California Privacy Notice

Updated: December 31, 2022

1. OVERVIEW

This California privacy notice (“Notice”) applies to Buchalter PC (“Buchalter,” “the firm,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) and is effective as of the date last updated, above. We strive to deliver outstanding services, and recognize that privacy is an important issue.

For California consumers, this Notice supplements and supersedes the practices we have adopted globally as described in our Law Firm Policies, to describe our collection, use, and disclosure of personal information. All defined terms within the California Consumer Privacy Act
(“CCPA”), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), including those defined in Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.140, apply for the purposes of interpreting this Notice.

By accessing or using our websites, submitting information to us, or otherwise agreeing to this Notice, you understand and consent to our collection and use of your personal information as described herein.

2. SOURCES FROM WHICH WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

In most cases, we collect personal information directly from you. We also collect information from the following additional categories of sources:

Service Providers.
Contractors.
Government Entities.
Client
Third Parties.
Data Analytics Providers.

3. PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

In most cases, you will know when we collect personal information from you as you will actively provide it to us for a stated purpose. However, below is a description of additional types of personal information we collect in certain circumstances:

Clients
If you are a client of the firm, we collect your name, contact details, payment information and any other information you provide to us or we otherwise obtain from third parties (e.g., from government entities, the opposing party, consumer data resellers) when providing legal services. The type of information we collect varies from matter to matter and may include information about your employees, customers, and vendors (e.g., name, contact details), communications with you, information provided by you, and any other information that may be relevant for the matter.

Contact forms
If you submit information to us through forms made available to you on our website or otherwise by our firm, we may collect personal information from you including your name, country, region, address, postal code, phone, fax, email, company, and any message content you may choose to provide.

Events
We collect personal information about you if you register for an event hosted or sponsored by our firm. This personal information may include your name, address, title, company, phone number, and email address, as well as specific information relevant to the event for which you register.

Communications If you choose to contact us for any purpose, we will collect your name, contact details, and the date and time of your contact along with the content of your message.

News, updates, and alerts
You may choose to receive news, updates, or client alerts from us. When you sign up, we may collect your name, company, email address, and areas of interest.

Automatically Collected Personal Information
By its nature, our website also automatically collects some personal information about you. In order for you to view or interact with our website, we receive individual identifiers like your IP address and some network information like date and time of pages visited. We collect some personal information automatically using cookies or other tracking technologies, described in more detail in the cookies section below. The personal information automatically collected may be collected by or on behalf of third parties who provide us inferences regarding your use of the website or reporting based on analysis of such personal information.

Other sources
We may receive Personal Information about you from other sources, including third parties that help us update, expand, and analyze our records, identify new customers, or prevent or detect fraud. We may also receive information about you from social media platforms, for example when you interact with us on those platforms or access our social media content. Information we receive through such platforms is governed by the privacy settings, policies, and/or procedures of the platform, and we encourage you to review them.

Please be aware that some links on our website may direct you to websites operated by third parties. Information submitted on those websites is provided to the owner(s) of those websites, not Buchalter, and subject to the privacy policies of those sites, and not this policy.

Children’s Personal Information

We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18 years of age, and do not sell the personal information of minors under 16 years of age without affirmative authorization. Our website is available only to individuals and entities that can form legally binding contracts under applicable law. You warrant that you are eighteen (18) years of age or older to use our website. If you do not qualify, you may not use our website. If you a parent or legal guardian, please do not to allow your children to submit personal information to us without your authorization.

4. PURPOSES FOR WHICH WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

We collect your personal information for the following business purposes:

Detecting security incidents, 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, where the personal information is not disclosed to another third party and is not used to build a profile about a consumer or otherwise alter your experience outside the current interaction;
Representing your legal interests;
Hiring, applying or recruiting for employment;
Performing services on your behalf, including maintaining or servicing accounts, providing customer service, processing or fulfilling transactions, verifying client information, processing payments, providing financing, providing advertising or marketing services, providing analytic services, or providing similar services on our behalf; and
Undertaking activities to verify or maintain the quality or safety of services that are owned or controlled by us, and to improve, upgrade, or enhance those services.

We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which we have collected it, unless we reasonably determine we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. For example, we consider de-identification, aggregation, and other forms of anonymization of personal information to be compatible with the purposes listed above and in your interest, because the anonymization of such information reduces the likelihood of improper disclosure of that information.

If you wish to receive an explanation as to how the processing for a particular purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us as set forth below.

5. COOKIES

Through the use of cookies and similar technologies, we may collect your device IP address, unique device ID, hardware and software type, Internet service provider, serving domain, geographical area, location data, browser type and settings data (such as language, screen resolution, color depth, time zone settings, browser extension and plugins) operating system, referring URLs, search history, information on actions taken or interaction with our digital assets (e.g., page views, x/y coordinates of mouse events) and dates and times of actions. The types of cookies we use include:

Google Analytics to collect information about how you use our website. We use this information to create reports and improve our website. The cookies help us understand the number of visitors to our website and where visitors come from. To learn more about how Google uses data when you use our website, visit https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. To opt-out from these cookies across all websites, visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

We use Clicky to log and analyze the traffic to our web site. You may review Clicky’s privacy policy at https://clicky.com/terms/privacy. We log “personal data” to Clicky for the following purposes: A “Unique ID” tracking cookie to identify unique visitors; your IP address for security and fraud prevention; and your username to help us to analyze visitor behavior and assist with customer service needs. To opt-out from Clicky’s tracking across all websites, visit https://clicky.com/optout.

Most web browsers allow you to manage cookies through the browser settings. Be aware that, if you opt-out from and do not agree to certain cookies, your experience on our website may be diminished and some features may not work as intended depending on the cookie. To find out more about cookies, you can visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.

Please note that when you opt-out of cookies, tags, and pixels, that opt-out only pertains to the device and the browser that you are using when you opt-out. If you wish to opt-out for other devices or browsers, you must opt-out again when you are using those devices or browsers.

6. HOW WE SHARE PERSONAL INFORMATION

Generally, we disclose personal information as necessary to provide legal services to our clients, including to opposing counsel. We also share personal information among our service providers and other third parties as described below:

Event Partners

We may share personal information with co-sponsors, hosts, and other event partners.

Service Providers and Contractors

We may from time to time use business partners, suppliers, and sub-contractors to assist us with the provision of services to you (for example, without limitation, website hosting, web analytics, maintenance services, database management, billing, payment processing, fraud protection, credit risk reduction, marketing, product research, litigation support, or improvement of services). These entities have access to your personal information only to perform the respective tasks assigned to them on our behalf, and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose. For the purposes of this Notice, these are our “Service Providers” and “Contractors.”

Third Parties

We may share personal information with the following categories of third parties: Event Partners, Advertising Networks, Data Analytics Providers, Government Entities, Internet Service Providers, Operating Systems and Platforms, Litigation Support Providers, and Social Networks. For the purposes of this Statement, “third party” or “third parties” means third party as defined by the CCPA, and includes parties that may sell, retain, use, or disclose personal information for certain purposes beyond the limited scope of our contract or direct business relationship with such entities.

Other Reasons for Which We Will Share Personal Information

We may cooperate with government and law enforcement officials as required by applicable law and/or in the course of legal proceedings. If you give us permission, or if we believe doing so is required or appropriate, we may disclose personal information to government or law enforcement officials or private parties in response to lawful requests, comply with a legal obligation, enforce or apply our terms and conditions, protect our services, our rights, and/or the safety of the public or any person, or prevent or stop any illegal, unethical or legally actionable activity (including for the purposes of fraud protection).

We may share some or all of your personal information in connection with or during negotiation of any merger, financing, acquisition or dissolution transaction, or proceeding involving sale, transfer, divestiture, or disclosure of all or a portion of our business or assets. In the event of an insolvency, bankruptcy, or receivership, personal information may also be transferred as a business asset. If another company or individual acquires our business, or assets, that company or individual will possess the personal information collected by us and will assume the rights and obligations regarding your personal information as described in this Notice.

Categories of Personal Information Collected; Sold or Shared for Cross-Context Behavioral Advertising; and Disclosed for a Business Purpose within the past 12 months.

Category of Personal Information Collected	Collected	Sold or Shared in the Past 12 Months?	Categories of Third Parties to Whom Shared or Sold	Disclosed for a Business Purpose in Past 12 Months?	Categories of Third Parties to Whom Disclosed
Individual Identifiers	Yes	Yes	Data Analytics Providers	Yes	Contractors; Service Providers; Government Entities; Event Partners; Data Analytics Providers
Categories Described in California Consumer Records Act, Civil Code §1798.81.5	Yes	Yes	Advertising Networks; Data Analytics Providers	Yes	Contractors; Service Providers; Government Entities; Event Partners; Data Analytics Providers
Characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law.	Yes	No	Not Applicable	Yes	Government Entities
Commercial information.	No	No	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable
Biometric information.	No	No	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable
Internet or other electronic network activity.	Yes	Yes	Advertising Networks; Data Analytics Providers	Yes	Contractors; Service Providers; Data Analytics Providers; Advertising Networks
Geolocation data.	Yes	No	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable
Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information.	No	No	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable
Professional or employment-related information.	Yes	No	Not Applicable	Yes	Contractors; Service Providers
Education information.	No	No	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable
Inferences drawn from any of the information identified above.	No	No	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable

Categories of “Sensitive” Personal Information Collected; Sold or Shared for Cross-Context Behavioral Advertising; and Disclosed for a Business Purpose within the past 12 months.

Category of Personal Information Collected	Collected	Sold or Shared in the Past 12 Months?	Categories of Third Parties to Whom Shared or Sold	Disclosed for a Business Purpose in Past 12 Months?	Categories of Third Parties to Whom Disclosed
Social Security, Driver’s License, State ID, Passport Number.	Yes	No	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable
Account Log-in and Password	No	No	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable
Financial Account, Debit Card, Credit Card Number and account access information.	No	No	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable
Precise Geolocation.	No	No	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable
Racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs or union membership.	No	No	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable
Contents of e-mail, text messages unless we are intended recipient.	No	No	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable
Genetic Data	No	No	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable
Biometric Information for purpose of identification.	No	No	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable
Health information collected and analyzed.	No	No	Not Applicable	Yes	Contractors; Service Providers
Sex life or sexual orientation collected and analyzed.	No	No	Not Applicable	No	Not Applicable

The above chart does not include information collected for employment related purposes. Employees should review Buchalter’s Employee Privacy Notice for more information as to what personal information is collected, used, shared or disclosed pursuant to their employment with the firm.

Retention Period

We will retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal information, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal information, the purposes for which we process your personal information, whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

7. YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (“CCPA”), if you are a resident of California you have the following rights with respect to your personal information.

Right to Know About Our Collection, Disclosure, Sharing and Sale of Personal Information about You.

Personal information as defined in the CCPA is information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, to you, including the following categories of information: (a) identifiers; (b) categories described in California Civil Code §1798.80(e); (c) characteristics of protected classes; (d) commercial information; (e) biometric information; (f) internet or other electronic network activity; (g) geolocation data; (h) audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory or similar information; (i) professional or employment related information; (j) education information; and (k) inferences drawn from such information to create a consumer profile.

You have the right to know the categories of personal information we have collected about you; the categories of sources from which we collect personal information; our business or commercial purpose for collecting, disclosing, sharing or selling personal information; the categories of third parties to whom we disclose, share or sell personal information, if any; and the specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you. Personal information includes “sensitive” personal as described below.

Right to Know About Our Collection, Disclosure, Sharing and Sale of “Sensitive” Personal Information about You.

“Sensitive” personal information as defined in the CCPA is personal information that reveals: (a) your social security, driver’s license, state identification card, or passport number; (b) your account log-in, financial account, debit card, or credit card number in combination with any required security or access code, password, or credentials allowing access to an account; (c) your precise geolocation; (d) your racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, or union membership; (e) the contents of your mail, email, and text messages unless we are the intended recipient of the communication; and (f) your genetic data. “Sensitive” personal information also includes biometric information that is processed for the purpose of identifying you, information that is collected and analyzed concerning your health; or your sex life or sexual orientation.

You have the right to know the categories of “sensitive” personal information we have collected about you, the categories of sources from which we collect personal information, our business or commercial purpose for collecting, selling or sharing “sensitive” personal information, the categories of third parties with whom we sell or share “sensitive” personal information, if any, and the specific pieces of “sensitive” personal information we have collected about you.

Right to Delete Your Personal Information

Subject to the exceptions set out below, and upon your submission of a verifiable request, you have the right to deletion of your personal information from our records, and to have us direct our service providers, contractors and third parties to delete your personal information from their records.

We are not required to, and reserve our right to not delete your personal information if it is necessary to: (i) complete the transaction for which the personal information was collected, provide a good or service requested by you, or reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform a contract between you and us; (ii) help to ensure security and integrity to the extent the use of your personal information is reasonably necessary and proportionate for those purposes; (iii) debug to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality; (iv) exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise his or her right of free speech, or exercise another right provided for by law; (v) comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act pursuant to Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 1546) of Title 12 of Part 2 of the Penal Code; (vi) engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws, when our deletion of the information is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of such research, provided we have obtained your informed consent; (vii) enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with your expectations based on your relationship with us and compatible with the context in which you provided the information; and (viii) comply with a legal obligation.

Right to Correct Inaccurate Personal Information.

Subject to the exceptions set out below, and upon your submission of a verifiable request, you have the right to correct any inaccurate personal information in our records, and to have us direct our service providers, contractors and third parties to correct any inaccurate personal information from their records.

If we cannot verify your identity pursuant to the CCPA and its regulations we may deny a request to correct. In such event, we shall inform you that your identity cannot be verified.

In determining the accuracy of the personal information that is the subject of your request to correct, we shall consider the totality of the circumstances relating to the contested personal information. We may deny your request to correct if we determine that the contested personal information is more likely than not accurate based on the totality of the circumstances.

Right to Opt-Out of the Sale or Sharing of Personal Information

We may disclose your personal information to third parties in exchange for monetary or other consideration. Such disclosures are considered to be “Sales” under the CCPA. We may Sell personal information to advertising networks so they may help us to deliver advertisements to you based on your activity on our website or apps and/or to recommend our products and services to you based on your activity on other websites or apps. You have the right to opt-out of the Sale of your personal information and you may exercise your right by clicking on the following link: [https://www.buchalter.com/personal-information-opt-out/]. If you exercise your right to opt-out of the Sale of your personal information, we will refrain from Selling your personal information, unless you subsequently provide express authorization for the Sale of your personal information.

Right to Opt-Out by Using Opt-Out Preference Signals.

We will process any opt-out preference signal that (a) is in a format commonly used and recognized by businesses (for example, in an HTTP header field) and (b) is sent from a platform, technology, or mechanism that makes it clear to the consumer, whether in its configuration or in disclosures to the public, that the use of the signal is meant to have the effect of opting the consumer out of the sale and sharing of their personal information (“Opt-Out Preference Signal”). We shall treat the Opt-Out Preference Signal as a valid request to opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information for your browser or device, and, if known, for you.

If the opt-out preference signal conflicts with other privacy settings that you have submitted to us, we will process the opt-out preference signal but may notify you of the conflict and provide you with the opportunity to consent to the sale or sharing of your personal information.

If the Opt-Out Preference Signal conflicts with your participation in a financial incentive program, we may notify you of the conflict and request your affirmation that you intend to withdraw from the financial incentive program. If you affirm your intent to withdraw we shall process the Opt-Out Preference Signal. If you do not affirm your intent to withdraw, we will not process the Opt-Out Preference Signal.

Right to Limit the Use of “Sensitive” Personal Information

We use your “sensitive” personal information only to the extent that it is necessary to perform our services as reasonably expected by you. If we were to use your “sensitive” personal information other than is necessary to perform our services, you would have the right to limit our use of your “sensitive” personal information to that which is necessary to provide our goods and services to you.

Right of Children to Opt-In to the Sale of Personal Information

We do not knowingly collect or sell the personal information of minors under 16 years of age without affirmative authorization. For minors who wish to opt-in to the sale of their personal information, we have established the following processes:

Minors between 13 and 16 years of age:

In the case of consumers between 13 and 16 years of age, we require the consumer to affirmatively authorize the sale of the consumer’s personal information. In order to opt-in minors in this age range, as part of the account registration process for our products which may be targeted toward minors, we require the consumer or consumer’s parent or guardian to verify the consumer’s identity by providing at least two data points with data points maintained by the business, which we have determined to be reliable for the purpose of verifying the consumer.

Minors under 13 years of age:

In the case of consumers who are less than 13 years of age, we require the consumer’s parent to affirmatively authorize the sale of the consumer’s personal information. In order to opt-in minors in this age range, as part of the account registration process for our products which may be targeted toward minors, we require that the consumer’s parent or guardian verify the consumer’s identity, which we have determined to be reliable for the purpose of verifying the consumer.

We reserve the right to require additional information or not complete your request if we cannot verify your identity. If you are a parent or guardian seeking to opt-out on behalf of their child, please contact us at 866.795.0287 or email us at [email protected] with the subject “Minor Opt-Out.”

Shine the Light Request.

Individual consumers who reside in California and have provided us with their personal information may request information about our disclosures of certain categories of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. Such requests must include your name, street address, city, state, and zip code, and be submitted to us at one of the following addresses: [email protected] with the subject “California Shine The Light Request” or Buchalter PC, ATTN: California Privacy – 1000 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1500, Los Angeles, California 90017-1730. Within thirty days of receiving such a request, we will provide a list of the categories of personal information disclosed to third parties for third-party direct marketing purposes during the immediately preceding calendar year, along with the names and addresses of these third parties. This request may be made no more than once per calendar year. We reserve our right not to respond to requests submitted to addresses other than the addresses specified in this paragraph.

Minor’s Right to Remove Posted Content.

If you are a California resident under the age of 18, and a registered user of any website where this Policy is posted, California Business and Professions Code Section 22581 permits you to request and obtain removal of content or information that you have publicly posted. To make such a request, please send an email with a detailed description of the specific content or information to [email protected] with the subject “Privacy Rights for Minors.” Please be aware that such a request does not ensure complete or comprehensive removal of the content or information you have posted and that there may be circumstances in which the law does not require or allow removal even if requested.

Right to Be Free from Discrimination

You have the right to not be discriminated against by us because you exercised any of your rights under the CCPA. This means we cannot, on the basis of the exercise of your rights thereunder, among other things, deny goods or services to you, charge different prices or rates for goods or services, including through the use of discounts or other benefits or imposing penalties; provide a different level or quality of goods or services to you; or suggest that you will receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services or retaliate against you as an employee, applicant for employment or independent contractor.

8. HOW TO EXERCISE YOUR RIGHTS

Unless otherwise specified, to exercise any of your rights described in this Notice, please complete a data subject request form available here, email us at [email protected] or call us toll-free at 866.795.0287.

In order to verify your request, you will need to provide us with enough information to identify you, verify your identity and address, and a description of what right you wish to exercise along with any information to which your requests relates.

You may also designate an authorized agent to make a request under the California Consumer Privacy Act on your behalf. In order to fulfill your request to know or delete submitted by an authorized agent, you must provide the authorized agent written permission to do so, and we may require you verify your own identity with us directly.

We reserve our right not to make a data access or portability disclosure if we cannot verify that the person making the request is the person about whom we collected information or someone authorized to act on such person’s behalf. Any personal information we collect from you to verify your identity in connection with your request will be used solely for the purposes of verification. You will not have to pay a fee to exercise your rights described herein. However, we may charge a reasonable fee or decline to comply with your request if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive, or excessive. You may only make a request to know or receive personal information twice within a 12-month period.

We endeavor to respond to a verifiable consumer request within forty-five (45) days of its receipt. If we require more time (up to 90 days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. We endeavor to respond to a request to opt-out within fifteen (15) days of its receipt.

If you are a current or former client of the Firm, we will deliver our written response to the contact information we have on file for you. If you are not a current or former client of the Firm, we will deliver our written response by mail or electronically, at your option.

Any disclosures we provide will only cover the 12-month period preceding the verifiable consumer request’s receipt, or from January 1, 2022 – as you so choose. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable. For data portability requests, we will select a format to provide your personal information that is readily useable and should allow you to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance.

9. INFORMATION SECURITY

No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. We make efforts to protect your personal information from improper or unauthorized loss, misuse, access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. If you have questions about the security of your personal information, contact us at the email or regular mail address specified in the Contact section below.

10. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY NOTICE

We may update this Notice from time to time, in our sole discretion. When we do so, we will post the new Notice on our website. You should consult this Notice regularly for any changes. Continued use of services following posting of such changes constitutes your acknowledgement of such changes and agreement to be bound by the changes. If you do not agree, you should immediately discontinue your use of our website and services.

11. CONTACT US

If you have questions regarding this Notice or our treatment of your personal information, you may contact us in one of the following ways:

Toll-free telephone number: 866.795.0287

Email address: [email protected]

Buchalter PC
ATTN: California Privacy
1000 Wilshire Boulevard
Suite 1500
Los Angeles, California
90017-1730