PRIVACY POLICY
Maritime Legal Solutions, PLLC
Maritime Legal Solutions, PLLC (referred to herein as “MLS”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) deeply respects your privacy and is committed to complying with this privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”), which describes the information we may collect about you, how we use that information, with whom we may share the information, and what choices you have regarding our use of your information. This Privacy Policy applies to personal information collected in connection with our website located at www.justiceformariners.com and any other webpage that MLS maintains that links to this Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Website”), any current or future mobile applications associated with MLS or the website (collectively, the “App”), our email communications, our social media pages, other online or wireless offerings that post a link to the Privacy Policy, and other circumstances in connection with the services we provide (collectively, the “Platform”).
TYPES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT
The types of personal information we collect will depend on the services you request and, if you are a client of MLS, the nature of our representation and the nature of your case. The table below describes some of the categories (with non-exhaustive examples) of personal information we may collect about you, and also provides examples:
Category A: Individual Identifiers and Demographic Information
Examples:
-Contact information, such as name, email address, phone number, mailing address, job title, and organization.
-Identifiers, such as client ID, username, IP address, device ID, and other online identifiers that may be collected automatically when you use the Platform.
-Demographic information, such as date of birth and general location information like city, state, and geographic area.
Category B: Sensitive Personal Information
Examples:
-Government ID numbers, such as Social Security number, driver's license number, passport number, and other identification information.
-Financial information, such as financial account numbers, wiring instructions, insurance policy numbers, invoices, and other payment or bank account details.
-Medical information, such as doctor's notes, treatment plans, medical conditions, prescription medicines, insurance documentation, doctor visit information, daily symptom reporting, and other records and information.
Category C: Geolocation Data
Examples:
-Precise physical location, which we may collect via the App if you consent to that collection through the App.
Category D: Sensory Data
Examples:
-Call recordings, such as our recordings of calls you make to our customer service team.
-Other sensory data, such as any audio recordings, photographs, videos, or similar data that may be provided as part of a case file.
Category E: Biometric Information
Examples:
-Biometric information, such as facial scans or fingerprint scans if you opt-in to using this information for logging in or authenticating your account on the App.
Category F: Commercial Information
Examples:
-Representation information, such as details about your claim, case, or other legal matter, the distribution of settlement of other payments to you (if applicable).
-Account information, such as the username and password you provide when you register for an account and any information stored or transmitted in your account or profile.
-Communications, such as when you call or email us, confidential and privileged communications that you may make with our attorneys, and your conversations with our digital chat services.
Category G: Internet or Network Activity
Examples:
-Online activity information, such as linking pages, pages or screens viewed, time spent on a page or screen, navigation paths between pages or screens, information about activity on a page or screen, access times, duration of access, and other online activity information.
-Device information, such as computer and mobile operating system, operating system type and version number, wireless carrier, manufacturer and model, browser type, screen resolution, general location information such as city, state, or geographic area, and other device information collected automatically.
Category H: Professional or Employment-Related Information
Examples:
-Job application information, such as your resume or CV, background check information, references, and other information.
-Employment information, such as title, role, employer, employment history, current or past job history, and other professional information.
Category I: Education Information
Examples:
-Education records, such as transcripts or education history.
Category J: Inferences Drawn from Personal Information
-Profiles reflecting preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, or aptitudes.
We may collect the categories of personal information described above from the following sources:
Personal Information You Provide Us. We collect the personal information that you provide to us while using our Platform, including contacting us, creating an account, applying for a position, or otherwise. Further, where expressly designated by MLS, some portions of the Services may be used by active MLS clients to communicate pursuant to an attorney/client relationship. You may choose whether or not to provide such information; however, the information may be required to respond to your request.
Personal Information Collected Automatically. We and our third party providers may use cookies and other technologies such as log files, cookies, tracking pixels, and analytic tools and services to collect personal information automatically about you. Such information includes your geolocation and the online identifiers, device information, and online activity information described above.
To facilitate the automatic collection described above, we may use the following technologies:
Cookies. A cookie is a small piece of data stored by your web browser on your computer or mobile device. We use cookies to collect information from you regarding your usage of the Platform in order to remember user preferences and settings, personalize your experience with the Platform, facilitate online advertising, and for security purposes. You may opt-out of the automatic collection of some information by referring to your web browser or mobile device options or settings menu. However, doing so may disable many of the portions, features, or functionality of the Platform. Each browser is different, so check the “Help” menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences or visit http://www.allaboutcookies.org for more information.
Pixels. Pixels, which are also known as “web beacons,” or “clear GIFs,” are typically used to determine whether a webpage or email was accessed or opened, or that certain content was viewed or clicked. Data collected from pixels is often used to compile statistics about usage of websites and the success of email marketing campaigns.
SDKs. Software development kits, or “SDKs,” are third-party computer codes used in connection with the App for a variety purposes, including to provide analytics regarding the use of the App, integrate with social media, add features or functionality to the App, or facilitate online advertising. SDKs may enable third parties to collect information directly via the App.
Personal Information Collected from Third Parties. We may also collect or receive personal information from third parties, which may include:
Our business partners, such as third-party data providers and advertising partners.
Public sources, such as social media platforms and publicly-available records.
Individuals or entities involved in our clients’ legal matters, such as doctors, other parties, and other individuals that you may direct to provide us with information.
Referral sources, such as members of our referral network, website submissions, and other referral sources.
ONLINE ANALYTICS
We may use third party analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, in order to better understand your use of our Platform and how we can improve them. These tools collect information sent by your browser or mobile device, including the pages you visit and other usage information. For more information regarding how Google collects, uses, and shares your information please visit http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/. To prevent data from being used by Google Analytics, you can download the opt-out browser add-on at: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.
USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
We may use the personal information we collect for the following purposes and as otherwise described in this Privacy Policy or at the time of collection:
To Provide Our Platform. We use personal information to provide our services, including the Platform. For example, we use personal information:
to facilitate your requests for a free case evaluation and determine your legal needs;
to provide you with legal and other services, content, and features you request;
to create, manage, and monitor your account;
to respond to your inquiries and communicate with you, including placing calls or sending texts using any automated technology, including prerecorded messages;
to operate, troubleshoot, and improve the Platform;
to process your transactions, invoices, and settlement payments;
to understand your interests, personalize your experience on the Platform, and deliver information about products and services relevant to your interests;
respond to your inquiries and requests for customer support, including to investigate and address your concerns and monitor and improve our responses; and
enable security features of the Platform, such as by sending you security codes via email or SMS, and remembering devices from which you have previously logged in.
For Direct Marketing. We may use your personal information to send you newsletters, legal updates, event information, marketing communications, and other information that may interest you.
For Research and Development. We use personal information for research and development purposes and to understand how users like you are using the Platform, including by generating and analyzing statistics, preferences, and usage trends, to make our Platform and other offerings better, diagnose technical issues, and develop new features and functionality. As part of these activities, we may create aggregated, de-identified or other anonymous data from personal information we collect. We make personal information into anonymous data by removing information that makes the data personally identifiable to you. We may use this anonymous data and share it with third parties for our lawful business purposes, including to analyze and improve the Platform and promote our business.
For Hiring Purposes. If you apply to one of our open positions, submit application information or inquire about a position, we will use your personal information as part of the evaluation, recruitment, and hiring of personnel, including conducting background checks and contacting references.
For Compliance, Fraud Prevention and Safety.
to enforce our Terms of Use and other agreements we may have;
to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes;
to protect our, your, or others’ rights, privacy, safety, or property (including by making and defending legal claims);
to maintain the security and integrity of our business, the Platform, users, our third party business partners and service providers our databases and other technology assets;
audit our internal processes for compliance with legal and contractual requirements and internal policies; and
prevent, identify, investigate and deter fraudulent, harmful, unauthorized, unethical or illegal activity, including cyberattacks and identity theft.
For Interest-Based Advertising. We, our business partners, and our third party advertising partners may collect and use your personal information for advertising purposes. We may contract with third-party advertising companies and social media companies to help us advertise our services, identify potential customers, and display ads on our Platform and other sites and services, including through the use of interest-based advertising. These companies may use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about you (including the device information and online activity information described above) over time across our Platform and other sites and services or your interaction with our emails, and use that information to serve ads that they think will interest you and/or use hashed customer lists that we share with them to deliver ads to you and to similar users on their sites and services. You can learn more about your choices for limiting interest-based advertising, in the “Advertising Choices” section below.
SHARING OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
In addition to the specific situations discussed elsewhere in this Privacy Policy or as otherwise described at the time of collection, we may share personal information with the following categories of recipients:
Service Providers. MLS may share your personal information with third-party service providers that perform services for us or on our behalf, such as web-hosting companies, mailing vendors, analytics providers, event hosting services, and information technology providers. These third-party service providers have limited access to personal information only as needed to perform their functions on our behalf and for no other purpose. MLS will not share with third-party service providers any text message originator opt-in data and consent, or any election to receive SMS communications.
Other Law Firms or Lawyers. MLS may share, at your direction or with your permission, your personal information with other law firms and/or other lawyers where we jointly represent a client and when we refer cases or potential cases to other counsel, or as otherwise required in connection with our legal representation of you. Personal information provided pursuant to an attorney/client relationship may not be shared with third parties except as is done with such precautions to preserve the confidentiality of such information and any attorney/client privilege as may attach to such information.
Authorities, Law Enforcement, and Others. MLS may disclose personal information to comply with laws, regulations or other legal obligations, to assist in an investigation, to protect and defend our rights and property, or the rights or safety of third parties, to enforce our agreements, Terms of Use or this Privacy Policy or agreements with third parties, or for crime-prevention purposes.
Business Transactions. MLS may disclose your personal information to service providers, advisors, potential transactional partners, or other third parties in connection with the consideration, negotiation, or completion of a transaction (or potential transaction) such as a corporate divestiture, financing, merger, consolidation, acquisition, reorganization, sale, spin-off, or other disposition of all or any portion of the business or assets of, or equity interests in, MLS or our related companies (including in connection with a bankruptcy or similar proceedings).
Advertising Partners. We may share your personal information with third party advertising or joint marketing partners for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or at the time of collection.
Professional Advisors. We may disclose your personal information to our professional advisors, such as lawyers, bankers, auditors and insurers, where necessary in the course of the professional services that they render to us.
Affiliates and Related Companies. We may share your personal information with companies that are affiliated with us (that is, that control, are controlled by, or are under common control with us) or may be affiliated with us in the future for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
Consent. MLS may otherwise disclose your Personal Information in accordance with your consent.
YOUR CHOICES
Opt-Out of Marketing Communications. If you no longer wish to receive marketing communications from us, you can let us know by sending an email to Help@JusticeForMariners.com. Please note that it may take up to 10 calendar days to remove your contact information from our marketing communications lists, so you may receive correspondence from us for a short time after you make your request. Please also contact us to update or correct your information if it changes or if you believe that any information that we have collected about you is inaccurate.
Text Messages. We may offer communications via SMS texts or similar technology sent by MLS or our service providers, such as when we send you text messages for customer service, account-related, or marketing purposes. To stop receiving text messages from a short code operated by MLS, reply STOP. Note that we may send you a message to confirm receipt of your STOP request. Message and data rates may apply for this service. You can also opt-out of MLS marketing texts by emailing us your request and mobile telephone number to Help@JusticeForMariners.com
Cookies. Most browsers let you remove or stop accepting cookies from the websites you visit. To do this, follow the instructions in your browser’s settings. Many browsers accept cookies by default until you change your settings. If you do not accept cookies, however, you may not be able to use all functionality of the Platform and our Site may not work properly. For more information about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set on your browser and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.
Advertising Choices. Some of our advertising partners are members of the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) and are subject to the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising published by the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA). You can obtain more information about these companies’ information collection practices and opt-out of receiving interest-based advertising from participating NAI and DAA members at http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp and/or the DAA’s website at optout.aboutads.info. You can also limit collection of your information for interest-based ads by blocking third party cookies in your browser settings or using privacy plug-ins or ad blocking software that help you block third party cookies. In addition, your mobile device settings may provide functionality to limit use of the advertising ID associated with your mobile device for targeted online advertising purposes. If you opt-out of interest-based advertisements, you will still see advertisements online but they may be less relevant to you. Some of the third party advertising companies we may work with offer their own opt-out options that you can use to limit their use of your information for interest-based advertising. Please note that we also may work with companies that offer their own opt-out mechanisms, such as Google (https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/about/ads), or do not participate in the opt-out mechanisms described above. Even after using these opt-out mechanisms, you may receive interest-based advertising from other companies.
Declining to Provide Information. We need to collect personal information to provide certain services. If you do not provide the information requested, we may not be able to provide those services.
INFORMATION SECURITY
MLS takes commercially reasonable measures to secure and protect the personal information we collect. Nevertheless, no security system is impenetrable. We cannot guarantee the absolute security of your personal information. Moreover, we are not responsible for the security of information you transmit to us over networks that we do not control, including the Internet and wireless networks.
LINKED WEBSITES
This Privacy Policy does not apply to third-party websites or social media features that may be accessed through links that we provide for your convenience and information. Accessing those links will cause you to leave MLS’s website and may result in the collection of information about you by a third party. We do not control, endorse or make any representations about those third party websites or their privacy practices, which may differ from ours. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any site you interact with before allowing the collection and use of your information.
DO NOT TRACK REQUESTS
We adhere to the standards set out in this Privacy Policy and do not monitor or follow any Do Not Track browser requests. To find out more about “Do Not Track,” please visit http://www.allaboutdnt.com.
USING THE PLATFORM FROM OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES
MLS is headquartered in the state of New York in the United States of America, and we may have affiliates and service providers in the United States and other countries. Please be aware that your personal information may be transferred to, stored or processed in the United States, where our servers are located and our central database is operated, and other locations outside of your home country. The data protection and other laws of these countries might not be as comprehensive as those in your country. By using any portion of the Platform, you understand and consent to the transfer of your personal information to our facilities in the United States and those third parties with whom we share it as described in this Privacy Policy.
CHILDREN’S PRIVACY
We do not knowingly solicit or collect personal information online from children under the age of 16. Please contact us as provided below in the Contact Us section if you believe we may have collected such information.
YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS
This section applies only to California residents. It describes how we collect, use, and share personal information of California residents when we act as a “business” as defined under California privacy law, and their rights with respect to their personal information. For purposes of this section, “personal information” has the meaning given under California privacy law but does not include information exempted from the scope of those laws. In some situations we may provide a different privacy notice to certain categories of California residents, whereby that notice will apply instead of this section.
California Civil Code Section § 1798.83 permits users of our Platform who are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send an email to Help@JusticeForMariners.com.
In addition, the state of California provides California residents with certain other rights concerning their personal information. This section describes (1) the categories of personal information, collected and disclosed by MLS, subject to California privacy law, (2) your privacy rights under California privacy law, and (3) how to exercise your rights.
Personal Information That We Collect, Use, and Disclose
In accordance with California law, we describe:
the categories of personal information we may have collected about you in the preceding 12 months and the categories of sources from which we collected your personal information in the section above called “Types of Personal Information We Collect”;
the business and commercial purposes for which we collect this information in the section above called “Use of Personal Information”; and
the categories of third parties to whom we disclose this information in the section above called “Sharing of Personal Information”.
MLS must also disclose whether the following categories of personal information are disclosed for a “business purpose” or “valuable consideration” as those terms are defined under California privacy law, which also calls this latter category a “sale.” Note that while a category below may be marked, that does not necessarily mean that we have personal information in that category about you.
In the preceding twelve months, we have disclosed the following categories of personal information in the manner described:
Category
A. Individual Identifiers and Demographic Information
Personal Information is Disclosed for a Business Purpose: Yes
Personal Information is Disclosed for Valuable Consideration: Yes
B. Sensitive Personal Information
Personal Information is Disclosed for a Business Purpose: Yes
Personal Information is Disclosed for Valuable Consideration: No
C. Geolocation Data
Personal Information is Disclosed for a Business Purpose: Yes
Personal Information is Disclosed for Valuable Consideration: No
D. Sensory Data
Personal Information is Disclosed for a Business Purpose: Yes
Personal Information is Disclosed for Valuable Consideration: No
E. Biometric Information
Personal Information is Disclosed for a Business Purpose: Yes
Personal Information is Disclosed for Valuable Consideration: No
F. Commercial Information
Personal Information is Disclosed for a Business Purpose: Yes
Personal Information is Disclosed for Valuable Consideration: No
G. Internet or Network Activity
Personal Information is Disclosed for a Business Purpose: Yes
Personal Information is Disclosed for Valuable Consideration: Yes
H. Professional or Employment-Related Information
Personal Information is Disclosed for a Business Purpose: Yes
Personal Information is Disclosed for Valuable Consideration: No
I. Education Information
Personal Information is Disclosed for a Business Purpose: Yes
Personal Information is Disclosed for Valuable Consideration: No
J. Inferences Drawn from Personal Information
Personal Information is Disclosed for a Business Purpose: Yes
Personal Information is Disclosed for Valuable Consideration: No
Your Privacy Rights Under California Law
Under California law, subject to certain exceptions, California residents have the following rights with respect to their personal information:
Access. You have the right to request information on the categories of personal information that we collected about you in the previous 12 months, the categories of sources from which the personal information was collected, the specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the business and commercial purposes for which such personal information is collected and shared, and the categories of third parties to whom we disclose such personal information.
Erasure. You have the right to request we delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
Opt-Out of Sales. If we “sell” your personal information, you can opt-out.
Non-discrimination. California residents are entitled to exercise the rights described above free from discrimination or legally prohibited increases in the price or decreases in the quality of our products and services.
Please note, these rights are not absolute and in some situations we may not be able to respond to your request, such as when a legal exemption applies or if we are not able to verify your identity.
How to Request to Exercise Your California Privacy Rights
If you would like to exercise your rights listed above, please follow the directions below:
Access and Erasure Rights. Send (or have your authorized agent send) an email to Help@JusticeForMariners.com or call us at 347-562-9119.
Right to Opt-Out of the Sale of Personal Information. Under California law, some of the personal information that we share with our advertising partners may qualify as a “sale” as defined under California privacy law. To exercise your right to opt-out of such “sale”, please:
Email us at Help@JusticeForMariners.com
While we take measures to ensure that those responsible for receiving and responding to your request are informed of your rights and how to help you exercise those rights, when contacting us to exercise your rights, we ask you to please adhere to the following guidelines:
Tell Us Which Right You Are Exercising: Specify which right you want to exercise and the personal information to which your request relates (if not to you). If you are an authorized agent acting on behalf of another consumer, please clearly indicate this fact and your authority to act on such consumer’s behalf. We may require the requester’s proof of identification, the authorized agent’s proof of identification, and any other information that we may request in order to verify your request, including evidence of valid permission to act on requester’s behalf.
Help Us Verify Your Identity: Provide us with information to verify your identity. Please note that if we cannot initially verify your identity, we may request additional information to complete the verification process. Any personal information you disclose to us for purposes of verifying your identity will solely be used for the purpose of verification.
Direct Our Response Delivery: Please provide us with an e-mail or mailing address through which we can provide our response. If you make the request by email, unless otherwise requested, we will assume that we can respond to the email address from which you made the request.
You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal information (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee or decline to comply with your request if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive, or excessive.
We try to respond to all legitimate requests within 45 days of your request. Occasionally it may take us longer than 45 days to respond, for instance if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this situation, we will notify you of the delay, and may continue to update you regarding the progress of our response.
CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
MLS may change this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or in applicable law. Such changes will be effective upon posting the revised Privacy Policy on our Platform. You will be able to tell when this Privacy Policy was last updated by the Last Updated date included at the bottom of this Privacy Policy. By continuing to use our Platform, or communicating electronically with us thereafter, you agree to accept such changes to this Privacy Policy.
CONTACT US
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or MLS’s information privacy practices, please contact us at:
E-mail: Help@JusticeForMariners.com
Telephone: 347-562-9119
Mail: Maritime Legal Solutions, PLLC, Attn: Privacy Policy, 276 Fifth Ave, Suite 704, New York, NY 10001