Disclaimer

Effective date: December 8, 2022

Susan Smith Family Law is the assumed business name of the Law Office of Susan F. Smith, PLLC (LOSFS). Susan Smith Family Law and Law Office of Susan F. Smith, PLLC are one and the same, collectively referred to herein as “LOSFS.” The principal office of Susan Smith Family Law is 6300 Ridglea Place, Suite 101, Fort Worth, Texas 76116; phone (817) 435-2600.

Attorney-Client Relationship

The content of this web site has been written or gathered by LOSFS and its representatives, for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be and is not considered to be legal advice. If you want legal advice, you need to call a lawyer to get information specific to your unique facts. The information on this website may not apply to you. You will not get a complete or accurate answer to your legal questions just by reading an attorney’s website. 

No communication between you and LOSFS via this website should be interpreted as establishing an attorney-client relationship. To create an attorney-client relationship, LOSFS requires a written fee agreement stating the scope of services; no attorney-client relationship will exist until after the client signs the written fee agreement. WARNING: Do not use the Contact Us form to send any privileged or confidential information. Internet messages can be intercepted. Further, we cannot maintain the confidentiality of information received outside of an attorney-client relationship. Confidential information about your question or problem may be communicated at a later time after an attorney-client relationship has been established.

In order to preserve and safeguard relationships with our current and former clients, LOSFS must observe certain formalities before agreeing to represent anyone in a particular matter. Our duties to existing and former clients require us, before assuming any new matters, to determine whether or not we may represent or advise you in light of any actual or potential conflicts with our existing or former clients or duties that the firm may owe. Until those prerequisites are completed, you should not consider any communication with us by letter, facsimile transmission, telephone, Internet, e-mail or otherwise as privileged or confidential.

Limitation of Liability

Use of this website is at the user’s own risk and LOSFS expressly disclaims all liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on any contents of this website. The contents of the website contain general information and may not reflect the most current legal developments, verdicts, or settlements and neither the authors LOSFS make any claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, currency, or adequacy of the contents or information contained or linked to herein. The materials on this website may be changed, improved, or updated without notice. LOSFS is not responsible for any errors or omissions in the content of this website or for damages arising from the use or performance of this website under any circumstances. LOSFS assumes no liability for the use or interpretation of information contained herein. This publication is provided “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

LOSFS does not intend this website to be advertising for legal services, but in some jurisdictions, it may be considered as such. Any prior results described on this website do not guarantee a similar outcome. Results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each representation.

LOSFS does not seek to represent anyone based upon their viewing of this website in a jurisdiction where this website does not conform to local requirements. This website is not an offer to perform legal services in any jurisdiction in which the attorneys of LOSFS are not licensed to practice. 

No Solicitation

We request that you not use any of the information on this website, including without limitation, the e-mail addresses that are posted here, to transmit, distribute or facilitate the distribution of unsolicited bulk e-mail or other advertisements to LOSFS or any of its attorneys or other employees, and any such use of the information on this website is a violation of the terms of use of this website.

Information About Fraudulent Emails and Phone Calls Referencing LOSFS or Susan F. Smith

Scams and other security risks are rampant on the internet, and we recommend you take steps to protect yourself and the security of your information. While we routinely report such abuses to law enforcement agencies, the nature and volume of these scams and frauds makes it impossible for our Firm to prevent the misuse of LOSFS or Susan’s name. Recent scam trends include but are not limited to spoofing email addresses and sending fake invoices that appear to be from LOSFS seeking payment, sending wire transfer instructions to different accounts; and individuals falsely claiming to be from LOSFS and forwarding supposed court notices requiring an immediate response. This is not an exhaustive list of scams; new ones are being devised by criminals all the time.

LOSFS WILL NOT ASK YOU TO PAY AN INVOICE VIA WIRE TRANSFER OR ACH TRANSFER VIA EMAIL, TEXT MESSAGE OR OTHER COMMUNICATION. If anyone contacts you seeking such a payment, report it to LOSFS immediately and do not pay it. LOSFS is not responsible for any payments intended for LOSFS that were fraudulently misappropriated by third parties and your invoice or trust account will not be credited with the misappropriated payment. 

What should you do?

To report a potential email or telephone or other scam, we recommend you contact the relevant police or government authorities in your jurisdiction. For example, in the U.S. you can file reports with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center or “IC3” (including for cyber crime schemes and frauds that victimize individuals and businesses). Various cybercrime reporting websites within the European Union can be found via Europol. Also, OnGuardOnline has information about protecting against and reporting suspected online scams, as do other government websites. If you receive an email or threatening telephone call from someone claiming to be from LOSFS and offering employment or seeking payment of money or personal information, we suggest:

  1. Call Susan or someone with her office using the contact information on this website (www.susansmithfamilylaw.com) immediately. Do not respond to that email or communication. 

  2. Do not send the email sender or caller any money.

  3. Do not give the email sender or caller any personal or financial information about yourself, for example, your bank accounts or credit card numbers.

  4. Report the fraudulent email or call to the police or other relevant authorities.

    1. In addition, if you receive a suspicious email referencing our Firm or appearing to be from our Firm (e.g. from a “spoofed” LOSFS email address or an imposter email address), we suggest the following:

    2. Do not open or click on any links contained in the email.

    3. Do not open or download any attachments to the email.

    4. Do not respond to the email in any way or provide any personal or confidential information in reply to the email.

    5. Do not send any money in response to the email.

    6. If applicable, forward the suspicious email to your organization’s IT Department and ask that they inspect the message to determine legitimacy.

    7. Delete (permanently) the message from your email account.

Neither Susan or LOSFS can accept any responsibility for the criminal conduct of a third party claiming to use the Firm’s name.

Personal Health Information: Under Texas Health and Safety Code, Sec. 181.154 – HB 300, effective September 1, 2012

Because LOSFS  gathers, stores, and electronically transmits medical records (Protected Health Information – PHI) in the course of our representation of our clients, we are required to post a notice to clients that their protected health information is subject to electronic disclosure.

Texas and Federal Law prohibits any electronic disclosure of a client’s protected health information to any person without a separate authorization from the client or the client’s legally authorized representative for each disclosure. This authorization for disclosure may be made in written or electronic form or in oral form if it is documented in writing by our law firm.

The authorization for electronic disclosure of protected health information described above is not required if the disclosure is made: to another covered entity, as that term is defined by Section 181.001, or to a covered entity, as that term is defined by Section 602.001, Insurance Code, for the purpose of: treatment; payment; health care operations; performing an insurance or health maintenance organization function described by Section 602.053, Insurance Code; or as otherwise authorized or required by state or federal law. In other words, no further release is necessary for electronic disclosure to other health care providers, insurance companies, governmental agencies, or defense lawyers representing adverse parties.