Qualification to do Business Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation, limited liability company or partnership (as the case may be) and is in good standing or similar concept in every jurisdiction in which the character of the properties owned or leased by it or the nature of the business conducted by it makes such qualification necessary, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Company Material Adverse Effect.
Qualification to Transact Business The Company will take all steps necessary to ensure that at all times the Company will validly exist as a Maryland corporation and will be qualified to do business in all jurisdictions in which the conduct of its business requires such qualification and where such qualification is required under local law.
RIGHT TO CONDUCT AUDIT The SUDRF grants the United States General Accounting Office the right to conduct audits.
Right to Conduct Activities (a) The Company hereby agrees and acknowledges that Maverick Advisors Fund, L.P. and Maverick Ventures Investment Fund, L.P. (together with its affiliates, “Maverick”) are professional investment funds, and as such invest in numerous portfolio companies, some of which may be deemed competitive with the Company’s business (as currently conducted or as currently propose to be conducted). The Company hereby agrees that, to the extent permitted under applicable law, Maverick shall not be liable to the Company for any claim arising out of, or based upon, (i) the investment by Maverick in any entity competitive with the Company or (ii) actions taken by any partner, officer or other representative of Maverick to assist any such competitive company, whether or not such action was taken as a member of the board of directors of such competitive company or otherwise, and whether or not such action has a detrimental effect on the Company; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not relieve (x) any of the Investors from liability associated with the unauthorized disclosure of the Company’s confidential information obtained pursuant to this Agreement or (y) any director or officer of the Company from any liability associated with his or her fiduciary duties to the Company.
(b) The Company hereby agrees and acknowledges that Artal is a professional investment fund, and as such invests in numerous portfolio companies, some of which may be deemed competitive with the Company’s business (as currently conducted or as currently propose to be conducted). The Company hereby agrees that, to the extent permitted under applicable law, Artal shall not be liable to the Company for any claim arising out of, or based upon, (i) the investment by Artal in any entity competitive with the Company or (ii) actions taken by any partner, officer or other representative of Artal to assist any such competitive company, whether or not such action was taken as a member of the board of directors of such competitive company or otherwise, and whether or not such action has a detrimental effect on the Company; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not relieve (x) any of the Investors from liability associated with the unauthorized disclosure of the Company’s confidential information obtained pursuant to this Agreement or (y) any director or officer of the Company from any liability associated with his or her fiduciary duties to the Company. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, Artal shall retain its rights under Sections 3.1, 3.2 and 4.1 of this Agreement regardless of whether Artal or any of its Affiliates is a Competitor.
(c) The Company hereby agrees and acknowledges that Aju IB are professional investment funds, and as such invest in numerous portfolio companies, some of which may be deemed competitive with the Company’s business (as currently conducted or as currently propose to be conducted). The Company hereby agrees that, to the extent permitted under applicable law, Aju IB shall not be liable to the Company for any claim arising out of, or based upon, (i) the investment by Aju IB in any entity competitive with the Company or (ii) actions taken by any partner, officer or other representative of Aju IB to assist any such competitive company, whether or not such action was taken as a member of the board of directors of such competitive company or otherwise, and whether or not such action has a detrimental effect on the Company; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not relieve (x) any of the Investors from liability associated with the unauthorized disclosure of the Company’s confidential information obtained pursuant to this Agreement or (y) any director or officer of the Company from any liability associated with his or her fiduciary duties to the Company.
(d) The Company hereby agrees and acknowledges that aMoon is a professional investment fund, and as such invests in numerous portfolio companies, some of which may be deemed competitive with the Company’s business (as currently conducted or as currently proposed to be conducted). The Company hereby agrees that, to the extent permitted under applicable law, aMoon shall not be liable to the Company for any claim arising out of, or based upon, (i) the investment by aMoon in any entity competitive with the Company or (ii) actions taken by any partner, officer or other representative of aMoon to assist any such competitive company, whether or not such action was taken as a member of the board of directors of such competitive company or otherwise, and whether or not such action has a detrimental effect on the Company; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not relieve (x) any of the Investors from liability associated with the unauthorized disclosure of the Company’s confidential information obtained pursuant to this Agreement or (y) any director or officer of the Company from any liability associated with his or her fiduciary duties to the Company.
(e) The Company hereby agrees and acknowledges that each Fidelity Investor (as defined below) (together with its Affiliates) is a professional investment fund, and as
Covenants Relating to Conduct of Business (a) Except for matters set forth in Schedule 4.01 or otherwise expressly permitted by the terms of this Agreement, from the date hereof to the Closing, each Parent Party shall cause its respective Existing Business to be conducted in the usual, regular and ordinary course in substantially the same manner as previously conducted (including with respect to advertising, promotions, capital expenditures and inventory levels) and use all reasonable efforts to keep intact the respective businesses of such Parent Party's Existing Business, keep available the services of their current employees and preserve their relationships with customers, suppliers, licensors, licensees, distributors and others with whom they deal to the end that their respective businesses shall be unimpaired at the Closing. Each Parent Party shall not, and shall not permit any of its Affiliates to, take any action that would, or that could reasonably be expected to, result in any of the conditions set forth in Article V not being satisfied. In addition (and without limiting the generality of the foregoing), except as set forth in Schedule 4.01 or otherwise expressly permitted or required by the terms of this Agreement, each Parent Party shall not, and shall not permit any of its Affiliates to, do any of the following in connection with its Existing Business without the prior written consent of the other Parent Party:
(i) with respect to any of its Contributed Subsidiaries, amend its Organizational Documents, except as is necessary to consummate the Transactions;
(ii) other than sweeping cash in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, make any declaration or payment of any dividend or any other distribution in respect of its equity interest in any Contributed Subsidiary;
(iii) with respect to any of its Contributed Subsidiaries, redeem or otherwise acquire any shares of its capital stock or issue any capital stock (except upon the exercise of outstanding options) or any option, warrant or right relating thereto or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for any shares of such capital stock;
(iv) incur or assume any indebtedness for borrowed money or guarantee any such indebtedness in connection with its Existing Business;
(v) permit, allow or suffer any Contributed Assets to become subjected to any Lien of any nature whatsoever, except Permitted Liens;
(vi) cancel any material indebtedness (individually or in the aggregate) or waive any claims or rights of substantial value relating to its Existing Business;
(vii) except for intercompany loans among Contributed Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business or transactions in the ordinary course, consistent with past practice and not material in amount, pay, loan or advance any amount to, or sell, transfer or lease any of its assets to, or enter into any agreement or arrangement with any of its Affiliates;
(viii) make any change in any method of financial accounting or financial accounting practice or policy of its Existing Business other than those required by generally accepted accounting principles;
(ix) make any change in the methods or timing of collecting receivables or paying payables with respect to its Existing Business;
(x) other than in the ordinary course of business, make or incur any capital expenditure in connection with its Existing Business that is not currently approved in writing or budgeted;
(xi) sell, lease, license or otherwise dispose of any of the assets of its Existing Business, except inventory, programming or other goods or services sold in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice; or
(xii) authorize any of, or commit or agree to take, whether in writing or otherwise, to do any of, the foregoing actions.
(b) Except as set forth in Schedule 4.01 or otherwise expressly permitted by the terms of this Agreement or any ancillary agreements that may be entered into in connection with the Transactions, USAi shall not, and shall not permit any of its Affiliates to:
(i) adopt or amend any USAi Benefit Arrangement (or any plan or arrangement that would be an USAi Benefit Arrangement if adopted) relating primarily to its Existing Business or enter into, adopt, extend (beyond the Closing Date), renew or amend any collective bargaining agreement or other Contract relating to its Existing Business with any labor organization, union or association, except in each case, in the ordinary course of business and consistent with past practice or as required by Applicable Law; or
(ii) (A) grant to any USAi Business Employee any increase in compensation or benefits, except grants in the ordinary course of business and consistent with past practice or as may be required under agreements in existence on the date of this Agreement or (B) grant new options or restricted stock to any USAi Business Employee except as may be required under agreements in existence on the date of this Agreement.
(c) Each Parent Party shall promptly advise the other Parent Party in writing of the occurrence of any matter or event that is material to the business, assets, financial condition, or results of operations of its Existing Business, taken as a whole.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, following the date hereof, each Parent Party shall manage its cash (including any sweeps thereof), payables and receivables relating to its Existing Business in each case in the ordinary course of business and consistent with past practice.
Conduct of Business by the Company Pending the Merger From the date of this Agreement until the Merger Effective Time, except as required by this Agreement, as may be required by applicable Law or as set forth in Section 6.01 of the Company Disclosure Schedule or except with the prior written consent of Parent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned (provided that consent of Parent shall be deemed to have been given if Parent does not object within three (3) Business Days after request for such consent is actually received by Parent), the Company shall, and shall cause each of the Company Subsidiaries to, conduct its business in the ordinary course consistent with past practice and shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to preserve substantially intact the business, assets and organization of the Company and the Company Subsidiaries and to preserve the current beneficial relationships of the Company and the Company Subsidiaries with any Person with which the Company or any Company Subsidiary has material business relations (including customers, suppliers, directors, officers and key employees). Except as required by this Agreement, as may be required by applicable Law or as set forth in Section 6.01 of the Company Disclosure Schedule, neither the Company nor any Company Subsidiary shall, between the date of this Agreement and the Merger Effective Time, do any of the following without the prior written consent of Parent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned; provided, however, that consent of Parent shall be deemed to have been given if Parent does not object within three (3) Business Days after request for such consent is actually received by Parent.
(a) amend or otherwise change any provision of the Company Charter or Company Bylaws, or similar organizational or governance documents;
(b) (i) authorize for issuance, issue, sell, pledge, dispose of, grant or transfer or agree or commit to issue, sell, dispose of, grant or transfer any shares of any class of capital stock of the Company or any Company Subsidiary or any options, warrants, convertible securities or other rights of any kind to acquire any shares of such capital stock, or any other ownership interest, of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, other than the issuance of Company Common Shares issuable pursuant to Company Stock Awards outstanding on the date hereof, (ii) repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any securities or equity equivalents except in connection with the exercise of Company Stock Options or the vesting of Company Stock Awards, (iii) declare, set aside or pay any dividends on, or make any other actual, constructive or deemed distributions (whether in cash, shares, property or otherwise) in respect of, any shares of the Company’s capital stock or the shares of stock or other equity interests in any Company Subsidiary that is not directly or indirectly wholly owned by the Company, other than (A) dividends by any direct or indirect wholly owned Company Subsidiary to the Company or any other Company Subsidiary and (B) dividend equivalents already accrued as of the date hereof and paid with respect to Company Stock Awards outstanding on the date hereof and set forth in Section 6.01(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule or (iv) split, combine or reclassify any shares, stock or other equity interests of the Company or any Company Subsidiary or issue or authorize the issuance of any securities in respect of, in lieu of or in substitution for shares of such shares, stock or other equity interests;
(c) merge or consolidate with any other Person or adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of the Company or any Company Subsidiary (other than the Merger), except (i) that a Company Subsidiary may merge with another Company Subsidiary or (ii) for acquisitions (including by way of merger, consolidation, acquisition of equity interests or assets or any other business combination) by the Company or any Company Subsidiary of any Person providing for purchase price consideration (including any related amounts or promissory notes) of an amount less than Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) individually or Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000) in the aggregate;
(d) sell, lease, license, subject to a Lien (other than a Permitted Lien) or otherwise surrender, relinquish or dispose of any assets or property of the Company or any Company Subsidiary other than in the ordinary course of business, except for (i) sales of investment assets by the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (ii) transfers and pledges of assets in connection with the conduct of the insurance business, including pursuant to reinsurance, coinsurance, ceding of insurance, assumption of insurance or indemnification with respect to insurance and similar arrangements, in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (iii) sales or transfers of assets between wholly owned Company Subsidiaries, (iv) pursuant to existing written contracts or commitments as set forth in Section 6.01(d) of the Company Disclosure Schedule or (v) in an amount not in excess of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) in the aggregate;
(e) incur any indebtedness for borrowed money or issue any debt securities or assume, guarantee or endorse, or otherwise as an accommodation become responsible for, the obligations of any person (other than a Company Subsidiary) for borrowed money, other than indebtedness for borrowed money incurred in the ordinary course of business and pursuant to any credit agreement to which the Company or any Company Subsidiary is a party as of the date of this Agreement (which shall be deemed to include draws or standby letters of credit under the Company’s line of credit facility or other similar lines of credit);
(f) except as required by the terms of the Plans or awards made thereunder prior to the date of this Agreement, (i) increase the compensation or benefits payable to its directors, officers or employees (other than increases for employees or officers below the level of senior vice president made in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice), (ii) amend, change, terminate or waive any rights under any Employment Agreement or (iii) establish, adopt, enter into or amend to materially increase benefits under any collective bargaining, bonus, profit sharing, thrift, compensation, stock option, restricted stock, pension, retirement, deferred compensation, employment, loan, retention, consulting, indemnification, termination, severance or other similar plan, agreement, trust, fund, policy or arrangement with any director, officer or employee (other than with respect to (A) agreements for new hires of non-executive officers in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice that do not provide any change in control benefits and (B) each award under the Company’s Performance Incentive Plan and the Company’s Long Term Incentive Plan;
(g) pre-pay any long-term debt (which shall be deemed to include pre-payments or repayments of lines of credit facilities or other similar lines of credit or payments made in respect of any termination or settlement of any interest rate swap or other similar hedging instrument relating thereto) in an amount exceeding Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) in the aggregate for the Company and the Company Subsidiaries taken as a whole, except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and in accordance with the terms of such debt;
(h) except as required by Law or changes in GAAP or SAP which become effective after the date of this Agreement, materially change any of its accounting policies (whether for financial accounting or Tax purposes);
(i) authorize, or enter into any commitment for, any new material capital expenditures (such authorized or committed new material capital expenditures being referred to hereinafter as the “Capital Expenditures”) in an amount in excess of Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000) in the aggregate;
(j) pay, discharge, settle or satisfy any material litigation, arbitrations, proceedings, claims, liabilities or obligations other than any payment, discharge, settlement or satisfaction in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice (which includes payment of policyholders’ claims) where the amounts paid or to be paid, except in the case of policyholder claims, (i) are covered by insurance coverage maintained by the Company or (ii) are in an amount less than Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) in the aggregate;
(k) take any action that would cause any of the representations or warranties of the Company contained herein to become inaccurate in any material respect or any of the covenants of the Company to be breached in any material respect or result in the failure to be satisfied of any of the conditions set forth in Section 8.02;
(l) create or have any subsidiary of the Company other than the Company Subsidiaries as of the date of this Agreement;
(m) (A) amend, change, cancel, terminate or waive or release, in any material respect, any rights under any Company Material Contract that was required to be filed as an exhibit to the Company SEC Reports pursuant to Regulation S-K of the Securities Act or (B) enter into any new contract, agreement or arrangement that would be required to be filed as an exhibit to the Company SEC Reports pursuant to Regulation S-K of the Securities Act;
(n) (i) settle or compromise any material Tax audit, (ii) make or change any material Tax election or file any material amendment to a material Tax Return, except, in each case, as required by applicable Law, or (iii) surrender any right to claim a material refund of Taxes;
(o) enter into (i) any agreement or arrangement that would be required to be reported by the Company pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC or (ii) any agreement or arrangement with Alleghany Corporation or its Affiliates; or
(p) enter into any agreement or otherwise make a commitment to do any of the foregoing.
Conduct of Business by the Company Pending the Closing The Company covenants and agrees that, between the date of this Agreement and the Effective Time, except as set forth in Section 6.1 of the Company Disclosure Schedule or as permitted by any other provision of this Agreement, unless Parent will otherwise agree in writing (which agreement will not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned), the Company will, and will cause each Company Subsidiary to, conduct its operations in the ordinary course of business and use commercially reasonable efforts to preserve substantially intact its business organization and maintain existing relations and goodwill with customers, suppliers and employees in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice. Without limiting the foregoing, and as an extension thereof, except as set forth in Section 6.1 of the Company Disclosure Schedule or as permitted by any other provision of this Agreement, the Company will not (unless required by applicable Law), and will not permit any Company Subsidiary to, between the date of this Agreement and the Effective Time, directly or indirectly, do, or agree to do, any of the following without the prior written consent of Parent (which consent will not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned):
(a) amend or otherwise change its certificate of incorporation or bylaws or equivalent organizational documents;
(b) issue, sell, pledge, dispose of, grant, transfer or encumber, or authorize the issuance, sale, pledge, disposition, grant, transfer, or encumbrance of, any shares of capital stock of, or other Equity Interests in, the Company or any Company Subsidiary of any class, or securities convertible into, or exchangeable or exercisable for, any shares of such capital stock or other Equity Interests, or any options, warrants or other rights of any kind to acquire any shares of such capital stock or other Equity Interests or such convertible or exchangeable securities, or any other ownership interest (including, without limitation, any such interest represented by Contract right), of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, other than the issuance of Shares (i) upon the vesting of Company RSUs or Company Restricted Shares, (ii) the exercise of Company Options outstanding as of the date hereof in accordance with their terms or (iii) in connection with the Top-Up Option;
(c) sell, pledge, dispose of, let lapse, abandon, assign, transfer, lease, license, guarantee or encumber any material property or assets of the Company or any Company Subsidiary (including any Registered Intellectual Property and unregistered Owned Intellectual Property), except (i) to the extent required pursuant to Contracts in effect prior to the date hereof, (ii) pursuant to the sale, purchase or licensing of inventory, raw materials, equipment, goods, or other supplies in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or (iii) for non-exclusive licenses in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice with a fair market value not in excess of $2,500,000 in the aggregate;
(d) declare, set aside, make or pay any dividend or other distribution (whether payable in cash, stock, property or a combination thereof) with respect to any of its capital stock (other than dividends paid by a wholly-owned Company Subsidiary to the Company or another wholly-owned Company Subsidiary) or enter into any agreement with respect to the voting or registration of its capital stock;
(e) reclassify, combine, split, subdivide or amend the terms of, or redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire, directly or indirectly, any of its capital stock, other Equity Interests or any other securities, or authorize or propose the issuance of any other securities in respect of, in lieu of or in substitution for shares of its capital stock or other securities, in each case other than in connection with the Top-Up Option;
(f) merge or consolidate the Company or any Company Subsidiary with any Person or adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation or resolutions providing for a complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, or otherwise enter into any agreements imposing material restrictions on the assets, operations or businesses of the Company or any Company Subsidiary;
(g) enter into a new line of business (other than currently-projected extensions of existing product lines);
(h) acquire (including, without limitation, by merger, consolidation, or acquisition of stock or assets) any interest in any Person or any division thereof or any assets, other than acquisitions of assets (including, without limitation, the purchase of inventory, raw materials, equipment, goods, or other supplies) in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and any other acquisitions for consideration that is individually not in excess of $2,500,000, or in the aggregate not in excess of $5,000,000;
(i) incur any indebtedness for borrowed money or issue any debt securities or assume, guarantee or endorse, or otherwise become responsible for the obligations of any Person (other than a wholly-owned Company Subsidiary) for borrowed money;
(j) make any loans, advances, guarantees or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other Person (other than any wholly-owned Company Subsidiary) in excess of $2,500,000 in the aggregate;
(k) terminate, cancel or amend any Company Material Contract, or cancel, modify or waive any rights thereunder, or enter into or amend any Contract that, if existing on the date hereof, would be a Company Material Contract;
(l) make or authorize any capital expenditure in excess of the Company’s capital expenditure budget as disclosed to Parent prior to the date hereof, other than capital expenditures that are not, in the aggregate, in excess of $2,500,000;
(m) except to the extent required by (i) applicable Law, (ii) the existing terms of any Company Benefit Plan, (iii) contractual commitments or corporate policies with respect to severance or termination pay as in existence on the date hereof and listed on Section 6.1(m) of the Company Disclosure Schedule or (iv) as otherwise provided on Section 6.1(m) of the Company Disclosure Schedule: (A) increase in any manner the compensation, bonus or benefits payable or to become payable to its Service Providers (except for increases in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice in base salaries or base wages of employees of the Company or any Company Subsidiary); (B) grant any additional rights to severance or termination pay to, or enter into any severance agreement with, any Service Provider, or establish, adopt, enter into or amend any Company Benefit Plan; (C) grant any new awards under any Company Benefit Plan, (D) amend or modify any outstanding award under any Company Benefit Plan, (E) take any action to amend, waive or accelerate the vesting criteria or vesting requirements of payment of any compensation or benefit under any Company Benefit Plan or remove any existing restrictions in any Company Benefit Plans or awards made thereunder, (F) take any action to accelerate the payment, or to fund or in any other way secure the payment, of compensation or benefits under any Company Benefit Plan, to the extent not already provided in any such Company Benefit Plan or (G) change any actuarial or other assumptions used to calculate funding obligations with respect to any Company Benefit Plan or to change the manner in which contributions to such plans are made or the basis on which such contributions are determined, except as may be required by GAAP or applicable laws;
(n) forgive any loans to Service Providers or any of their respective affiliates;
(o) make any material change in accounting policies, practices, principles, methods or procedures, other than as required by GAAP or by a Governmental Entity;
(p) encourage customers to make payments earlier than would otherwise reasonably be expected (based on past practice) to be made to the Company or the Company Subsidiaries, or agree to payment terms or conditions with suppliers that are not consistent in all material respects with past practice;
(q) compromise, settle or agree to settle any Proceeding (including any Proceeding relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby) other than compromises, settlements or agreements in the ordinary course of business that involve only the payment of monetary damages not in excess of $2,500,000 individually or $5,000,000 in the aggregate, in any case without the imposition of equitable relief on, or the admission of wrongdoing by, the Company or any Company Subsidiary;
(r) (i) make, change, or rescind any material Tax election, (ii) file any material amended Tax Return of the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries, (iii) or adopt or change any material method or period of Tax accounting, (iv) settle or compromise any material claim relating to Taxes; (v) surrender any material claim for a refund of Taxes; (vi) enter into any “closing agreement” as described in Section 7121 of the Code with respect to material Taxes; or (vii) consent to any extension or waiver of the limitation period applicable to any material Tax claim or assessment (other than pursuant to extensions of time to file Tax Returns obtained in the ordinary course of business);
(s) write up, write down or write off the book value of any assets, except for depreciation and amortization and normal valuation adjustments to accounts receivable and inventory in accordance with GAAP consistently applied;
(t) pre-pay any long-term debt; or
(u) authorize or enter into any Contract or otherwise make any commitment, in each case to do any of the foregoing in clauses (a) through (t).
Organization; Qualification The Company is a corporation duly organized and validly existing under the laws of the State of Delaware and is in good standing under such laws. The Company has all requisite corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and assets, and to carry on its business as presently conducted. The Company is qualified to do business as a foreign corporation in each jurisdiction in which the ownership of its property or the nature of its business requires such qualification, except where failure to so qualify would not have a material adverse effect on the Company.
Indemnification Related to Confidentiality of Materials The Contractor will protect, defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Department for claims, costs, fines, and attorney’s fees arising from or relating to its designation of materials as trade secret or otherwise confidential.
Professional Conduct Any Firm providing legal services to Citizens shall ensure that its personnel complies with all applicable standards of ethics and rules of professional responsibility, including the Florida Rules of Professional Conduct promulgated by the Florida Supreme Court for attorneys practicing in Florida (or similar standards applicable to attorneys practicing outside the State of Florida). Such standards include rules related to conflicts of interest and confidentiality that are intended to protect Citizens and Citizens’ information. Additionally, in keeping with the vision and mission of Citizens as entrusted by the Florida legislature, Citizens expects all attorneys and legal professionals acting on its behalf, or on behalf of Citizens’ insureds, to adhere to the initiatives for Professional Conduct as promoted by the Florida Bar Center for Professionalism. On January 30, 2015 the Florida Bar Board of Governors approved “Professionalism Expectations.” In keeping with the vision and mission of Citizens as entrusted by the Florida legislature, Citizens expects all attorneys and legal professionals acting on its behalf, or on behalf of Citizens’ insureds, to adhere to the letter and spirit of Professional Conduct as promoted by the Florida Bar’s Standing Committee on Professionalism expressed within this document.
