Privacy Policy

WEBSITE PRIVACY POLICY

Ulmer & Berne LLP (“Ulmer” or “we”) values your privacy and is committed to protecting it. Please read this Privacy Policy in its entirety, because by using or even visiting this website you agree to its terms as well as to any subsequent changes. If you do not so agree, do not use this website.

The Information We Collect

Information You Provide to Ulmer. We collect personal information that you provide to Ulmer. “Personal information” is information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person, and may include that person’s name, physical address, phone number, e-mail address, and any other information that will allow someone to identify or contact that person. You are not required to provide any information to Ulmer to use the Ulmer website. However, not providing certain information may result in certain Ulmer website features not working, and in your not receiving Ulmer publications or missing invitations to Ulmer events.

Information We Collect Automatically When You Use the Ulmer Website. When you access or use the Ulmer website, we may automatically collect information about you, including:

Usage, System, and Log Data. Your IP address, device identifier, location information, media access control or “MAC” address, browser, and activity on the Ulmer website, including, but not limited to, date and times of use, clicks, page and profile views, and the amount of time you spend on each page.
Data Collected Through Cookies and Similar Technologies. Like many providers of online services, we use various technologies to collect usage data and to store preferences. One such technology is called a cookie. A cookie is a small data file that is transferred to your computer’s hard disk. We may use both session cookies and persistent cookies to help us understand how you interact with the Ulmer website and to monitor aggregate usage by our users and web traffic routing on the Ulmer website. Also, we may create a unique device or user ID for you and store it in a cookie so we can recognize you and customize your experience based on your preferences. Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually choose to set your browser to remove or reject browser cookies or to prompt you before accepting such a cookie. Please note that removal or rejection of browser cookies could affect the availability or functionality of the Ulmer website.
Online Tracking. Some web browsers have a “Do Not Track” feature. That feature lets individuals tell the websites that they visit that they do not want to have their online activity tracked. “Do Not Track” features are not uniform across all browsers and, at this time, the Ulmer website does not respond to “Do Not Track” signals.

How and Why We Use Your Information

How We Use Your Information. We use your information to:

Provide, operate, maintain and improve the Ulmer website;
Respond to your comments, questions, and requests and to provide customer service and support;
Send you promotional materials and information;
Monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities in connection with the Ulmer website and for marketing or advertising purposes; and
Provide you with legal services.

How We Share Your Information. We do not sell personal information and will not share your personal information with any third parties except as described in this Privacy Policy:

Ulmer’s Website Providers. We may share your personal information with third-party vendors that are performing work for Ulmer in connection with our website.
Compliance with Laws. We may disclose your personal information to a third party if we believe that disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request.
Business Transfers. We may share or transfer your personal information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of business assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another entity.
Affiliates. We may share your personal information with affiliates of Ulmer for use as otherwise described in this Privacy Policy.

Why We Use Your Information. We use your personal information only when we are allowed by applicable law to do so and for the following lawful reasons:

Consent. When you share your personal information with Ulmer to receive a response to an inquiry to Ulmer, receive Ulmer publications, receive invitations to Ulmer events, or view Ulmer webinars.
Legitimate Interest. To analyze and improve the Ulmer website, to verify that the personal information have from you is current, and to keep a record of your communication preferences.
Legal Obligation. To comply with applicable statutes, regulations, and professional obligations.

Third Party Websites

Certain pages within the Ulmer website contain “hyperlinks” to third-party websites. Please note that Ulmer is not responsible in any way for the privacy practices of other websites. We suggest that you read the privacy policies of those third-party websites before using them.

Minors

We do not intend for children under the age of 13 to use our website. Further, we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If you are a parent or guardian of a child under the age of 13 and believe that your child has disclosed personal information to us, please contact us at the e-mail address, physical address, or phone number set forth in this Privacy Policy and Ulmer will delete such personal information.

California Residents

Each resident of California, thanks to section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code (the “Shine the Light” statute), may request, once per calendar year, from companies conducting business in California a list of all third parties to whom the company has disclosed certain personally identifiable information, as defined under California law, about that California resident during the preceding year for third-party direct-marketing purposes. In your request, please attest to your being a California resident and provide a current California address for our response.

If you are a California resident and under the age of 18, and a user of this website, section 22581 of the California Business and Professions Code (the California Consumer Privacy Act) permits you to request companies to delete personal information that they have collected about you, and to remove content that you have publicly posted. Certain exceptions may apply, such as the exception for business-to-business transactions. Please note that your request will not ensure a complete removal of the content and that in some cases the statute may not require or allow removal even if requested.

California law treats disclosures of personal information in exchange for valuable consideration as “sales.” California law gives consumers who reside in California the right to opt out of such sales, except in the case of personal data subject to the business-to-business exception, and to opt out of financial incentive programs that we might offer.

The California Consumer Privacy Act provides that we may not discriminate against you for exercising your rights under that statute. We may, however, provide a different level of service or charge a different amount if the difference is reasonably related to the value of your personal information.

To the extent that the California Consumer Privacy Act applies to you, you may have the following rights free of charge:

To know the categories of personal information to be collected and the purposes for which that information will be used;
To know the categories of personal information that were actually collected in the prior 12 months and sold or disclosed in the prior 12 months;
To require Ulmer to respond to verifiable requests with disclosures about the personal information that we collect, sell or disclose;
To access copies of specific pieces of personal information that we have collected about you;
To ask us and any third-party providers to delete personal information that we have collected about you; and
To opt out of the sale of your personal information to third parties if you have permitted us to do so.

California residents with questions about our handling of their personal information should email us at info@ulmer.com and put “Your California Privacy Rights” in the subject field of the email, or include that phrase in your letter if you write to us. Be sure to include your name, street address, city, state, and zip code.

Notice about the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”)

You may have certain rights under the European Union’s GDPR 2016/679 if you are a data subject in the European Union protected by the GDPR These rights are in addition to the commitments we are making elsewhere in this policy to safeguard your privacy. The GDPR is a complex regulatory scheme and we do not intend to provide every detail here. If you are interested you should read the GDPR and the relevant guidance provided by the applicable authorities for a fuller explanation. The GDPR applies to businesses that market their products and services to people in the EU or that monitor the behavior of people in the EU. We wish to assure visitors to our website that we have put in place processes and procedures to comply with GDPR.

The GDPR heightens the standards for disclosures prior to obtaining consent. Consent must be “freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous.” The consent must be in “clear and plain” language that users can pick out and distinguish from other matters. If the GDPR applies to you, you must know exactly what you are consenting to when you consent and you must be informed in advanced of your right to withdraw that consent.

The GDPR builds in two new rights where applicable; namely, the “right to be forgotten” and the right to “data portability.” More specifically, the GDPR provides the right, where applicable, (a) to access your Personal Data (as defined in the GDPR), (b) to restrict publication of your Personal Data, (c) to have your Personal Data rectified or erased, (d) to restrict the processing of your Personal Data, (e) to object to the processing of your Personal Data, (f) to data portability, meaning the right to obtain your Personal Data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, so that you can transmit it to another data controller, (g) to complain to a supervisory authority, and (h) to withdraw your consent with respect to the processing of your Personal Data. You do not have to give us reasons for exercising these rights.

Here are some further details about these rights:

Where applicable, the GDPR provides you with the right to confirm whether Ulmer processes or has processed your Personal Data and to access that data, together with certain other information including the purposes of the processing, the categories of Personal Data concerned, and the recipients of the Personal Data. Where applicable, and providing that we do not affect the rights and freedoms of anyone else, we will supply you with one copy of your Personal Data. The first copy is free. We may charge a reasonable fee for additional copies.
Where applicable, the GDPR provides the right to rectify any inaccurate Personal Data about you and, taking into account the purposes of the processing, to complete any incomplete data about you.
In some circumstances the GDPR provides you the right to erase your Personal Data without undue delay, including (a) when we no longer need the Personal Data for the purposes for which we collected or processed the Personal Data, (b) if you withdraw your consent to consent-based processing, (c) if you object to the processing of the Personal Data under certain rules of the GDPR, (d) if the processing is for the purpose of direct marketing, and (e) if the Personal Data has been unlawfully processed. However, the GDPR provides exceptions or exclusions to the right to erase, including where the processing is necessary for the exercise of free expression and information, to comply with a legal obligation, or to establish, exercise, or defend a legal claim.
In some circumstances the GDPR provides you the right to restrict the processing of your Personal Data, such as to contest the accuracy of the Personal Data, where the processing is unlawful but you oppose erasure, or when we no longer need the Personal Data for the purpose of our processing but you require the Personal Data to establish, exercise, or defend a legal claim, and you have objected to the processing pending the verification of that objection. When processing has been restricted on this basis, we may continue to store your Personal Data. We will process your Personal Data otherwise only with your consent to establish, exercise, or defend a legal claim, or to protect another natural or legal person’s rights, or for reasons of important public interest.
If applicable, the GDPR provides the right to object to our processing of your Personal Data on grounds relating to your situation, but only to the extent that the processing is necessary for a task carried out in the public interest or to exercise any official authority vested in Ulmer, or for a legitimate interest pursued by Ulmer or someone else. If you object, we shall stop processing the Personal Data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds to process the information that override your interests, rights, and freedoms, or the purpose of the processing is to establish, exercise, or defend a legal claim.

You may object to our processing of your Personal Data for direct marketing purposes including profiling for direct marketing purposes. If you notify us of such an objection, we will stop processing your Personal Data for direct marketing purposes.

You may object to our processing of your Personal Data for scientific or historical research or statistical purposes on grounds relating to your particular situation, unless the processing is necessary for a task carried out in the public interest.

If the legal basis for our processing your Personal Data is consent or that the processing is necessary to perform a contract to which you are a party, or in order to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, and such processing is carried out by automatic means, you have the right to receive your Personal Data from us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format. This right does not apply, however, when its application will affect the rights and freedoms of others adversely.

If you believe that our processing of your Personal Data infringes any data-protection statute, rule or regulation, you may lodge a complaint with the appropriate authorities responsible for data protection. If applicable, you may lodge that complaint in the European Union member state of your habitual residence, your workplace, or the place of the alleged infringement.

To the extent that we base our processing of your Personal Data on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time,but your withdrawal of that consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we do before your withdrawal.

If you are an employee or former employee of, or an applicant for a job at Ulmer or an affiliate of Ulmer and you reside in the EU, please note that we have separate notices in line with applicable EU law, which inform you about the processing of your Personal Data and your rights.

If applicable, you may exercise any of your rights in relation to your Personal Data by emailing Ulmer at info@ulmer.com.

Safeguards

Ulmer protects your personal information with reasonable and appropriate information security safeguards.

Accessing Your Personal Information Once Given

You and your authorized agent have the right to review, amend, or ask us to delete personal information that you have provided to Ulmer by contacting Ulmer at the e-mail address, physical address, or phone number set forth in this Privacy Policy.

Also, should you wish to restrict the types of promotional materials you receive from Ulmer or opt out of receiving promotional materials altogether from Ulmer, you may contact Ulmer at the e-mail address, physical address, or phone number set forth in this Privacy Policy.

We will not discriminate against you or anyone else unlawfully for exercising any of these privacy rights, although deleting personal information and opting out of receiving certain promotional materials may prevent us from providing you content or invitations.

Retention of Personal Information

Ulmer keeps data pursuant to its internal policies and procedures, for lengths of time that can vary based on a variety of factors.

Where We Maintain Personal Information

We maintain the data we collect, including personal information, within the United States.

Changes to This Policy

Please note this Privacy Policy is subject to change from time to time. We will notify you of material changes to this Privacy Policy by either sending you an e-mail or by posting such changes on this page of the Ulmer website. The effective date of each version of the Privacy Policy will appear in this Privacy Policy. We will archive prior versions of this Privacy Policy for you to view for a reasonable period of time.

Accountability and Compliance

You may address any question or complaints regarding how Ulmer complies with this Privacy Policy to the e-mail address or phone number set forth in this Privacy Policy.

You may have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority about how we have processed your personal information, although we encourage you to contact us first using the e-mail address, physical address, or phone number set forth in this Privacy Policy so that we may try to address your concerns.

Contact Information

If you want to contact Ulmer about anything related to this Privacy Policy, please:

Send an e-mail to info@ulmer.com;
Send a letter to Ulmer & Berne LLP, 1660 West 2nd Street, Suite 1100, Cleveland, Ohio 44113-1408, ATTN: Privacy Preferences; or
Call toll free at (800) 837-8400.

Effective Date: January 2022