What Should You Do When You Receive a Subpoena?

Welcome to BPW's Compliance Corner, where Hayley Porter and Hannah Frallicciardi will provide monthly education on compliance and legal topics. First up...How to handle court and legal involvement...

When you receive a subpoena or court order, what do you do? It is very important that you immediately send the document to Hayley Porter in compliance and wait for further instructions. Do not contact the attorney on your own before you have discussed the situation with compliance. Every situation is unique, legal requests must be handled correctly from the beginning. 

When an attorney contacts you regarding a client, what do you do? You can listen to what the attorney wants, however, do not provide them with information. Strictly listen to their request and then email Hayley Porter in compliance with all of the details. When an attorney contacts you, they are always fact-finding and will use everything you tell them against you if it will help their case. Attorneys will provide information to you as part of their legal strategy, but it is usually not the whole truth or a twist on the truth. They are not your friend or looking out for your best interest, no matter how nice the attorney may seem.  Don't be caught in these games, let compliance provide you guidance and let BPW's legal counsel contact the attorney on your behalf. Handling these situations on your own makes it much harder for BPW's legal counsel to advocate for you and BPW's interests. 

Your role at BPW is to provide treatment to clients, not become involved in the client's legal situations. You are not an expert witness, and your role is not to testify for or against clients or guardians in court. Stick to your scope of practice and be clear with clients that using their treatment to support their legal case is not the work we do at BPW.