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West, a Thomson business, is committed to fair information practices. West
respects the privacy and security of its users. Our goal is to provide you with
a personalized Internet experience that delivers the information, resources,
and services that are most relevant and helpful to you. In order to achieve
this goal, we sometimes collect information during your visits to understand
what differentiates you from each of our millions of other users. We will not
disclose it to any person or organization outside The Thomson Corporation,
except as described in this Privacy Policy.
To demonstrate our commitment to your privacy, we have prepared this statement
disclosing our privacy practices. Here, you will learn what personal
identifying information of yours is collected, how and
when we might use your information, how we protect
your information, who has access to your information,
and how you can correct any inaccuracies in the
information.
Information We Collect and How We Use It
West collects certain information from and about its users three ways: directly
from the user, from our Web server logs and with cookies.
Web server logs: When you visit our West Web sites, we
may track information to administer the site and analyze its usage. Examples of
information we may track include:
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your Internet protocol address
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what kind of browser or computer you use
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the number of links you click within the site
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the state or country from which you accessed the site
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the date and time of your visit
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the name of your Internet service provider
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the Web page you linked to our site from
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the pages you viewed on the site
Cookies: Our Web sites use cookies (i.e., small bits of
text that our servers place into a file on your computer's hard drive). This is
used to save your preferences and login information, and provide personalized
functionality. You can reject cookies by changing your browser settings, but be
aware that this will disable some of the functionality on our Web sites.
Personal information users give us: On some of our Web
sites, visitors can register to purchase products or services, receive
personalized content and participate in surveys or contests. When you register,
we will ask you for some personal information.
If you're purchasing a product, we'll request financial information (E.g., What
is your credit card number?). Any financial information we collect is used only
to bill you for the products and services you purchased. If you purchase by
credit card, this information may be forwarded to your credit card provider.
For other types of registrations, we will ask for your name, address, e-mail
address or telephone number. We may then contact you with information about
other West products and services.
Finally, you may be asked to disclose personal information to us so that we can
provide assistance and information to you. For example, we may collect personal
information from you (such as an e-mail address, system information and problem
descriptions) in order to provide online technical support and troubleshooting.
If you don't want to receive promotional materials from West or our
marketing partners, you can opt out at any time. You simply
need to update your preferences with each West service to which you are
registered. Here's how:
If you have questions about opting out, send an e-mail message to
west.privacypolicy@thomson.com.
More Details About Information We Collect on our Web Sites
Westlaw: Information about Westlaw subscribers and their
Westlaw usage is maintained in a secure environment. This information is not
shared with third parties for marketing purposes. West does not disclose any
information about any subscriber's usage of Westlaw, except to enforce the
terms of our subscriber agreements, to meet its obligations under content
provider agreements, or as required by law.
FindLaw Public Forums and West Legal Directory: Some West
sites (such as www.findlaw.com) make chat rooms, forums, message boards or news
groups available to you. Please remember that any information disclosed in
these areas is public. You should exercise caution when disclosing personal
information in these areas. Don't disclose information in these public forums
that might be considered confidential.
Additionally, West offers legal professionals the ability to provide personal
information for inclusion in West
Legal Directory (WLD). If you submit your information, know that:
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it must be accurate, complete and current
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it will be distributed to third parties in multiple different formats
(including online), and you will not be compensated by West in any way for its
use
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West has no control over how third parties use your profile information, and
these third parties may contact you for any purpose, including marketing.
Visit the FindLaw Privacy Policy for
information on terms of service.
West LegalEdcenter: West's online Continuing Legal
Education (CLE) service, West LegalEdcenter, collects personal identification
information and tracks all site usage. West LegalEdcenter also provides a
discussion forum and interactivity features that use personal identification
information.
If you view our CLE content, West LegalEdcenter is obligated to pass along your
name, attorney identification number and contact information to third-party
content providers and some state accreditation agencies. They may contact you
as a result.
West LegalEdcenter also may provide summary statistics about our customers'
interests and preferences, products sold, traffic patterns and related site
information to reputable third parties. These statistics do not include
personal identification information; they are used only to enhance the design
of our Web site and customize new product offerings to our customers. For more
information, including the Click-Wrap license agreement, please see the
West LegalEdcenter Terms and Conditions statement.
Public Records, Including Social Security Numbers and Credit
Histories
Please review the West Privacy and Public Records Policy
Statement to learn about the kinds of public records West gathers and
makes available on Westlaw.com. If you have further questions, please send an
e-mail message to west.privacypolicy@thomson.com.
How We Protect Your Information
West uses technical security measures to prevent the loss, misuse and
alteration of information under our control.
For example, when we ask customers to provide financial information (such as a
credit card number) that data is protected using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
technology. Learn more about SSL.
Who Has Access to the Information?
West will share your personal data in four ways:
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as required by law, in a matter of public safety or policy, or as needed in
connection with the transfer of other business assets. In compliance with U.S.
law, West does not share information with any unaffiliated third parties for
marketing purposes unless you expressly ask us to.
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with other Thomson businesses,
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with agents and contractors who use it on West's behalf or in connection with
their relationship with us. For example, if you register for a contest, the
company that manages the contest for us will have access to your personal data
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in the case of continuing legal education classes from West LegalEdcenter, West
will share your class credit information with Mandatory Continuing Legal
Education regulators and content providers who track online continuing legal
education usage
Links to Other Companies' Sites
Our Web sites contain links to sites maintained by companies that are not
affiliated with West. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the
content of those sites, and we encourage you to use caution when visiting them.
In particular, we recommend you view the privacy policy posted on each site.
How to Correct Inaccuracies
If you've registered with our Web sites, you can access and update your
information online using these links:
Privacy Policy Changes
If our information practices change in a significant way, we will post and
highlight the policy changes.
Questions?
Please send an e-mail message to west.privacypolicy@thomson.com
Effective March 2005
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