will indicate your agreement to such changes.

Contact us

We welcome all requests, suggestions and questions concerning our use of your information. All such communication should be directed to admin@expertretainer.com, or 1-800-593-5036.

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Appendix A: privacy information for California residents

This Appendix applies solely to individuals who reside in the State of California ("consumers" or "you"). This Appendix complies with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act ("CCPA"), and any terms defined in the CCPA have the same meaning when used in this Appendix. This Appendix applies to consumer information collected by Expert Retainer both through the Website and offline. This Appendix does not apply to personal information outside the scope of the CCPA.

1. Expert Retainer as a service provider

When Expert Retainer acts as a service provider for its business customers, it collects some personal information on behalf of its customers subject to its contractual obligations. When Expert Retainer acts as a service provider for its business customers, it follows the instructions of its customer on how to process personal information on its customer's behalf. The provisions of this Appendix do not apply to the personal information that Expert Retainer processes on behalf of our business customers. This includes case materials and medical records submitted to ER by a law firm, which ER processes on that firm's behalf and at its direction.

2. Disclosures

In addition to any of the practices described above, the table below lists the categories of personal information that ER may collect or has collected in the past 12 months and how it discloses such information. In addition, we may also disclose your personal information to a third party, upon your request or at your direction. To the extent you use ER products or services and agree to have your personal information shared with others to use the products or services, we shall share your personal information accordingly. For example, if you are an expert and you accept a matter, we will disclose your name and contact information to the attorney who submitted it.

Category of personal information	Third parties to whom it is disclosed
Identifiers. A real name, alias, address, email address, phone number, online identifier, IP address, account username and password, or other similar identifiers.	Entities that we are legally required to share with pursuant to law or for legal proceedings; service providers; prospective purchasers of our business; our affiliates; analytics providers acting as our service providers; and outside auditors and lawyers.
Internet and network information. Information on your interaction with a website or application, such as browsing history and how you use your account.	Entities that we are legally required to share with pursuant to law or for legal proceedings; service providers; our affiliates; analytics providers acting as our service providers; and outside auditors and lawyers.
Device information. The operating system of your device, device identifier, the type of device you are using, or your geolocation information.	Entities that we are legally required to share with pursuant to law or for legal proceedings; our affiliates; and service providers.
Commercial and payment information. The membership or service you purchased, transaction dates and amounts, and limited payment card details such as card brand, expiration date, and the last four digits of the card.	Our payment processor; entities that we are legally required to share with pursuant to law or for legal proceedings; our affiliates; and outside auditors and lawyers.
Other information you submit to ER or its service providers. Requests or communications you submit to us, emails, ratings, or any other communications, and case materials submitted by a law firm.	Entities that we are legally required to share with pursuant to law or for legal proceedings; service providers; our affiliates; and outside auditors and lawyers.
Inferences about you. Information about your preferences, characteristics, predispositions, behavior, or other trends that help us identify which products or services you may be interested in.	Entities that we are legally required to share with pursuant to law or for legal proceedings; service providers; and our affiliates.
Professional or employment related information. Work history, technical skills, educational background, professional certifications, licensing and registrations, fee schedules, and language capabilities.	Entities that we are legally required to share with pursuant to law or for legal proceedings; our affiliates; service providers; and, where an expert accepts a matter, the attorney who submitted that matter.
Health information contained in case materials. Where a law firm submits case materials for review, those materials may contain medical records and other health information concerning a patient. This information is ordinarily about a third party rather than about the user submitting it.	The physician assigned to perform the review; the submitting law firm and those it directs; and entities that we are legally required to share with pursuant to law or for legal proceedings. This information is not disclosed to experts, to analytics providers, or for any marketing purpose.

3. Sources of information

ER collects personal information from the following sources: you, your agents, the law firm that submits a matter, our third-party service providers, your references, your employer, and public sources, such as professional licensing records, published literature, institutional websites, and social media networks.

4. Sensitive personal information

Sensitive Personal Information consists of: (1) government identifiers, such as Social Security Numbers and drivers' license numbers; (2) account log-in information, for example financial account or credit card numbers in combination with any required access codes or passwords; (3) precise geolocation information; (4) racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, or union membership; (5) content of postal mail, email, and text messages, unless the business is the intended recipient of the subject communications; (6) genetic data; and (7) biometric information that uniquely identifies a consumer or information concerning a consumer's health, sex life, or sexual orientation.

Case materials submitted to ER by a law firm may contain information concerning a person's health, and account log-in information is collected where you create an account. Both are listed in the table above. ER uses Sensitive Personal Information only for the purposes permitted under the CCPA without a right to limit, including performing the service requested, providing and securing accounts, and complying with law. ER does not use Sensitive Personal Information to infer characteristics about any person, and does not sell or share it.

5. Uses of personal information

In addition to any of the practices described above, ER may use personal information for the following purposes:

• To provide our products and services and present our Website and its contents to you;
• To provide you with information that you request from us, including updates, notifications, and details of any offers or promotions;
• To provide you with text communications which may include marketing materials with your consent;
• To provide you with notices about your account, including billing, renewal, and cancellation notices;
• To comply with our legal obligations or requests from law enforcement and government agencies;
• To analyze information for trends and statistics;
• To enforce or protect the terms of our services, rights, property, safety, or that of our users or third parties;
• As part of due diligence for, or the consummation of, a transaction involving the merger, sale, divestiture, or other transaction involving the equity or assets of ER;
• To match you with consulting opportunities if applicable;
• To match an expert with your consulting requirements if applicable;
• To provide you with information about our products and services or to send you surveys, promotional materials, newsletters, or special offers; and
• For any other purpose with your consent.

6. Sale and sharing of personal information

In the preceding twelve months, ER has not sold personal information and has not shared personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. ER does not use advertising cookies or advertising pixels on the Website and does not permit third parties to collect personal information on the Website for their own advertising purposes. The cookies set on the Website are used for analytics and customer relationship management by service providers acting on ER's behalf, which is not a sale or a sharing under the CCPA.

ER has not sold or shared, and does not sell or share, the personal information of any consumer it knows to be under 16 years of age.

To the extent you direct us to or consent to our disclosure of personal information to third parties, such disclosure does not constitute "sharing" or "selling." Further, our disclosure of personal information we have collected from publicly available sources does not constitute "sharing" or "selling."

7. Data retention

We will retain your personal information for no longer than is necessary for the purpose stated in this Privacy Policy, unless extending the retention period is required or permitted by law or is subject to our retention policies as may be in place from time to time. The data storage period may vary depending on the scenario, product, and service. The standards we use to determine the retention period are as follows: the time required to retain personal information to fulfill business purposes, including providing products and services; maintaining business records; controlling and improving the performance and quality of the Website; handling possible customer queries or conducting assessments of customer complaints; whether you agree to a longer retention period; and whether the laws, contracts, and other equivalencies have special requirements for data retention. Case materials and medical records are retained as described under "Case materials and medical records" above.

8. California residents' rights and choices

The CCPA provides California residents with specific rights regarding their personal information. In certain circumstances, you may have the following rights:

• The right to request that ER disclose certain information to you about its collection and use of your personal information, including:
  • The categories of personal information ER collected about you;
  • The categories of sources from which ER collected that personal information;
  • ER's business or commercial purpose for collecting that personal information;
  • The specific pieces of personal information ER collected about you;
  • Whether ER sold or shared any of your personal information; and
  • The categories of third parties to whom ER discloses that personal information.
• The right to request that ER delete some or all of the personal information that it has collected from you and retained, subject to a number of exceptions.
• The right to request that ER correct your personal information if it is inaccurate or outdated, such as an outdated address. ER is not required to correct information that is subjective, such as an opinion.
• The right to limit our non-essential use of your Sensitive Personal Information, if applicable.
• The right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information. As described in section 6, ER does not sell or share personal information, so there is presently nothing to opt out of; ER will provide a means of doing so if that ever changes.
• The right to not be discriminated against for exercising any of your CCPA rights. Unless permitted by the CCPA, ER will not:
  • Deny you goods or services;
  • Charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties;
  • Provide you a different level or quality of goods or services; or
  • Suggest that you may receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.

However, we may offer you certain financial incentives permitted by the CCPA that can result in different prices or rates, such as a credit toward your membership for referring another attorney who joins. Any CCPA-permitted financial incentive we offer will reasonably relate to your personal information's value and contain written terms that describe the program's material aspects. Participation in a financial incentive program requires your prior opt-in consent, which you may revoke at any time.

9. Exercising your rights

To exercise your rights described above, please submit a verifiable consumer request to ER by either:

• Calling us at 1-800-593-5036; or
• Emailing us at admin@expertretainer.com.

Only you, or a person that you authorize to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal information. You may also make a verifiable consumer request on behalf of your minor child. If you are making a request on behalf of another person, you must provide written legal documentation that you are authorized to act on behalf of that individual. The verifiable consumer request must:

• Provide sufficient information that allows ER to reasonably verify you are the person about whom it collected personal information or an authorized representative; and
• Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it.

ER may not be able to fulfill your request or provide you with personal information if it cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information relates to you. To verify your identity, ER may request up to three pieces of personal information about you, and ER reserves the right to take additional steps as necessary to verify your identity if it has reason to believe a request is fraudulent.

10. Response timing and format

ER endeavors to respond to a verifiable consumer request within 45 days of its receipt. If ER requires more time, up to 90 days, it will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. ER will deliver the written response by mail or electronically, at your option. The response ER provides will also explain the reasons it cannot comply with a request, if applicable. For data portability requests, ER will select a format to provide your personal information that is readily useable and should allow you to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance. ER does not charge a fee to process or respond to your verifiable consumer request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If ER determines that the request warrants a fee, it will tell you why it made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.

11. Other California privacy rights

California's "Shine the Light" law (Civil Code Section 1798.83) permits users of our Website that are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. ER does not disclose personal information to third parties for those third parties' direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please contact us through the information provided above.