Privacy Policy

Effective Date: August 1, 2023

Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP (“FMG”, or “us”, “we”, and “our”) respects and values your privacy and we are dedicated to sharing our methods and approach to how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information in this policy (“Privacy Policy”). This Privacy Policy describes how FMG handles personal information:

  • From visitors to our website or web-based applications (“Websites”)
  • Through software applications made available by us for use on or through computers and mobile devices (“Apps”)
  • Contacts at our clients and/or prospective clients
  • Contacts for suppliers of goods and services to FMG
  • From any other individual about whom FMG obtains personal information in the provision of legal services to our clients (“Client Services”)
  • From those who apply to work for us

The items outlined above are collectively called “Services”.

Information We Collect About You

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, Personal Information is information that relates to an identified or identifiable person, whether alone or in combination with other information. FMG collects the following types of Personal Information:

  • Contact and Basic Information: name, title, phone number, organization, job responsibilities, gender, mailing address, and email address.
      
  • Registration Information such as information necessary to process or respond to newsletter requests, event/seminar registration, dietary preferences (excluding special categories), subscriptions, requests to download information, and usernames/passwords.
      
  • Marketing Data such as information about individual participation in conferences and in-person seminars, credentials, associations, product interests and preferences.
      
  • Compliance Data: government identifiers, passports or other identification documents, date of birth, beneficial ownership, and due diligence data.
      
  • Special Categories: in limited circumstances, FMG receives special categories of Personal Information as is necessary for a specific service we are providing to you, your employer, or other organization you may by affiliated with (religious or other beliefs, racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, health data and details of trade union membership).
      
  • Client Service Information: Personal Information received from clients regarding their employees or other individuals known to clients, invoicing details and payment history, and client feedback.
      
  • Device Data: IP address, unique device identifiers, cookies and other data linked to a devices, and data about the usage of our Websites.
      
  • Job Applicant Data: Data provided by job applicants or others on our Website or offline in connection with employment opportunities.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our Websites use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience when viewing the Websites and to compile statistical information regarding their use. A cookie is a file that is transmitted by a website to a user’s browser. The browser then saves that file in a designated file for cookies on your computer or device. We use cookies to allow us to personalize your experience, compile statistics about how the Websites are used, including the most popular pages. We use pixels (clear GIFs and web beacons) to track the actions of users of our Websites and email recipients, measure the success of our marketing campaigns, track whether our emails are forwarded, and compile statistics about usage of our Websites and email response rates.

We do not currently respond to do-not-track signals. If you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, most browsers allow you to automatically decline cookies or be given the choice of declining or accepting a particular cookie (or cookies) from a particular website. You can review http://www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/index.html/ for more information. Please note, that if you do not accept cookies, you may experience some inconvenience in your use of our Websites.

We also use Google Analytics, which uses cookies and similar technologies to collect and analyze information about the use of services and report on activities and trends. You can learn about Google’s practices here.

Sources of Personal Information

FMG may collect Personal Information from a variety of sources, including:

  • Through our provision of Services, for example, when you sign-up for a newsletter, request Services from FMG, register for a seminar, enter into a contractual relationship for Services, interact with us at an event, visit our Websites or networks, use our online applications, apply for a job, send us communications, or call or visit a FMG office.
      
  • From other sources including:
    • Publicly available and subscription-based sources
    • Court documents and filings
    • Event sponsors
    • Our clients
    • Counterparties in transactions or disputes
    • Social media
    • Our service providers

FMG needs to collect Personal Information in order to provide the requested Services to you or to provide service to our clients. If you do not provide the information requested, we may not be able to provide the Services. Where FMG receives Personal Information from its clients about employees or other individuals, the client is responsible for ensuring that any such Personal Information is transferred to us in compliance with applicable data protection laws and regulations.

Uses of Personal Information:

The purposes for which FMG uses Personal Information, and the legal basis for such use are as follows:

  • The provision of legal advice/services and response to inquiries. We engage in this activity to fulfil our ethical, legal and contractual obligations with our clients.
      
  • Management of our business operations and administration of our client relationships. We engage in this activity to fulfil our ethical, legal and contractual obligations with clients and suppliers.
      
  • Enhancing the functionality of our Websites. We engage in this activity because we have a legitimate interest in monitoring how our Website and Apps are used to help us provide better services to our Website and App users.
      
  • Fraud and security monitoring purposes. We engage in this activity because we have a legitimate interest to detect and prevent fraud, crimes and other misuse of our Websites and networks.
      
  • Data analysis, to improve the efficiency of our services and identify trends. We engage in this activity to manage our relationships with clients, to comply with legal obligations, and/or because we have other legitimate interests.
      
  • Auditing internal process for proper functioning. We engage in this activity to manage our relationships with clients, to comply with legal obligations, and/or because we have other legitimate interests.
      
  • To provide relevant marketing materials. We engage in this activity because we have a legitimate interest or because we have obtained consent.
      
  • Compliance with legal and regulatory obligations. We engage in this activity to manage our relationships with clients, to comply with legal obligations, and/or because we have other legitimate interests.
      
  • To evaluate and consider individuals for employment and manage on-boarding procedures. We engage in this activity because we have a legitimate interest and/or to comply with our legal obligations.

FMG may aggregate and/or anonymize Personal Information so it is no longer considered Personal Information. We do this to generate other data for our use, which we may use and disclose for any purpose.

Disclosure of Personal Information

We may disclose Personal Information to:

  • Our subsidiaries, affiliates and joint venture partners
  • Contractors, vendors and services providers
  • Counterparties to transactions or disputes, and their counsel
  • Courts, arbitrators, mediators, and others as necessary to represent our clients

We may also disclose Personal Information as necessary to:

  • Comply with applicable laws and regulations
  • To cooperate with public and government authorities
  • To cooperate with law enforcement
  • To enforce our terms and conditions
  • To protect our rights, privacy, safety or property, and/or that of our affiliates, or others.
  • Effectuate any reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer or other disposition of all or any portion of our business, assets or stock (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings) with a third party

Protection of Personal Information

We have implemented reasonable measures to secure Personal Information from accidental loss or destruction and from unauthorized access, use, alteration and disclosure. Unfortunately, no transmission or storage system cann be guaranteed 100% secure.

Information Relating to Minors

The nature of our services are not intended for individuals under the age of 16.

Cross-Border Data Transfers

We may transfer Personal Information to jurisdictions as necessary for the purposes described above, including to jurisdictions that may not provide the same level of protection as your country of residence. By using our Services, you understand that your information will be transferred to the United States or to other countries in which FMG operates.

For transfers of Personal Information from the European Economic Area (EEA) to countries not considered adequate by the European Commission, FMG has or will put in place adequate measures, such as the standard contractual clauses adopted by the European Commission, to protect Personal Information.

Choices and Access

You have choices regarding marketing-related communications. If you no longer want to receive marketing-related emails from the FMG, you may opt-out by following the unsubscribe instructions in our marketing emails.

If you would like to request to review, correct, update, suppress/delete, or object to or restrict processing of your Personal Information, or if you would like to request to receive an electronic copy of your Personal Information for purposes of transmitting it to another company, please contact us in accordance with the Contact Us section below. We will respond to your request consistent with applicable law. If you are a California resident, please refer to the “Additional Information Regarding California” section at the end of this Privacy Policy for more information about the requests you may make under the CCPA.

In your request, please make clear what you are seeking in your request, including what Personal Information is subject to your request. For your protection, we may need to verify your identity before implementing your request. We will try to comply with your request as soon as reasonably practicable.

Retention Period

We will retain your Personal Information for as long as you are a client, the performance of our Services require, and as long as our ethical obligations require.

Third Party Websites

The Website and Apps may contain links to unaffiliated third parties, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. This Privacy Policy does not apply to such third-party sites. When you click a link to visit a third-party website, you will be subject to their website’s privacy practices. We encourage you to review the privacy and security practices of any linked third-party website before providing any Personal Information on that website.

Contact Us:

If you have questions or concerns regarding our Privacy Policy or practices, you may contact us using the following details:

  • Email Address: Privacy@fmglaw.com  
      
  • Postal Address:
    Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP
    Attention: Information Privacy Officer
    100 Galleria Parkway, Suite 1600

Atlanta, GA 30339

Changes to the Privacy Policy

FMG may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will post the current version on this site, and we will revise the version date located at the top of this page. Any changes become effective when we post the revised Privacy Policy. Your continued use of our Services following these changes means that you accept the revised Privacy Policy.

Additional Information Regarding the EEA

You can lodge a complaint with a data protection authority for your country or region or where the alleged infringement of applicable data protection law occurs. However, before doing so, we encourage you to contact us directly to give us an opportunity to work directly with you to resolve any concerns about your privacy.

Additional Information Regarding California

Pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), we are providing the following additional details regarding the categories of Personal Information about California residents that we collected and disclosed in the preceding 12 months. This policy does not apply to our job applicants, employees, contractors, owners, directors, or officers where the Personal Information relates to their current, former, or potential role at FMG. California job applicants can review the FMG’s CCPA Job Applicant Notice at Collection for more information.

We collected the following information:

Category of Personal Information:Business Purpose:Personal Information was collected from the following categories of sources:Personal Information was disclosed to the following categories of third parties:
Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar informationAudio/Visual – where required for regulatory reasons, to communicate with and/or provide services to clients, to keep record of client instructions or other matters discussed   To transcribe or prepare a written note of client interviewsConference calls and video conferences with clients and other third parties Interviews with clients as part of client feedback program  Voicemail messages Audio and/or video recordings of interviews or depositionsSuppliers and service providers where necessary to perform functions on our behalf Opposing parties, their counsel, courts, arbitrators, mediators, and others as necessary to represent our clients      
Identifiers such as real name, alias, IP address, email address, account name, unique online identifier, social security number, driver’s license number, passport number, or other similar identifiers.To provide legal advice, business services, and to respond to inquiries To manage our business operations and administer our client relationships To provide relevant marketing to you or your employer or business To address compliance and legal obligations (e.g., checking identity of new clients, prevention of fraud/money laundering, to protect the security of our networks, devices, and information) Mandatory disclosures and legal claims (e.g., to comply with any subpoena, court order or other legal process or to comply with any regulatory, governmental or legally binding request)Directly from the individual Counterparties to transactions or disputes Employers (e.g., our clients) Agents or professional advisors authorized to disclose data on behalf of the individual Publicly available or subscription-based sources      
Personal Information Categories from Cal. Civ. Code §1798.80(e)  including name, signature, social security number, physical characteristics or description, address, telephone number, passport number, driver’s license or state identification card number, insurance policy number, education, employment, employment history, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information, medical information, or health insurance information. * “Personal information” does not include publicly available information that is lawfully made available to the general public from federal, state, or local government records.
Commercial Information including records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies.
Characteristics of Protected Classifications under California or Federal Law Race, age, national origin, disability, sex, veteran status, philosophical or religious beliefs, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, familial statusOnly as necessary for the purposes identified above Solely to the extent required to comply with FMG’s legal or other best practice obligations (e.g. AML, equality laws, monitoring diversity and inclusion, etc.)    
Inferences Drawn from any of the PI identified aboveWe may draw inferences from information that we have received (such as, we may draw inferences from evidence received from or on behalf of our clients in legal proceedings; we may conclude that you are interested in receiving updates from us on developments in particular areas if you have attended firm-sponsored events; or we may conclude that applicable laws prohibit us from engaging with a prospective client based on information obtain through our Know-Your-Client compliance procedures)
Professional or employment-related informationTo provide relevant marketing to you (e.g., information about events or services that may be of interest) To provide legal advice, business, services and to respond to inquiries
Internet or other electronic network activity information including, but not limited to, browsing history, search history, and information regarding a consumer’s interaction with an Internet Website, application, or advertisementTo make our website for intuitive   To protect the security of our networks, devices, and informationVia the firm’s Website or AppsTo our service providers to the extent necessary for the provision of services on our behalf    

Disclosure of Personal Information, No Sale

FMG has not sold Personal Information as defined or as contemplated by the CCPA in the preceding 12 months and has no knowledge of the sale of Personal Information of consumers under 16 years of age.

California Consumer Privacy Rights

As a California Consumer, you have the following rights:

  • Right to Disclosure: California Consumers have a right to request from FMG the right to request that it disclose what Personal Information it collects, uses, discloses, and sells. You may use the procedure outlined below for “How to Submit a Verifiable Request to Know or to Delete” to request this information.
  • Deletion: In certain circumstances, you have the right to request we delete Personal Information we collected from you. Please note that the right to request deletion is subject to certain exceptions under the CCPA. You may use the procedure outlined below for “How to Submit a Verifiable Request to Know or to Delete” to make such a request.
  • Non-Discrimination:  You have a right not to receive discriminatory treatment for the exercise of the privacy rights conferred by the CCPA. FMG will not discriminate against California Consumers for exercising their rights under the CCPA.

FMG does not offer financial incentives or price or service differences in exchange for the retention of a California Consumer’s Personal Information.

How to Submit a Verifiable Request to Know or to Delete

FMG will respond to requests in accordance with the CCPA if it can verify the identity of the individual submitting the request. California Consumers can exercise these rights by contacting (770) 818-0000 or by email at Privacy@fmglaw.com.

In order to verify your identity, we will generally require sufficient information from you so that we can match it to the information we maintain about you in our systems. Sometimes we may need additional personal information from you to be able to identify you. We will notify you.

We may not be able to comply with your request if we are unable to confirm your identity or connect the information you submit in your request with Personal Information in our possession.

Authorized Agent

A California Consumer may designate an Authorized Agent registered with the California Secretary of State to submit a disclosure or deletion request on behalf of the Consumer. For FMG to respond to a request from an Authorized Agent, FMG may:

  • Request a copy of the written permission granting the Authorized Agent to make such a request on the consumer’s behalf; and
  • Verify the identity of the consumer.

FMG may deny a request from an Authorized Agent that does not submit proof that they have been authorized by a consumer to act on their behalf.