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California Privacy Policy

Last Updated: September 28, 2020

Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel (“Firm,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) takes your privacy seriously. We want you to know how we collect, use, share, and protect your Personal Information and about the rights of California Consumers under California law.

This California Privacy Policy addresses the following topics:

Assistance For The Disabled
Alternative formats of this Privacy Statement are available to individuals with a disability. Please contact us at privacypolicy@waterskraus.com for assistance.

The Scope Of This California Privacy Policy

What Is Personal Information?
“Personal Information”. “Personal Information” means information that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular California Consumer or household.

Whose Personal Information Is Covered By This Policy?
This California Privacy Policy (hereinafter referred to as the “Privacy Policy”) applies to the Personal Information of residents of the State of California in their capacity as consumers (“California Consumers”).

What Personal Information Does This Privacy Policy Cover?
This Privacy Policy applies to all Personal Information of California Consumers that we collect both online and offline, including through California Consumers’ (a) visits to our website, and (b) use of our services.

Whose Personal Information Is Not Covered By This Privacy Policy?
For purposes of this Privacy Policy, “Consumer” does not include:

  • California residents who are Firm’s employees, job applicants, owners, directors, officers, medical staff members, or contract workers (collectively, “HR Individuals”), or the emergency contacts of HR Individuals or the dependents or spouses who receive Firm benefits by virtue of their relationship to an HR Individual in their capacities as HR Individuals or emergency contacts, dependents, or spouses; or
  • California residents who are employees or other agents of a business engaged in a transaction with Firm in their capacities as employees or agents of that business.

What Else Should I Know About The Firm’s Handling Of California Consumers’ Personal Information?
Please read Firm’s general Privacy Policy available at waterskraus.com/privacy-policy/ carefully, as they contain important information about your use of the Services. If you have any questions, please contact us using the information below.

The Firm’s Collection, Use And Disclosure Of Personal Information
This section of the Privacy Policy describes, for the 12 months preceding the date last updated, above, (a) the categories of Personal Information we have collected about you, (b) the sources of that Personal Information, (c) the business and commercial purposes for use, and (d) the categories of third party recipients of your Personal Information. Unless we inform you otherwise, this section also serves as our “notice at collection” by informing you of your Personal Information to be collected in the future and the purposes for its use.

Sources Of Personal Information and Purposes For Using Personal Information

In the last 12 months, Firm collected the categories of Personal Information listed above from the following sources and used those categories of Personal Information for the following purposes:

Categories of Personal Information Collected in the Last 12 Months Sources of that Personal Information Business Purposes and Commercial Purposes for Collecting that Personal Information
Identifiers (Name, Postal Address, Telephone Number, Unique Personal Identifier, Signature, Address, Social Security Number, Driver’s License Number or State Identification Card Number) Directly from the California consumer himself or herself
  • Short-term, transient use
  • Performing legal services
  • Facilitating communications
Categories described in Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e) (Photos, Medical Information) Directly from the California consumer himself or herself
  • Performing legal services
Characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law (Photos, Medical Information, Marital Status, Physical or Mental Disability, Age, Veteran/Military Status, Health Insurance Information) Directly from the California consumer himself or herself
  • Performing legal services
Sensory information (Video Recordings, Audio Recordings) Directly from the California consumer himself or herself
  • Performing legal services
Professional or employment-related information Directly from the California consumer himself or herself; Government reports; Employer records
  • Performing legal services
Non-public education information (Transcripts, Counseling Records, Academic Records) Directly from the California consumer himself or herself; School records
  • Performing legal services

Disclosure Of Personal Information To Third Parties

In the last 12 months, Firm disclosed the following categories of Personal Information about California Consumers to the following categories of third parties for a business or commercial purpose:

Category of Personal Information Categories of Third Parties
Identifiers (Name, Postal Address, Telephone Number, Unique Personal Identifier, Signature, Email Address, Social Security Number, Driver’s License Number or State Identification Card Number)
  • Service providers used in the performance of legal services, including for medical records review
  • Defense Counsel and the Court
  • Government agencies, law enforcement, and other parties as required by law, including in litigation
Categories described in Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e) (Photos, Medical Information)
  • Service providers used in the performance of legal services, including for medical records review
  • Defense Counsel and the Court
  • Government agencies, law enforcement, and other parties as required by law, including in litigation
Characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law (Photos, Medical Information, Marital Status, Physical or Mental Disability, Age, Veteran/Military Status, Health Insurance Information)
  • Service providers used in the performance of legal services, including for medical records review
  • Defense Counsel and the Court
  • Government agencies, law enforcement, and other parties as required by law, including in litigation
Sensory information (Video Recordings, Audio Recordings)
  • Service providers used in the performance of legal services, including for medical records review
  • Defense Counsel and the Court
  • Government agencies, law enforcement, and other parties as required by law, including in litigation
Professional or employment-related information
  • Service providers used in the performance of legal services, including for medical records review
  • Defense Counsel and the Court
  • Government agencies, law enforcement, and other parties as required by law, including in litigation
Non-public education information (Transcripts, Counseling Records, Academic Records)
  • Service providers used in the performance of legal services, including for medical records review
  • Defense Counsel and the Court
  • Government agencies, law enforcement, and other parties as required by law, including in litigation

No Sale Of Personal Information

The Firm does not and will not sell California Consumers’ Personal Information.

Your California Privacy Rights

Right to Know

California Consumers have the right to submit a verifiable request to know:

  • The categories and specific pieces of Personal Information that Firm has collected about them;
  • The categories of sources from which Firm collected the Personal Information;
  • The categories of Personal Information that Firm sold or disclosed to a third party (other than a service provider) for a business purpose and the categories of recipients of that information; and
  • The business or commercial purposes for Firm’s collection, disclosure, or sale of the Personal Information.

Right To Delete

  • California Consumers have the right to submit a verifiable request for deletion of their Personal Information that Firm has collected from the Consumer.

Right to Opt Out of Sale of Personal Information

  • California Consumers have a right to opt-out of the sale of the Personal Information. However, as stated above, Firm does not and will not sell Personal Information.

How to Exercise Your Rights

Firm will respond to requests in accordance with applicable law if it can verify the identity of the individual submitting the request. California Consumers can exercise their rights in the following ways:

  • Submit your request by email at:  privacypolicy@waterskraus.com
  • Contact by telephone: 800-226-9880

Requests By Authorized Agents

You can have an authorized agent submit a CCPA request to us on your behalf by (a) providing us with a written authorization signed by you that designates the agent as your authorized agent for purposes of a CCPA request; (b) verifying your identity directly with us; and (c) directly confirming with us that the agent is authorized to submit the request.

How We Will Verify Your Requests

To prevent anyone other than you, or your authorized agent, from exercising the right to know or the right to delete with respect to your personal information, we follow procedures to verify your, or your agent’s, identity. These procedures seek to confirm that the person making a request is the person about whom we have collected personal information or that person’s authorized agent. The verification procedures involve matching data points that you provide with your request against information about you we already have in our records and that we have determined to be reliable for purposes of verifying your identity. We will use information you provide in your completed request form to verify your identity, and we may request additional information if necessary to complete the verification process.

The Firm’s Non-Discrimination Policy 

California Consumers have the right not to be subject to discriminatory treatment by Firm for exercising their privacy rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, and Firm will not discriminate on that basis. However, Firm may charge a California Consumer a different price or rate or provide a different level or quality of goods or services if the difference is reasonably related to the value provided to the California Consumer by the Consumer’s Personal Information. If Firm does so, it will provide Consumers with any legally required notice.

Your Right to Information About Disclosures of Personal Information for Direct Marketing Purposes:  

Under California law, California Consumers can request information from us whether we have disclosed Personal Information to any third parties for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes. We will not sell your Personal Information to, or share it with, third-party companies for their direct marketing purposes without your consent. California Consumers desiring to request further information about our compliance with these laws or who have questions or concerns about our privacy practices and policies are welcome to contact us using the contact information below.

Your ‘Do Not Track’ Browser Setting

The Site collects personally identifiable information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or online services. We do not support the Do Not Track (DNT) browser setting. DNT is a preference you can set in your browser’s settings to let the websites you visit, including the Site, know that you do not want the sites collecting your personally identifiable information.

Third-Party Links And Services

We provide links to third party websites operated by organizations not affiliated with Firm. We do not disclose your Personal Information to organizations operating such linked third-party websites. We do not review or endorse, and are not responsible for, the privacy practices of these organizations. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of each and every website that you visit. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by Firm through the Services.

Minors Under 16 Years of Age

We respect the privacy of children. Our Services are not designed to attract an audience younger than sixteen (16), and we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under sixteen (16), aside from information voluntarily provided to us by the parents or guardians of children under the age of sixteen (16) for the purpose of aiding us in the performance of legal services. If you are under the age of sixteen (16), you are not permitted to use our Services and should not send any information about yourself to us through the Services. Please contact us using the contact details below if you believe we may have collected information from your child under the age of sixteen (16), and we will work to delete it.

Changes to This California Privacy Policy

The firm reserves the right to change, modify, or update this policy at any time without notice. Any substantial changes in the way we use your personal information will be posted on this site.

Last Updated: September 28, 2020

For More Information

For questions or concerns about Firm’s privacy policies and practices, please contact us at privacypolicy@waterskraus.com.

Downloadable PDF of our California Privacy Policy available here.

What are my chances?

That’s the first question everyone asks. The truth is it’s impossible to know. But we can tell you this. Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel has what it takes to fight against big corporate interests and win. That’s why we’ve taken more mesothelioma trials to verdict than any other firm. And that’s why we’ve recovered more than $1.3 billion for clients like you. Do you think you have a case? Contact us now to speak with an attorney.

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