Privacy and Confidentiality

Kathy J Ellis Coaching

Effective Date: September 1, 2026

I am Kathy J. Ellis, operating as Kathy J Ellis Coaching, a sole proprietorship. I provide coaching, consulting, education, and support to family law attorneys in the United States. I am a coach and former therapist; in this practice, I do not provide therapy, mental health treatment, legal advice, or legal representation.

Registered agent address (for official documents):

Registered Agents Inc
100 N Howard St, Ste R
Spokane, WA 99201
USA

Mailing address:

1037 NE 65th St #80698
Seattle, WA 98115
USA

Email: kathyje@sbbmail.com

Website: https://coachingfamilylaw.com/

This statement explains how I collect, use, store, and protect your personal information, and how confidentiality works in my coaching practice.

Scope

This policy applies to:

  • Current and prospective coaching clients (attorneys and, where relevant, their firms).
  • Visitors to my website and users of my online forms, scheduling tools, email, or video sessions.
  • Any personal data I process in connection with my coaching services.

It does not create a therapist–patient, attorney–client, or HIPAA‑covered relationship.

Information I Collect

Information You Provide Directly

I may collect for the purpose of doing my job:

  • Identity and contact details: name, email, phone number, business name, job title, mailing address.
  • Professional information: law firm name, practice area, role, and high‑level information about cases or client dynamics shared for coaching purposes.
  • Coaching‑related content: intake form responses, session notes, goals, action plans, worksheets, recordings (if applicable).
  • Payment and billing data: billing name, address, invoice details. Payments are made through PayPal or WISE. I do not directly store your full credit card or bank account numbers; the payment processors handle those.
  • Communications: emails, messages, and other correspondence related to coaching.

Information Collected Automatically

  • I do not use cookies on my website.
  • I do not sell or share your personal information (such as names or email addresses) with third parties for marketing or advertising purposes.

Some technical data (e.g., IP address, browser type) may be temporarily processed by my website host or email provider as part of normal internet operations, but I do not use this to track or profile you, and I do not use cookie‑based tracking.

How I Use Your Information

I use your personal information to:

  • Provide, manage, and improve coaching services.
  • Communicate with you about scheduling, payments, and administrative matters.
  • Respond to your inquiries and provide support.
  • Comply with legal, tax, and accounting obligations.
  • Protect the security and integrity of my business and services (e.g., preventing fraud, unauthorized access, or misuse).

I do not use your coaching content for marketing, public storytelling, or case examples without your explicit written consent. Even with consent, I will use only anonymized or aggregated information.

Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR‑Style)

If you are in the EU/UK or other jurisdictions with similar laws, I process your data based on:

  • Performance of a contract: to deliver coaching services you request.
  • Legitimate interests: to operate my business securely, prevent fraud, and improve services.
  • Legal obligations: to comply with tax, accounting, and other applicable laws.
  • Consent: where I rely on your consent (e.g., for testimonials, case studies, or specific uses of your information).

You may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or port your data, and to object to certain processing, subject to applicable law. To exercise these rights, contact me at kathyje@sbbmail.com.

Confidentiality and Its Limits

My Commitment to Confidentiality

Although coaching is not a regulated profession and I am not acting as a therapist or attorney, I adhere to confidentiality standards at least as stringent as those required by leading professional coaching ethics codes (including the ICF Code of Ethics) and comparable mental health confidentiality norms.

I treat all coaching communications, meeting content, notes, and materials as confidential. I do not disclose your identity or specific coaching content to third parties except:

  • As described in this policy,
  • With your explicit written consent, or
  • When I reasonably believe disclosure is necessary as described under “Limits to Confidentiality” below.

Limits to Confidentiality

Confidentiality in coaching is based on contract and ethics, not on legal privilege. Coaching communications are not protected by attorney–client privilege or therapist–patient privilege unless a separate written agreement explicitly provides otherwise.

In addition, contract privacy and ethical confidentiality cannot shield:

  • Plans or intentions to commit ongoing or future serious crimes.
  • Plans or intentions that pose a credible, imminent risk of severe physical harm to you or another person.
  • Information I am legally required to disclose (e.g., in response to a valid court order, subpoena, or other legal requirement).
  • Suspected abuse or neglect of a child, elder, or vulnerable adult where mandated by applicable law.
  • Disclosure necessary to defend my legal rights or pursue claims in connection with our coaching relationship (e.g., unpaid fees, safety issues, or misconduct).

In such situations, I may disclose only the information I reasonably believe is necessary to address the risk or comply with the law.

How I Share Your Information

I do not sell your personal information.

I may share data with:

  • Service providers who help me operate my business, under contracts requiring them to protect your data and use it only for specified purposes. These may include:
    • Email and office tools.
    • Scheduling: TidyCal.
    • Video and voice sessions: Zoom (and, if used in the future, similar platforms).
    • Payment processing: PayPal and WISE.
    • File storage and backups: stored locally on encrypted or password-protected devices; I do not use cloud file-storage services for client records.
  • Professional advisors (e.g., attorney, accountant) as needed for legal, tax, or compliance purposes.
  • Law enforcement or regulators when required by law or to protect safety and rights.

If I ever plan to share your information for any other purpose (e.g., testimonials, case studies, training materials), I will seek your separate, explicit written consent in advance.

Data Security

I use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include:

  • Using secure, reputable service providers (e.g., PayPal, WISE, Zoom, TidyCal).
  • Limiting access to your information to me and any necessary service providers.
  • Storing files and notes in secure locations and using encrypted or password‑protected devices where feasible.

No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, so I cannot guarantee absolute security, but I take your privacy and confidentiality seriously and handle your information accordingly.

Data Retention

I retain coaching records (including intake forms, session notes, and related materials) for up to seven (7) years after our last session, unless a longer period is required by law. After that, I securely delete or destroy these records, except where retention is necessary for legal, tax, or safety reasons.

Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location, you may have rights to:

  • Access the personal information I hold about you.
  • Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
  • Request deletion or restriction of processing, subject to legal and ethical limits.
  • Object to certain types of processing.
  • Receive a copy of your data in a structured, commonly used format (data portability).

To exercise these rights, or for any privacy‑related questions, contact me at kathyje@sbbmail.com. I will respond within a reasonable time.

Changes to This Policy

I may update this Privacy and Confidentiality Statement from time to time. The version posted on my website with the “Effective Date” above is the current version. Material changes will be reflected in the updated date; I encourage you to review this page periodically.

Contact

For questions about this Privacy and Confidentiality Statement, or to report a privacy concern, please contact:

Kathy J Ellis Coaching
Kathy J. Ellis, Sole Proprietor

Mailing address:
1037 NE 65th St #80698
Seattle, WA 98115
USA

Email: kathyje@sbbmail.com
Website: https://coachingfamilylaw.com/