Privacy Policy
Last Update: July 9, 2018
The Law As A Business (LAB) website (www.lawasa.business), ElderCounsel drafting software (ElderDocx®, EC TransferCalc™, EC Special Needs Planning System™, and products we may develop in the future), Practice Development Center, and other related services, including the online LAB) store (collectively, “LAB Services” or “Services”) are provided by ElderCounsel, LLC and Law As A Business, LLC and its related companies and affiliates (“LAB Services”, “LAB,” “us,” or “we”). This Privacy Policy explains how information is collected, used, and disclosed by LAB, and applies to information we collect when you use or access LAB Services or when you otherwise interact with us. We respect the privacy rights of users and recognize the importance of protecting information collected about you. If you use the Services as part of an entity or organization that has an agreement with LAB (like your employer), and that organization enters into an agreement directly with LAB, or if you enter into an agreement directly with LAB, the terms of that agreement will control any inconsistency between such an agreement and this Privacy Policy.
Changes to This Policy
We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make any changes, we will notify you by revising the “Last Update” date at the top of this Policy. In some cases, we could notify you of changes by email or notice through the LAB Services. If there are material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you more directly by email or notice through the LAB Services, prior to the change becoming effective. We encourage you to review our Privacy Policy whenever you access any LAB Services to stay informed about our information practices and the ways you can help protect your privacy. Your use of any of the LAB Services after the posting of such changes will constitute your consent to such changes.
Information You Provide to Us
We collect information you provide directly to us. For example, we collect information when you do any of the following: complete an application form, register with any of the LAB Services for an account; create or modify your profile and online account; access and use the Services (including, but not limited to, when you upload, download, collaborate on, or share files or other information); participate in any interactive features of the LAB Services; participate in a survey, contest, promotion, sweepstakes, activity, or event; make a purchase; apply for a job; request customer support; or communicate with us via third-party social media sites or otherwise communicate with us.
The types of information we collect directly from you may include your name, username, business and home email address, postal address, phone number, information about your data storage preferences, employer’s name, employer’s address, your job title, transactional information (including services purchased or subscribed to and billing address), as well as any contact or other information you choose to provide. We also store the files and other information that you upload or provide to the LAB Services, including client-specific information (“your content”).
We collect your business contact information for several reasons: 1) it is generally the preferred contact address by members receiving membership information from LAB, both electronic or regular mail; 2) we share this information with LAB forums for the purpose of providing you information about local member benefits, services, and educational programs; 3) we use it for membership surveys to better serve you in the future; and 4) for restricted direct marketing purposes by third-party vendors.
Except for information shared with LAB forums, all other third parties with whom business contact information is shared are prohibited from releasing the information to anyone else or from using it for purposes other than those outlined above. Email addresses are not shared with third parties except forums that provide continuing education credits if you apply for such credits in connection with one of our educational offerings. Email addresses of members and non-members who register to attend the annual Symposium (or similar conferences) may be shared at LAB’s sole discretion with certain strategic partners who support the event. Each situation will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
We collect your home contact information to contact you if mail to your business address is returned.
None of your home information is shared with any outside third-party vendor except with respect to technical services necessary to maintain or audit LAB’s databases. These outside vendors are prohibited from sharing your home contact information with anyone else, unless you have provided your home address as your primary contact information. If you have given us only your home contact information on your membership application or renewal, then you must contact us if you do not wish to share it with third-party vendors for marketing purposes. Please contact LAB Services at 888-789-9908 ext. 588 between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. ET, or email [email protected] if you wish not to share your information with third-party vendors.
You agree not to upload or collaborate on Protected Health Information (“PHI”), as defined under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability of 1996 Act, as amended (“HIPAA”), or any other personally identifiable information that you don’t want LAB to have and that will be handled as provided in this Privacy Policy. LAB disclaims all liability for the sharing, disclosure, or storage of such PHI, and other personally identifiable information.
LAB Website Surveys, Conference, and Product Orders
We request information from you on our order form when you are planning to attend a LAB conference or to purchase a product or service from us. Attendees must provide contact information (such as name and shipping address) and financial information (credit card number, expiration date). This information is used for billing purposes and to fill your order. If we have trouble processing an order, this contact information is used to get in touch with you.
We may also post surveys on our website that collect information from the respondent. Such information is not distributed to third parties but is used for purposes of monitoring and improving the LAB Services. Information requested may include contact information (such as name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as zip code, age level). Contact information will be used to notify any winners of survey results.
LAB Contests
From time to time we may request information from users who participate in our contests, via our website, email, or other media. Participation in these contests is completely voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether to disclose this information. Information requested may include contact information (such as name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as zip code, age level). Contact information will be used to notify any winners of prizes.
Information We Collect Automatically When You Use the LAB Services
When you access or use the LAB Services, we may automatically collect information about you, including the following:
• Usage Information: the applications and features you use; the pages you visit; the names and number of occurrences of interviews you run; general design choices you make; the sizes and names of the files or folders you upload and download or access while using the LAB Services; the LAB content you access, and any actions taken in connection with the access and use of your content in the LAB Services.
• Log Information: your internet protocol (“IP”) address; access times; browser type and language; internet service provider (“ISP”); the pages that you visit; the content you use; and the uniform resource locator (“URL”) of the webpage you visited before navigating to the LAB Services.
• Device Information: the hardware model; operating system and version; unique device identifiers; mobile network information (as allowed by the mobile network); and platform information (as allowed by the specific platform type).
• Client Specific Information: We store client-specific information in strict compliance with our security policy, but we DO NOT monitor or use that information for any purpose. Client-specific information is stored solely to make it available to you as a part of your use of the LAB Services.
Information Collected by Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies
We use various technologies to collect information, which may include saving cookies to your computer or mobile device. Cookies are small data files stored on your hard drive or in device memory that help us to improve the LAB Services and your experience, customize your experience and preferences, potentially allow you to access and use the LAB Services without re-entering your user credentials, understand which areas and features of the LAB Services are most popular, and count visits. For more information about cookies and how to disable them, please see Your Choices below.
The use of cookies by third parties you may sign-in from into the LAB Services or third-party applications, is not covered by our privacy policy. We do not have access or control over such cookies.
We may also collect information using web beacons (also known as tracking pixels). Web beacons are electronic images (also called gifs) that may be used in the LAB Services or in emails that help us deliver cookies, count visits, understand usage and campaign effectiveness, and determine whether an email has been opened and acted upon.
Information We Collect from Other Sources
We may also obtain information from third parties and combine that with information we collect through the LAB Services. For example, we may have access to certain information from a third-party social media service if you create or log into your online account through the service or otherwise provide us with access to information from the service. Any access that we may have to such information from a third-party social media service is in accordance with the authorization procedures determined by the social media service.
Use of Information
We may use the information we collect about you for a variety of purposes, including to:
• Provide, operate, maintain, and improve the LAB Services;
• Enable you to access and use the LAB Services, including uploading, downloading, collaborating on, sharing Content, and sending emails on your behalf;
• Send you technical notices, updates, security alerts, and support and administrative messages;
• Provide and deliver the services and features you request, process and complete transactions, and send you related information, including purchase confirmations and invoices;
• Respond to your comments, questions, and requests, and provide customer service and support;
• Communicate with you about services, features, surveys, newsletters, offers, promotions, contests, and events, and provide other news or information about LAB Services and our select partners;
• Process and deliver contest or sweepstakes entries and rewards;
• Monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities in connection with the LAB Services and for marketing or advertising purposes;
• Investigate and prevent fraudulent transactions, unauthorized access to the LAB Services, and other illegal activities;
• Personalize and improve the LAB Services and provide content, features, and advertisements that match your interests and preferences or otherwise customize your experience on the LAB Services;
• Link or combine with other information we receive from third parties to help understand your needs, and provide you with better service;
• Enable you to communicate, collaborate, and share files with users you designate; and
• For other purposes about which we notify you, including through a notification using LAB Services.
Sharing and Disclosure of Information
We will not share personal information about you or your content with any third parties except as described in this Privacy Policy or in connection with the LAB Services. For example, we may share personal information about you including as follows:
Vendors, Consultants and Other Service Providers: We may share your information with third-party vendors, consultants, and other service providers who are working on our behalf and require access to your information to carry out that work, such as to process billing, provide customer support, etc.
Compliance with Laws: We may disclose your information to a third party (a) if we believe that disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request; (b) to enforce our agreements, policies, and terms of service; (c) to protect the security or integrity of the LAB Services; (d) to protect LAB Services, our customers, or the public from harm or illegal activities; or (e) to respond to an emergency that we believe in good faith requires us to disclose information to assist in preventing the death or serious bodily injury of any person.
Business Transfers: We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.
Aggregated or Anonymized Data: We may also share aggregated or anonymized information with third parties that does not directly identify you.
Third-Party Providers: To the extent required under any agreements we have with third-party providers, we may share information about you with one or more third parties, including providers of services through our online store. Such third parties may use and transmit such information to, and share it with, third parties that may be in other countries in order to provide services to users of our online store, including but not limited to transaction processing and fraud prevention.
Your Choices
Account Information and Retention: All users can update, correct, or delete their profile information through the website. LAB members can also update their profile information by calling the Creative Services team at 888-789-9908, ext. 588, between 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. eastern time, or email [email protected] We will retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy. If you wish to deactivate your account, please email us at [email protected], but note that we may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes. We may also retain cached or archived copies of information about you for a certain period. We will respond to your access request within 30 days. To request removal of your personal information from our blog or testimonials, contact us at the email address listed above. If we are unable to remove your personal information, we will let you know why.
We will retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. We will retain and use your information to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
Promotional and Newsletter Communications: You may opt out of receiving promotional and newsletter emails from LAB by following the opt-out instructions provided in those emails. You may also opt out of receiving promotional emails and other promotional communications from us at any time by emailing [email protected] with your specific request. If you opt out, we may still send you nonpromotional communications, such as security alerts, notices related to your access to or use of the LAB Services, notices about your online account, and notices about our ongoing business relations.
Cookies: Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can likely choose to set your browser to remove or reject browser cookies or to prompt you before accepting such a cookie. Please note that if you choose to remove or reject browser cookies, this could affect the availability or functionality of the LAB Services.
California Residents: Under California law, California Residents who have an established business relationship with LAB may choose to opt out of LAB’s disclosure of personal information about them to third parties for direct marketing purposes. If you choose to opt out, send an email to [email protected]
Social Media Features and Widgets
LAB Services include social media features, such as the Facebook like button, and widgets. These features may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on our site, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. Social media features and widgets are either hosted by a third party or hosted directly on the LAB Services. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing it.
Blogs
LAB Services offer publicly accessible blogs or community forums. You should be aware that any information you provide in these areas may be read, collected, and used by others who access them.
Links to Third-Party Websites
We may place links on the LAB Services to third-party websites. When you click on a link to a third-party website from LAB Services, your activity and use on the linked website is governed by that website’s policies, not by those of LAB. We encourage you to visit their websites and review their privacy and user policies.
Security
We take every reasonable precaution to protect our users’ information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and off-line to the best of our ability.
When our registration or order form asks you to enter sensitive information (such as credit card number and/or social security number), that information is encrypted and is protected with one of the leading encryption software in the industry—Secure Sockets Layer (“SSL”). While on a secure page, such as an order form, the lock icon on your browser (such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer) becomes locked, as opposed to unlocked, or open, when you are just surfing. In addition, the URL will start with “https://” rather than “http://”.
To further protect your security, when you place an order on the website we discard your credit card information after the card is authorized. For this reason, you need to enter your credit card information with each order.
If you have any questions about the security at our website, you can send an email to [email protected]
Amendments
We may amend this Privacy Policy at any time. We will notify you of amendments by posting a notice on the LAB member website.