Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP (“Patterson Belknap” or the “Firm”) is a limited liability partnership registered under the laws of the State of New York and located only in New York. We respect your privacy and this Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard information about visitors to our office, as well as users of our site, blogs, other news, informational, and social media we may offer, and recipients of email campaigns. If you are or if you become a client of Patterson Belknap we may use information about you in additional ways.

This Policy does not apply to information provided to us in the course of our attorney-client relationships or protected by confidentiality, the attorney-client privilege, the attorney work product doctrine, or any other applicable privilege or protection. Nothing in this Policy should be construed to create an attorney-client relationship with visitors to our site.

Please read this Policy carefully before you use our site, communicate with us through the site, or visit our offices. By using our site, blog, newsletter or social media, communicating with us through the site, or visiting our offices, you are accepting the terms of this Policy, which may be updated and amended from time to time. Your continued use of our site after a modified Policy has been posted indicates your agreement to the terms contained in the updated Policy.

Individuals who have a visual disability may be able to use a screen reader or other text-to-speech or text-to-Braille tool to review the contents of this Policy but if you require additional assistance, please contact us at mktg@pbwt.com.

Information We Collect

We may collect the following information about you:

• Names, email addresses, telephone numbers, postal addresses, and professional or business-related information, employment-related information such as government-issued identifiers, and financial information;
• Characteristics of protected classifications under state or federal law (for example, gender);
• Commercial information (such as records of services provided);
• Biometric information, including biological characteristics that can be used singly or in combination with other identifying data, to establish individual identity (for example, images recorded on security videos created in our office); and
• Internet or other electronic network activity information (such as website usage details, IP addresses, or the equipment used to access our network).

Also, if you choose to email us through a link provided on our site, in addition to your email address, we may collect any information you choose to provide in your email.

If you visit our offices, we may collect your name, the date and times you visited, and who you are visiting. We may also use security technologies, such as security cameras, to capture your image.  If you use our guest wireless network while in our office, we may also log information about your use of that service for network administration, analysis, troubleshooting, and other operational purposes. We do not combine IP addresses with personally-identifiable information to identify individual users.

When you use our site, you are not required to submit any information, but third parties may collect information about your activities on our website, over time and across the various websites in our pbwt.com domain. Some web browsers support a “Do Not Track” feature, which is a function you can use to signal that you do not wish to be tracked across websites. Our site is not currently set up to respond to “Do Not Track” signals and does not currently change the way it operates based upon detection of a “Do Not Track” or similar signal.

In addition, when you interact with our site, we or our third-party service providers use cookies and similar tracking technologies. Cookies are text files stored on your browser or the hard drive of your computer or other device used to access our site. They allow us to distinguish you from other users of our website. We use two types of cookies on our website – session cookies and persistent cookies. Session cookies are stored temporarily on your device during a browser session and are deleted from your device when you finish browsing. Persistent cookies are stored on your device after you have finished browsing on our website so that we can remember your preferences when you visit our website in the future and remain on your device for the period of time specified in the cookie. Our website uses Vuture to track your website journey and connect your e-marketing journey with your website journey. We also use Google Analytics to collect anonymized data, which may include IP address, browser type, domain names, time and date of visit, referring web site, landing page, search terms, web pages viewed, time spent on a web page, and links clicked. This data is used to improve our site and provide you a better experience.  Vuture and Google analytics use cookies as part of their processes as follows:

You may restrict, block or delete the cookies that are set by our website and third parties and prevent us or third parties from recognizing you when you visit our site by adjusting your browser settings.  However, if you disable cookies, you may not be able to access certain features on our site. To find out more about cookies (and how to adjust your browser settings) visit www.allaboutcookies.org. Please review Google Analytics’ terms of use and privacy policy to learn more about how Google Analytics may collect and use information.  Please review Vuture’s privacy policy to learn more about how Vuture may collect and use information.

Business Purposes for Which We Use and To Whom We Disclose Your Information

Patterson Belknap uses the information it collects to provide updates about legal developments, promote and share the Firm’s publications regarding legal issues and to invite people to participate in the Firm’s events and presentations about evolving legal issues.  The Firm may also use this information for other business purposes (for example, to perform services on our or a service provider’s behalf, analytics, or to detect against fraud or illegal activity) or for the additional purposes explained at the time of collection.  Personal information may also be used in connection with responding to your requests for information, reviewing applications for employment with Patterson Belknap, protecting our site and operations against fraud or other unlawful activities, and maintaining the physical security of our offices.

The Firm does not sell the personal information it collects. From time to time, Patterson Belknap may disclose this information with third-party service providers or vendors retained by the Firm in connection with the Firm’s business purposes and marketing activities described above who process this information solely for our benefit and in accordance with our instructions or as otherwise necessary to provide our services. 

We also disclose your personal information if required to do so by law, law enforcement, or other legal process or in the good-faith belief that disclosure is necessary to protect our firm or members of the public in appropriate circumstances. We may also disclose your personal information as part of an acquisition, merger, asset sale, or other transaction where another party assumes control over all or part of our business. We do not otherwise disclose your personal information to third parties without your consent. We are not responsible for the data collection, privacy practices, or policies of any third-party site to which we may provide a link or that may link to our site. You access those sites and your own risk and we encourage you to read the privacy statement and terms of use of other sites.

Children

We do not knowingly collect personal or other information online from children under the age of 13.

Information Security

We use commercially reasonable security measures to protect and safeguard the personal information we collect under this Policy against unauthorized access or unauthorized alteration, disclosure, or destruction. No computer network or data transmission on the internet, including through or initiated on our site, can be guaranteed to be 100% secure and so you submit your information at your own risk.

Questions; Review, Access, Correction and Deletion of Your Information; Opt Out; Governing Law

If you have any questions about this Policy, wish to confirm the personal information you have provided to us, access it in a portable format, correct inaccuracies or request deletion of the information or wish to opt out of receiving further information from us, please contact us at mktg@pbwt.com and we will make reasonable commercial efforts to comply with your requests. Alternatively, you may opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe links provided in the communication. To protect your identity and security, we may take appropriate steps to verify your identity before granting you access or enabling you to make corrections. If we decline to take action with respect to your request we will notify you and you may appeal in writing by contacting us at mktg@pbwt.com.

You agree that any proceeding relating to use of this site or this Policy must be filed exclusively in the appropriate courts located in New York County, New York, and you submit to the jurisdiction of those courts and waive any objection to venue in those courts based on an inconvenient forum or any other reason. You further agree that this Policy shall in all respects be interpreted, enforced, and governed by and under the laws of the State of New York, without regard to any choice-of-law rules that might direct the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction.

This policy was last updated on June 17, 2024.

Information for California Residents Subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act

The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (together the “CCPA”) provides California residents with certain rights regarding their personal information.  For example, the CCPA gives California consumers the right to know the categories and particular personal information Patterson Belknap has collected about them and the purposes for which they are collected or disclosed and the right to ask the Firm to delete or correct their personal information.

This section provides Patterson Belknap’s privacy notice for California residents. It supplements the Firm’s Privacy Policy set forth above. Please review the Firm’s Privacy Policy for additional information about how the Firm may obtain and disclose information collected for other business or legal purposes.

The Personal Information We Collect and Where We Collect it From

During the preceding 12 months, through this site and other categories of sources as described in our Privacy Policy under the heading “Categories of Sources of Personal Information,” the Firm may have collected the categories of information about California residents (including, for example, current, former and prospective employees, and current, former and prospective clients) detailed in our Privacy Policy under the heading, “Information We Collect.”  That collection may have included the following information, although the personal information we collect from you may vary depending on the nature of your relationship with us and may not include all of these examples:

• Identifiers and certain “Personal Information” as defined in California Civil Code section 1798.80, subsection (e);
• Commercial information such as services obtained;
• Internet or electronic network activity information about your interaction with the website;
• Professional or employment-related data;
• Characteristics of protected classifications under California law;
• Audio, electronic or visual information;
• Biometric information, as defined in the CCPA; and
• Sensitive personal information.

Purpose of Collecting Consumer Information – How We Use and Disclose It

Patterson Belknap uses and discloses the above categories of information it collects about California residents for the business purposes and pursuant to the terms detailed in our Privacy Policy under the heading, “Business Purposes for Which We Use and To Whom We Disclose Your Information,” which also describes the categories of third parties to whom such information is disclosed.  Please read that section of the Firm’s Privacy Policy carefully. Because there are numerous types of personal information that we collect in each category listed above and various uses for each personal information type, actual retention periods may vary. We retain specific personal information for no longer than reasonably necessary for the purposes for which that information was collected or where we have an ongoing legitimate business need to do so, such as legal, regulatory, accounting or reporting requirements.

How California Residents Can Exercise Their Rights Under the CCPA

As mentioned above, California residents have the right to (1) know the categories and specific pieces of personal information Patterson Belknap has collected about them and obtain a transportable copy; (2) ask the Firm to delete their personal information; (3) ask us to correct inaccurate personal information; (4) opt out of the sharing of personal information; and (5) no retaliation.  This section explains how to exercise those rights. California residents are entitled to access their personal information up to twice in a 12-month period.

Requests For Access To, Deletion or Correction of Information Collected About You By The Firm

If you would like to make a request that Patterson Belknap disclose to you information about our collection or use of your personal information or request that we delete or correct your personal information, you may call our CCPA consumer request line at (888) 672-9822.  You can also send us an email at ccparequests@pbwt.com.  Please note, the Firm may need to obtain specific information from you to confirm your identity and to ensure that you have the right to access information and exercise certain rights under the CCPA.  As a result, a Patterson Belknap representative may contact you to request additional information to verify your identity. 

Disclosure of Information

Once your identity is verified, Patterson Belknap will disclose to you the personal information you have requested, including:

• The categories of personal information about you the Firm has collected;
• The specific pieces of personal information about you the Firm has collected;
• The categories of sources from which the Firm collected your personal information;
• The Firm’s business or commercial purpose(s) for collecting or sharing your personal information;

• The categories of third parties to whom the Firm disclosed your personal information; and
• If we disclosed personal information about you for a business purpose, the categories of information that each category of recipient received.

Deletion of Information

Once your identity is verified, you can request the Firm to delete the personal information we have collected from you.  There are certain exceptions and Patterson Belknap reserves the right to deny your request if retaining the information is necessary for the Firm or our service providers to:

• Complete the transaction for which we collected your information, provide a good or service requested by you, continue the ongoing business relationship with you within the context of that relationship as reasonably anticipated by you, or perform a contract between you and the Firm;
• Help to ensure security and integrity to the extent that your personal information is reasonably necessary and proportionate for those purposes;
• Debug to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality;
• Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another California resident to exercise that consumer’s right of free speech, or exercise another right provided for by law;
• Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act;
• Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research that conforms or adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws when our deletion of the information is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the ability to complete such research, with your consent;
• Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with the expectations of you based on your relationship with us and compatible with the context in which you provided the information;
• Comply with legal obligations.

Correction of Information

Once your identity is verified, you can request that we correct inaccurate personal information that we have collected from you. Once received, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to correct the inaccurate personal information.

California Residents’ Right to Opt Out

Under the CCPA, California residents have the right to opt out of having their personal information sold to third parties or shared with third parties for the purposes of cross-context behavioral advertising or targeted advertising. We do not currently sell or share your information with third parties in a manner that constitutes a “sale” or “sharing” under the CCPA and we have not done so in the preceding 12 months. As described above in this Privacy Policy, we may disclose your personal information with other entities for business or commercial purposes. We only collect and process sensitive personal information as defined under the CCPA for purposes that are exempt from consumer choice under the CCPA.

Appointment of Agent to Assist You

You have the right to appoint an agent to make requests under the CCPA to obtain or delete information about you.  Such authorization must be done in writing and Patterson Belknap may deny a request if the agent does not submit sufficient proof that you authorized the agent to act on your behalf. 

California Residents’ Right of No Retaliation

Patterson Belknap may not discriminate against a California resident because the resident exercised rights under the CCPA, including, but not limited to, by:

• Denying you goods or services;
• Charging you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties;
• Providing you a different level or quality of goods or services;
• Suggesting that you will receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services; or
• Retaliating against an employee, applicant for employment, or independent contractor for exercising their rights under the CCPA.

Additional Notice for California Residents

We do not disclose “personal information” subject to California’s “Shine the Light Law,” California Civil Code Section 1798.83. However, you may request information about our compliance with the Shine the Light law by contacting us at ccparequests@pbwt.com. Please note that we are only required to respond to one request per customer each year and we are not required to respond to requests made by means other than through this email address.