This Privacy Policy governs your use of our websites. This Privacy Policy describes what information the Firm may collect about you on our websites, why we collect it, how we use it, and under what circumstances we may share it with third parties. This Privacy Policy also describes the choices you can make about how we collect and use your information. This Privacy Policy does not apply to our data collection activities offline, and does not govern the data practices of third parties that may interact with our websites.
In addition, please review our Terms of Use, which governs your use of the websites. By using our websites, you consent to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and our collection, use and sharing of your information and data, and other activities, as described below. If you do not consent to our collecting and sharing your Personal Information (defined below) as described in this Privacy Policy, do not use the websites.
1. What Information Do We Collect?
(A) Information You Provide to Us
Personal Information and Demographic Information. We may ask you to provide us with certain categories of information, or you may otherwise provide us with information, through the websites such as: (1) personally identifiable information, which is information that could reasonably be used to identify you personally, such as your first and last name, e-mail address, home address and phone number (“Personal Information”); and (2) demographic information, such as information like your gender, your occupation or geographic information (“Demographic Information”). We may collect this information through various forms and in various places on the websites, including, without limitation, the following places:
- consultation request forms, “contact us” forms, chat, or emails;
- account registration forms (if any); or
- survey participation interfaces or web blogs
Providing us with information about yourself is voluntary, but if you choose not to provide certain information you may not be able to take full advantage of all our websites’ features.
(B) Information We Collect and Store as You Access and Use the Websites
In addition to any Personal Information, Demographic Information, or other information that you choose to submit to us, we and our third-party service providers may use a variety of technologies that automatically (or passively) store or collect certain information whenever you visit or interact with the websites (“Usage Information”). This Usage Information may be stored or accessed using a variety of technologies that may be downloaded to your personal computer, browser, laptop, tablet, mobile phone or other device (a “Device”) whenever you visit or interact with our websites. Privacy law concepts are evolving – it is possible that some Usage Information that we deem not to personally identify you and do not treat as Personal Information will nonetheless be deemed “personally identifiable information” by applicable law.
This Usage Information may include:
- your IP address, UDID or other unique device identifier (“Device Identifier”);
- whether one user has accessed the websites using multiple Devices;
- your Device functionality (including browser, operating system, - hardware, mobile network information, plug-ins);
- the URL that referred you to our websites, your website browsing history, and the areas within our websites that you visit and your activities there, including remembering you and your preferences;
- your Device location and characteristics; and
certain other Device data, including time zone and the time of day
We may use various methods and technologies to store or collect Usage Information (“Tracking Technologies”). Tracking Technologies may set, change, alter or modify settings or configurations on your Device. A few of the Tracking Technologies include, without limitation, the following (and subsequent technology and methods later developed):
- Cookies . A cookie is a data file placed on a Device when it is used to visit the websites. A Flash cookie (or locally shared object) is a data file placed on a Device via the Adobe Flash plug-in that may be built-in to or downloaded by you to your Device. HTML5 cookies are similar to Flash cookies but do not require a plug-in. Regular cookies may generally be disabled or removed by tools that are available as part of most commercial browsers, and in some but not all instances can be blocked in the future by selecting certain settings. Each browser you use will need to be set separately and different browsers offer different functionality and options in this regard. Also, these tools may not be effective with regard to Flash cookies or HTML5 cookies. For information on disabling Flash cookies go to www.adobe.com. Please be aware that if you disable or remove cookies, Flash cookies, or HTML5 cookies on your Device, some parts of our websites may not function properly, and that when you revisit our websites your ability to limit cookies is subject to your browser settings and limitations.
- Web Beacons . Small graphic images or other web programming code called web beacons (also known as “web beacons”, “1×1 GIFs” or “clear GIFs”) may be included in our websites’ pages and messages. Web beacons or similar technologies may be used for a number of purposes, including, without limitation, to count visitors to the websites, to monitor how users navigate the websites, to count how many e-mails that were sent were actually opened or to count how many particular articles or links were actually viewed.
- Embedded Scripts . An embedded script is programming code that is designed to collect information about your interactions with the websites, such as the links you click on. The code is temporarily downloaded onto your Device from our web server or a third party service provider, is active only while you are connected to our websites, and is deactivated or deleted thereafter.
- ETag, or entity tag . An ETag is a type of identifier assigned by a web server to a specific version of a resource found at a URL. If the resource content at that URL ever changes, a new and different ETag is assigned. Used in this manner ETags are similar to fingerprints, and they can be quickly compared to determine if two versions of a resource are the same or not. ETag tracking may generate unique tracking values even where the consumer blocks HTTP, Flash and/or HTML5 cookies.
We may use Tracking Technologies for a variety of purposes, including:
Strictly Necessary . We may use cookies or other Tracking Technologies that we consider are strictly necessary to allow you to use and access our websites, including cookies required to prevent fraudulent activity, improve security or allow you to make use of certain functionality on our websites.
Performance-Related . We may use cookies or other Tracking Technologies that are useful in order to assess the performance of the websites, including as part of our analytic practices or otherwise to improve the content, products or services offered through the websites.
Functionality-Related . We may use cookies or other Tracking Technologies that are required to offer you enhanced functionality when accessing the websites, including identifying you when you signin to our websites or keeping track of our specified preferences, including in terms of the presentation of content on our websites.
Targeting-Related . We may use Tracking Technologies to deliver content relevant to your interests on our websites based upon how you interact with our content. This includes using Tracking Technologies to understand the usefulness to you of the content that has been delivered to you.
There may be other Tracking Technologies now and later devised and used by us in connection with the websites.
(C) Interactions with Third-Party Sites
The websites may include functionality that allows certain kinds of interactions between the websites and your account on a third-party site or application. The use of this functionality may involve the third-party operator providing certain information, including Personal Information, to us. If we offer and you choose to use this functionality to access our websites, the third-party site or application may send Personal Information about you to the websites.
2. How Do We Use Your Information?
- We may use your Personal Information (this includes your e-mail address, mailing address and telephone number), Demographic Information or Usage Information that is subject to this Privacy Policy for various purposes, including, but not limited to:
- to evaluate whether to represent you (and it may be shared with other law firms for this purpose) and to provide you with legal services if you are or become a client of the Firm
- to process transactions or provide you with information such as to send you electronic newsletters, or to provide you with special offers or promotional and marketing materials on behalf of us or third parties, including to let you know about new products, services or upcoming events;
- to enable you to participate in a variety of the websites’ features and to process your registration with the websites, including verifying your information is active and valid;
- to improve the websites, our marketing endeavors or our service offerings, and to customize your experience on the websites (such as serve you specific content that is relevant to you);
- to provide customer support and to contact you with regard to your use of the websites and, in our discretion, changes to the websites and/or websites’ policies;
- for our business purposes and the business purposes of third parties we share your information with;
- to contact you via phone, email or hard-copy mail with information about our service offerings; and
- for purposes disclosed at the time you provide your information or as otherwise set forth in this Privacy Policy.
Please note that information submitted to the websites via a “contact us” or other similar function may not receive a response.
3. How and When Do We Share Information With Third Parties?
We may from time to time elect to share certain information about you collected by us on the websites, including Personal Information, with third parties for those third parties’ direct marketing purposes. Further, we may share or sell your Personal Information with or to third parties such as our co-promotional partners and others with whom we have marketing or other relationships for our or the third parties’ marketing and other purposes. If you are a California resident, you have the right to request additional information about this sharing as described in Section (3)(D) below. We may share your Device Identifiers with third parties along with data related to you and your activities. In addition, we may share the information we have collected about you, including Personal Information, as disclosed at the time you provide your information and as described below or otherwise in this Privacy Policy. We also may share non-Personal Information, such as aggregated user statistics, with third parties.
By way of examples, the Firm may disclose your information as follows:
A. Third Parties Providing Services on Our Behalf . We may use third-party vendors to perform certain services on behalf of us or some or all of the websites, such as: (a) manage a database of client information; (b) hosting the websites; (c) designing and/or operating the websites’ features; (d) tracking the websites’ activities and analytics; (e) enabling us to send you information about our services or perform other administrative services; and (f) other services designed to assist us in maximizing our business potential. On some of our websites, we may provide these vendors with access to user information, including Device Identifiers and Personal Information, to carry out the services they are performing for you or for us. Third-party analytics and other service providers for some of our websites may set and access their own Tracking Technologies on your Device and they may otherwise collect or have access to information about you, potentially including Personal Information, about you. We are not responsible for those third party technologies or activities arising out of them. However, some may offer you certain choices regarding their practices, and information we have been informed of regarding such choices for vendors and providers that we use on some or all of our websites from time to time is in an opt-out list available here. We are not responsible for the completeness of the opt-out list or the effectiveness of or compliance with any third parties’ opt-out options.
B. To Protect the Rights of the Firm and our Users . To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we may also disclose your information if we believe in our sole and absolute discretion that doing so is necessary or appropriate to: (i) protect or defend the rights, safety or property (such as collecting debts) of the Firm or third parties (including through the enforcement of this Privacy Policy, our Terms of Use, and other applicable agreements and policies); or (ii) comply with legal and regulatory obligations (e.g., pursuant to law enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or court orders). To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we have complete discretion in electing to make or not make such disclosures, and to contest or not contest requests for such disclosures.
C. Affiliates and Business Transfer . We may share your information, including your Device Identifiers and Personal Information, Demographic Information and Usage Information with our subsidiaries, affiliates co-counsel, business partners, and related entities. We also reserve the right to disclose and transfer all such information: (i) to a subsequent owner, co-owner or operator of the websites or applicable database; or (ii) in connection with a merger, consolidation, restructuring, the sale of substantially all of our interests and/or assets or other corporate change, including, during the course of any due diligence process.
D. Your California Privacy Rights . California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits California residents who have supplied personal information, as defined in the statute, to us, under certain circumstances, to request and obtain certain information regarding our disclosure, if any, of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. If this applies, you may obtain the categories of personal information shared and the names and addresses of all third parties that received personal information for their direct marketing purposes during the immediately prior calendar year (e.g. requests made in 2013 will receive information about 2012 sharing activities). To make such a request, please provide sufficient information for us to determine if this applies to you, attest to the fact that you are a California resident and provide a current California street address (not a post office box) for our response. To make such a request (limit one request per year), please send an e-mail to: info@sokolovelaw.com, with “California Privacy Rights” as the subject line or mail us a letter to: Sokolove Law, LLC, 1330 Boylston St., Suite 400, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, Attn: Legal Dept. You must include your full name, e-mail address, and street address in your request.
4. What About Information I Disclose Publicly or to Others?
A. User Generated Content and Public Information . The websites may permit you to submit various types of content, including images, text and Personal Information (collectively, “User Generated Content”), such as on blogs and message boards. We or others may store, display, reproduce, publish, distribute or otherwise use User Generated Content online or offline in any media or format (currently existing or hereafter developed) and may or may not attribute it to you. Others may have access to this User Generated Content and may have the ability to share it with third parties. Please think carefully before deciding what information you share, including Personal Information, in connection with your User Generated Content. We are not responsible for the privacy or security of any information that you make publicly available on the websites or what others do with information you share with them on the websites.
B. Name and Likeness . We may also publish your name, voice, likeness and other Personal Information that is part of your User Generated Content, and we may use the content, or any portion of the content, for advertising, marketing, publicity and promotional activities. For full terms and conditions regarding User Generated Content you submit to the websites, please review our Terms of Use.
5. Do Third-Party Content and Links to Third-Party Sites Appear on the Websites?
The websites may contain content that is supplied by a third party, and those third parties may collect Usage Information and your Device Identifier when pages from the websites are served to you. In addition, when you are on the websites you may be directed to other services that are operated and controlled by third parties that we do not control. We are not responsible for the data collection and privacy practices employed by any of these third parties or their services and they may be tracking you across multiple sites and may be sharing the results of that tracking with us and/or others.
6. How Do I Change My Information?
You are responsible for maintaining the accuracy of the information you submit to us, such as your contact information provided if you choose to contact us for a case evaluation. You may correct or update the Personal Information you have provided through the websites by contacting us at: 1-800-706-5358.
7. What About Transfer of Information to the United States?
Our websites are operated in the United States and intended for users located in the United States. If you are located outside of the United States, please be aware that information we collect, including Personal Information, will be transferred to, and processed, stored and used in the United States. The data protection laws in the United States may differ from those of the country in which you are located, and your Personal Information may be shared with third parties for direct marketing purposes and may be subject to access requests from governments, courts, or law enforcement in the United States according to laws of the United States. By using the websites or providing us with any information, you consent to the transfer to, and processing, usage, sharing and storage of your information, including Personal Information, in the United States as set forth in this Privacy Policy.
8. What Should Parents Know About Children?
We understand the importance of protecting children’s privacy in the interactive world. We do not use the websites to knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of 13 without parental consent. If you are a child under 13 years of age, you are not permitted to use the websites and should not send any information about yourself to us through the websites. In the event that we become aware that we have collected Personal Information from any child, we will dispose of that information in accordance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and other applicable laws and regulations.
9. How Do We Protect Personal Information You Provide to Us?
We make reasonable efforts to protect Personal Information that you submit over the websites from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction, which may include the use of firewalls and other security measures on our servers. However, the Firm does not warrant or represent that its level of security meets or exceeds any particular standard, and no server or internet transmission is ever 100% secure or error-free. You should take this into account when submitting Personal or confidential Information on any websites, including ours. Similarly, any information that you send us through the websites is not confidential or privileged, and may be subject to applicable disclosure and reporting requirements, as required by law.
10. What About Changes to This Privacy Policy?
The Firm reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, change or otherwise update this Privacy Policy at any time. Any changes will be effective immediately upon the posting of the revised Privacy Policy and your use of our websites indicates your consent to the privacy policy posted at the time of use. To the extent any provision of this Privacy Policy is found by a competent tribunal to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be severed to the extent necessary for the remainder to be valid and enforceable.
11. How Can You Ask Questions or Raise Concerns?
If you have any questions about the Privacy Policy or practices described in it, you should contact us in the following ways:
- By Phone: 1-800-706-5358
- By Email: info@sokolovelaw.com
Effective Date: This Privacy Policy was last revised on February 17, 2015.
