PRIVACY POLICY

Privacy Policy

The Association of Pro Bono Counsel (“The Association of Pro Bono Counsel,” “APBCo,” “our”, “us” or “we”) provides this Privacy Policy to inform you of our policies and procedures regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information APBCo receives from users of our website, accessible at https://apbco.org (the “Site”).

This Privacy Policy is hereby incorporated in our Terms & Conditions (“Terms & Conditions”), accessible at https://apbco.org/terms/.  By accessing or using the Site, you are agreeing to be bound by the Terms & Conditions and understand that our Terms & Conditions shall constitute a binding and enforceable contract between you and us, regardless of whether you are a Member or simply, accessing, browsing or in any way using the Site and Services.

Unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy, terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as those terms in our Terms & Conditions. As used in this Privacy Policy, the terms “using” and “processing” information include using cookies on a computer, subjecting the information to statistical or other analysis and handling information in any way, including, but not limited to, using, evaluating, collecting, modifying, deleting, combining, storing, disclosing and transferring information within our organization or among our affiliates within the United States or internationally.

NOTIFICATION OF CHANGES

APBCo may, in its sole discretion and at any time, modify this Privacy Policy, in whole or in part,. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new privacy policy on the Site. Unless otherwise provided, the new and/or revised terms of this Privacy Policy will take effect immediately upon posting on the Site. Once any changes become effective, your continued use of the Site after such time will signify your acceptance of the new and/or revised terms. You are advised to consult this Privacy Policy regularly for any changes.

INFORMATION COLLECTION AND USE

Our primary goals in collecting information are to (i) provide and improve our Site and Services, including, but not limited to, the services, features, and content contained therein; (ii) administer your use of the Site and Services; and (iii) enable you and other users to access, enjoy and easily navigate the Site and Services.

PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION

When you submit an application with us through the Site to become a Member or elect to receive emails or other communications from APBCo, we will ask you for personally identifiable information. This refers to information about you that can be used to contact or identify you (“Personal Information”). Personal Information includes, but is not limited to, your name, email address, post address, and credit card or other billing information.

The Site does not track, collect, or distribute Personal Information, except when such information is specifically and knowingly provided by you.  Thus, we will only collect Personal Information when such information is intentionally transmitted to APBCo by you.  Our use of any such Personal Information shall be in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

We also use your Personal Information to contact you with APBCo newsletters, marketing or promotional materials and other information that may be of interest to you. If you decide at any time that you no longer wish to receive such communications, you can opt-out of certain communications by following the unsubscribe instructions provided in any of the communications or by sending an unsubscribe request from the e-mail address at which you are receiving the messages to [email protected].

LOG DATA

When you visit the Site, whether as a user or a Member, our servers automatically record information that your browser sends whenever you visit a website (“Log Data”).  This Log Data may include information such as your computer’s Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, browser type or the webpage you were visiting before visiting our Site, pages of our Site that you visit, the time spent on those pages, information you search for on our Site, access times and dates, and other statistics. We use this information to (i) monitor and analyze use of the Site and the Service and for the Site’s technical administration; (ii) increase our Site’s functionality, accessibility, and user-friendliness; and (iii) improve and better tailor it to our users’ needs.

COOKIES AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES

APBCo may store some information on your computer when you access the Site. This information is commonly known as a “Cookie” and once recorded is not accessible by any other company. We use Cookies in order to better understand how the Site is being accessed and used and Cookies also help us to determine if the Site is being delivered efficiently. In addition, Cookies allow us to enhance your online experience by customizing your use of the Site and eliminating the need for you to reenter data every time you visit the Site. The use of Cookies is an industry standard and is used by most major websites to provide the visitor with tailored information. Should you wish to block these Cookies in the first instance or erase them from your computer after they have been recorded, please consult your computer manual. If you block or erase these Cookies you may limit the functionality available to you on the Website.  APBCo may also track user behavior on the Site.  This information is used to enhance APBCo’s ability to provide the best experience possible to users, and is not provided to third parties for commercial or other purposes.

INFORMATION SHARING AND DISCLOSURE

APBCo will not knowingly sell or distribute Personal Information to third parties for their marketing purposes.  To the extent APBCo use third parties to provide specific services or information to you, those third parties may be allowed to use your Personal Information to provide such services.  APBCo may share collected Log Data with affiliates, contractors and other third parties.

Within APBCo, your Personal Information will be transmitted and stored in a protected environment.  APBCo will use commercially reasonable efforts to shield your Personal Information from any third parties other than those that have been engaged by APBCo to provide services to you, or for which you have been notified and provided your consent.  You hereby agree and consent that, in certain circumstances, APBCo may share Log Data and/or Personal Information when APBCo believes it is necessary to comply with the law, court order, to protect against misuse or unauthorized use of the Site and the Service or to protect the rights, property or safety of APBCo’s interests or its customers.  This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers or government agencies in connection with fraud protection and credit risk reduction or investigating reports of users using a false email address or users sending or posting harassing, threatening, or abusive messages or other issues related to fraud or government subpoenas, warrants and/or court orders.

 

In the event that some or all of the business assets of APBCo are sold or transferred, any information gathered by APBCo through the Site may be transferred along with the business assets.

CHANGING OR DELETING YOUR INFORMATION

All Members may review, update, correct or delete the Personal Information in their Accounts by visiting the “My Profile” section of the Site, or by contacting us at [email protected].  If you would like to close or delete your Account, please contact us at [email protected].  However, we may continue to display your Member Content in situations in which it implicates or affects other users, and we may also retain an archived copy of your records as required by law or for legitimate business purposes.

SECURITY

Unfortunately, data transmission over the Internet cannot be guaranteed to be secure nor is any security system completely secure.  Although we make efforts to protect your personal information, APBCo does not guarantee the security of any information you transmit to APBCo or provide online.  APBCo requests that you do not send, and APBCo will not be liable for your sending, sensitive or confidential information electronically.  It is possible that other users or unauthorized “hackers” may post or transmit offensive or obscene materials on the Site and that you may be involuntarily exposed to such materials.  It may also be possible for other users or “hackers” to obtain personal information about you.  By using the Site, you assume the risk of such occurrences.

INTERNATIONAL TRANSFER

Your information may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the privacy laws may not be as protective as those in your jurisdiction. If you are located outside the United States and choose to provide information to us, APBCo transfers Personal Information to the United States and processes it there. Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer.

PHISHING

APBCo does not and will not, at any time, request your credit card information, login information, or national identification numbers in a non-secure or unsolicited e-mail or telephone communication. For more information about phishing, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website.

LINKS

Our Site contains links to other websites, online services or applications (each a “Third Party Website”). The fact that we link to a Third Party Website is not an endorsement, authorization or representation of our affiliation with that third party, nor is it an endorsement of their privacy or information security policies or practices. We do not exercise control over Third Party Websites. Such Third Party Websites may place their own cookies or other files on your computer, collect data or solicit personal information from you. Other websites and online services may also follow different rules regarding the use or disclosure of the Personal Information you submit to them. Any links to Third Party Websites are provided to you for convenience purposes only, and you access them at your own risk.  We encourage you to read the privacy policies or statements of any Third Party Websites you visit.

CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS

California Civil Code Section § 1798.83 permits California residents to request certain information regarding disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send an e-mail to [email protected].

CONTACTING US

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at [email protected] or at Privacy Matters, The Association of Pro Bono Counsel, P.O. Box 1752, New York, New York 10019-1752.

 

Infringement Policy

The Association of Pro Bono Counsel (“The Association of Pro Bono Counsel,” “APBCo,” “our”, “us” or “we”) respects intellectual property law and therefore and expects its users to respect the intellectual property rights of others.  Unless otherwise defined in this Infringement Policy, terms used in this Infringement Policy have the same meanings as those terms in our Terms & Conditions.

In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, APBCo will respond expeditiously to reported claims of copyright infringement committed using the Site or Services.  If you are a copyright owner, or are authorized to act on behalf of one, or authorized to act under any exclusive right under copyright, please report alleged copyright infringements taking place on or through the Site by following the instructions articulated in the below DMCA Notice of Alleged Infringement and sending your written notice to APBCo at the address noted below.

Upon receipt of the below notice, APBCo will take whatever action, in its sole discretion, it deems appropriate, including removal of the challenged material from the Site.  Under our policy, APBCo, in certain circumstances and in our sole discretion, may terminate or disable the access or Account of users who repeatedly infringe, are repeatedly charged with infringing or are believed to be repeatedly infringing the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of others.

DMCA Notice of Alleged Infringement (“Notice”)

  1. Identify the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed, or – if multiple copyrighted works are covered by this Notice – you may provide a representative list of the copyrighted works that you claim have been infringed.
  2. Identify the material that you claim is infringing (or to be the subject of infringing activity) and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material, including at a minimum, if applicable, the URL of the link shown on the Site where such material may be found.
  3. Provide your mailing address, telephone number, and, if available, email address.
  4. Include both of the following statements in the body of the Notice:

“I hereby state that I have a good faith belief that the disputed use of the copyrighted material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law (e.g., as a fair use).”

“I hereby state that the information in this Notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that I am the owner, or authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of the copyright or of an exclusive right under the copyright that is allegedly infringed.”

  1. Provide your full legal name and your electronic or physical signature.

Deliver this Notice, with all items completed, to APBCo’s Designated Copyright Agent:

Copyright Agent
c/o The Association of Pro Bono Counsel
[email protected]

P.O. Box 1752, New York, New York 10019-1752.