Legal & Compliance Office

Welcome to the Legal and Compliance Office of the Roman Catholic Church of the Diocese of Phoenix, the principal representative for all legal and compliance matters involving the Diocese and the parishes, schools, missions, and other agencies for which the Diocese provides legal support. Pastors, Principals, Administrators and staff of participating Diocesan locations are encouraged to contact the Legal and Compliance Office for assistance on legal matters affecting their organizations.

Please note, however, that the Legal and Compliance Office does not provide personal legal services for employees, parishioners, or students. 

This site is for informational purposes only. Nothing contained herein may be construed as legal advice from the Legal and Compliance Office. Users should consult with a representative of the Legal and Compliance Office when considering any matter with legal implications.

 

Legal & Compliance Office Staff

Dennis M. Naughton – General Counsel

Alejandra Jimenez – Paralegal

 

Legal Services

The Legal and Compliance Office provides legal counsel, litigation management, contract drafting and review, and a wide variety of preventative advice to the Diocese and any participating Diocesan locations. It is also available to provide training to Pastors, Principals, Parish and School Administrators, HR representatives and others in matters presenting potential legal risk to their organizations.

We support participating Diocesan locations through contract review and drafting; policy analysis and development; interpretation of local, state, and federal laws and regulations; engagement of outside counsel, when necessary; and general legal advice on issues facing participating Diocesan locations.

The Legal and Compliance Office does not provide personal legal advice or support to parishioners, students, or employees who are not acting in their official capacities.

Dennis Naughton serves as General Counsel for the Diocese of Phoenix. In this capacity, Dennis oversees the Diocese’s legal, compliance, corporate management, and advises the Bishop and Diocesan leadership on all legal matters.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Services Provided by the Legal and Compliance Office.

The Legal and Compliance Office provides a wide variety of legal services to the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations.  The duties of the Legal and Compliance Office include advising Diocese and participating Diocesan locations officials on regulatory compliance and other legal aspects of their duties; preparing, reviewing, and in some instances negotiating the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations’ contracts and agreements; advising on risk management issues; representing the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations in legal proceedings, real estate, and other commercial transactions, and providing legal advice to the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations on a broad range of other legal issues. When appropriate, the Legal and Compliance Office also retains and supervises outside counsel on particular matters requiring specialized expertise.  Pastors, Principals, administrators, and staff Faculty and staff are encouraged to contact the Legal and Compliance Office for assistance with legal matters affecting the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations.

NOTE:  The Legal and Compliance Office represents the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations, including their officials when acting in their official capacities.  The Legal and Compliance Office does not represent individual employees or staff members in personal legal matters outside the scope of their work for the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations.  Additionally, this Legal and Compliance Office does not provide personal legal services to parishioners, employees, or students of the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations.

2. What is Attorney-Client Privilege?

The attorney-client privilege protects the confidentiality of communications between attorneys and their clients.  With certain limited exceptions, the courts cannot require a party to disclose communications that are protected by the attorney-client privilege.  The purpose of the privilege is to encourage individuals and organizations to seek legal advice and to ensure that they communicate forthrightly with their attorneys.  The attorney-client privilege generally applies to any communication that is:

  1. between an attorney and client,
  2. for the purpose of soliciting or receiving legal advice, and
  3. made in confidence and kept confidential.

The Legal and Compliance Office represents the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations in legal matters, and provides legal advice to such organizations.  Therefore, the confidential communications of the Legal and Compliance Office with the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations, including their leadership and staff, regarding the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations’ legal affairs are protected by the attorney-client privilege and are to be kept confidential.  If those communications are disclosed to anyone outside the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations or to those within the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations who are not directly involved in addressing the legal issues under discussion, the organization could lose the important benefits of the privilege.

Sometimes the Legal and Compliance Office will retain outside counsel to assist with a particular matter.  Any communications between outside counsel and the Legal and Compliance Office, the Diocese, and participating Diocesan locations are also protected and should be kept confidential.

The Legal and Compliance Office and outside counsel are legally obligated to maintain the confidentiality of client communications.  Diocese and participating Diocesan locations faculty and staff also have responsibility for preserving the privilege.

Here are some things you should know about protecting the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations’ attorney-client privilege.

  1. Do not discuss your communications with the Legal and Compliance Office or outside attorneys with anyone outside the organization.
  2. Never distribute, forward, or share written communications – including emails – from the Legal and Compliance Office or outside attorneys to anyone outside the organization.
  3. Within the organization, limit your discussions about attorney-client communications to those who have a clear need to know that is directly related to the solicitation or delivery of legal advice.  The same applies to sharing of written communications – including emails – from the Legal and Compliance Office or outside attorneys.  Those should never be forwarded or otherwise distributed without prior discussion with Legal and Compliance Office.
  4. When you communicate with Legal and Compliance Office attorneys for the purpose of soliciting or receiving legal advice, maintain those communications in confidential files.

If you have any questions about the attorney-client privilege, please contact the Legal and Compliance Office.

3. What is the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations’ discovery obligation?

Discovery is the process by which relevant information is exchanged between parties in a lawsuit.

          a) Subpoena to Appear as Witness

If you have been subpoenaed to provide testimony either at trial or during a deposition in connection with your duties or activities at the Diocese or a Participating Organization, contact the Legal and Compliance Office for further instructions.

If you have been subpoenaed in a matter unrelated to the Diocese or a Participating Organization, you should consult your personal legal counsel.

          b) Subpoena Seeking Production of Documents

In general, you should not receive a subpoena requesting the production of documents for litigation pending against the organization.  These requests will typically be directed towards the Legal and Compliance Office or outside counsel.  If you do receive a subpoena, however, for a matter in which the Diocese or a Participating Organization is a named party, contact the Legal and Compliance Office immediately.

It is not unusual for the organization to receive a subpoena requesting the production of documents (and even testimony) relating to litigation in which it is not a named party.  Although the organization is not a party to the litigation, it may still have an obligation to respond to a subpoena.  In the event that you or someone in your department receives a subpoena directed towards the organization the following steps should be followed:

  1. Make a notation of the date the subpoena was received and the identity (including job title) of the person to whom the subpoena was delivered.
  2. Contact the Legal and Compliance Office and provide a copy of the subpoena to the Legal and Compliance Office for review.
  3. Do not automatically respond to the subpoena requests.  The Legal and Compliance Office will review the subpoena to determine if any of the requests are overly broad or unduly burdensome to the organization.  The Legal and Compliance Office may also object to the subpoena if it was not properly served or if the requested response time is inadequate.  The Legal and Compliance Office may also require the requesting party provide and necessary waivers to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, such as HIPAA.

     Note:  The Legal and Compliance Office may also be able to require that the requesting party pay certain production costs in addition to a witness fee.

4.  What do I do if I am contacted from law enforcement officials?

If you are contacted by law enforcement officials, including the FBI, the local police department, or other enforcing agencies seeking access to organization records and files, or requesting to interview organization personnel regarding organization matters, you should politely inform the officer or agent that the organization will generally cooperate but must consult with its legal counsel.  You may also provide the contact information for the Legal and Compliance Office to the officials and encourage them to contact our office directly.

Request a copy of any subpoena or search warrant produced by the officer or agent and contact the Legal and Compliance Office immediately for further instructions.

5.  What do I do if I am contacted from law enforcement officials?

Call the police!

6.  What is electronic discovery and preservation of evidence?

As soon as a lawsuit or charge is filed or if litigation is reasonably anticipated, the organization has the obligation to preserve all evidence.  This is often referred to as a “litigation hold.”  The Legal and Compliance Office should be involved as soon as possible.

Types of actions that might trigger a litigation hold include, but are not limited to:

  • Audit
  • Investigation
  • Administrative Claim or Charge
  • Legal Action

All employees should be familiar with the Diocese of Phoenix Record Retention Policy. Once the Legal and Compliance Office has been notified of a new lawsuit or threat of litigation, the Legal and Compliance Office will advise the proper parties of the need for preservation of evidence.

7. What if I am called as a witness? If you are identified as a potential witness in a litigation matter pending against the organization, the Legal and Compliance Office and the organization’ outside counsel may contact you at various points during the course of the litigation.

An attorney from the Legal and Compliance Office will contact you early in any litigation to ensure that all relevant documents are preserved.

Witness Interview.  If necessary, an attorney from the Legal and Compliance Office and outside counsel may ask to schedule a meeting with individuals that have information about the case to conduct a witness interview.  This is generally an informal meeting designed to provide the attorneys an opportunity to understand an individual’s involvement (if any) in the case.

Deposition.  If an individual has significant information related to the litigation, she may be asked to provide testimony at a deposition.  A deposition provides opposing counsel the opportunity to ask you questions under oath with a court reporter present.  The court reporter transcribes each question again to prepare prior to the deposition (e.g., review relevant documents).  After a deposition is complete, the witness is given the opportunity to review the transcript and correct any transcription errors before signing/notarizing the transcript.

Trial.  If the case is not resolved prior to trial, outside counsel will meet with witnesses again to prepare for trial.  This will likely involve reviewing any prior testimony and the issues remaining in the case.  In general, a witness will need to be available during the entire trial.  If you have a scheduling conflict, it is important to let counsel know as soon as possible.

8.  Who may accept service of process for the organization?

The General Counsel of the Diocese of Phoenix is the Statutory Agent for service of process for the Diocese and all participating Diocesan locations.  Employees who are sued in their individual capacities typically must be personally served, but may be defended by the organization if the lawsuit arises due to actions taken in their official capacities.

If a process server attempts to serve you with a legal document that is directed at the organization, send the process server to the Legal and Compliance Office and explain that only the General Counsel is authorized to accept service on behalf of the organization.

What do I do if my office receives a subpoena or other legal document in the mail that is directed at my organization or the Diocese?

Forward the document to the Legal and Compliance Office as soon as possible.

9.  What should I do if I receive a Notice of Garnishment?

A Notice of Garnishment is a notice that an Arizona court has required an employer to withhold certain amount of an employee’s wages, to be paid toward a debt owed by the employee. Such notices are handled by the Participating location’s Human Resources or Payroll department.

10.  Who can give me permission to use the Diocese of Phoenix name and logo?

The Diocese of Phoenix name and logo, as well as the images and contact on the Diocese of Phoenix web pages (www.dphx.org), are the intellectual property of The Roman Catholic Church of the Diocese of Phoenix, and may not be copied or used in any form without the express written consent of the Diocese of Phoenix.  Any requests to use the Diocese name and logo should be directed to The Office of the Chancellor of the Diocese of Phoenix.

Other Legal Questions

What do I do if a lawyer calls my department or school and wants to speak to me about a legal matter involving the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations?

If a lawyer other than an attorney for the Diocese and participating Diocesan locations calls you to discuss a legal matter, instruct the lawyer to contact the Legal and Compliance Office at (602) 354-2474. Do not discuss any pending or potential lawsuits or legal matters with outside attorneys.

Can I hire a lawyer to represent my organization?

The Legal and Compliance Office is charged with engaging outside counsel when necessary.  Please consult with the Legal and Compliance Office if you feel your organization needs the services of an outside attorney.

 

Contracts

A contract is any binding agreement made between two or more parties. Contracts come in many different forms, such as a memorandum of understanding, letter of intent, lease, license, purchase order, waiver, release, engagement agreement, terms and conditions, privacy policy, non-disclosure agreement, etc.

Contract Review Process

Before any contract is signed, it must first be reviewed by the Legal and Compliance Office. To submit a contract for review, please send it to Paralegal Alejandra Jimenez. Please include any and all documents that are referenced and incorporated into the contract you wish to have reviewed. For example, if a purchase order states that it is subject to terms and conditions available on the company’s website, please include the full text of the terms and conditions when submitting your contract for review.

The Legal and Compliance Office strives to provide feedback on contracts within 5 business days. If you need to receive feedback on a contract in fewer than 5 business days, please include this information when submitting your contract. In some instances, it may not be possible to provide you with feedback within 5 business days. For this reason, the Legal and Compliance Office requests that you submit contracts for review as early as possible. You will be notified if review of your contract will take longer than 5 business days.

Should you have any questions about the contract review process, please contact Paralegal Alejandra Jimenez at 602-354-2411.

Contract Drafting

If your department or school is planning on entering into a business relationship with a third party (outside company, vendor, consultant, etc.), more often than not the third party will provide you with a contract for review. In some cases, the third party will ask the organization to provide the contract. The Legal and Compliance Office can assist you with defining key terms and drafting an agreement.

To initiate this process, please call Paralegal Alejandra Jimenez at 602-354-2411.