Your privacy is important to us. World Law Group, Ltd. ("WLG," "we," "us," "our") is committed to the privacy and confidentiality of information provided by you to us or otherwise collected by us from or about you. This Global Privacy Notice ("Privacy Notice") provides information about the personal information and other data WLG collects and explains how we collect, process, disclose, and safeguard personal information, as well as your rights and choices with respect to your personal information.

Scope

This Privacy Notice describes our current policies and practices regarding personal information or other data collected by us from you directly and/or through this website (www.theworldlawgroup.com). The term "personal information" refers to personally identifiable information about you, including without limitation your name, firm or company, job title, phone number, fax number, email address, and/or postal address.

If and to the extent you are in the European Union/European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland, this Privacy Notice ‎provides you with the information required by (i) the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European ‎Parliament and Council on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of ‎personal data (General Data Protection Regulation, "EU GDPR"); (ii) the equivalent ‎United Kingdom law relating to data protection, the processing of personal information, and privacy ‎enacted as a consequence of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union ("UK GDPR"); and (iii) the Swiss Federal Data Protection Act ("Swiss FDPA"). Collectively, these three regimes are referred to as "European Data Protection Laws" in this Privacy Notice.

Collections, Use, and Disclosure of Personal Information

Collection of Personal Information

Individuals are not required to disclose their personal information to WLG. However, the provision of personal information is necessary in some contexts (for example, to register with our website or to register for WLG events or programs). Failure to disclose such personal information to WLG may limit our ability to provide services to you or otherwise fulfill any applicable contract with you.

The personal information we collect from and about you may include the following:

-Identifiers and contact information, such as name, alias, gender, postal address, telephone number, email address, IP address, online identifiers (e.g., social media handles), browser and mobile application identifiers, passport number, and attorney registration number.

-Professional or employment-related information, such as your firm or company, job title, practice areas, year admitted to the bar, WLG committees and forums, and professional interests.

-Commercial and event information, such as event/program registration and attendance history.

-Financial account information, such as credit or debit card numbers and payment amounts.

-Internet or other electronic network activity information, such as browsing history, interactions with our websites or advertisements, and information collected via cookies, pixels, and similar digital tracking technologies.

-Geolocation data, such as device location.

-Audio, electronic, visual, olfactory, and similar information, such as profile photos and audio and video recordings of speakers and attendees at presentations, programs, and events.

-Health and dietary information, such as dietary restrictions and COVID status.

We collect the personal information described above when you provide it to us directly. For example, you may choose to register with our website to receive additional information or services from us. When you register, we may request personal information about you and we may ask for demographic or other pertinent information. Gathering this information enables us to provide a personalized service to you and allows you to access our website and services. The information you give us is either manually or electronically stored in our databases.

We sometimes supplement the information that you provide with information that is received from third parties. For instance, if inaccurate postal or zip codes are received, we will use third-party software to fix them.

We sometimes collect email addresses from prospect lists of other businesses or via our marketing events, such as conferences and seminars. We only process such personal information for marketing purposes if individuals providing their email addresses have opted in to receive email messages from us.

We may also collect contact information about you from our member law firms, for example where you are a lawyer, other staff member, or a client.

Uses of Personal Information and Legal Basis

We process your personal information only for specific and limited purposes, including for the purposes described in the table below. We ask only for data that is adequate, relevant, and not excessive for those purposes. Please note that the references in the chart below to our "Legal Basis" for processing only apply to residents of the European Union, United Kingdom, Switzerland, and other regions with privacy laws that require us to disclose our legal basis for processing.

We may also anonymize and aggregate any personal information we collect about you and use the resulting aggregated and/or anonymized data for any purposes permitted by applicable law.

Data Collected Using Cookies and Similar Technologies 

In addition to the personal information we collect as described above, we may use a variety of tracking technologies to automatically collect information from you, such as ‎cookies, web beacons, embedded scripts, browser fingerprinting, GPS, iBeacons, and ETags (or ‎‎"entity tags").‎ For example, we use these technologies to track which pages of our website our visitors view. We also use technology to determine which web browsers our visitors use. This technology does not aim to identify you personally; it simply enables us to compile statistics about our visitors and their use of our website.

Our website contains hyperlinks to other pages on the website. We may use technology to track how often these links are used and which pages on our website our visitors choose to view. Again, this technology does not aim to identify you personally – it simply enables us to compile statistics about the use of these hyperlinks.

We also use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer our website. An IP address is a numeric code that identifies your computer on a network, or in this case, the Internet. Your IP address is also used to gather broad demographic information, such as determining how many of our visitors are from outside of the UK or other jurisdictions.

We may also perform IP lookups to determine which domain you are coming from (e.g., aol.com, yourfirm.com) to more accurately gauge our users' demographics.

We use this data to improve the content and functionality of our website and our email updates, to better understand our customers and visitors, and to improve the services we offer. We do not link this data to any other of your personal information in any way.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are sent to and stored by your browser when you visit or interact with our site and other online services. These cookies are then sent back to us unchanged each time you visit or interact with our site or services in order for us to recognize your device. Cookies work by collecting the first-level domain name of the user (for example, if your email address is "john@bigmail.com," the cookie collects the "bigmail.com" portion of your email address) and the date and time you accessed our website. Cookies by themselves are not used to discover the identity of the user.

Cookies fall into two categories: first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are sent to your browser by the party that operates the site you are visiting (for example, cookies sent by the WLG when you visit our website). Third-party cookies are sent to your browser by any party other than the party that operates the site you are visiting (for example, cookies sent by our online partners, such as Google Analytics). Cookies can be session cookies, which are temporary cookies that remain in the cookies file of your browser until the browser is closed, or persistent cookies, which remain in the cookie file of your browser for a longer period of time.

The types of cookies that may be used on our website include the following:

-Necessary cookies. These cookies are necessary for our website to function properly. Some of the actions that can be performed by using these cookies include saving your cookie preferences and language for this website.

-Performance cookies. These cookies are used to gather statistical information about the use of our website, also called analytics cookies. We use this data for performance and website optimization.

-Functional cookies. These cookies enable more functionality for our website visitors. Our external service providers or our website can set these cookies. The following functionalities may or may not be activated when you accept this category: watch online videos and social media sharing buttons.

You can view the specific cookies used on our site and you can change your preferences with respect to our use of performance cookies and/or functional cookies. 

Further, you can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie. This enables you to decide if you want to accept it or not. Modifying the settings on your browser will enable you to accept or decline cookies. Please note that deleting or rejecting cookies may affect your usage of our website and may make certain features of our website unavailable to you. For more information on deleting or rejecting cookies, please visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

Consent to the Use of Cookies

For our website to function properly we use cookies. To obtain your valid consent for the use and storage of cookies in the browser you use to access our website and to properly document this we use the following consent management platform: CookieFirst. This technology is provided by Digital Data Solutions BV, Plantage Middenlaan 42a, 1018 DH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Website: https://cookiefirst.com referred to as CookieFirst. We have concluded a data processing agreement with CookieFirst. This is a contract required by data protection law, which ensures that data of our website visitors is only processed in accordance with our instructions and in compliance with European Data Protection Laws.

When you access our website, a connection is established with CookieFirst’s server to give us the possibility to obtain valid consent from you to the use of certain cookies. CookieFirst then stores a cookie in your browser in order to be able to activate only those cookies to which you have consented and to properly document this. The data processed is stored until the predefined storage period expires or you request to delete the data. Certain mandatory legal storage periods may apply notwithstanding the aforementioned.

CookieFirst is used to obtain the legally required consent for the use of cookies under European Data Protection Laws.

Server Log Files

Our website and CookieFirst automatically collect and store information in so-called server log files, which your browser automatically transmits to us. The following data is collected:

-Your consent status or the withdrawal of consent

-Your anonymized IP address

-Information about your browser

-Information about your device

-The date and time you have visited our website

-The webpage URL where you saved or updated your consent preferences

-The approximate location of the user that saved their consent preference

-A universally unique identifier (UUID) of the website visitor that clicked the cookie banner

Web Beacons

Some of our web pages may contain electronic images known as web beacons (sometimes known as "1x1 gifs" or "clear gifs") that allow us to check the open rate of email newsletters and other communications. These beacons do not carry any personally identifiable information and are only used to track the effectiveness of a particular campaign. For further information about web beacons, please visit www.allaboutcookies.org/faqs/beacons.html.

Embedded Scripts

An embedded script is programming code that is designed to collect information about your interactions with our website, such as the links you click on. When an embedded script is employed, the code is temporarily downloaded onto your computer or other device from our web server or a third-party service provider, is active only while you are connected to our website, and is deactivated or deleted thereafter.

Third-Party Tracking and Do Not Track

Third parties may use tracking technologies in connection with our website, which may include the collection of information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites. This Privacy Notice does not apply to these third-party technologies because we may not control them and we are not responsible for them. Do Not Track is a technology that enables users to opt out of tracking by websites they do not visit. Currently, we do not monitor or take any action with respect to Do Not Track technology.

Disclosure of Personal Information

We do not share, sell, or distribute your personal information with unrelated third parties, except under these limited circumstances:

-WLG Member Firms, Attorneys, and Professionals: We disclose your personal information to WLG member firms and their respective attorneys and other professionals for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice, such as providing our services to you, communicating with you, facilitating programs, and otherwise accomplishing our business purposes. For example, where you have registered for access to the Members' Centre of our website and provided personal contact information to do so, we may share your personal information with other member firms within WLG.

-Visitors to Our Website. If you are a Key Contact Partner for your law firm and/or serve in a WLG leadership role, your name, profile photo, firm name, firm phone number, and firm email address are made available to visitors to our website.

-Service Providers: We disclose personal information to our service providers to provide services on our behalf, such as sending email messages, managing data, hosting our databases, providing data processing services, providing customer service, conducting marketing activities, and similar purposes. Our service providers are restricted from using this data other than to provide services to us.

-Other Third Parties: We may, in our sole discretion, share or transfer the information in our databases where permitted or required by law, to comply with legal processes, to interact with anti-fraud databases, to protect your vital interests, to protect the security or integrity of our databases or our website, to enforce the Terms and Conditions of Use or protect WLG's business or reputation, to take precautions against legal liability, in the event of our sale, merger, reorganization, dissolution or similar event, to protect and defend the rights or property of WLG, for required institutional risk control or resolving disputes, inquiries or complaints with respect to your use of our website.

Where appropriate, before disclosing personal information to a third party, we contractually require the third party to take adequate precautions to protect that data and to comply with applicable law.

Children’s Information

Our website is intended for general audiences and we do not knowingly seek or collect personal information from individuals under the age of 18. In accordance with the United States Child Online Privacy Protection Act, if we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under the age of 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have any personal information from or about a child, please contact us at administrator@theworldlawgroup.com.

Retention of Personal Information

We retain personal information for the time needed to fulfill our legitimate and lawful business purposes in accordance with our records retention policy and applicable laws and regulations. In most instances, we keep your personal information only for a period of 5 years since we were last in active contact with you or the organization you are involved in to comply with any applicable legal or ethical reporting or document retention requirements.

Data Integrity and Security

We strive to maintain the reliability, accuracy, completeness, and currency of all personal information in our databases and to protect the privacy and security of our databases. The security measures in place on our website and computer systems aim to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information you provide to us.

Please know, however, that transmissions made on or through the Internet are vulnerable to attack and cannot be guaranteed to be secure. You hereby acknowledge that WLG is not responsible for any intercepted information sent via the Internet, and you hereby release us from any and all claims arising out of or related to the use of intercepted information in any unauthorized manner.

International Transfers of Personal Information

Personal information we collect from and about you may be transferred outside of your country of residence, including to the US and other countries that may not provide the same level of data protection as your country of residence. We will endeavor to ensure that any such information transferred is appropriately protected and made pursuant to a contract or other measure providing adequate protection.

To obtain additional information regarding and/or a copy of the safeguards WLG has implemented to facilitate cross-border transfers of personal information, please contact us via email at administrator@theworldlawgroup.com.

If you are visiting our website from a country other than the country in which our servers are located (currently the United States), the various communications will necessarily result in the transfer of information across international boundaries. 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 subject to access requests from governments, courts, or law enforcement in the United States according to the laws of the United States. By providing such personal information, you are consenting to (and represent that you have authority to consent to), the transfer of such information to the United States for the uses and purposes described in this Privacy Notice.

Your Rights & Choices

European Union/European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland

If you reside in the European Union/European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland and to the extent European Data Protection Laws apply, you have rights described below. We do not impose any charge for these requests (except for further copies of data). For any such request, you can contact us as specified in the How to Contact Us section below. We will endeavor to respond to all requests in a timely manner, but in no event longer than thirty (30) days, although where your request is complex, it may take us up to a further two months to provide a copy of your personal information.

Access Right

You have the right to obtain confirmation as to whether or not your personal information is being processed by the WLG. Where we are processing your personal information, you have the right to access the data and to obtain certain information about the processing of such data.

Right to Rectification

You have the right to obtain rectification of any personal information that is inaccurate or incomplete, including by means of providing a supplementary statement.

Right to Erasure

You have the right to have your personal information erased where one of the following applies:

-Your personal information is no longer necessary with regard to the purposes for which it was collected.

-You withdraw your consent (where the processing is based on such consent).

-You object to the processing where such processing is based on the WLG’s (or a third party’s) legitimate interest and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for the processing.

-Your personal information must be erased in order to comply with a legal obligation under applicable law. 

However, this right to erasure will not apply to the extent the processing is necessary for: (i) compliance with a legal obligation which requires processing by applicable law; or (ii) archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes, or statistical purposes, to the extent permitted under applicable law.

Right to Restriction of Processing

You have the right to restrict the processing of your personal information where one of the following applies: (i) the accuracy of the personal information is contested; (ii) the processing is unlawful and you oppose the erasure of your personal information and request the restriction of its use instead; (iii) the WLG no longer needs the personal information for the purposes of the processing, but it is required by you for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims; or (iv) where the processing is based on the WLG’s (or a third party’s) legitimate interest and you have objected to processing.

Right to Object

You have the right to object (on grounds relating to your particular situation) at any time to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes or where the processing is based on the WLG’s (or a third party’s) legitimate interest. When objecting to processing based on our legitimate interest, the WLG will no longer process your personal information unless we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms or for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims.

Right to Withdraw Consent

Where the processing of your personal information is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw such consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before such withdrawal.

Right to Data Portability

You have the right to receive your personal information, which you have provided to the WLG, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and have the right to transmit such data to another entity without hindrance from the WLG, where each of the following conditions are met: (i) your request does not adversely affect the rights of others; (ii) your request does not adversely affect the WLG’s rights (including intellectual property rights); (iii) the processing is based on your consent or the performance of a contract to which you are a party; and (iv) the processing is carried out by automated means.

Right Not to Be Subject to Solely Automated Decisions

You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (including profiling) which produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you, unless permitted under applicable law.

Right to Submit a Complaint to Supervisory Authorities

You have the right to lodge a complaint with an applicable data protection authority. You have the right to lodge such a complaint in the country of your habitual residence, place of work, or place of an alleged infringement if you consider that the processing of your personal information infringes applicable European Data Protection Laws.

-A list of all European Union/European Economic Area supervisory authorities and their respective contact information is available here.

-If you are in the United Kingdom, that supervisory authority is the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office: https://ico.org.uk.

-If you are in Switzerland, that supervisory authority is the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC): https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/edoeb/en/home.html.

Residents of Other Jurisdictions

Residents of other countries and regions may have similar rights as those described above, depending on their country of residence. Please contact us as specified in the How to Contact Us section below to learn whether any of the rights described above apply to your jurisdiction.

Updating Your Personal Information

If any of the personal information that you have provided to us changes, for example, if you change your email address or if you wish to cancel any request you have made of us, or if you become aware we have any inaccurate personal information about you, please contact us as specified in the How to Contact Us section below. In addition, if you have an account on our website, you may access, review, and update the information you provided to us at the time of registration at any time by signing in to your account with our website. We will not be responsible for any losses arising from any inaccurate, inauthentic, deficient, or incomplete personal information that you provide to us.

Unsubscribe

We hope you will be delighted with our services. However, if you do not wish to receive emails from us, want to be removed from our electronic mailing list, or want your information removed from our system at any time, please contact us as specified in the How to Contact Us section below.

Links to Third-Party Websites

As a convenience to our visitors, our services may contain links to other sites owned and operated by third parties. This Privacy Notice does not apply to those third-party websites. We are not responsible for and disclaim any liability for the collection or use of personal information at or by any third-party websites. We recommend reviewing those third-party websites’ privacy notices before disclosing personal information to them.

Changes to Our Privacy Practices

We are continually improving our methods of communication and adding new functionality and features to our website and to our existing services. Because of these ongoing changes, changes in the law, and the changing nature of technology, our data practices will change from time to time. If and when our data practices change, we will notify you of the changes via our website and we will update the Effective Date listed at the beginning of this Privacy Notice. We encourage you to check this Privacy Notice and our Terms of Use frequently for updates.

Governing Law

This Privacy Notice forms part of the Website Terms and Conditions of Use, which, as noted, you agreed to by accessing this website, and as such shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, United States of America.

How to Contact Us

We welcome comments about this Privacy Notice. If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or any part of our services, or to exercise any of your privacy rights, you may contact us as follows:

Email:administrator@theworldlawgroup.com

Postal Mail:World Law Group
One Metro Center
700 12th Street, NW
Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20005

For more information about contacting us in relation to your European Data Protection Law rights:

-WLG’s designated representative under EU GDPR is Christian Runte of CMS Hasche Sigle PvRAuStB mbB, which can be contacted by mail, e-mail or telephone at the contact details which are available at https://cms.law/en/deu/people/christian-runte.

-WLG’s designated representative under UK GDPR is Jocelyn Paulley of Gowling WLG, which can be contacted at jocelyn.paulley@gowlingwlg.com and Two Snowhill, Birmingham, B4 6WR, United Kingdom, DX 312501 Birmingham 86.