HWG Privacy and Data Protection Policy

Effective date: May 16, 2018

At HWG LLP, we take privacy and data protection seriously. On this page, we’ll give you the information about our privacy and data protection practices – the same type of information you get from most websites and law firms.

But you’ll find HWG’s excellent client service extends to the data protection realm, too. We are happy to have a detailed discussion with any client or prospective client about our data protection policies and practices. And if you have special data protection needs, let’s talk and see how HWG can help.

Now, on to the information you came here for:

What are HWG’s data practices for website visitors?

We collect personal and non-personal data about visitors to our website. Personal data is information that can be reasonably linked to you as an individual, such as your name, your email address, and your phone number. Non-personal data is information that cannot reasonably be connected to you.

We collect personal data directly from you – such as your name, email, and nature of your inquiry – if you choose to contact us through our website. We use this information to reply to your inquiry and continue to follow up with you when reasonable in light of the nature of your inquiry.

We also log visitors’ IP addresses and basic information about use of our site, to help us improve and maintain our website. We use a third party analytics company to help us analyze this information, but do not give analytics companies access to your full IP address or other personal data.

We do not disclose personal data we collect from website visitors to third parties for direct marketing purposes or otherwise, unless we get your permission or are required by law to disclose it.

·        Cookies and do not track

Our website does not place first-party or third-party cookies. Since we don’t track our visitors over time and across third party websites to provide targeted advertising, our site is not configured to recognize “do not track” signals.

·        Encryption of website communications

Information you send to us through any web form on the hwglaw.com website is not encrypted and could be intercepted by third parties. Do not send us confidential information through the hwglaw.com website.  If you are a current client and would like to send us confidential information electronically, contact the HWG attorney with whom you regularly work about our options for securely transmitting files.

·        Minors

Our website is not designed for use by individuals under the age of 18.  If you have concerns relating to the collection of personal data from minors, please contact dpo@hwglaw.com.

What are HWG’s data practices for mailing list and webinar participants?

We collect personal data – including name, business email address, company, and legal topics of interest – from mailing list and webinar participants. From time to time, we may use this information to contact you with information about laws, recent developments, and HWG that may be of interest to you.

You can unsubscribe from future communications from HWG at any time by following the directions contained in the communication you received or by emailing your request to dpo@hwglaw.com.

What are HWG’s data practices for job applicants?

We ask job applicants to provide us with a variety of materials that contain personal data, including your contact information, resume, and references. We use these materials for recruiting and placement purposes, unless we obtain your consent to use them for another purpose. We do not disclose this information to third parties, unless we obtain your permission or are required by law to disclose it.

What rights do you have with respect to personal data HWG has about you?

If you are not an HWG client, there may be circumstances where you have a right to:

·         object to or withdraw your consent for the continued processing of your personal data

·         request information about HWG’s processing of your personal data

·         request erasure of your personal data

·         request correction of your personal data

·         request that we provide personal data about you in a portable form.

If your request relates to information you provided to HWG directly, email dpo@hwglaw.com.  If your request relates to information you provided to an individual or company you believe to be an HWG client, please contact that individual or company directly. We do not provide non-clients with any information as to their personal data that may be contained within our client files, unless our clients ask us to do so or we are subject to a legally binding order that requires us to do so.

Where will personal data you provide to HWG be stored or accessed?

HWG is a U.S. law firm. We store and access personal data from both within the United States and from other jurisdictions. When you send personal data to HWG through our website or otherwise, you will be sending personal data to the United States, which the European Union has determined does not have adequate safeguards for the protection of personal data.

Clients occasionally need to provide us with personal data that is subject to data protection laws in other non-U.S. jurisdictions. We are happy to speak with any client or potential client about entering into appropriate contractual arrangements for the transfer of personal data from the European Union, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, or other non-U.S. jurisdictions, provided (i) such a transfer will not result in large-scale processing of certain categories of data subject to special protections under European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and (ii) the transfer and our subsequent processing is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons.

How can I learn about changes to HWG’s privacy and data protection policy?

The most up-to-date version will be accessible through our website. If we make changes that may result in personal data being processed in a manner not covered by this version of our privacy and data protection policy, we will alert visitors to our website and other affected individuals in a reasonably prominent manner before changes go into effect.

Questions? Concerns? Complaints?

Reach out to the HWG attorney with whom you typically work or email dpo@hwglaw.com.  Our main office is located at 1919 M Street NW, Eighth Floor, Washington, DC 20036.

Individuals located in the European Union, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom have a right to lodge a complaint about HWG’s data protection policies or practices with the data protection supervisory authority in their country of habitual residence.  Contact information for data protection authorities in the EU is located here.  Individuals located in other nations may have similar rights to lodge a complaint with their own local authorities.