Disclaimer and Privacy Policy

Notice to the Public

The determination of the need for legal services and the choice of a lawyer are extremely important decisions and should not be based solely upon advertisements or self-proclaimed expertise. This disclosure is required by rule of the Supreme Court of Iowa. Memberships and offices in legal fraternities and legal societies, technical and professional licenses, and memberships in scientific, technical and professional associations and societies of law or field of practice does not mean that a lawyer is a specialist or expert in a field of law, nor does it mean that such lawyer is necessarily any more expert or competent than any other lawyer. All potential clients are urged to make their own independent investigation and evaluation of any lawyer being considered. This notice is required by rule of the Supreme Court of Iowa.

Whitfield & Eddy, P.L.C. Privacy Policy

Last Modified December 2020

Welcome to the Whitfield & Eddy, P.L.C. (“firm” “our” or “we”) Website. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) explains our data practices, defines your privacy options, and describes how we may collect, use and disclose your information.

Together with the Terms of Use set forth below, this Policy governs our use of personal information we collect through our Website at www.whitfieldlaw.com (“Site”) and access through social media platforms including, but not limited to, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram or Twitter. We collectively refer to these collection and access points as the firm system (“Website”).

For the purposes of this Policy, “personal information” is data that identifies, describes, is associated with, or could be linked to an individual, such as a name, birth date, postal address, email address, telephone number, driver’s license, SSN, or government issued identification number, credit card number or the like.

Personal information does not include anonymous or aggregated data that cannot, in its current form, be used to identify a specific person, even if combined with other data. Also, some of our clients are businesses, companies, institutions, or other entities rather than individuals. We do not consider business information such as an individual’s title, employer, work email, work phone number or work address to be personal information.

What Information Do We Collect?

Information Collected Directly from You

We may collect personal information directly from you through the Website or our attorneys and staff. For example, you may voluntarily provide us with personal information when you interact with us as a current, prospective, or former client, sign up for a newsletter or mailing list, register an account, send us an email, fill out a form, register for an event, apply for a job, or interact with us on social media.
Information we collect may include your:

• Name
• Email address, phone number, mailing address, and other contact information;
• Username and password;
• Employment application information, including education and employment history;
• Payment information;
• Business affiliations and contact information;
• Social media username;
• Demographic information;
• Preferences and interests; and
• Other information related to your requests or inquiries.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our Website, we collect some information about you automatically through the use of cookies, log files, and other tracking technologies. This information includes but may not be limited to:

• Your Internet Protocol address to measure our Website traffic and to help provide a more personalized experience;
• Information regarding your browser, internet service provider, operating system, and other technical specifications;
• Mobile device information when you access our Website, including hardware model, operating system and version, unique device identifiers, and network information;
• Your transaction history relating to the use of our services; and
• Information about your navigation to, from, and on our Website, including computer data files such as cookies. For more information, see the “Cookies and Similar Technologies” section below.

Collecting Information from Children

Our Website is not designed for children and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect information, including personal information, from children under the age of 16. If we obtain actual knowledge that we have collected personal information from someone under the age of 16, we will take all steps to promptly delete the information. If you believe we have mistakenly collected information from someone under the age of 16, contact us at info@whitfieldlaw.com.

How Do We Use Your Information?

We use your personal information for our legitimate business interests, including but not limited to:

• Providing our Services to you and responding to your inquiries.
• Maintaining and improving the operation, content and functionality of our Website.
• Informing you of Services, information or opportunities that may interest you.
• Personalizing content based on your location and preferences.
• Assessing job applicants and making employment decisions.
• Complying with our legal obligations or as needed to carry out our obligations under this Policy or our Terms of Use.

How Do We Protect Your Information?

We maintain reasonable and appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for all user information collected in our Website. Unfortunately, it is impossible to assure that transmission and data storage measures are completely secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, by your continued use of our Website you acknowledge and accept that the security, privacy, and integrity of your data cannot always be guaranteed.

With Whom Do We Share Your Information?

We share your personal information between our offices for purposes of administration, billing, promotion of our events and Services, and to provide you with our Services.

We may share your personal information with affiliates and third parties who may help us operate the Website, assist us in providing you with our Services, or help us assess your interest or satisfaction with the Website or our Services. Examples of these third-party services include web hosting, credit card verification, data tracking, marketing initiatives, employment recruiting, document production, delivery services, and maintaining and improving the Website or our Services. In providing our Services, we may disclose personal information to other parties involved in legal matters, including other law firms, attorneys, courts and regulatory bodies.

We may disclose your personal information if we determine that disclosure is reasonably necessary to enforce our Policy Terms of Use or to otherwise protect our business, clients or users.

We do not sell, rent, or otherwise share information that reasonably identifies you or your organization with unaffiliated entities for their independent use. We may share information that does not reasonably identify you or your organization as permitted by applicable law. We will not share your information with third parties to directly market their products to you.

We may share aggregated and anonymized forms of your information and browsing preferences to evaluate our services or allow the third parties we work with to better serve our users.

As Required by Law

We may share your personal information in response to investigations, subpoenas, court orders, law enforcement requests or legal processes, to establish or exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims, or as otherwise required by law.

As Part of a Business Sale, Merger or Acquisition

We may also disclose your information to a third party as part of reorganization, sale, or a prospective sale of substantially all of the assets or equity interest of the firm. Any third party to which the firm transfers or sells the Website or related assets or equity interest will have the right to continue to use the personal and other information that you provide to us.

Where Do We Store and Process your Personal Information?

We process data, including personal information, in the United States. We will transfer your personal information outside the United States only with your consent or to perform a contract with you, and consistent with the practices described in this Policy. The computers and/or other storage methods on which we maintain your personal information may be located outside the United States in jurisdictions whose data protection laws differ from those of your state, province or country.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to gather information about your use of our Website and to customize your experience using the Website.

Cookies

Cookies are small data files that enable the Website to remember user preferences and settings, as well as track and analyze user behavior to improve our Website. You may find the following types of cookies employed on our Website.

• Essential cookies make it possible for the Website to function and we cannot switch them off. They are typically set in response to some action on your part, like providing us with your email or other information online. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the Website may not work.
• Analytics cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources, so we can measure and improve our Website. They show us which pages are popular and how visitors navigate on them. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and, therefore, anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies, we will not know when you have visited our Website.
• Functional cookies make it possible for us to enhance the functionality of our Website and personalize it. We may set them or have third-party service providers set them. If you do not allow these cookies, then some or all of these services may not function properly.
• Targeting cookies record your visits to our Website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. They are persistent cookies, meaning they remain on your device after your session is over. They will recognize you as a previous visitor and track your activity on the Website and other websites you visit. You can delete these cookies via your browser settings. See “Your Cookie Options” section below for how you can control these cookies.

We also allow third parties to use cookies on our Website to collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites you visit. This information is used to provide interest-based advertising tailored to you, and to show you relevant ads on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Your Cookie Options

Most browsers allow you to control and/or delete cookies as you wish – for details, see www.aboutcookies.org. You can delete all cookies that are already on your computer and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed. Some browsers will allow you to block all cookies, while others will allow you to set up rules about which cookies to accept from which site, depending on your preferences. If you do block cookies, however, you may experience some functionality issues and some services within the Website may not work for you.

Third-Party Websites and Social Networking Sites

Our Website may contain links to other websites. These websites may have privacy policies different than our Policy. You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for your use of those websites and that it is your responsibility to review the applicable terms of use and privacy policies. We are not responsible for those websites’ actions or policies.

You may be able to post content to third-party social networking sites (including, but not limited to sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram) on which we maintain a presence. We are not responsible for the availability, accuracy, content, products or services of social networking sites. We will provide information to the social networking site(s), and receive information from them, in accordance with your elections.

Behavioral Advertising

We may also use third-party vendors, such as Google Analytics, to advertise to our users online. These third-party vendors may display firm advertisements on other websites based on your internet usage. More specifically, these vendors use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookie) and third-party cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) together to inform, optimize, and serve ads based on your past visits to the Website or another site affiliated with firm products or Services. You can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising by using Google’s Ad Settings.

Data Retention

We retain data collected from you only for as long as necessary to complete the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law.

California Customer Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, you have certain privacy rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA Rights”). This section describes those rights and how you can exercise them with the firm. Please note that as a law firm, we have legal obligations of confidentiality, privilege and record maintenance. Accordingly, we are only able to fulfill requests with respect to limited datasets, which may include marketing lists, our Website, social media, blogs, and billing information.

CCPA Rights Requests

Right to Know

You can request what personal information we have collected, used, disclosed, and sold about you in the preceding 12 months. You can request the specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you. To submit a request for this information, please send an email to info@whitfieldlaw.com.  You must use “California Request to Know Information” in the subject line of your email. You can also call us at 515-246-5535 to submit your request by phone.

You can also request the following categories of information:

• The categories of personal information we have collected about you.
• The categories of sources from which the personal information was collected.
• The business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling the personal information.
• The categories of third parties with whom we shared personal information.

To submit a request for this information, please send an email to info@whitfieldlaw.com. You must use “California Right to Know Categories” in the subject line of your email. You can also call us at 515-246-5535 to submit your request by phone.

For all requests regarding the right to know as described above, you must provide us with your name, email address and phone number. Failure to provide all of the foregoing information will prevent us from processing your request. Further, in order to verify your identity, we will match that information to the information we have in our Website. In order to designate an authorized agent to act on your behalf, you must send a signed, written authorization to us at info@whitfieldlaw.com or mail to 699 Walnut Street, Suite 2000, Des Moines, IA 50309.

Right to Deletion

You can also request that we delete your personal information. We may not delete all of your personal information if one of the following exceptions applies:

• Transactional: to complete a transaction for which the personal information was collected, provide a service requested by you, or perform a contract we have with you;
• Security: to detect data security incidents;
• Error Correction: to debug or repair any errors;
• Legal: to protect against fraud or illegal activity or to comply with applicable law or a legal obligation, or exercise rights under the law, such as the right to free speech; or
• Internal Use: to use your personal information, internally, in a lawful manner that is compatible with the context in which you provided the information (i.e., to improve our Services).

We will also maintain a record of your CCPA Rights requests.

Please note that if we delete your personal information, Services provided may not maintain the same functionality. For example, your previous opt out requests will not be saved and saved preferences and information will no longer be available.

To submit a request to delete, please send an email to info@whitfieldlaw.com. You can also call us at 515-246-5535 to submit your request by phone. You must provide us with your name, email address and phone number. Failure to provide all of the foregoing information will prevent us from processing your request. Further, in order to verify your identity, we will match that information to the information we have in our Website. Additionally, some requests may be subject to the firm’s identity verification procedure. In order to designate an authorized agent to act on your behalf, you must send a signed, written authorization to us at info@whitfieldlaw.com or alternatively, you may send the written authorization by mail to the address below.

If you wish to make multiple requests under this section, we recommend sending the deletion request last, as we will not be able to fulfill your other requests once we have deleted your personal information.

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Personal Information that We Sell

We do not currently and will not sell (as sell is defined in CCPA) any personal information.

Non-Discrimination

We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA Rights and we will not deny you Services, charge you a different price, or provide you with a lesser quality of Services if you exercise any of your CCPA Rights.

You Can Contact Us

If you have questions about this policy, you can email us at info@whitfieldlaw.com. You can also contact us if you want to know what information we have or want us to take you off of our lists. To reach us by mail send your requests and questions to: Executive Director, 699 Walnut Street, Suite 2000, Des Moines, IA 50309.

We May Update This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated Privacy Policy will be posted on our Website. Your continued use of the Website after we post a revised Privacy Policy signifies your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.

If you are a resident of the European Union, we may continue to process your information based on our legitimate interests or in order to fulfill our obligations under a contract and/or may also seek your affirmative consent to the terms of the updated policy, if required. For example, we may ask for your consent before implementing new uses of the personal information that we’ve already collected from you based on such consent, if such new use was not addressed by the consent under which such information was collected or if our legal basis for processing such information changes.

Your Access and Consent to Use of Your Information

You control access to and use of your personal information. Please contact us at info@whitfieldlaw.com with “Privacy Rights” in the subject line, for the following:

• To request the review, correction, change, or deletion of your personal information.
• To withdraw your consent for us to collect, use, or disclose your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy, please specify the activity you wish to stop. Denying or withdrawing consent may not allow us to provide you with some or all of the products, Services, or information you request.
• To opt-out of our marketing communications, you can also opt-out by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any email, if applicable.
• To stop receiving promotional text messages from us. You can also opt-out by following the cancellation instructions contained in the last text message, if applicable.

If you opt-out from receiving marketing emails or text messages, we may still need to send you communications about our Services, your legal matters, customer service inquiries, and other topics.

If you agreed to receive future marketing communications directly from a third party through our Website, you must contact that party to opt-out of such communications. This process may be outlined on that party's privacy policy.

• As explained in the “Cookies and Similar Technologies” section, you may limit the collection of cookies through your browser settings, but it may affect your ability to use or navigate the Website.
• You may limit the ability of Google Analytics to track your online activity, as outlined in the “Behavioral Advertising” section.
• Your browser may have a “Do Not Track” option, but our Website operates no differently if these “Do Not Track” signals are enabled.

Web Content Accessibility

We are committed to adherence to appropriate accessibility standards and guidelines to deliver a great website experience to the users. In February 2020, our Website was audited to be W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1AA compliant. We may continue annual accessibility audits of www.whitfieldlaw.com and provide guidelines to Website editors to minimize possible issues. Please email info@whitfieldlaw.com with any user difficulties while visiting our Website.

Contacting Us

To ask questions or for more information about our Privacy Policy, please contact:
info@whitfieldlaw.com

or

Executive Director
Whitfield & Eddy, P.L.C.
699 Walnut Street, Suite 2000
Des Moines, IA 50309

Terms of Use

The material on this Website has been prepared by the firm for informational purposes only. This information should not be construed as legal advice and is not necessarily current or complete.

Receipt of this information does not create an attorney-client relationship. We urge you to consult a lawyer admitted in your jurisdiction concerning your particular fact situation and any specific legal questions you may have.

This Website is not an offer to represent you, and the firm does not wish to represent you in any jurisdiction in which none of our lawyers is admitted to practice or any jurisdiction in which this Website does not comply with all applicable laws and ethical rules.

You should not send us any confidential information until after you have requested us to represent you and we have agreed to do so. In order to make sure that your interests do not conflict with those of our present clients, we must perform a conflicts check before agreeing to represent you.

You also should be aware that any communication sent to us by email may be intercepted by third parties who may be under no obligation to keep such communication confidential. Before sending any confidential information, you should contact us to arrange suitable means to protect it.