Privacy Policy - Stokes & Associates

Effective date: [LAUNCH DATE]

Last updated: [LAUNCH DATE]

Stokes & Associates, Inc. (“Stokes & Associates,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects the privacy of the attorneys, insurers, employers, claims professionals, colleagues, applicants, and members of the public who visit our website. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect through www.stokes-associates.com (the “Site”), how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices available to you.

Please read this policy together with our Terms of Use.

Important notice before you send us case information

Our Refer a Case form asks for the limited details we need to open a file and run a conflict check, including some information about the claimant. Please complete only the fields on that form. Do not attach or paste medical records, depositions, reports, or other case documents, and do not send them to us by unencrypted email.

Our work frequently involves records protected by court orders, protective orders, privilege, professional confidentiality obligations, or federal and state health privacy law. Information sent to us through a web form or by unencrypted email is not secure, and it is not subject to any duty of confidentiality until an engagement has been accepted in writing and any required conflict check is complete. Once the engagement is confirmed, we will tell you how to transmit case records securely.

Contacting us through this Site does not create a confidential relationship, an expert engagement, or any other professional relationship.

1. Scope of this policy

This policy applies to the Site and to the business communications that begin through it — a referral, a service inquiry, a newsletter subscription, an event registration, or a job application.

This policy does not apply to case files. Information about evaluees, claimants, plaintiffs, and other individuals we assess or serve in the course of a retained engagement — including medical records, depositions, employment and earnings records, functional capacity evaluations, vocational testing results, and life care plan documentation — is handled under a separate and stricter framework, described in Section 9.

2. Information you provide to us

We collect the information you choose to give us, including:

Referral information. When you submit our Refer a Case form, we collect your name, company, email address, and telephone number, together with the case details you supply — the claimant’s name and address, date of birth, date of injury and type of injury, the services requested, the report deadline, the trial date, coverage, and opposing counsel.
Contact and inquiry information. When you use our Contact form or write to us directly: your name, email address, subject, and the content of your message, along with any telephone number, firm, job title, or mailing address you include.
Mailing list and publication preferences. The email address and preferences you supply when you join our mailing list or request a publication, and your engagement with those emails.
Event and continuing-education information. Registration details when you sign up for a seminar, webinar, or presentation we host or sponsor.
Employment application information. The résumé, cover letter, licensure and certification details, work history, references, and contact information you submit when applying for a position with us. See Section 15.

Providing this information is voluntary, but we may not be able to respond to your request without it.

3. Information collected automatically

When you visit the Site, our hosting provider and analytics tools automatically collect technical information, including:

IP address and approximate, city-level location derived from it
Browser type and version, operating system, device type, and screen settings
Referring website or search term that brought you to the Site
Pages viewed, files downloaded, links clicked, and time spent on each page
Date, time, and duration of your visit

We use this information to keep the Site secure and available, to understand which content is useful, and to improve navigation and performance. We do not use it to attempt to identify individual visitors.

4. Cookies and similar technologies

The Site uses cookies and similar technologies, which fall into these categories:

Strictly necessary — required for the Site to load, to keep it secure, and to remember choices such as your cookie preferences. These cannot be switched off.
Performance and analytics — help us count visits, measure traffic sources, and see how pages are used. We use Google Analytics for this purpose. You can opt out of Google Analytics across all websites using Google’s browser add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Functional — remember preferences such as display settings.

We do not use advertising or social media tracking cookies on the Site.

You can control cookies through your browser settings, and you can usually block or delete them. Blocking some cookies may affect how parts of the Site work.

Do Not Track. Some browsers transmit a “Do Not Track” (DNT) signal. There is no common industry standard for how operators should respond to DNT signals, and the Site does not currently respond to them. We do not authorize third parties to collect personally identifiable information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites when you use the Site.

Opt-out preference signals. Some browsers and extensions transmit a Global Privacy Control (GPC) or similar opt-out signal. Where a signal applies to processing we perform, we treat it as a valid request to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. Because the Site does not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, this signal generally has no additional effect.

5. How we use information

Respond to referrals, inquiries, and requests for services
Run conflict checks and determine whether we can accept an engagement
Provide, administer, and invoice for the services we are retained to perform
Send newsletters, industry updates, publications, and event invitations to people who have asked to receive them
Administer events and continuing-education programs
Evaluate job applications and manage recruiting
Operate, secure, monitor, troubleshoot, and improve the Site
Analyze aggregate usage trends and measure the effectiveness of our communications
Comply with legal, regulatory, professional-licensure, ethical, and record-retention obligations
Establish, exercise, or defend legal claims

We do not use information collected through this Site to make automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you.

6. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising or targeted advertising. We disclose information only as follows:

Service providers. Vendors that host the Site, deliver email, manage our customer relationship and case management systems, provide IT support and security, and supply similar business services. They may use the information only to perform services for us.
Professional advisors. Our attorneys, accountants, insurers, and auditors, under duties of confidentiality.
Referral and engagement parties. Where an engagement requires it, the retaining party, opposing counsel, courts, arbitrators, administrative bodies, and other participants in the matter — always subject to the terms of the engagement, applicable protective orders, and applicable law.
Legal and safety. When we reasonably believe disclosure is required by law, subpoena, court order, or regulatory or licensure authority; to enforce our agreements; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of our clients, our personnel, or others.
Business transfers. In connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of all or part of our business, subject to appropriate confidentiality protections.

7. Data security

We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect the information in our custody, including access controls, encryption in transit for the Site, restricted file access, vendor due diligence, and staff training on confidentiality and record handling.

No website, email system, or method of electronic transmission is completely secure. We cannot guarantee the security of information you transmit to us over the internet, which is why we ask you to send only what our forms request and to wait for secure transmission instructions before sending case records.

8. How long we keep information

We keep website inquiry and marketing information only as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy, and then delete it or remove its identifying details. Subscription information is kept until you unsubscribe. Engagement and case records are retained under our record-retention schedule and applicable professional, licensure, insurance, and legal requirements, which typically require retention well beyond the end of a matter.

9. Case, claimant, and health information

Referral details you submit through our Refer a Case form — including information about a claimant — are used to open a conflict check and to scope the engagement. By submitting them, you confirm that you are authorized to share that information with us. Once we are retained, that information becomes part of the case file.

Information about individuals we evaluate or serve in a retained matter is not governed by this website policy. That information is handled in accordance with:

The written engagement agreement and instructions of the retaining party
Applicable protective orders, court orders, subpoenas, and rules of procedure
Signed authorizations for the release of records
Health information privacy requirements that apply to the engagement, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) where it applies to a particular matter
The ethical and confidentiality standards of the licensing and certifying bodies that govern our professionals, including the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification, the International Commission on Health Care Certification, and the Louisiana Licensed Professional Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors Board of Examiners

Requests relating to case records — including requests for access, copies, correction, or deletion — should be directed to the retaining party or counsel of record, not submitted through the Site. We are generally not permitted to release or alter case records at the request of a third party.

10. Your choices

Email. Every marketing email we send includes an unsubscribe link. You can also email us at info@stokes-associates.com to be removed. We may still send transactional messages about an active engagement.
Cookies. Manage cookies through your browser settings.
Access and correction. You may ask us to review, correct, or delete the contact information we hold about you as a website visitor or subscriber.

11. U.S. state privacy rights

We provide services nationwide, and our Site is available to residents of every state. Several states have enacted comprehensive consumer privacy laws, and more take effect each year. Where one of those laws applies to our processing of your personal information, you may have some or all of the following rights, subject to the exceptions in that law:

To know or access the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the sources, the purposes, and the categories of recipients
To correct inaccurate personal information
To delete personal information we collected from you
To obtain a portable copy of personal information you provided
To opt out of the sale of personal information, targeted or cross-context behavioral advertising, and certain profiling (we do not engage in these activities)
To limit the use of sensitive personal information (we do not use sensitive personal information collected through the Site for purposes requiring this right)
To be free from discrimination for exercising your rights

Louisiana residents. The Louisiana Data Privacy Act was enacted in 2026 and takes effect on January 1, 2027. We will review and update this policy before that date to reflect any obligations it creates for us.

How to exercise these rights. Email info@stokes-associates.com or write to us at the address in Section 18, with “Privacy Rights Request” in the subject line. Tell us which right you wish to exercise and enough information for us to locate your records. We will verify your identity before responding, and we will respond within the time the applicable law requires.

Authorized agents. You may designate an agent to submit a request on your behalf. We may ask for proof of the agent’s authority and for direct verification from you.

Appeals. If we decline your request, you may appeal by replying to our response or by writing to info@stokes-associates.com with “Privacy Appeal” in the subject line. We will inform you of our decision and, if the appeal is denied, of any further options available to you under the applicable law.

California “Shine the Light.” We do not disclose personal information to third parties for their own direct marketing purposes.

Important limitation. These rights apply to personal information we collect as a business through this Site. They do not extend to information held in case files, which is governed by Section 9, or to information exempt under applicable law — including information regulated by HIPAA or the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and information processed in connection with legal proceedings.

12. Children’s privacy

The Site is intended for a professional audience and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 through the Site. If you believe a child has provided us information through the Site, contact us at info@stokes-associates.com and we will delete it. (Evaluations involving minors arise only through retained engagements and are governed by Section 9, with consent obtained from a parent or legal guardian.)

13. Visitors outside the United States

The Site is operated in the United States and intended for users in the United States. If you access the Site from another country, you understand that your information will be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those in your country.

14. Links to other websites

The Site links to third-party resources such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics, professional associations, publishers, and social media platforms. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content or privacy practices. Review the privacy policy of any site you visit.

15. Job applicants

If you apply for a position with us, we use the information you submit to evaluate your application, verify credentials and licensure, contact references, and communicate with you about the role. We retain applications for at least one year, as federal recordkeeping rules require, and may keep them longer so we can consider you for future openings unless you ask us to remove them. We do not sell applicant information. Background or credential checks, where used, are conducted with your consent and in accordance with applicable law.

16. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our practices, our technology, or the law changes. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above. If we make a material change, we will provide a more prominent notice on the Site. Your continued use of the Site after an update means you accept the revised policy.