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Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is provided by Northstone Law Professional Corporation d.b.a. Cowan & Carter (“Cowan Litigation,” “the Firm,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) to inform users (“you,” “your,” “visitor,” or “user”) about features of the Firm’s Website at https://cowanlitigation.com/ (the “Website”). By accessing or using the Website or engaging our services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Our Firm is committed to providing visitors with a Website that respects their privacy.

Security and Confidentiality

The transmission of data or information over the internet or other forms of networks may not be secure, and is subject to possible loss, interception, or alteration while in transit. The Firm cannot guarantee security of any communication to or from the Website. The Firm does not assume any liability for any damage you may experience or costs you may incur as a result of any electronic transmissions over the internet, other forms of networks or otherwise while using the Website.

Unless we have confirmed in writing that we represent or act for you, in no event will any information you provide on or through the Website be deemed to be confidential, create any fiduciary obligations to you on our part, or result in any liability to you on our part. Unsolicited emails from non-clients do not establish a lawyer-client relationship and may not be privileged. You should take reasonable and appropriate precautions to ensure compatibility of any website you visit with your specific computer, mobile or other device. The Firm does not assume any responsibility or risk for your use of the internet.

The Information We Collect

Personal Information You Provide

When you visit our Website or contact us, we may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide, including:

  • Name, address, email address, and phone number
  • Nature of your legal issue or inquiry
  • Financial, credit, billing and account information
  • Information material to your legal matter
  • Any other information you choose to provide when you fill out a contact form or send us an email

Automatically Collected Information

When you visit our Website, we automatically collect certain information about your device and usage of our site, including:

  • Internet Protocol (IP) address
  • Browser type and version
  • Operating system
  • Pages you view and time spent on pages
  • Date and time of your visit
  • Referring website addresses

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:

  • To provide, operate, and maintain our Website
  • To assess whether we can act for you, including to avoid conflicts of interest
  • To offer and provide legal information and services to you
  • To communicate with you regarding the services you request and to respond to your requests and inquiries
  • To administer our client time and billing databases, and issue and collect accounts
  • To improve, personalize, and expand our Website and services
  • To monitor and analyze usage and trends to improve your experience
  • To provide you with material on our services and developments in the law, and to invite you to seminars and functions
  • To manage and administer our business, including to avoid negligence and protect you and us against error and fraud
  • To fulfill our legal and professional obligations
  • To run Google Analytics, Google Ads, & other advertising platforms to understand our audience and market our services

If you do not wish to receive further materials about our services and legal developments or if you do not wish to receive further invitations to seminars and functions, you may unsubscribe or ask us not to contact you for these purposes.

Communicating with the Firm

Unless otherwise noted, we do not automatically gather any specific information from you, such as your name, telephone number or email address. We would obtain this type of information only if you supplied it to us, for example, by email or by filling in an online form.

If you choose to send an email message to the Firm or to complete a contact form on the Website, your personal information will be used by us to respond to your inquiry. The information you provide will not be shared with any third parties for commercial purposes. The Firm does not use such information to create individual profiles, nor does it disclose the information to anyone other than persons at the Firm who need to provide you with a response. Information provided by you is used solely for the purpose for which it is intended.

Email messages and other electronic methods used to communicate with the Firm are not secure. Please do not send any sensitive personal information, such as your Social Insurance Number or your date of birth, through non-secure electronic channels.

How We Collect Information About You

We typically collect personal information directly from you or through our interaction with you. However, sometimes we may obtain personal information about you from other sources.

For example, in relation to clients, in addition to personal information that you provide, we may collect personal information from:

  • A government agency or registry
  • Third parties, such as your real estate agent, your financial institution, your insurance company, or your employer
  • Other law firms or agents who have acted for you in the past

where these parties have information relevant to the matter in which we are acting for you.

Disclosure of Your Information

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share your information in the following circumstances:

  • Service Providers: We may share your information with third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as hosting our website, managing our ads, and analyzing data
  • Legal Services: Where the legal services we are providing to you require us to give your personal information to third parties, such as a lender in a real estate mortgage transaction
  • Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities, where the rules of court require us to provide personal information to the opposite side and the court in a litigation matter, or where a court issues a subpoena or order
  • Professional Obligations: Where we engage an expert or consultant on your behalf in a litigation matter, or where we retain another law firm or agent to act or assist us in acting on your behalf
  • Debt Collection: Where it is necessary to collect fees, for instance, to a financial institution or collection agent
  • With Your Consent: Where you have instructed us to disclose your personal information to a third party for a designated purpose, or where you consent or as permitted or required by law

Your Consent

We collect, use and disclose your personal information with your consent or as permitted or required by law. Your consent may be express or implied, depending on the circumstances and the sensitivity of the personal information in question. For example, in most cases, a client’s consent to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by Cowan Litigation may be implied by the fact that the client has engaged the Firm to provide legal services, where the collection, use and disclosure of personal information relates to the performance of those services.

If you provide personal information about another person to us, we assume you have the consent of that individual to enable us to collect, use or disclose their information as described in this policy. If you choose to provide personal information to us, we assume that you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as outlined in this privacy statement.

If you do not consent, please do not provide your personal information or, where applicable, exercise the opt-in or opt-out options offered. Subject to legal and contractual requirements and reasonable notice, you may refuse to consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information or you may withdraw your consent to our further collection, use and disclosure of information about you. Note that if you withdraw your consent to certain uses of your personal information, we may no longer be able to provide certain of our services.

There are instances where the Firm may collect, use or disclose your personal information without your consent, for example, to collect a debt you owe to us, to comply with a subpoena or court order, or to comply with the rules of court regarding the production of records.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our Website and hold certain information. Cookies are files with a small amount of data that may include an anonymous unique identifier. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Website.

Usage Data and Web Analytics

Web servers automatically collect information about visits to the Website, including the visitor’s Internet Protocol (IP) address. IP addresses are unique numbers assigned to all devices used to access the internet. The IP address, on its own, does not identify an individual. However, in certain circumstances, such as with the co-operation of an ISP for example, it could be used to identify an individual using the site.

We employ software programs that monitor network traffic and detect unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. These programs record the IP addresses of computers that visit this site. They also record the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, and the browsers and operating systems used by visitors. We do not attempt to link this information to the identities of individual users, unless an attempt to damage the site has been detected.

Our Website uses Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors use our site. Google Analytics uses cookies to collect information about your visit to our Website, including your IP address. When your device requests a web page on the Website, Google Analytics collects user information such as:

  • Active users
  • Geo (location, language)
  • Technology (browser, operating system, network)
  • Devices (desktop, mobile, tablet)
  • Demographics (age, gender)
  • User flow
  • Session quality

Such data may be used for statistical and administrative purposes to assist the Firm in making enhancements to the Website. This information is transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States.

We also use Google Ads to advertise and remarket our services to visitors of our site. Google uses cookies to serve ads based on past visits to our Website. You can opt-out of Google’s use of cookies by visiting the Google Ads Settings page.

If you do not want your information shared with the Analytics software, Google makes available a plug-in for Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Chrome browsers which prevents your browser from sharing any information with Google Analytics. You may download and install the plug-in at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

reCAPTCHA

We may use a captcha service called reCAPTCHA. reCAPTCHA is a service that protects the Website from spam and other types of automated abuse. The reCAPTCHA service may collect information from your device for security purposes.

reCAPTCHA is operated by Google. The information gathered by reCAPTCHA is held in accordance with Google’s privacy policy.

Data Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. We have implemented reasonable physical, organizational and technological security measures to safeguard the personal information in our custody or control. These include safeguards to protect personal information against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.

However, no internet or email transmission is ever fully secure or error-free. Please keep this in mind when disclosing any personal information to us via the internet. Given that electronically submitted data is not 100 per cent secure, we make no warranties as to the security of any such personal information that you submit, which you do at your own risk.

Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to access, update, or delete the personal information we have collected about you. If you wish to request access to, or correction of, your personal information in custody or control of the Firm, please make your request in writing to us. We may need to verify your identity before searching for or providing you with personal information. In some circumstances, we may not provide access to your personal information, for example, if it contains the personal information of other persons, if it constitutes confidential commercial information, if it is protected by solicitor-client privilege, or if it is otherwise not properly the subject of an access request.

Since we predominantly use personal information to provide legal services, it is important that the information be accurate and up to date. Please inform us as soon as possible of any changes to your personal information.

Third-Party Links and Social Media

Our Website may contain links to third-party websites that are not operated by the Firm. These links are provided as a convenience only. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party’s website. Third-party websites may have different privacy policies and practices than our Website.

The Firm has no control over and assumes no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third-party websites or services. You are advised to read and review the privacy policy of every site you visit.

The Firm’s use of social media serves as an extension of its presence on the web. Social media accounts are public and are not hosted on our servers. Users who choose to interact with the Firm via social media should read the terms of service and privacy policies of these third-party service providers and those of any applications you use to access them.

Children’s Privacy

Our services are not directed to individuals under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors without parental consent.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. The Firm may change any part of this Privacy Policy at any time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the effective date. Users are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or require additional information, please contact us:

Cowan Litigation
Northstone Law Professional Corporation d.b.a. Cowan & Carter
Website: https://cowanlitigation.com/contact/