Privacy Policy

1. Scope

This policy applies to personal information collected through this website and through communications that begin through this website, including contact forms, consultation forms, live chat, telephone links, text-message links, and email links. It also applies when you contact us directly about a potential or existing legal matter, unless a different notice is provided.

This policy does not replace any engagement agreement, protective order, professional-responsibility obligation, or other notice that may apply after an attorney-client relationship is established. If another agreement or law provides stronger protection, that agreement or law controls to the extent of a conflict.

2. Information we collect

Information you provide

We collect information that you choose to provide when you submit a form, request a consultation, use chat, call, text, email, visit an office, or otherwise communicate with us. Depending on how you contact us, this may include:

• Contact information, such as your name, email address, telephone number, mailing address, and preferred method of contact.
• Legal-intake and case information, such as the date and location of an incident, a description of what happened, injuries or medical information you choose to describe, the parties involved, and other facts relevant to your inquiry.
• Communications, including messages, chat content, emails, text messages, call details, and information you provide during a consultation or other interaction.
• Form and consent information, such as acknowledgement of our disclaimer, choices you make, and records associated with submitting a form.
• Other information you choose to provide, including documents or records provided through a method we authorize.

Legal-intake information may include sensitive personal information. Please provide only what is reasonably necessary for us to understand and respond to your inquiry.

Information collected automatically

When you use the website, we and service providers that support the website may automatically collect or receive technical and usage information, such as:

• Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type, device type, operating system, and language settings.
• Pages viewed, links selected, referring and exit pages, dates and times, and general interaction information. Because this website concerns injuries, medical issues, and legal services, page activity may reveal or allow inferences about topics that interest you.
• Approximate location inferred from an IP address.
• Cookie identifiers, advertising identifiers, and similar online identifiers.
• Security, fraud-prevention, spam-prevention, and diagnostic information.
• Accessibility-tool preferences and other site settings stored on your device.

Information from other sources

We may receive information from a person or organization that refers you to us, from co-counsel or another professional involved in a matter, from service providers that help route or manage an inquiry, or from publicly available sources. We use that information only for purposes consistent with this policy, our professional obligations, and applicable law.

3. How we use information

We may use personal information to:

• Respond to questions, consultation requests, calls, texts, chats, and other communications.
• Review a potential matter, identify appropriate next steps, and determine whether we can consider representation.
• Perform conflict checks and other steps required by law or professional-responsibility rules.
• Provide legal services and manage a relationship when an attorney-client relationship has been established.
• Operate, maintain, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the website and its features.
• Measure website use, understand how visitors find and use the website, and evaluate advertising and outreach.
• Detect and prevent spam, fraud, abuse, security incidents, and other harmful activity.
• Maintain records, enforce our terms, protect legal rights, comply with legal obligations, and respond to lawful process.
• Carry out another purpose disclosed when information is collected or that you authorize.

4. How we disclose information

We may disclose personal information in the following circumstances:

• Within Bodewell. Attorneys, staff, contractors, and affiliated personnel may access information when reasonably necessary for intake, conflicts, communications, legal services, administration, or security.
• Service providers. We may use providers for website hosting, content delivery, security, form processing, email delivery, chat, communications, accessibility features, analytics, advertising measurement, spam prevention, maps, document management, and other operational support.
• Legal and professional services. If appropriate and permitted, information may be shared with co-counsel, local counsel, referring attorneys, experts, consultants, investigators, litigation-support providers, courts, opposing parties, insurers, medical providers, or others involved in evaluating or handling a matter.
• Legal requirements and protection. We may disclose information to comply with law, professional obligations, court orders, subpoenas, or other lawful process; to protect rights, safety, and property; or to detect, investigate, and prevent harmful or unlawful activity.
• Business transactions. Information may be disclosed in connection with a merger, reorganization, financing, transfer of assets, or similar transaction, subject to applicable legal and professional obligations.
• At your direction. We may disclose information when you ask us to do so, consent to the disclosure, or intentionally use a feature that sends information to another party.

Some state privacy laws define “sale,” “sharing,” or “targeted advertising” broadly, even when no money changes hands. Our use of analytics and advertising technologies may fall within those definitions because online identifiers and activity may be collected or received by analytics or advertising partners. See Your privacy choices and rights.

5. Cookies and online technologies

We and third parties may use cookies, pixels, tags, local storage, scripts, and similar technologies. These technologies may support:

• Essential operations and security, including site delivery, load balancing, fraud and bot detection, and form protection.
• Preferences and accessibility, including remembering settings selected on the site.
• Analytics, including measuring traffic, page use, and site performance.
• Advertising and measurement, including understanding referrals, measuring advertising effectiveness, and supporting relevant advertising.

Services currently used on or in connection with the website include Google services such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Ads, Google reCAPTCHA, and Google Maps; Blazeo chat; Cloudflare website security and delivery; Kinsta hosting and caching; and WordPress-related form and accessibility tools. Providers may process information under their own terms and privacy policies. These technologies may receive page URLs and interaction information even when you do not submit a form. Google’s processing is described in the Google Privacy Policy, and Google provides advertising controls through My Ad Center.

You can usually control cookies through your browser or device settings. Blocking some technologies may affect site functionality, forms, chat, maps, security checks, or saved preferences. Because there is no uniform industry standard for “Do Not Track,” the website may not respond to every browser-based Do Not Track signal. You may also submit a privacy request as described below.

6. Calls, texts, email, and chat

If you call, text, email, or chat with us, we may use the contact information and content you provide to respond, route your inquiry, schedule a consultation, and communicate about a potential or existing matter. Your carrier’s message and data rates may apply to text messages. Do not use text, email, or chat to send highly sensitive information or to communicate an emergency or a legal deadline.

You may ask us to stop non-case marketing communications by using an unsubscribe method included in the communication or by contacting us. We may continue to send service, safety, legal, or relationship-related communications when permitted or required.

7. Retention

We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including responding to inquiries, evaluating potential matters, providing services, maintaining business and professional records, protecting legal rights, resolving disputes, preventing fraud or abuse, and complying with legal and professional obligations. Retention periods vary based on the nature and sensitivity of the information, the relationship involved, applicable limitation periods, professional rules, and legal requirements.

8. Security

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information in light of its nature and the circumstances of processing. No website, transmission method, or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You are responsible for choosing an appropriate communication method and for protecting devices and accounts you use to contact us.

9. Your privacy choices and rights

Depending on where you live and subject to applicable law, you may have rights concerning your personal information. These may include the right to:

• Confirm whether we process personal information and request access to it.
• Request correction of inaccurate personal information.
• Request deletion of certain personal information.
• Request a portable copy of certain personal information.
• Opt out of certain sales, sharing, targeted advertising, or profiling.
• Limit certain uses or disclosures of sensitive personal information.
• Appeal a decision regarding a privacy request.
• Exercise privacy rights without unlawful discrimination.

To submit a request, email info@bodewell-law.com with the subject line “Privacy Request,” call (205) 533-7878, or mail the request to the address in Contact us. Describe the request and the state in which you reside.

We may need to verify your identity and authority before completing a request. We may deny or limit a request when permitted by law, including when information is protected by legal privilege or professional obligations, is needed to establish or defend legal claims, belongs to another person, cannot reasonably be verified, or must be retained by law. If applicable law permits an authorized agent to submit a request, we may require proof of the agent’s authority and verification of the consumer’s identity. We will respond within the time required by applicable law.

10. Additional U.S. state disclosures

This section provides additional transparency for residents of states with consumer privacy laws. It does not mean that every law applies to Bodewell or to every item of information. The categories below describe information that may have been collected, used, or disclosed during the preceding 12 months.

Sales, sharing, and targeted advertising

Analytics and advertising technologies may allow third parties to collect online identifiers and Internet activity for measurement or advertising. Depending on the law, that activity may be considered a “sale,” “sharing,” or processing for “targeted advertising,” even when no money changes hands. You may submit an opt-out request using the methods in Your privacy choices and rights and may also use available browser and provider controls. We will process requests to the extent required by applicable law.

Sensitive personal information

Information submitted in a legal inquiry may reveal health, medical, financial, family, or other sensitive facts. We use this information for the purposes described in this policy, including intake, evaluation, communications, legal services, security, and compliance. Online technologies may separately collect page, device, and interaction information as described above, including activity on pages concerning injury, medical, and legal topics.

State-specific requests

Residents of states with comprehensive consumer privacy laws may have additional rights if the relevant law applies. The exact rights, applicability thresholds, exceptions, response periods, and appeal procedures vary. Use the request methods in Your privacy choices and rights, and we will evaluate the request under the law that applies.

11. Children’s privacy

The website is intended for a general adult audience and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from a child under 13 through the website without authorization required by law. If you believe a child has submitted personal information, contact us so we can review the situation and take appropriate action.

12. Third-party sites and services

The website may link to or embed third-party websites, maps, videos, social-media services, chat tools, or other services. We do not control the privacy practices of those third parties. Review their policies before providing information to them. A link or embedded feature does not make Bodewell responsible for the third party’s processing.

The website and our services are based in the United States. If you access the website from another country, information may be processed in the United States and other locations where our service providers operate, subject to applicable law.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in law, technology, vendors, or our practices. We will post the revised policy on this page and update the “Last updated” date. If a change is material, we may provide additional notice when required by law. We will not apply a materially different practice to information already collected when doing so would be inconsistent with applicable law or prior promises without taking any required steps.