PRIVACY POLICY

1. Introduction

FindTheLawyers.com ("we", "us", or "our") is a legal services directory platform that connects individuals and businesses with qualified legal professionals across the United States . We are firmly committed to safeguarding the privacy and personal information of every individual who interacts with our website.

This Privacy Policy explains in plain, transparent language how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal information when you visit https://findthelawyers.com/, use our services, or contact us in any capacity. It also outlines your rights and choices with respect to your data.

This Policy applies to:

All visitors to our website, whether browsing anonymously or using our search features;
Registered users who create accounts or submit inquiries;
Legal professionals who list or register their services on our platform;
Any third parties who interact with our website through embedded tools or integrations.

By accessing or using FindTheLawyers.com, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to the data practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any part of this Policy, please discontinue your use of the website.

This Policy should be read in conjunction with our Terms of Use and Cookies Policy, both of which are available on our website.

2. Information We Collect

We collect two broad categories of information: personal information that you provide directly to us, and non-personal or usage data that is collected automatically when you interact with our website.

2.1 Personal Information

Personal information refers to any data that can identify you as an individual. We may collect the following when you register, complete a form, or interact with our services:

Full name
Email address
Phone number
Mailing or business address
Professional credentials, bar registration numbers, areas of practice, and firm details (for legal professionals)
Any information voluntarily submitted through contact forms, inquiry forms, or registration pages
Payment information (processed through secure third-party payment processors; we do not store full card details)
Communications you send to us, including support requests or feedback

2.2 Non-Personal and Usage Information

When you browse our website, we automatically collect certain technical and behavioural information that does not by itself identify you as an individual:

IP address and approximate geographic location
Browser type and version
Device type and operating system
Pages visited and the order in which they were viewed
Time and duration spent on each page
Search queries entered on our platform
Referring URLs (the website that directed you to ours)
Clickstream data and interaction events

3. How We Collect Information

We collect information through three primary means:

3.1 Direct User Input

You provide information to us directly when you:

Complete a registration or account creation form
Submit an inquiry or contact form to a listed legal professional or to our support team
Create or update a lawyer or law firm listing
Subscribe to our newsletter or marketing communications
Participate in surveys, feedback forms, or promotional activities
Communicate with us by email, phone, or any other channel

3.2 Automated Data Collection

When you visit our website, we and our authorised technology partners automatically collect technical data through:

Cookies placed on your browser (see Section 6)
Server logs that record page requests and responses
Analytics scripts that track user behaviour and site performance

3.3 Third-Party Integrations

We may receive information about you from third-party sources and integrated services, including:

Google Analytics and similar web analytics platforms
Advertising networks and remarketing platforms
Social media plugins (if you interact with social sharing or login buttons)
Payment processors and billing service providers
Third-party login providers (e.g., Google Sign-In), if you choose to use them

4. Why We Collect Your Information

We collect and process your information only for defined, lawful, and transparent purposes. Specifically, we use your information to:

Provide and operate our legal directory platform and connect users with legal professionals
Respond to your enquiries, messages, and service requests in a timely manner
Personalise your experience on our platform, including surfacing relevant legal professionals based on your location or area of interest
Process registrations, bookings, or contact submissions made through the platform
Measure and analyse website performance to identify areas for improvement
Send newsletters, service updates, and marketing communications to users who have opted in
Maintain the security and integrity of our platform and prevent fraud or misuse
Comply with legal and regulatory obligations applicable to our operations
Respond to legal requests, court orders, or regulatory enquiries
Carry out internal record-keeping, reporting, and business administration

We do not use your personal information for automated decision-making that produces significant legal effects without human oversight.

5. Legal Basis for Processing

Where applicable — particularly for users in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, and other jurisdictions requiring a lawful basis for data processing — we rely on the following legal grounds:

5.1 Consent

Where we rely on your consent as the legal basis for processing (for example, sending marketing emails or placing non-essential cookies), you may withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing that took place prior to withdrawal.

5.2 Contractual Necessity

We process certain personal data because it is necessary to perform a contract with you — for example, when you register as a listed legal professional or when we fulfill a service request.

5.3 Legitimate Interests

We may process your data where it is in our legitimate business interests to do so, such as for website analytics, fraud prevention, and improving the quality of our services. We ensure that such interests are balanced against and do not override your fundamental rights and freedoms.

5.4 Legal Compliance

We may process your data where it is necessary to comply with applicable laws, regulations, court orders, or enforceable governmental requests.

6. Cookies And Tracking Technologies

6.1 What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files placed on your device by websites you visit. They are widely used to make websites function efficiently, remember your preferences, and provide analytical information to website owners.

6.2 Types of Cookies We Use

We use the following categories of cookies on FindTheLawyers.com:

Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are essential for the website to function correctly. They enable features such as page navigation, secure login, and form submission. These cookies cannot be disabled.
Performance And Analytics Cookies
These cookies collect anonymised information about how visitors use our site, such as which pages are visited most often. We use tools such as Google Analytics for this purpose. These cookies help us improve our website.
Functional Cookies
These cookies allow our website to remember choices you make (such as your location or language preferences) and provide a more personalised experience.
Targeting And Advertising Cookies
These cookies are used to deliver relevant advertisements to you across other websites. They also limit how often you see an ad and help measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

6.3 Third-Party Cookies

Some cookies on our website are placed by trusted third-party services, including Google Analytics, advertising networks, and social media platforms. These third parties have their own privacy policies, which we encourage you to review.

6.4 Managing Your Cookie Preferences

You can manage your cookie preferences in the following ways:

Through our Cookie Consent Banner: When you first visit our website, you will be asked for your consent to non-essential cookies. You may adjust these preferences at any time.
Through Your Browser Settings: Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies or delete existing cookies. Please refer to your browser's help documentation for specific instructions.
Through Third-Party Opt-Out Tools: You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by visiting: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality and performance of our website.

7. Third-Party Sharing of Information

FindTheLawyers.com does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes. We only share your information in the limited circumstances described below.

7.1 Service Providers

We share data with trusted third-party vendors who assist us in operating our platform and delivering services, including:

Web hosting and cloud infrastructure providers
Analytics and website performance services (e.g., Google Analytics)
Email delivery and marketing automation services
Customer support and helpdesk tools
Payment processing services

These providers are contractually obligated to process your data only on our instructions and in accordance with applicable privacy law.

7.2 Legal Professionals Listed on Our Platform

When you submit a contact enquiry or request to be connected with a legal professional through our platform, the personal information you provide in that enquiry (such as your name, contact details, and nature of legal matter) will be shared with the relevant legal professional. By submitting such an enquiry, you consent to this sharing.

7.3 Marketing and Advertising Partners

We may share aggregated, non-personally identifiable information with advertising partners for purposes of targeting and campaign measurement. We do not share identifiable personal information with advertising partners without your explicit consent.

7.4 Legal Authorities

We may disclose your information to law enforcement, courts, regulatory authorities, or other government bodies when we are legally required to do so, or when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to:

Comply with a legal obligation, subpoena, or court order
Protect the rights, property, or safety of FindTheLawyers.com, our users, or the public
Detect, prevent, or investigate fraud, security breaches, or illegal activity

7.5 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganisation, or sale of all or part of our business, your personal information may be transferred to the acquiring entity as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change via a prominent notice on our website or by email, as appropriate.

8. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have certain rights with respect to your personal data. We are committed to honouring these rights promptly and without undue burden to you.

8.1 Rights Under GDPR (EU/UK Users)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, you have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK GDPR:

Right of Access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to Rectification: You may request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete data we hold about you.
Right to Erasure ('Right to Be Forgotten'): You may request that we delete your personal data, subject to certain legal exceptions.
Right to Restrict Processing: You may ask us to limit the way we use your data in certain circumstances.
Right to Data Portability: You may request your personal data in a commonly used, machine-readable format for transfer to another service.
Right to Object: You may object to the processing of your data based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
Right Not to Be Subject to Automated Decision-Making: You have the right not to be subject to decisions made solely on the basis of automated processing that produce significant legal effects.
Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.
Right to lodge a Complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with your national data protection authority (e.g., the ICO in the UK, or your relevant EU supervisory authority).

8.2 Rights Under CCPA/CPRA (California Residents)

If you are a California resident, you have the following rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA):

Right to Know: You have the right to know what personal information we collect, use, disclose, and sell about you.
Right to Delete: You may request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
Right to Correct: You have the right to request correction of inaccurate personal information.
Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing: You have the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information. We do not sell personal information. You may submit an opt-out request at any time.
Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: Where applicable, you may request that we limit our use of sensitive personal information.
Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA/CPRA rights.

To submit a verifiable consumer request under CCPA/CPRA, please contact us at: support@findthelawyers.com. We will respond within 45 calendar days of receiving your request.

8.3 How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of the rights described above, you may:

Email us at: support@findthelawyers.com
Submit a written request to our mailing address (see Section 13)

We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests. We aim to respond to all requests within 30 days (or as required by applicable law). Where a request is complex or numerous, we may extend this period by a further 30 days and will notify you accordingly.

9. Data Security

FindTheLawyers.com takes the security of your personal information seriously. We implement a range of technical, organisational, and administrative measures to protect your data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

Our security measures include, but are not limited to:

SSL/TLS Encryption: All data transmitted between your browser and our website is encrypted using industry-standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) / Transport Layer Security (TLS) technology.
Secure Servers: Our servers are hosted in secure, access-controlled data centres operated by reputable cloud infrastructure providers.
Access Controls: Access to personal data is restricted to authorised personnel who require it to perform their job functions. Employees who handle personal data are subject to confidentiality obligations.
Regular Security Assessments: We conduct periodic reviews and assessments of our security practices and infrastructure.
Password Protection: User accounts are protected with hashed passwords. We do not store plaintext passwords.
Data Minimisation: We collect only the information that is necessary for the stated purposes and retain it only for as long as required

In the event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify affected users and relevant authorities in accordance with our obligations under applicable law.

10. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by applicable law, whichever is longer.

The following general retention guidelines apply:

Registered User Accounts: We retain account information for the duration of your active account. If you close or delete your account, we will delete or anonymise your personal data within 90 days, unless we are legally required to retain certain records.
Contact Form and Inquiry Submissions: Information submitted via contact or enquiry forms is retained for a period of 24 months from the date of submission, or until the matter is resolved, whichever comes first.
Legal Professional Listings: Listing information is retained for the duration of the listing agreement and for up to 12 months following termination of the listing.
Analytics Data: Aggregated and anonymised analytics data may be retained indefinitely. Identifiable analytics data (e.g., IP addresses) is typically retained for no longer than 26 months.
Financial and Transaction Records: Where required for accounting, tax, or regulatory compliance, financial records may be retained for up to 7 years.
Legal Correspondence: Communications pertaining to legal matters, disputes, or regulatory investigations may be retained for as long as is legally necessary.

Upon expiry of the applicable retention period, we will securely delete or anonymise your personal information in accordance with our internal data disposal procedures.

11. Children's Privacy

FindTheLawyers.com is intended for use by adults and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from any individual under the age of 13 (or such higher age as required by applicable law in the relevant jurisdiction).

If you are under the age of 13, please do not provide any personal information on or through this website. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take immediate steps to delete that information from our records.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us immediately at: support@findthelawyers.com.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. When we make changes, we will:

Update the Effective Date at the top of this page to reflect the date the revised Policy takes effect;
Publish the updated Policy on this page with the new effective date clearly displayed;
Where changes are material or significant, notify registered users by email or through a prominent notice on our website prior to the change taking effect.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information. Your continued use of FindTheLawyers.com after any changes to this Policy constitutes your acknowledgement and acceptance of the updated terms.

Previous versions of this Privacy Policy are available upon request.

FindTheLawyers.com | https://findthelawyers.com/ | This document is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.

Disclaimer: FindTheLawyers.com is a legal directory and informational platform. We are not a law firm, do not provide legal advice, and do not endorse or guarantee any attorney, law firm, or legal outcome.