July 14, 2021
General
Harris Beach PLLC (the “Firm”) provides legal services to clients in transactional, litigation and other matters where it is often necessary for the client to provide the Firm with information that may be subject to state or federal data privacy laws or the laws of other nations, including the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Swiss data protection law. In addition, the Firm collects information (e.g. name, email, and other contact information) directly from individuals who submit inquiries via our Website’s “Contact” feature.
This privacy policy outlines the Firm’s privacy practices, including the types of information we gather, how we use personal information we receive from you, to whom such information may be disclosed, and the notice and choice which affected individuals may have regarding our use of and their ability to correct that information. This privacy policy applies to personal information received by the Firm (including from the EU or Switzerland) whether in electronic or paper format, including information collected on our Website at www.harrisbeach.com.
As attorneys licensed and practicing in various states, prior to and in addition to adhering to the Privacy Shield and applicable laws, the Firm complies with the applicable Rules of Professional Conduct for the states in which it practices. Information we receive from clients is protected according to The Rules of Professional Conduct in effect in the state where services are rendered, and that information may be shared with courts and others as required by law, or as may be required during our legal representation of those clients.
We do not direct our website to children or individuals under eighteen (18) years of age. Individuals under eighteen (18) should not use this website. If you are aware that someone under the age of 18 has provided personal information to our website, please advise us so that we may remove it.
EU-U.S. Privacy Shield and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield
Harris Beach PLLC participates in and has certified its compliance with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework and the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework. We are committed to subjecting all personal data received from European Union (EU) member countries and Switzerland, respectively, in reliance on each Privacy Shield Framework, to the Framework’s applicable Principles. To learn more about the Privacy Shield Frameworks, and to view our certification, visit the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Privacy Shield List. [https://www.privacyshield.gov]
Harris Beach PLLC is responsible for the processing of personal data it receives, under each Privacy Shield Framework, and subsequently transfers to a third party acting as an agent on its behalf. Harris Beach PLLC complies with the Privacy Shield Principles for all onward transfers of personal data from the EU and Switzerland, including the onward transfer liability provisions.
With respect to personal data received or transferred pursuant to the Privacy Shield Frameworks, Harris Beach PLLC is subject to the regulatory enforcement powers of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. In certain situations, we may be required to disclose personal data in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.
If you have an unresolved privacy or data use concern that we have not addressed satisfactorily, please contact our U.S.-based third party dispute resolution provider (free of charge) at https://feedback-form.truste.com/watchdog/request. Under certain conditions, more fully described on the Privacy Shield website [https://www.privacyshield.gov/article?id=How-to-Submit-a-Complaint], you may be entitled to invoke binding arbitration when other dispute resolution procedures have been exhausted.
The Information We Collect and How We Use It
Users do not need to provide personal information to make general use of the Firm’s Website. Access to certain information may require users to provide certain personal information (such as name, e-mail address and/or other contact information). Such information may be used to monitor use of the website and may be used to assist in development and improvements to the design and layout of the Website. We may also use the contact information supplied by visitors to send periodic Legal Alerts and other information which may be of interest. Users may opt-out of receiving future mailings in accordance with the opt-out provisions located elsewhere in this policy.
By using our Website, users consent to the terms of this privacy policy and to the collection and use of the information by us. Privacy policies may be updated from time-to-time. Updated policies will be posted on this page as changes are made. The effective date of the most recent policy change is located at the top of this page.
For individuals applying for career opportunities at Harris Beach, we may collect information required to contact you and determine your qualifications, including your education, employment history, references, and eligibility status. We may also ask for other information that is not mandatory.
We may, in limited circumstances, share personal information with government authorities or others as required by law, such as to comply with a subpoena, or similar legal process, to protect the interests of the Firm, as necessary in connection with business transactions or as required by applicable law or court order, or to meet national security or law enforcement requirements. If the Firm is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, you will be notified via email and/or a prominent notice on our Website of any change in ownership or uses of your personal information, as well as any choices you may have regarding your personal information.
Sharing with Service Providers
We may share your information with third parties who provide cloud computing infrastructure services and send marketing communications on our behalf to help with our business activities. These companies are authorized to use your personal information only as necessary to provide these services to us.
Use of Information Collected
The Firm uses the information collected via our Website’s “Contact” feature to respond to inquiries by users. Users may not opt-out from receiving these responses as they are not promotional emails.
Information collected when a user signs up for webinars and other educational opportunities is used to provide you with the information you requested and to provide you with future content that may be of interest.
We use cookies to analyze user activity in order to improve our site and to enhance your overall user experience.
Also, we use cookies from primarily Google and LinkedIn for marketing purposes. These cookies allow us to display promotional materials relating to our services that may be of interest to you on their sites. We may also share information about your behavior with these parties to deliver targeted advertisements related to our services and other interest-based content. Users may opt-out from collection and use of this information using the methods described in the Behavioral Advertising section of this policy.
Onward Transfers
We will not share your personal information with other companies so that they can market their products or services to you. Prior to disclosing personal information to a third party, the Firm shall notify the user of such disclosure and allow the user the choice (opt-out) of such disclosure except as described in this privacy policy.
Data Security
The Firm shall take reasonable steps, including the placement of appropriate physical, technical, and administrative procedures to protect personal information from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. The Firm cannot guarantee the security of personal information on or transmitted via the Internet.
Data Retention
We will retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. Thereafter, we may retain your information for a period of time, but reserve the right for various reasons including the minimization of unnecessary storage expenses, to destroy or otherwise dispose of your information once we have completed our services for you. If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your information to provide you services contact us at privacy@harrisbeach.com. We will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal and professional obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Our own files pertaining to the services we perform, including, for example, firm administrative records; internal lawyers’ work product such as drafts, notes, internal memoranda; and legal and factual research, including investigative reports, prepared by or for the internal use of lawyers, may be retained by the firm.
Data Integrity
The Firm shall manage personal information only in a way that is compatible with and relevant to the purpose for which it was collected and authorized by the individual. To the extent necessary for those purposes, the Firm shall take reasonable steps to ensure that its management of personal information does not affect the content of information supplied.
Log Files
As is true of most Websites, the Firm gathers certain information automatically, and stores it in log files. This information includes internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, and clickstream data. The Firm uses this information to administer the site.
Google Analytics
Our website uses Google Analytics to collect information about your use of this site. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit this site, what pages they visit when they do so, and what other sites they used prior to coming to this site. We use the information we get from Google Analytics to improve this site and your overall user experience. We use the following Google Analytics Advertising Features: (1) Remarketing with Google Analytics, (2) Google Display Network Impression Reporting, (3) Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting and (4) Integrated Services that require Google Analytics to collect data for advertising purposes. We may also use it to provide you with interest-based advertisements and content regarding our services. We do not combine the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with personally identifiable information. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to this site is restricted by the Google Privacy Policy (https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites).
You can prevent Google Analytics from recognizing you on return visits to this site by disabling cookies on your browser and/or using the methods to opt-out described in the Behavioral Advertising section of this policy.
Tracking Technologies
Harris Beach PLLC and its third-party partners such as Google and LinkedIn use cookies or similar technologies to analyze trends, administer the website, track users’ movements around the website, and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. The information we collect may include the number of users and sessions, session duration, operating system, device mode, geography, and actions taken on website. You can control the use of cookies at the individual browser level, but if you choose to disable cookies, it may limit your use of certain features or functions on our website or service.
Behavioral Advertising
We partner with a third party to display advertising on our website or to manage our advertising on other sites. Our third-party partner may use technologies such as cookies to gather information about your activities on this website and other sites in order to provide advertising to you based upon your browsing activities and interests. If you wish not to have this information used for the purpose of displaying interest-based ads to you, you may opt-out by clicking http://optout.aboutads.info/or if located in the European Union click www.youronlinechoices.eu/. Please note this does not opt you out of being served all ads. You will continue to receive generic ads.
Links to Third Party Sites
Our Website may contain links to other sites. The Firm is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such sites. If users link to, or otherwise visit any other site we encourage users to review the privacy policies posted at that site.
Blog / Forum
Our Website offers publicly accessible blogs or community forums. You should be aware that any information you provide in these areas may be read, collected, and used by others who access them. To request removal of your personal information from our blog or community forum, contact us at privacy@harrisbeach.com. In some cases, we may not be able to remove your personal information, in which case we will let you know if we are unable to do so and why.
Social Media Widgets
Our Website includes Social Media Features, such as the Facebook and Twitter button. These Features may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on our site, and may set a cookie to enable the Feature to function properly. Social Media Features and Widgets are either hosted by a third party or hosted directly on our Site. Your interactions with these Features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing it.
Your rights with regard to your personal information
Except as otherwise expressly discussed in this Privacy Policy, this policy only addresses our use and disclosure of personal information we collect from you. To the extent that you disclose your personal information to third parties, including any third party website linked from any of our websites, you are subject to the privacy customs and policies of those third parties. We encourage you to ask questions before you disclose any personal information to such third parties.
Subject to applicable law, you may have certain rights regarding personal information we have collected about you. Such rights might include the right to (a) know what personal information we have collected about you, (b) know what personal information about you was disclosed to third parties, (c) update or correct such information if you believe there is an inaccuracy, (d) restrict the processing of your personal information, (e) request deletion of your personal information, (f) object to our use of your personal information, or (g) request transmission of your personal information to another data controller. We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these privacy rights, except that the deletion of your personal information may prevent us from providing you content, invitation, or benefit that depends on the processing of your personal information. We will not sell your personal information.
If you would like to exercise any rights you may have under applicable law, you can contact us at: privacy@harrisbeach.com. For your protection, we may need to verify your identity before implementing your request. We will try to implement your request as soon as reasonably practicable or as required by applicable law.
“Personal information,” as used in this Policy, means information or data about you that is protected by applicable data privacy laws. Information that has been anonymized so that it does not identify a specific individual is not “personal information.”
Enforcement
The Firm uses a self-assessment approach to assure compliance with this privacy policy.
Dispute Resolution and Binding Arbitration
Any claim or complaint you may have against Harris Beach PLLC or its members, employees, agents, or affiliates arising from your use of this Website shall first be resolved through informal, good-faith discussion between you and Harris Beach. If such discussion does not resolve the dispute within 30 days of Harris Beach receiving notice of same, then the dispute shall be submitted to non-binding mediation or Privacy Shield dispute resolution methods described above. If still not resolved after taking these steps, then any claim arising from your use of this Website shall be subject to mandatory and binding arbitration.
The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) in accordance with the Consumer Arbitration Rules (the “AAA Rules”) then in effect, except as modified by this Policy. (The AAA Rules are available at adr.org or by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879.) The Federal Arbitration Act will govern the interpretation and enforcement of this section.
The arbitrator will have exclusive authority to resolve any dispute relating to arbitrability and/or enforceability of this arbitration provision, including any unconscionability challenge or any other challenge that the arbitration provision or the Agreement is void, voidable or otherwise invalid. The arbitrator will be empowered to grant whatever relief would be available in court under law or in equity. Any award of the arbitrator(s) will be final and binding on each of the parties and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. The arbitrator may award the prevailing party its attorneys’ fees and costs.
YOU AND HARRIS BEACH ARE AGREEING TO GIVE UP ANY RIGHTS TO LITIGATE CLAIMS IN A COURT OR BEFORE A JURY, OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION WITH RESPECT TO A CLAIM ARISING FROM USE OF HARRIS BEACH’S WEBSITE. OTHER RIGHTS THAT YOU WOULD HAVE IF YOU WENT TO COURT MAY ALSO BE UNAVAILABLE OR MAY BE LIMITED IN ARBITRATION.
ANY CLAIM, DISPUTE OR CONTROVERSY (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, WHETHER PRE-EXISTING, PRESENT OR FUTURE, AND INCLUDING STATUTORY, CONSUMER PROTECTION, COMMON LAW, INTENTIONAL TORT, INJUNCTIVE AND EQUITABLE CLAIMS) BETWEEN YOU AND US ARISING FROM OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE, WILL BE RESOLVED EXCLUSIVELY AND FINALLY BY BINDING ARBITRATION.
Amendments
If the Firm decides to materially change its privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy policy and other places we deem appropriate prior to the change becoming effective so that users are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we may disclose it.
Questions about this Privacy Policy, Opting Out and Contacting Us
If you wish to discontinue or opt-out of the use of your personal information by the Firm, or to unsubscribe from any newsletter or other information, please contact us by e-mail using our Website’s “Contact” feature. You may also follow the unsubscribe instructions included in each newsletter.
Questions, comments, or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or data collection and processing practices can be mailed or emailed to:
Harris Beach PLLC
Attn: Chief Operating Officer
99 Garnsey Rd
Pittsford NY 14534
privacy@harrisbeach.com