Privacy Policy

1.Introduction and Scope

Golden Oaks Law Group, LLP (“Golden Oaks,” “the Firm,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect through www.goldenoakslawgroup.com and its related forms, scheduling tools, and features (the “Site”), how we use and share it, how long we keep it, and the choices and rights you have.

This Policy applies to information collected through the Site and to text message and email communications you receive from us as a result of information you provide through the Site.

What this Policy does not cover

• Client file information. Information the Firm holds about a client in connection with legal representation is governed by the attorney-client privilege, the Firm’s duty of confidentiality under California Business and Professions Code section 6068(e) and Rule 1.6 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct, and the client’s engagement agreement. Those obligations are broader than this Policy, and nothing here limits them.
• Third-party services. Our scheduling platform, event registration provider, payment processor, and job application service handle information under their own privacy policies. See Section 9.
• Offline information. Information collected offline, in person, by mail, or by telephone, except where this Policy says otherwise.

2.Information We Collect

For purposes of the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (Civil Code section 1798.100 et seq.), the personal information described in this Section falls within the following statutory categories of personal information (Civil Code section 1798.140(v)): identifiers (such as your name, email address, postal address, telephone number, and IP address); California customer records information (such as contact details and payment-related information); internet or other electronic network activity information (such as the browsing and usage data described in Section 2.2); geolocation data (the approximate, IP-based location described in Section 2.2); professional or employment-related information (submitted with any employment application); and, to the extent we draw them, inferences drawn from the foregoing. We collect these categories for the business and commercial purposes described in Section 3.

2.1 Information you give us directly

We collect the information you choose to submit through the Site, including:

• Identifiers and contact details — your name, email address, mailing address, and telephone number, including mobile number if you provide one;
• Inquiry content — the subject of your inquiry, a description of your situation, the practice area you are interested in, and anything else you type into a message field;
• Scheduling information — the date, time, and type of consultation you request and any notes you add;
• Workshop and event registration information — collected by our registration provider;
• Payment-related information — submitted to and processed by our third-party payment processor; the Firm does not collect or store full payment card or bank account numbers through the Site;
• Employment application information — if you apply for a position, submitted through our third-party applicant tracking service;
• Communications — correspondence you send us and our responses.

2.2 Information collected automatically

When you visit the Site, our web servers and any analytics or security tools we use may automatically collect:

• Internet or network activity — IP address, browser type and version, operating system and device type, screen size, referring and exit pages, pages viewed, links clicked, and the dates and times of your visits;
• Approximate location — a general geographic area inferred from your IP address (city or region level), not precise GPS location;
• Cookies and similar technologies — see Section 5.

2.3 Information from third parties

We may receive information about you from a person who refers you to us, from another professional advisor involved in your matter, from our service providers, and from publicly available sources when we conduct the conflict-of-interest check that precedes any engagement. For purposes of California law, the categories of sources from which we collect personal information are: referral sources, other professional advisors involved in your matter, our service providers, and publicly available sources.

2.4 Sensitive personal information

Depending on the nature of your inquiry, information you send us may include sensitive personal information as defined by California Civil Code section 1798.140(ae) — for example, financial account information, precise geolocation, the contents of your communications, or details about your family, your assets, a death in the family, or a family member’s capacity. We collect that information only because you have chosen to send it in connection with a request for legal services, we use it only for that purpose, and, consistent with California Civil Code section 1798.121, we do not use or disclose it to infer characteristics about you or for purposes beyond those for which it was collected.

3.How We Use Your Information

We use the information described above to:

• Respond to your inquiry and communicate with you about it;
• Schedule, confirm, reschedule, and remind you about consultations and appointments;
• Conduct conflict-of-interest checks and evaluate whether the Firm can accept your matter;
• Provide legal services if you become a client, and administer the engagement;
• Process payments and maintain billing records;
• Register you for and administer workshops, seminars, and webinars;
• Send you newsletters, workshop announcements, and other informational or promotional messages by email or text where you have opted in, and to honor your opt-outs;
• Operate, maintain, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the Site, and understand how visitors use it;
• Detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, abuse, security incidents, and other unlawful activity;
• Comply with legal, regulatory, and professional obligations, including State Bar recordkeeping requirements, and to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims;
• Evaluate employment applications.

We do not use the information you submit through the Site for any purpose that is materially different from, unrelated to, or incompatible with the purposes described here without first notifying you.

4.Text Message (SMS) Information

If you opt in to receive text messages from the Firm, we collect your mobile telephone number, the fact and date of your consent, the record of the form or method by which you gave it, and the content and delivery status of messages we exchange with you.

We use that information only to send you the messages you asked for — responses to your inquiry, appointment reminders, matter-related updates, and, where separately consented to, informational or promotional messages — and to maintain proof of consent as required by law.

We share your mobile number with our messaging service provider and telecommunications carriers solely to the extent necessary to transmit messages to you. We do not sell, rent, or share mobile opt-in data or consent records with third parties or affiliates for their own marketing or promotional purposes.

You may opt out at any time by replying STOP to any message, or by contacting us at 909-981-6177 or info@golgllp.com. Reply HELP for help. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. After you opt out, we retain a record of your number and your opt-out for the sole purpose of honoring your request and demonstrating compliance.

5.Cookies and Tracking Technologies

The Site uses cookies and similar technologies. A cookie is a small text file placed on your device that allows a site to recognize your browser. We use:

• Strictly necessary cookies, which are required for the Site to function — for example, to keep a form session alive, to balance load, or to protect against spam and abuse;
• Preference cookies, which remember settings such as your language or a dismissed notice;
• Analytics cookies, which help us understand how visitors find and use the Site so we can improve it.

You can control cookies through your browser settings, including by blocking or deleting them. If you block strictly necessary cookies, parts of the Site may not work properly. Browser-based advertising opt-outs are available at optout.aboutads.info and optout.networkadvertising.org.

Do Not Track

Some browsers transmit a “Do Not Track” or “DNT” signal. There is no industry-accepted standard for how to respond to these signals. The Site does not currently respond to Do Not Track signals. We disclose this in accordance with the California Online Privacy Protection Act (California Business and Professions Code section 22575(b)(5)).

Global Privacy Control

Where we are required to do so, we honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signal as a valid request to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. As described in Section 6, we do not sell or share personal information.

6.We Do Not Sell Your Personal Information

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, as those terms are defined under California law. We have not sold or shared personal information in the preceding twelve months. We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of consumers under 16 years of age.

7.How We Disclose Information

We disclose personal information only in the following circumstances:

• Service providers. To vendors who perform services for us and, where they act as our service providers or contractors, are bound by a written contract that limits their use of the information to performing those services for us and otherwise complies with the service-provider and contractor requirements of California Civil Code section 1798.140(ag) and (j) — website hosting and maintenance, email and messaging providers, appointment scheduling, event registration, payment processing, document management and practice management software, cloud storage and backup, IT support and security, and applicant tracking.
• Professionals working on your matter. If you become a client, and with your authorization or as reasonably necessary to carry out the representation, to co-counsel, experts, court reporters, financial institutions, accountants, appraisers, trustees, fiduciaries, or courts and other parties.
• Legal and regulatory. When required by law, subpoena, court order, or lawful government request; to comply with State Bar obligations; or to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims — in each case subject to and consistent with our duty of confidentiality to clients, which may require us to resist disclosure.
• Safety and protection of rights. To protect the rights, property, or safety of the Firm, our clients, or others, and to investigate suspected fraud, abuse, or violations of our Terms.
• Business transitions. In connection with a merger, dissolution, or transfer of the Firm’s practice, subject to applicable rules of professional conduct governing the transfer of client files.
• With your direction or consent. When you ask us to share information with a person you name.

We do not disclose mobile opt-in data or consent records to any third party for that third party’s own marketing or promotional purposes.

8.How Long We Keep Information

We keep personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law or professional rules.

When information is no longer needed, we delete it or de-identify it using reasonable measures.

9.Third-Party Services and Links

The Site links to and embeds services operated by third parties, which may include our appointment scheduling platform, event registration provider, online payment processor, applicant tracking system, mapping and review services, and social media platforms. When you use one of those services, the third party may collect information about you directly under its own privacy policy, over which we have no control.

We are not responsible for the privacy or security practices of third-party sites and services. Please review their privacy policies before providing information to them.

10.Security

We maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, use, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include encryption of the Site in transit, access controls and multi-factor authentication for firm systems, staff training, and vendor due diligence.

No method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, and information you send us by unencrypted email or text message may be intercepted. If we become aware of a breach of the security of your unencrypted personal information, we will notify you as required by California Civil Code section 1798.82.

11.Your California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, you may have the rights described below.

• Right to know. You may request the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the categories of sources, our business purposes for collecting it, and the categories of third parties to whom we disclose it.
• Right to delete. You may request that we delete personal information we collected from you, subject to exceptions — including information we must retain to comply with legal or professional obligations, to complete a transaction, to detect security incidents, or to exercise or defend legal claims.
• Right to correct. You may request that we correct inaccurate personal information we maintain about you.
• Right to data portability. When you exercise your right to know, you may request that the specific pieces of personal information we collected about you be provided in a portable and, to the extent technically feasible, readily usable format that allows you to transmit the information to another entity without hindrance.
• Right to opt out of sale or sharing. As stated in Section 6, we do not sell or share personal information.
• Right to limit use of sensitive personal information. We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes beyond those permitted without a limitation right.
• Right to non-discrimination. We will not deny you services, charge you a different price, or provide you a different level of service because you exercised any of these rights.

How to submit a request

Submit a request by email to info@golgllp.com or by telephone at 909-981-6177. We will acknowledge your request within 10 business days and respond within 45 calendar days, extendable by an additional 45 days where reasonably necessary, in which case we will tell you.

Before responding, we must verify your identity, generally by matching the information in your request against information we already hold, and we may ask for additional information. An authorized agent may submit a request on your behalf with written permission signed by you; we may also require you to verify your own identity directly.

California “Shine the Light”

California Civil Code section 1798.83 permits California residents to request, once per year, information about personal information we disclosed to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. We do not disclose personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. You may confirm this by writing to us at the address in Section 15.

Minors

California Business and Professions Code section 22581 allows California residents under 18 who are registered users of a site to request removal of content they posted publicly. The Site does not permit users to post public content. See Section 13.

12.Residents of Other States

Several other states — including Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Texas, Oregon, Montana, and others — give their residents rights to access, correct, delete, and obtain a copy of their personal information, and to opt out of targeted advertising, the sale of personal data, and certain profiling. If you are a resident of such a state and one of those laws applies to us, you may exercise those rights by contacting us at info@golgllp.com. We will respond as that law requires, including any right to appeal a denial of your request.

The Site is intended for users located in the United States. We do not direct the Site to individuals in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, and we do not offer goods or services to, or monitor the behavior of, individuals there.

13.Children’s Privacy

The Site is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16 years of age. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at info@golgllp.com and we will delete it. Information about a minor beneficiary that an adult provides to us in connection with an estate planning or trust matter is client-file information governed by Section 1.

14.Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page and post the revised Policy here. If we make material changes to how we use personal information you have already provided, we will provide additional notice, such as by email or a prominent notice on the Site. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

15.How to Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Policy, or to exercise any right described in Section 11 or Section 12, contact: