Non-Disclosure Agreement Attorney

As premier business lawyers in Denver, The Hermele Law Firm takes pride in helping local businesses flourish. If you want sustainable growth and long-term protection, you need expert legal assistance. Give us a call at (720) 740-0889 to schedule an appointment.  Information is power. For entrepreneurs who’ve spent their entire careers perfecting a process, the idea that an employee or past employee may leak hard-earned information is a hard pill to swallow. Although you can never guarantee with 100 percent certainty that your company’s confidential information won’t be shared, there are things you can do to dissuade it. One of the best ways to keep people from sharing company secrets is to have them sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). However, unless you’re a lawyer, you probably shouldn’t try to prepare one by yourself. Luckily, the non-disclosure agreement attorneys at The Hermele Law Firm make it easy. In addition to preparing your NDA, our business lawyers can work to protect you in other ways. We can draft your business contracts, help you with liability and tax issues and provide all of your business litigation needs. Ready to protect your business? Keep reading to learn how. At The Hermele Law Firm, we believe that local businesses drive global advancements. We’re proud to provide Denver’s brightest entrepreneurs with all of their legal needs and look forward to all of our future partnerships. Ready to take the next step? Contact us today. 

What Is a Non-Disclosure Agreement?

An NDA is a legally enforceable contract between the party with confidential information and the party to which that information is disclosed. These contracts protect the interests of businesses by providing legal recourse in the event that employees or past employees reveal sensitive information. If an employee breaks this contract, the employer can sue. If you own a business, it is critical to have an NDA that is enforceable under both Colorado and federal law. These contracts primarily serve the following three purposes:

1. To protect sensitive corporate information
2. To help inventors keep their patent rights
3. To distinguish between confidential information and information that is fine to disclose

When an individual signs an NDA, they are essentially promising to keep the information that you share with them a secret. Once they sign, they are legally bound to its terms, which means that if they leak that information, you may be able to sue them for damages.

Types of Confidential Information Protected by NDAs

An NDA’s content is specific to the company and the situation. It is up to the employer to decide what information should be included and protected, but common types of confidential information include the following:

• Trade secrets
• New product designs
• Secret formulas
• Financial information
• Supplier information
• Training materials
• Marketing strategies
• Sales plans
• Customer information
• Passwords
• Company software

Anything that isn’t mentioned in the NDA can be legally disclosed, which is why you may not want to draft it alone. An experienced non-disclosure agreement attorney can help you think of every pertinent bit of information to include.

What to Include in an NDA

Although the question of what to include in an NDA is up to individual employers, there are a few things that all NDAs should include. A professional non-disclosure agreement attorney will make sure the contract contains the following elements:

• A comprehensive list of confidential information. The most important thing for an NDA to outline is a list of the secret and proprietary information that must not be disclosed outside of the workplace.
• Duration of the agreement. It’s essential for employers to include how long an employee or past employee must keep confidential information a secret. Most NDAs specify a duration of one or more years.
• Exceptions to the agreement. Most NDAs include a list of scenarios in which disclosure of confidential information would be permitted.

In addition to these crucial items, an experienced non-disclosure agreement attorney can help you decide on stipulations that are absolutely necessary to include.

When to Use an Non-Disclosure Agreement

An NDA is not absolutely necessary for every company. However, it never hurts to have one in place, especially if you’re innovating a service, product or process. At the most basic level, an NDA protects employees and past employees from sharing your day-to-day operations and competitive advantages. NDAs are generally helpful in the following scenarios:

• When you’re performing presentations in front of a venture group for funding
• When you’re in the process of developing a new tool
• When customer and client confidentiality is crucial
• When dealing with medical information and test results
• When you’re trying to keep potentially damaging information under wraps

Here’s the bottom line: It never hurts you to have an NDA in place. However, failing to create one can leave you and your company vulnerable when you least expect it. You may want to consider consulting with a trusted business attorney who can advise you on whether or not you need one.

The Hermele Law Firm: Trusted NDA Lawyers in Denver

For natural born entrepreneurs, their businesses are their children—they want to protect them at all costs. In a time when information moves faster than ever before, establishing the necessary legal protections has never been more important. As a business owner, you already wear many hats; don’t try to be your own legal counsel, too. Much like entrepreneurship, the legal field is much too complex to master in your spare time. The best thing you can do for the longevity of your business is to partner with a trusted business lawyer. At The Hermele Law Firm, we couldn’t be happier to support Denver’s vibrant business community. Whatever your legal business needs, you can depend on us. Feel free to contact us online to set up an appointment or give us a call at (720) 740-0889 today.