Privacy & Cookie Policy

Last Updated: January 8, 2025
Effective Date: December 18, 2024

This Privacy Policy applies to Personal Information (as defined below) collected by McDermott Will & Emery LLP (“McDermott,” “we” or “us“) through www.mwe.com and any other website, application or digital service on or to which this Privacy Policy is linked or referenced (collectively, the “Services“). This Privacy Policy also applies to our data collection practices conducted offline. However, this Privacy Policy does not apply to the following:

Information about our own employees, contractors, agents, and job applicants; or
Information about individuals that we process in the context of providing legal advice to our clients.

Unless we notify you otherwise, this Privacy Policy does not apply to any third-party website or service that you may access through the Services. Please see our European Economic Area And United Kingdom Privacy Policy for notice regarding processing by McDermott where implementations of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) apply, including situations where (i) you are located in the European Economic Area (“EEA“) or United Kingdom (“UK”) and we provide you with individual services or monitor your use of our website or mobile applications; or (ii) a McDermott entity processing your Personal Information is located in the EEA or UK.

Please click here for more information about specific privacy rights applicable to California residents.

This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and made part of our Terms of Use. Please read this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use carefully. When you submit or provide Personal Information to us, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your Personal Information as described in this Privacy Policy.

Accessibility for Those with Disabilities
If you require support or an alternative format to review this Privacy Policy, please contact us through any of the contact methods listed in Section 11 below (“Questions or Comments”).

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH ANY PART OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY OR OUR TERMS OF USE, PLEASE DO NOT USE OUR WEBSITE AND ONLINE SERVICES AND DO NOT PROVIDE US WITH YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION.

SECTION 1. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

The Effective Date of this Privacy Policy is set forth at the top of this webpage. As business needs change, we will review our practices regarding the collection and use of your Personal Information, and we may amend this Privacy Policy as appropriate. The amended Privacy Policy supersedes all previous versions. Your continued use of the Services after the Effective Date constitutes your acceptance of the amended Privacy Policy.

SECTION 2. PERSONAL INFORMATION WE MAY COLLECT

In this Privacy Policy, “Personal Information” means any information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, with an individual (e.g., you) or household. Personal Information does not include aggregated information to the extent that an individual’s identity cannot reasonably be derived from it.
The Personal Information we collect about you depends on your interactions and engagement with us.

We may collect the following types of Personal Information:

Direct Identifiers such as your name, postal address, email address, phone numbers, and unique personal identifiers.
Personal Records such as your signature, financial account information and insurance policy numbers (particularly if we are assisting you in a financial matter), payment card information (for example, if you make payments to us directly).
Protected Characteristics such as your age (including birthdates), marital status, gender.
Commercial Information such as records of personal property, and products or services purchased or obtained, any background information provided by you or collected by us as part of our business analysis, client onboarding, regulatory compliance checks and other related processes, and other client information provided to or made available to us by or on behalf of you, as well as information generated by us in the course of providing our services to you
Internet or Other Electronic Network Activity Information such as records of your use of our website, mobile applications or other online services. This may include your online identifiers, IP address, details of your device, operating system and browser, and other information as described in Section 4 of this policy.
Geolocation Data such as your location as derived from your IP address, information collected should you visit a McDermott office, or information collected through your use of our mobile applications, including (i) the location of the mobile device or tablet derived from GPS or WiFi use and (ii) other information made available by a user or others that indicates the current or prior location of the user, such as geotag information in photographs. If you do not want us to collect such data from your device, please delete the App or disable the location setting on your device or tablet. Disabling the location setting may affect your ability to access and use our mobile applications. Please see Section 5 for more information on your choices with respect to geolocation data.
Audio, electronic, visual, or other sensory information, such as records of building and suite access and parking card use, and footage from workplace security cameras that indicate your location.
Professional or employment-related information, such as job title, organization and other professional information.
Sensitive Personal Information such as government-issued identification information, social security number, visa and passport information, account names and passwords, and (where necessary to fulfil our legal obligations or to provide you with a requested service) medical information and disability information.

SECTION 3. COLLECTION, USE AND DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We collect, use and disclose Personal Information for all lawful purposes in the operation and conduct of our business.

HOW WE MAY COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

Directly From You: We may collect Personal Information through your use of the Services (such as when you register with us, participate in surveys and questionnaires or subscribe to newsletters and blog updates), when you provide us Personal Information in the course of us providing you services and when you otherwise provide Personal Information to us both online and offline. We also may collect the Personal Information that you publish or display on public areas of the Services, such as one of McDermott’s blogs, or if you submit Personal Information to our alumni website (collectively, “User Contributions”). Your User Contributions are made publicly available at your own risk. We do not control the actions of third parties that access your User Contributions.

Through Social Media: Certain Services may link to social media platforms and plug-ins, such as Facebook and Twitter (collectively, “Social Media”). When accessing the Services through a Social Media account, we may (depending on the applicable user privacy settings) automatically receive Personal Information from that Social Media platform. We may collect and use this Personal Information for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or as described at the time the information is collected.

From Third Parties: We may collect Personal Information about you from third parties where such information is required for us to fulfil our legal obligations or to provide you with a requested service.

Through Gathering Service Usage Data, including for our Website and Apps: When you use the Services, including Apps, we and our vendors may collect the Internet Usage Information that is collected by most browsers or automatically through your device. When you download and use an App, we and our vendors may track and collect App data, including when you accessed our servers and what information has been downloaded via the App. We also collect Usage Data through our use of Data Collection Technology. For more information about how we use Data Collection Technology, including cookies, please review Section 4; for more details on your choices please see Section 5. Where Usage Data includes Personal Information, or is combined with Personal Information, it will be treated as Personal Information itself – as described in Sections 2 and 3.

HOW WE MAY USE PERSONAL INFORMATION

We may use Personal Information for the purposes described at the time of its collection or as described in this Privacy Policy. For example, we may use your Personal Information:

To provide you or your company with our services, such as carrying out any applicable contractual obligations that we have to you or third parties; verifying your identity; processing payments that you make to us; confirming registrations, responding to your inquiries or fulfilling your requests, for example, to register you for a seminar or to email you materials you requested; sending you information, for example, legal updates and event announcements, that we think may interest you; enabling you to provide us with further information; keeping a record of your contact information and correspondence to use when responding to you if you contact us through the Services or through other methods both online and offline; and notifying you about important information regarding changes to our terms, conditions and policies.
For our internal business purposes, such as updating our records of your details, including contact and marketing details, where we identify that they are inaccurate or incomplete.
For our internal research and product improvement purposes, such as analyzing use of the Services to help us detect problems, identify usage trends and improve user experience.
For legal, safety or security reasons, such as complying with legal requirements; complying with reporting and similar requirements; investigating and responding to claims against us and our customers; completing due diligence (such as in connection with a corporate transaction); protecting our, your, our customers’, and other third parties’ safety, property or rights; detecting, preventing, and responding to security incidents; and protecting against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity.
In connection with a corporate transaction, such as if we acquire, or some or all of our assets are acquired by, another entity, including through a sale in connection with bankruptcy and other forms of corporate change.
For marketing, such as marketing our products or services or those of our affiliates. For example, we may use Personal Information we collect to send you newsletters, surveys, questionnaires, or information about events or webinars. You can unsubscribe from our email marketing via the link in the email or by contacting us using the information in Section 11.

We may use anonymized, de-identified, or aggregated information for any purpose permitted by law.

HOW WE MAY DISCLOSE PERSONAL INFORMATION

We may disclose your Personal Information for the following reasons and to the following categories of third parties:

With your consent. We may disclose your Personal Information to any party for whom your consent has been provided.
To our affiliated entities. We may disclose your Personal Information within our corporate family for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and as required by law. For a list of our affiliated entities, please refer to our Legal Notices webpage.
To our service providers. We may disclose your Personal Information to third-party vendors that support our operations such as internet service providers, data analytics providers, external consultants, advertising networks, operating systems and platforms, and vendors that facilitate registering and hosting webcast and live events.
To professional consultants. We may disclose your Personal Information to such professional consultants as accountants, lawyers, and financial advisors.
To vendors necessary to complete transactions you request. We may disclose your Personal Information to such third-party vendors as shipping companies and logistics providers.
In relation to a corporate transaction. We may disclose and transfer your Personal Information if we are involved in a merger, sale, acquisition, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, bankruptcy or other change of ownership or control (whether in whole or in part), including negotiation and diligence of such transaction.
Business partners. We may disclose your Personal Information to our business partners, such as companies that operate cookies and other tracking technologies and social media companies.
For legal, security, or safety purposes. We may also disclose your Personal Information: (i) as permitted by law; (ii) if we determine that the disclosure of specific information is necessary to comply with the request of a law enforcement or regulatory agency or other legal process; (iii) to protect the legitimate rights, privacy, property, interests or safety of our company or our affiliated entities, customers, business partners, employees or the general public; (iv) to pursue available remedies or limit damages; (v) to enforce our Terms of Use; and (vi) to respond to an emergency.

SECTION 4. COOKIES AND OTHER DATA COLLECTION TECHNOLOGY

Our Services (and authorized third parties) use cookies and other tracking technologies to collect information about you, your device, and how you interact with our Services. We refer to cookies, web beacons (also known as pixel tags and clear GIFs) and other similar technology as “Data Collection Technology.”

Cookies are a small text file that are sent to or accessed from your web browser or your computer’s hard drive. A cookie typically contains the name of the domain (internet location) from which the cookie originated, the “lifetime” of the cookie (when it expires), and a randomly generated unique identifier. A cookie may also contain information about your computer, such as user settings, browsing history and activities conducted while using the Services.

Pixels, web beacons, and tags are types of code or transparent graphics that contain a unique identifier. These technologies provide analytical information about the user experience and help us customize our marketing activities. In contrast to cookies, which are stored on a user’s computer hard drive, pixels, web beacons, and tags are embedded invisibly on web pages.

Session replay tools record your interactions with our Services, such as how you move throughout our Services and engage with our webforms. This information helps us improve our Services and identify and fix technical issues visitors may be having with our Services.

Information Collected: These tracking technologies collect data about you and your device, such as your IP address, cookie ID, device ID, AdID, operating system, browser used, browser history, search history, and information about how you interact with our Services (such as pages on our Services that you have viewed).

How We Use Data Collection Technology: We and authorized third parties use these technologies to remember user preferences, login details and browsing behavior; improve the performance of our Services, products, and services; conduct analytics; provide you with offers that may be of interest to you; track your activity across online properties over time to better understand your preferences and interests; to conduct advertising on our Services and those of third parties; measure the effectiveness of our communications with you and advertising campaigns, including identifying how and when you engage with one of our emails; and personalize online content. For example, we use Google Analytics to help us improve our Services, performance and user experiences. Google Analytics may use cookies and other tracking technologies to perform their services. To learn how Google Analytics collects and processes data, please visit: “How Google uses data when you use our partners’ sites or apps” located at www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners. You may prevent Google Analytics from recognizing you on our website by deleting or disabling the relevant cookies. For more information, see Section 5, “Choices”.

Disclosures of Your Information: Depending on your selected cookie and privacy settings, we may disclose information to third parties or allow third parties to directly collect information using these technologies on our Services. These third parties, which include social media companies and advertising networks, use your information to provide you with more relevant advertising known as interest-based advertising.

SECTION 5. CHOICES

Marketing Emails: If you do not wish to receive marketing-related emails from us, please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of a marketing email or email us at privacy@mwe.com.

Geolocation data linked to App use: If you do not want us to collect such data from your device, please delete the App or disable the location setting on your device or tablet. Disabling the location setting may affect your ability to access and use our mobile applications.

Cookies and web trackers: Regular cookies generally may be disabled or removed using tools available as part of most commercial browsers, and in some instances blocked in the future by selecting certain settings. The choices available, and the mechanism used, will vary from browser to browser. Some web browsers (including some mobile web browsers) provide settings that allow you to control or reject cookies or alert you when a cookie is placed on your computer or device. You may also be able to reject mobile device identifiers by adjusting the appropriate setting on your mobile device. Such browser settings are typically found in the “options,” “tools” or “preferences” menu of your browser. You may also consult your browser’s “help” menu.

Please note that tools from commercial browsers may not be effective with regard to Flash cookies (also known as locally shared objects), HTML5 cookies or other tracking technologies. For information on disabling Flash cookies, visit https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/disable-local-shared-objects-flash.html. Please be aware that if you disable or remove these technologies, some parts of our website may not work and when you revisit our website your ability to limit browser-based tracking technologies is subject to your browser settings and limitations.

Although you are not required to accept cookies or mobile device identifiers, if you block or reject them, you may not have access to all features available through the Services. If you change computers, devices, or browsers; use multiple computers, devices, or browsers; or delete your cookies, you may need to repeat this process for each computer, device, or browser.

Some of the third parties we work with for advertising purposes participate with the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) and Network Advertising Initiative (“NAI”). The DAA and NAI provide mechanisms for you to opt out of interest-based advertising performed by participating members at http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ and https://optout.networkadvertising.org/. Opting out of interest-based advertising will not opt you out of all advertising, but rather only interest-based advertising from us or our agents or representatives.

Our Policy on Do Not Track Signals: Some web browsers incorporate a “Do Not Track” (“DNT”) or similar feature that signals to websites that a user does not want to have his or her online activity and behavior tracked. If a website that responds to a particular DNT signal receives the DNT signal, the browser can block that website from collecting certain Personal Information about the browser’s user. We follow the DNT signals we receive from your browsers.

Disable Google Analytics: You may exercise choices regarding the use of cookies from Google Analytics by visiting https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

SECTION 6. SPECIAL NOTICE TO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS

California residents have the privacy rights listed below with respect to their Personal Information.

CALIFORNIA’S “SHINE THE LIGHT” LAW

California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits individual California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of certain categories of Personal Information to third parties for those third parties’ direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please contact us at privacy@mwe.com. This request may be made no more than once per calendar year. We reserve the right not to respond to requests submitted other than to the email address above, or to the mailing addresses specified at the end of this notice.

CALIFORNIA CONSUMER PRIVACY ACT (“CCPA”)

A. Supplemental Disclosures

Although we do not “sell” Personal Information for money, we engage in routine practices with our Services involving third parties that could be considered a “sale” or “sharing” as defined under California law. We do not knowingly sell or share the Personal Information of minors under the age of 16.

Below please find a chart detailing the categories of Personal Information and to whom it was sold or shared or disclosed for a business or commercial purpose in the past 12 months:

*Categories of Personal Data We Collect*	*Categories of Third Parties With Whom We Disclose Personal Data for a Business or Commercial Purpose*	*Categories of Third Parties to Whom Personal Data is Sold or Shared*
Identifiers (Section 2.A)	– Affiliates and subsidiaries – Service providers – Professional consultants – Vendors necessary to complete transactions you request – Recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes – In connection with a corporate transaction – Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure	– Business partners
Personal information subject to the California Customer Records Act (Section 2.B)	– Affiliates and subsidiaries – Service providers – Professional consultants – Vendors necessary to complete transactions you request – Recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes – In connection with a corporate transaction – Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure	– Business partners
Characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law (Section 2.C)	– Affiliates and subsidiaries – Service providers – Professional consultants – Vendors necessary to complete transactions you request – Recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes – In connection with a corporate transaction – Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure	– Business partners
Commercial information (Section 2.D)	– Affiliates and subsidiaries – Service providers – Professional consultants – Vendors necessary to complete transactions you request – Recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes – In connection with a corporate transaction – Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure	– Business partners
Internet or other electronic network activity (Section 2.E)	– Affiliates and subsidiaries – Service providers – Professional consultants – Vendors necessary to complete transactions you request – Recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes – In connection with a corporate transaction – Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure	– Business partners
Geolocation data (Section 2.F)	– Affiliates and subsidiaries – Service providers – Professional consultants – Vendors necessary to complete transactions you request – Recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes – In connection with a corporate transaction – Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure	– Business partners
Audio, electronic, visual, olfactory, or similar information (Section 2.G)	– Affiliates and subsidiaries – Service providers – Professional consultants – Recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes – In connection with a corporate transaction – Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure	– Not sold or shared
Professional or employment-related information (Section 2.H)	– Affiliates and subsidiaries – Service providers – Professional consultants – Recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes – In connection with a corporate transaction – Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure	– Not sold or shared
Sensitive personal information (Section 2.I)	– Affiliates and subsidiaries – Service providers – Professional consultants – Recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes – In connection with a corporate transaction – Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure	– Not sold or shared

We only use Sensitive Personal Information that is subject to the CCPA for the following purposes: (i) performing services or providing goods reasonably expected by an average consumer; (ii) detecting security incidents; (iii) resisting malicious, deceptive, or illegal actions; (iv) ensuring the physical safety of individuals; (v) for short-term, transient use, including non-personalized advertising; (vi) performing or providing internal business services; (vii) verifying or maintaining the quality or safety of a service or device; or (viii) for purposes that do not infer characteristics about you.

B. Privacy Rights

The CCPA grants California residents additional privacy rights with respect to their Personal Information.

The CCPA privacy rights include:

Right to Know: You have the right to request to know (i) the specific pieces of Personal Information that we collected about you; (ii) the categories of Personal Information that we collected about you in the past twelve (12) months; (iii) the categories of sources from which that Personal Information was collected, (iv) the categories of your Personal Information that we sold or disclosed in the past twelve (12) months; (v) the categories of third parties to whom your Personal Information was sold or disclosed in the past twelve (12) months; and (vi) the purpose for collecting and selling your Personal Information in the past twelve (12) months. You may exercise your right to request to know twice a year, free of charge.
Right to Delete: You have the right to request that we delete the Personal Information that we collect from you.
Right to Correct. You have the right to request that we correct inaccurate Personal Information that we maintain about you.
Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing. You have the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your Personal Information.
Right to Non-Discrimination: If you choose to exercise any of your rights under the CCPA, we will not discriminate against you in any way. If you exercise certain rights, understand that you may be unable to use or access certain features of the Services.

EXERCISING YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE CCPA

To make a privacy rights request, please contact us at 1-888-992-1574 or email us at privacy@mwe.com.

In order to exercise the Right to Opt Out of Sales or Sharing with respect to any “sale” or “sharing” of information automatically collected online through cookies and other tracking technologies, you may:

Use an opt-out preference signals sent in a format commonly used and recognized by businesses, such as an HTTP header field or JavaScript object. We will process opt-out preference signals at the browser level in a frictionless manner.
You may also disable the use of advertising cookies and other tracking technologies in the preference center. Please click here for more information about specific privacy rights applicable to California residents: . You must complete this step on each of our websites from each browser and on each device that you use. These steps are necessary so that we can place a first-party cookie signaling that you have opted out on each browser and each device you use. Please note:
- If you block cookies, we will be unable to comply with your request to opt out with respect to device data that we automatically collect and disclose to third parties online using cookies, pixels, and other tracking technologies.
- If you clear cookies, you will need to disable the use of all advertising cookies and tracking technologies in the preference center again on each browser on each device where you have cleared cookies.

Verification: Only you or your authorized agent may submit a consumer request. You may submit a consumer request on behalf of your minor child. In order to respond to your consumer request, we will take steps to verify your identity before processing your request. To the extent possible, we will use our existing account authentication practices to verify your identity. Where necessary, we may request additional information about you so that we can verify your identity. Where we did not already hold that information, we will use it only for the purpose of verifying your identity and to process your request. If we cannot verify your identity based on the information provided, we will let you know that we are unable to fulfil your request.

Please note that if we maintain your Personal Information on behalf of a third party, we may need to refer you to that third party in order to respond to your request. If we cannot comply with your request, or with part of your request, we will explain the reasons in our response.

Authorized Agent: You may use an authorized agent to submit a privacy rights request. Authorized agents may exercise rights on behalf of you by submitting a request via phone at 1-888-992-1574 or email at privacy@mwe.com and indicating that they are submitting the request as an agent. When we verify your agent’s request, we may verify both you and your agent’s identity and request a signed declaration from you that authorizes your agent to make the request on your behalf. To protect your Personal Information, we reserve the right to deny a request from an agent that does not submit proof that they have been authorized by you to act on your behalf.

SECTION 7. LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES AND SERVICES

The Services may include links to third-party websites and services that we do not operate, such as social media plug-ins. If you visit a third-party website or service via a link on the Services, you are subject to that third party’s privacy practices and policies. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any Personal Information that you provide to third-party websites or services. A link to a third-party website or service does not mean that we endorse that third party or the quality or accuracy of the information presented on its website or service.

SECTION 8. NOTICE TO INTERNATIONAL VISITORS

The Services are controlled and operated by us from the United States and are not intended to subject us to the laws or jurisdiction of any state, country or territory other than the United States. Your Personal Information may be stored and processed in any country where we have facilities or in which we engage service providers. Your use of the Services may involve the collection, processing, and transfer of information to or from countries outside of your country of residence, including the United States, which may have different data protection rules than those of your country. For visitors from the EEA, please see our European Economic Area Privacy Policy.

SECTION 9. SECURITY

We take reasonable precautions intended to help protect the Personal Information that we collect and store; however, no system or online transmission of data is completely secure. We cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted to or through the Services. Any transmission is at your own risk. Please use security measures to protect your Personal Information.

SECTION 10. CHILDREN’S PRIVACY

The Services are not directed to or intended for use by minors. Consistent with the requirements of the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, if we learn that we have received information directly from a child under age 13 without his or her parent’s or legal guardian’s verified consent, we will use that information only to respond directly to that child (or his or her parent or legal guardian) to inform the child that he or she cannot use the Services. Subsequently, we will make commercially reasonable efforts to delete such information.

SECTION 11. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS

We welcome your questions and comments about this Privacy Policy or how we process your Personal Information. Please contact us using the information below, and we will respond to you as soon as reasonably possible.

By Mail:

McDermott Will & Emery LLP
Attn: Andrew Pope
One Vanderbilt Avenue
New York, NY 10017-3852

By Email: privacy@mwe.com