As professionals engaged in the provision of legal services to clients worldwide, Axis Legal Counsel PC (referred to as “the firm”), located in California, is dedicated to safeguarding the privacy of confidential and “Personal Information” (information that directly or indirectly identifies individuals who may be clients, staff, agents, lawyers, law students, job applicants, or others inside or outside the firm). It has always been and continues to be our firm’s policy to adhere to the rules of professional conduct, which impose a duty to preserve and protect confidential client information on our lawyers and associated personnel.
This Privacy Statement and Cookie Policy (referred to as “the Statement”) is based on the privacy and data protection principles that are common to the countries in which we operate. We apply this Statement in accordance with our overarching obligations to comply with the law, preserve client confidentiality, and represent our clients as effectively as possible within the legal framework. The purpose of this Statement is to provide a summary of the firm’s data protection practices and to inform our clients, interested law students, job applicants, website visitors, and other third parties about the firm’s privacy policies that may be applicable to them.
This Statement is specifically addressed to external parties who provide Personal Information to the firm, visit or use the firm’s websites, apps, social media sites, extranets, and receive email messages from us that contain a link to this Statement (collectively referred to as the “Internet Services”). Additionally, this Statement describes how the firm collects, processes, and discloses Personal Information in connection with the provision of legal services and the Internet Services.
Collection and Use of Personal Information
The firm collects Personal Information while providing legal services to clients and as provided by visitors to our website or users of the Internet Services. We may also collect Personal Information about you when you interact with us on social media sites and from other third parties. Furthermore, we may automatically collect information that may contain Personal Information, as described below in the cookie policy.
We may use Personal Information for the following purposes, where it is in our legitimate interest to do so:
- Contacting you and responding to your requests and inquiries.
- Personalizing your visit and use of our Internet Services, and providing assistance while you use those services.
- Conducting and analyzing our business or website operations.
- Carrying out our recruiting and selection process.
- Providing you with legal services if you are or become a client of the firm, and managing the matters you engage us on.
- Contacting you (unless you indicate otherwise) regarding legal or law firm developments that may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive publications or details of events or seminars that we consider may be of interest to you, you can unsubscribe by clicking on the provided link in our electronic marketing communications.
- Entering into or fulfilling various contracts.
- Complying with applicable laws, regulations, guidance, or professional obligations that we may be subject to, including anti-money laundering requirements. Failure to provide necessary Personal Information for anti-money laundering checks may result in the firm’s inability to provide representation.
Confidentiality, Security, and Retention of Personal Information
Consistent with our professional obligations, the firm has always been committed to exercising the utmost discretion in handling the information entrusted to us by our clients.
We maintain reasonable and appropriate physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect the confidentiality of Personal Information, including information provided by visitors to our website and users of other Internet Services. While we strive to ensure the effectiveness of our safeguards, we cannot guarantee that they will always be flawless.
We require our consultants, suppliers, and vendors to maintain data protection standards consistent with the reasonable and appropriate obligations of data processors, including compliance with the European Union’s data protection laws and regulations, where applicable.
We retain information provided by you, including Personal Information, for as long as necessary to comply with legal obligations or to achieve the purposes for which the information was originally collected, as described in the Statement and our applicable policies. For more information on our information practices, please refer to the “Contact Us” section below.
Disclosure and Transfer of Personal Information
Outside of limited circumstances, the firm does not disclose any Personal Information to unrelated parties. These circumstances may include disclosures to our agents, data processors, or other contractors acting on our behalf and under our direction. Such disclosures are subject to appropriate confidentiality, privacy, and information security commitments from the receiving party. We may also disclose Personal Information as necessary to provide a requested service, as permitted or required by law, or as authorized or directed by you. In accordance with our professional obligations, we may provide Personal Information to regulatory authorities and law enforcement officials in accordance with applicable law or when we believe in good faith that such provision is required or permitted by law, such as in connection with the investigation or assertion of our legal defenses or for compliance matters.
As an international firm, we operate systems that may allow access to data related to your matters from our various offices worldwide, and we may transfer client data, including Personal Information, between our offices. We have implemented EU Standard Contractual Clauses for such transfers, and you can request a copy of these clauses through the “Contact Us” section below.
Cookie Policy
A cookie is a text file that a web server sends to your computer and is stored by your web browser. Cookies can be classified as session cookies or persistent cookies. Session cookies are temporary and are typically deleted when you close your browser, while persistent cookies remain stored on your computer until they expire or are deleted. The firm uses session cookies in connection with our Internet Services, except for services that require you to log in, such as our client extranets. Additionally, we use a persistent Region Code cookie that ensures you are directed to the correct version of our website.
Cookies are often used alongside other Internet technologies, such as web beacons, to understand user behavior. For example, we use cookies with web beacons, which are small sections of code placed in our Internet Services to determine the number of unique users who visit a specific page. Similarly, we may use or receive reports from tracking scripts that recognize unique cookies issued by another website. These tracking scripts do not gather information unrelated to the firm and do not identify you unless you provide Personal Information.
Our Internet Services use cookies for various purposes, including cybersecurity, customization of your experience, language preferences, and activity tracking. However, none of these cookies are strictly necessary to access our Internet Services. You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or receive alerts when a cookie is set. However, certain parts of our Internet Services may not function as well if you choose to do so. Unless you configure your browser to refuse cookies, our Internet Services will issue cookies when you log in. For more information on managing your cookie preferences, consult the “help” menu or customer support sections of your web browser. If you do not want to receive advertising cookies, you may visit the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) website and the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) website.
Do Not Track Signals
Our websites operate in the same manner whether you enable or disable “Do Not Track” signals on your browser. Our Internet Services do not allow third parties to collect Personal Information about your online activities over time or across websites for their own purposes.
Children
To respect the privacy of minors, the firm does not knowingly collect, maintain, or process Personal Information from anyone under the age of 18 via our Internet Services. In instances where we collect Personal Information on minors for the purposes mentioned in the Statement, we will only do so with appropriate consent or as otherwise permitted under applicable laws.
Your California Privacy Rights
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), California residents have certain data protection rights concerning their Personal Information. These rights, subject to limitations and restrictions, include the right to disclosure, deletion, access, and non-discrimination, as well as the right to opt out of having Personal Information shared or sold. The firm does not sell or share Personal Information with third-party companies for their direct marketing purposes without your consent. To exercise your rights under the CCPA, please submit your request using the “Contact Us” section below.
Your European Union (EU) and United Kingdom (UK) Data Protection Rights
Under EU and UK data protection laws (UK GDPR/2018 Data Protection Act and EU GDPR), individuals have certain data protection rights, subject to limitations and restrictions. These rights include the right to request access, rectification, or erasure of your Personal Information, as well as the right to request restriction of processing. You may also have the right to object to the processing of your Personal Information for legitimate interests or direct marketing. To exercise your rights under this Privacy Policy, please submit your request using the “Contact Us” section below.
You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority regarding the processing of your Personal Information. For EU and UK matters, our data protection officer can be contacted at the address provided in the “Contact Us” section below.
Your Singapore Data Protection Rights
If you have any inquiries, comments, or suggestions regarding the collection or use of your personal data, this statement, or your rights under the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (PDPA), please contact our Data Protection Officer at [email protected].
You may also write to us to request information about your personal data, update your personal data, or withdraw any previously provided consent.
Changes
We reserve the right to change this Statement at any time without advance notice. If any new policies affect our Internet Services, we will post them on our website and relevant Internet Services.
Contact Us
The firm has a Privacy Program in place, including a Chief Privacy Officer and a Data Protection Officer, to ensure compliance with privacy and data protection principles. These individuals serve as points of contact for questions, requests for information access, amendments, corrections, and resolution of issues and disputes. If you have any questions regarding our use of your Personal Information, please contact the Chief Privacy Officer at [email protected]