Privacy Policy

Overview

At Nixon Peabody, protecting the confidentiality—and privacy—of information you share with us is a core professional responsibility and a fundamental part of our work.

We collect, use, and share personal information in a wide range of circumstances – online, at meetings and events, over the phone – to market and provide legal and professional services, and for other operational and administrative purposes.  This Privacy Policy explains how and why we collect, use, share, and store this information.  And, it provides information to help you exercise your personal privacy preferences.  

Additional privacy disclosures for residents of California and the European Economic Area, as required by applicable laws, are available here.  And, a detailed chart describing the NP’s data collection and disclosure practices is available here.

A downloadable copy of this policy is available by clicking here.

Information we collect

• When you visit our website, we collect information from your browser about the pages you visit.
• When you fill out a form via our website, we collect personal information about you (e.g., email address, state in which you live), which you voluntarily provide in order to receive information or other services from the firm.
• When you seek to become a client of the firm, we collect more detailed (and potentially sensitive) personal information—directly from you, and from third-party sources, to make sure it is legally and ethically appropriate for the firm to represent you.
• When you are a client of the firm, we may collect detailed and sensitive personal information about you, including financial or health information, as may be necessary to provide you with the legal or other professional services you request.
• When you apply for a position at the firm, we collect contact information and information about your education, background, professional experience(s) from you, including information that may be sensitive.
• When you are offered a job with the firm, we collect a wide range of personal information, including sensitive information, directly from you and from third-party sources, in order to perform background screening and conflicts checks.
• When you work at the firm, we collect additional personal information. including sensitive personal information, directly from you and third parties, in order to administer benefit programs, pay our personnel, review and pay for expenses, foster professional development, and for other firm administrative and operational purposes.
• When you email personnel at the firm, we collect your email contact information, which may be stored in our customer relationship system, which keeps track of the personnel with whom you are communicating, and the marketing or educational services in which you have expressed interest. This may be combined with publicly available information (e.g., a LinkedIn profile) where permitted by law.
• When you visit our offices, or offsite events hosted by the firm, we may collect personal information and ask you to sign visitor logs for security purposes, and we may ask you for information about health symptoms, vaccination status, and recent travel and related medical information for public health screening purposes.

We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under the age of 18, nor do we market our services to them.

We do not collect sensitive personal information for the purpose of inferring characteristics about a person.

Where we get personal information

• Directly from you, such as when you fill out an online form or communicate directly with our personnel.
• Indirectly from you, such as when you browse our website.
• From our clients, who may provide information about their employees, associates, family members, and other third parties, as required to provide professional services.
• From Nixon Peabody vendors that support firm operations and administration, such as background screening services, payroll and benefits administrators, or from information in publicly available databases, which provide the information needed to perform due diligence on clients and other third parties, as may be required by law or the rules of professional responsibility governing lawyers.

How we use personal information

Nixon Peabody may use and disclose your personal information in the performance of a contract with firm clients and firm vendors, to further its legitimate business purposes (e.g., for operational and administrative uses, or direct marketing) and/or with your consent. These uses will vary depending on the nature of our relationship with you, but include:

• To provide products and services
• To communicate with you about products and services
• To invite you to events
• To send you legal news, newsletters, marketing and advertising communications, and other materials that may interest you
• To evaluate, recruit, and hire personnel
• To bill for services rendered and facilitate payment processing, as applicable
• To operate, troubleshoot, analyze, and improve our website and digital services
• To detect or prevent fraud, to comply with legal obligations, or protect your, our, or others rights
• To confirm your identify for compliance with “Know Your Customer” requirements, where applicable, and other legal or ethical obligations (e.g., screening to avoid conflicts of interest with other clients, responding to data subject access requests)
• To administer employee benefits and payroll
• To facilitate professional development
• To track billing and expenses
• To provide you with technology resources
• To provide alerts and corporate communications (e.g., workplace emergencies, updated benefits information)
• To protect public health
• To allow Nixon Peabody to pursue remedies or limit liabilities if a dispute arises
• To fulfill other purposes permitted or required by law
• For other uses disclosed to you, or with your consent

When we share personal information

We share information with third parties, e.g. contractors and service providers, to manage the law firm, to provide and market our services, when we have your consent, or when required by law.  Nixon Peabody may share personal information with its affiliates and subsidiaries for the purposes set out in this policy.  

When we disclose your personal information to vendors involved in the administration and operation of the firm, and where required or appropriate and feasible, we obtain written assurances from such vendors that their privacy and security practices are in accord with applicable legal requirements. 

We also may also disclose your personal information to third parties where we sell or merge any or all of our business and/or our assets to a third party, or where we are legally required to disclose your information.

More detailed information about the information we collect, the reason we collect it (i.e., the business purpose), and with whom it may be shared (e.g., the categories of vendors to whom the information may be disclosed) is available here.

Your Marketing and Advertising Preferences

You can ask us to stop sending you marketing communications. All marketing communications you receive from us contain an opt-out mechanism that will allow you to register or update your marketing preferences. If you no longer wish to receive marketing communications, you may also send an email to subscriptioninquiries@nixonpeabody.com.

Managing your online privacy. With all website visitors, even those who do not complete any forms or otherwise seek our services, certain information is automatically collected by Google Analytics, and similar technologies. This information helps us administer, protect, and improve our services; analyze usage; and, improve users’ experience. 

Through Google Analytics, the website collects online identifiers, including cookie identifiers, IP addresses, and device identifiers. Google Analytics collects information and reports website usage statistics.

• To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics, visit the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on.

The firm also uses service providers to support our marketing program The website and the firm’s other online services use tracking technologies, including cookies and pixels, to gather information about you, your device, and how you interact with us online.  

Cookies are small files placed on the hard drive of your computer, to improve the operation and functionality of the website. The cookies we use may include:

• Performance Cookies: These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
• Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.
• Functional Cookies: These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.

The firm also uses tracking pixels, which are snippets of code that track data about user behavior, which is sent directly to web servers to facilitate, among other things, online behavioral advertising.  Tracking pixels are used to permit certain third-party social media companies and other third-party services to collect information about your use of the firm’s website and online services so that these third parties may display personalized advertising to you on their own websites and online services.

With your first visit to nixonpeabody.com, and annually thereafter, you will be presented with a “Cookie Banner,” through which you can make certain choices about the firm’s use of tracking technologies. To revisit the Cookie Banner and adjust your settings, click on the green cookie icon at the bottom of Nixon Peabody website page you are visiting to access the Privacy Preference Center.  

• To opt out tracking pixels, click on the green cookie icon at the bottom of Nixon Peabody website page to access the Privacy Preference Center, and reject Targeting Cookies

In the alternative, there are various tools you can use to block cookies and other tracking technologies, described below.

The links below are designed to give you more control over your online privacy:

• https://globalprivacycontrol.org/ - by turning on Global Privacy Control, you signal your privacy preferences to participating websites, i.e., you signal that you do not want personal information gleaned from your online activity to be shared or sold without your consent.  Enabling global privacy control blocks the tracking technologies used by the firm to deliver personalized advertising based on your browsing activity.
• Other tools for opting out of interest-based advertising include:
  • United States: https://youradchoices.com or https://optout.networkadvertising.org/
  • European Economic Area:  http://www.youronlinechoices.com/
  • Canada: https://youradchoices.ca/

Note: Opting out of interest-based advertising does not mean you will no longer see advertising.  It means the ads you see from the advertisers who use these tools should not be based on your interests. NP is not responsible for the effectiveness of the opt-out tools provided by third-party services.

Please reach out to compliance@nixonpeabody.com if you are concerned that your privacy preferences are not being followed.

Links to Other Parties

Through the website or in email or other communications, we may provide links to third-party sites that we do not control.  These sites may include integrated content or links to content and services provided by these third parties (e.g., for client payment processing, recruiting purposes, viewing videos, social media, webinars, and video conferencing). 

This privacy policy does not address the privacy, security, or other practices of these third-party service providers. We encourage you to review the privacy and security practices of third-party sites and vendors before providing personal information.

Our Retention of Your Data

Nixon Peabody’s document management, retention and destruction policies vary based on legal requirements, practice area, jurisdiction and the type and format of the data.  Appropriate retention periods for personal information are determined by considering, among other things, the nature of the information, the purposes for which it is retained, relevant technical constraints and legal and contractual requirements.

Data Security

Nixon Peabody secures data through a mix of technical and administrative safeguards that are audited annually by third-party information security experts. The firm’s Rochester, New York, data center has been certified as compliant with ISO 270001, a globally recognized standard for information security. Nixon Peabody also has policies and procedures designed to promote commercially reasonable security practices in accordance with U.S. and international requirements. Nonetheless, the transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of data sent to us electronically over cellular and wireless networks that we do not control.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

The effective date of this policy is January 1, 2020, and it was last reviewed and updated on July 15, 2024. It will be reviewed periodically and updated in accordance with evolving privacy practices and requirements. We encourage you to periodically review this page. If we make any material changes in the way we collect, use, and/or share the personal information that you have provided, we will notify you by posting a notice of the changes in a conspicuous manner on www.nixonpeabody.com.

Contact Information

If you have any questions or comments about this policy, the ways in which Nixon Peabody collects and uses your information, or your choices and rights regarding such use, please do not hesitate to contact us at:

Phone: +1.877.807.1213
Email: compliance@nixonpeabody.com
Postal Address:
Nixon Peabody LLP
Exchange Place
53 State Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn: Sarah Ragland, Compliance Officer

Data Collection Details

The chart below provides detailed information about the information we collect, the reason we collect it (i.e. the business purpose), and with whom it may be shared (e.g., the categories of vendors to whom the information may be disclosed). The chart further notes whether that information has been collected or disclosed in the past 12 months.

Please note that when providing legal and other professional services, each type of personal information listed in the first column may be collected and shared with co-counsel, opposing counsel, regulators, and other third parties, as reasonably required to provide the service(s) requested.

The firm does not collect sensitive information for purposes of inferring characteristics about a person, i.e., it does not “share sensitive data” for purposes of the California Consumer Privacy Act.