Effective Date: July 15, 2019
1. Disclaimer
No recipient of content from this site, client or otherwise, should act or not act based on any content of the site without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice from a licensed attorney. The content of this website contains general information and may not reflect current legal developments. Van Ness Feldman, LLP (VNF) expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this site.
2. Information We Collect From You When You Visit www.vnf.com
Like many websites, our server logs capture information regarding your operating system, browser software, IP (Internet Protocol) address, and the full Uniform Resource Locator (URL) clickstream to, through and from our website, including date and time, as well as any information you provide to us.
3. Cookies
VNF.com uses cookies. Cookies may provide analysis of how our website is used and some are essential to make the website work. Other cookies enable personalized services or social media features to be used. By using our website, you agree to the use of cookies.
4. Information You Submit to Us through VNF.com
If you join one or more of our mailing lists or otherwise choose to provide information to us through www.vnf.com, we will use that information for the purpose for which it was collected. This might include publications produced by third parties or events that are presented or sponsored by third parties. The majority of the information collected by VNF is provided by you voluntarily on www.vnf.com, for example when you sign up to join a mailing list or register for an event, and is therefore collected with your consent. The remaining information, such as through the use of cookies, is collected for VNF’s legitimate business purposes, including to monitor and improve the quality of www.vnf.com and our services, and to protect and defend our rights, property or safety or that of our clients and other users of www.vnf.com.
5. Access to and Update of Information
VNF takes appropriate steps to avoid unauthorized changes to information you submit to www.vnf.com. For so long as VNF elects to continue to provide www.vnf.com, and provided that you comply with all agreements concerning use of these sites, we will make all reasonable efforts to provide you with online access to your registration data and other personal information so that you may view, update or correct it.
You may opt out of receiving marketing and market research communications at any time by using the unsubscribe links provided or by contacting us at vnf@vnf.com. You may also change your preferences regarding the communications you receive from us by contacting us at vnf@vnf.com.
6. Links
Links to web sites that are not operated by or for VNF (“Third Party Sites”) are provided solely as a convenience to you. We do not necessarily endorse any third party content you access via these links. If you use these links please understand that you access these sites t your own risk.
7. Sharing of Information
VNF may disclose and/or transfer your information (i) to its trusted third party service providers (for example, companies that provide systems, web hosting including microsites of www.vnf.com; other IT services; internal and external advisors and auditors); (ii) if required by applicable law; (iii) in connection with a reorganization or combination of our firm with another firm, (iv) if it believes that such disclosure is necessary to enforce or apply its terms of use and other agreements or otherwise protect and defend VNF’s rights, property or safety or that of our clients and other users of the Site; (v) in order to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order or other legal obligation, or a regulatory or government inquiry; or (vi) with your consent.
8. Security
Any information sent to VNF via email or through the VNF web site is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis. The transmission of the VNF web site, in part or in whole, and/or communication with VNF via Internet e-mail through this site does not constitute or create an attorney-client relationship between VNF and any recipients.
If you have registered to use online services on www.vnf.com, your account details will be password protected. It is your responsibility to keep your password confidential and secure, and to sign out once you have finished browsing. www.vnf.com is not designed to store sensitive personal information such as financial, health, criminal, racial or ethnic origin or political affiliation and you should not use www.vnf.com for that purpose.
9. Agreement, Changes
By submitting information, personal or otherwise, on www.vnf.com you agree to the collection and use of such information on the basis described above. If you do not agree, please do not provide any such information via www.vnf.com.
10. Contacts, Opt out
You may also opt out of receiving marketing and market research communications at any time by contacting us at vnf@vnf.com.
YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS
Last Updated: June 24, 2020
Van Ness Feldman, LLP (“Firm,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) takes your privacy seriously. We want you to know how we collect, use, share, and protect your Personal Information and about the rights of California Consumers under California law.
This Privacy Policy addresses the following topics
- The Scope of this Privacy Policy
- The Firm’s Collection, Use and Disclosure of Personal Information
- Your California Privacy Rights
- How to Exercise Your Rights
- Additional Rights Under California Law
- Changes to This California Privacy Policy
- For More Information
Assistance For The Disabled
Alternative formats of this Privacy Statement are available to individuals with a disability. Please contact us at vnf@vnf.com for assistance.
The Scope Of This Privacy Policy
What Is Personal Information?
“Personal Information”. “Personal Information” means information that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular California Consumer or household.
Whose Personal Information Is Covered By This Policy?
This California Privacy Policy applies to the Personal Information of residents of the State of California in their capacity as consumers (“California Consumers”).
What Personal Information Does This Privacy Policy Cover?
This Privacy Policy applies to all Personal Information of California Consumers that we collect both online and offline, including through California Consumers’ (a) visits to our website; (b) emails; and (d) use of our products and services that references this Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Services”).
Whose Personal Information Is Not Covered By This Privacy Policy?
For purposes of this Privacy Policy, “Consumer” does not include:
- Individuals who are NOT California residents.
- California residents who are Firm’s employees, job applicants, or contract workers (collectively, “HR Individuals”), or the emergency contacts of HR Individuals or the dependents or spouses who receive Firm benefits by virtue of their relationship to an HR Individual in their capacities as HR Individuals or emergency contacts, dependents, or spouses; or
- California residents who are employees or other agents of a business engaged in a transaction with Firm in their capacities as employees or agents of that business.
The Firm’s Collection, Use And Disclosure Of Personal Information
This section of the Privacy Policy describes, for the 12 months preceding the date last updated, above, (a) the categories of Personal Information we may have collected about you, (b) the sources of that Personal Information, (c) the business and commercial purposes for use, and (d) the categories of third party recipients of your Personal Information. Unless we inform you otherwise, this section also serves as our “Notice at Collection” by informing you of your Personal Information to be collected in the future and the purposes for its use.
Categories Of Personal Information Collected
- Identifiers, including: real name, business or home address, phone number, and email address.
- Internet or other electronic network activity information, including: IP addresses, domain names, webpage visit information
- Professional or Employment-Related Information, name of employers, work address, and job title.
Sources Of Personal Information and Purposes For Using Personal Information
In the last 12 months, Firm collected the categories of Personal Information listed above from the following sources: (1) Clients; and (2) Website Users, and used those categories of Personal Information for the following purposes:
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Categories of Personal Information Collected in the Last 12 Months
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Sources of that Personal Information
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Business Purposes and Commercial Purposes for Collecting that Personal Information
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Identifiers, including name, business or home address, phone numbers and email addresses, social media identifiers?
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Directly from: (1) California Consumers; (2) Website Users
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- Performing legal services, including maintaining or servicing accounts, files and verifying information
- Processing payments
- For advertising or marketing purposes
- Facilitating communications.
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Internet or other electronic network activity information
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Automated technologies in the website, such as Google Analytics, Web FX
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- Facilitating communications
- Marketing and advertising purposes, and data analytics
- Optimizing and detecting security incidents, including protecting against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, and prosecuting those responsible for that activity.
- Debugging to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
- Short-term, transient use.
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Geolocation data
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Automated technologies in the website, such as Google Analytics, Web FX that may include location data based on IP addresses
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- Facilitating communications
- Marketing and advertising purposes, and data analytics
- Optimizing and detecting security incidents, including protecting against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, and prosecuting those responsible for that activity.
- Debugging to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
- Short-term, transient use.
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Professional or employment-related information, such as name of employer, work address, and job title
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Directly from (1) California Consumers; and (2) Website users
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- Performing legal services, including maintaining or servicing accounts, files and verifying information
- processing payments
- for advertising or marketing purposes
- Facilitating communications.
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Disclosure Of Personal Information To Third Parties
In the last 12 months, Firm disclosed the following categories of Personal Information about California Consumers to the following categories of third parties for a business or commercial purpose:
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Category of Personal Information
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Categories of Third Parties with Whom We Disclose Categories of Personal Information for a Business Purpose in the Last 12 Months
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Identifiers
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- Co-counsel for Client representations
- Marketing agencies
- Service providers such as data analytics services
- Government agencies, law enforcement, and other parties as required by law, in connection with a legal proceeding, including in litigation outside of pending legal matter for which Firm provides a service
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Internet or Other Electronic Network Activity Information
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- Marketing agencies
- Service providers such as data analytics services
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Professional Or Employment-Related Information
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- Marketing agencies
- Service providers such as data analytics services
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No Sale Of Personal Information
The Firm does not and will not sell California Consumers’ Personal Information.
YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS
- Right to Know
California Consumers have the right to submit a verifiable request to know:
- The categories and specific pieces of Personal Information that Firm has collected about them;
- The categories of sources from which Firm collected the Personal Information;
- The categories of Personal Information that Firm sold or disclosed to a third party (other than a service provider) for a business purpose and the categories of recipients of that information; and
- The business or commercial purposes for Firm’s collection, disclosure, or sale of the Personal Information.
- Right To Delete
- California Consumers have the right to submit a verifiable request for deletion of their Personal Information that Firm has collected from the Consumer.
- Right to Opt Out of Sale of Personal Information
- California Consumers have a right to opt-out of the sale of the Personal Information. However, as stated above, Firm does not and will not sell Personal Information.
HOW TO EXERCISE YOUR RIGHTS
- Making Requests
Firm will respond to requests in accordance with applicable law if it can verify the identity of the individual submitting the request. California Consumers can exercise their rights in the following ways:
- Complete the online request form available here.
- Contact by telephone: 1-888-889-0007.
- Requests By Authorized Agents
You can have an authorized agent submit a CCPA request to us on your behalf by (a) providing us with a written authorization signed by you that designates the agent as your authorized agent for purposes of a CCPA request; (b) verifying your identity directly with us; and (c) directly confirming with us that the agent is authorized to submit the request.
- How We Will Verify Your Requests
To prevent anyone other than you, or your authorized agent, from exercising the right to know or the right to delete with respect to your personal information, we follow procedures to verify your, or your agent’s, identity. This process seeks to confirm that the person making a request is the person about whom we have collected personal information or that person’s authorized agent. The verification process involves matching data points that you provide with your request against information about you we already have in our records and that we have determined to be reliable for purposes of verifying your identity. We will use information you provide in your completed request form to verify your identity, and we may request additional information if necessary to complete the verification process.
5. ADDITIONAL RIGHTS UNDER CALIFORNIA LAW
- The Firm’s Non-Discrimination Policy
California Consumers have the right not to be subject to discriminatory treatment by Firm for exercising their privacy rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, and Firm will not discriminate on that basis. However, Firm may charge a California Consumer a different price or rate or provide a different level or quality of goods or services if the difference is reasonably related to the value provided to the California Consumer by the Consumer’s Personal Information. If Firm does so, it will provide Consumers with any legally required notice.
- Your ‘Do Not Track’ Browser Setting
The Site collects personally identifiable information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or online services. We support the Do Not Track (DNT) browser setting. DNT is a preference you can set in your browser’s settings to let the websites you visit, including the Site, know that you do not want the sites collecting your personally identifiable information.
Third-Party Links And Services
We provide links to third party websites operated by organizations not affiliated with Firm. We do not disclose your Personal Information to organizations operating such linked third-party websites. We do not review or endorse, and are not responsible for, the privacy practices of these organizations. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of each and every website that you visit. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by Firm through the Services.
Minors Under 16 Years of Age
We respect the privacy of children. Our Services are not designed to attract an audience younger than sixteen (16), and we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under sixteen (16). If you are under the age of sixteen (16), you are not permitted to use our Services and should not send any information about yourself to us through the Services. Please contact us using the contact details below if you believe we may have collected information from your child under the age of sixteen (16), and we will work to delete it.
6. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
If we change this Privacy Policy, we will post those changes on this page and update the Privacy Policy modification date above. If we materially change this Privacy Policy in a way that affects how we use or disclose your personal data, we will provide a prominent notice of such changes and the effective date of the changes before making them.
7. FOR MORE INFORMATION
For questions or concerns about Firm’s privacy policies and practices, please contact us at vnf@vnf.com.