In view of periodic notices received from federal courts regarding CM/ECF account holders, ECFX takes this opportunity to make clear our policy and methods for maintaining the confidentiality and security of sealed documents and restricted information. Specifically, ECFX takes this opportunity to address the memorandum issued by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and the Standing Order of the Eastern District of North Carolina, R.E. "Third-Party Services and Access to Case Information and Documents" in which the court states:
“It has come to the attention of this Court that certain registered users of the Court's CM/ECF system may be using third-party service providers (including, but not limited to PACER Pro, DocketBird, CourtDrive, and RECAP) to collect and organize case filings. To facilitate the use of such a third-party service, these CM/ECF users either designate the third-party service provider as a secondary recipient of Notices of Electronic Filing (NEF) or Notices of Docket Activity (NDA), or share their PACER account credentials with the service provider. The thirdparty service provider then may download and manage documents on the CM/ECF users' behalf, and in some instances resell or republish case documents and case information that they obtain.”
We built ECFX to be an extension of your law firm's secure environment,
not a public library.
At ECFX, we fully support the federal courts' commitment to upholding the confidentiality of sealed documents and private information. Unlike other providers that adopt an open source approach and freely distribute your court documents to other firms and the general public, ECFX takes a proactive stance to prioritizing the security and privacy of your valuable information.
First and foremost, the order does not apply to ECFX for the following reasons:
- ECFX does not store attorney credentials for PACER accounts. Sealed documents must still be downloaded manually by those with access to the credentials. ECFX does not download sealed documents from PACER.
- Unlike other vendors mentioned in the order, ECFX is not added as an additional recipient on the CM/ECF account.
- Unlike the vendors mentioned in the order, ECFX does not resell or republish case documents and case information that we obtain.
In addition to the above:
- ECFX prioritizes the security and confidentiality of your documents. All documents are encrypted in transit and at rest by ECFX. This ensures that your valuable information is safeguarded within a private repository that remains entirely under your control.
- Our commitment to security is further reinforced by conducting Information Security reviews by esteemed entities such as our AmLaw 100 law firms and clients. These reviews provide an opportunity for thorough vetting of our security measures before licensing the product.
- Because ECFX never publishes your documents, you will never need to request that ECFX claw back or take down a sealed document or other inadvertent filing from public access. With ECFX your documents remain exclusively yours at all times.
Should you desire further details or clarification regarding the subjects covered within this policy, please do not hesitate to contact us at success@goecfx.com
