Introduction to Our Privacy Commitment
At Desert Bankruptcy Law, privacy and trust are vital. We are one of the foremost legal providers of bankruptcy and debt relief solutions for individuals and businesses nationwide, so we take financial and private information seriously. We are committed to preserving the confidentiality, security, and trust of the information you provide to this firm. Our Privacy Policy discusses information that our law firm obtains about contacted clients, potential clients, and website visitors. By engaging with our law firm or visiting www.desertbk.com, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this law firm’s privacy policy carefully and contact us with any questions about your rights, here.
What Information We Collect
Desert Bankruptcy Law obtains the following types of information in order to provide effective legal services and to give you a personalized experience. The information we collect falls into the following categories:
- Personal Data: Information such as your name, address, email address, telephone number, social security number, date of birth, and government identification.
- Financial Data: Information such as income statements, tax returns, bank account information, credit reports, assets and liabilities, debts, payment history, and employment records as required for bankruptcy filings or debt relief analysis.
- Business Data: For business clients – corporate documents and structure, financial statements, tax ID numbers, and other documents as needed for business bankruptcies or restructuring cases.
- Case Related Information: Any information related to your particular legal matter including court filings, correspondence, and communication logs.
- Website Usage Data: When you visit or use our website, we automatically collect certain technical information about your devices such as IP address, browser type, device identifier, access times, pages viewed, and websites you accessed before and after using the site, generally via cookies, log files, and analytics software.
- Communication Records: Records or copies of emails, telephone calls, chats, and notes compiled during consultations or meetings with our attorneys and support staff.
We obtain this information when you submit it through any form you fill out or provide to us directly (such as consultation requests or document submissions) and/or automatically via digital technology.
How We Use Your Information
Desert Bankruptcy Law only uses your information for business and legal purposes, including:
- Legal Services: We may use your information to evaluate your case, make appropriate recommendations, take legal action on your behalf, and keep you apprised of developments in your case.
- Client Management: We may use client information to schedule meetings, respond to your questions, send updated case materials, and/or to maintain a record of your case history.
- Legal Compliance: We may use client information to comply with federal, state, or local laws regulating the practice of bankruptcy law; anti-money laundering laws; anti-terrorist laws; and other professional responsibility rules or regulations.
- Service Improvement: We may use personal information to better understand people who visit our website or use our services, tailor educational material according to service needs or cases processed, and deliver better legal services via a tailored website.
- Marketing & Communication: We may use client information to notify customers of services relevant to their needs or indicate legal update/client education opportunities.
- Security & Fraud Prevention: We may use client information to prevent unauthorized access or potential fraud activities and to enhance client data protection or technology systems security.
We do not sell personal or financial information. Your personal and financial information is used solely for the above purposes and is only made available to attorneys, legal assistants, and support staff.
How We Protect Your Information
Protecting your personal information is a high priority for us here at Desert Bankruptcy Law. As part of this commitment, we have implemented physical, technical, and administrative security measures designed to prevent the unauthorized access, disclosure, modification, or destruction of such information. These measures include:
- Secure Document Storage Systems: All client files – both electronic and paper – are kept in secure environments with limited access by our appointed staff. Any electronic data we store is encrypted both at rest and during transfer using protocols consistent with industry standards.
- Ample Access Restrictions: Only attorneys and staff with a need-to-know regarding your personal and financial information are trained and authorized to view such information. We regularly audit and utilize user authentication systems and protocols to ensure compliance with data access restrictions.
- Ongoing Staff Training: Our attorneys and staff are continuously educated on issues related to data privacy, confidentiality, availability, and ethical standards designated by law.
- Encryption of Sensitive Channel Communications: We ensure that, within the context of sensitive communication with our clients, industry standard encryption is always utilized. Such communications may include appointment scheduling or requests for information changes. In unavoidable instances where these means may not be possible, any communication particular to private or confidential information will only be sent through secure file portals designed and administered by us.
- Continuous System Reviews: On a regular basis we review our system protocols, security features, and update these to meet all current risks associated with security breaches as well as comply with evolving legal mandates.
While we have taken great efforts to safeguard your personal information, no matter how extensive, there is no existing system that can guarantee security as any transfer of information contains certain minimum level risks. Therefore, as part of security measures that you should also adopt while using our services, we advise all clients to make use of sufficiently strong passwords, never share their passwords with individuals other than the attorneys and staff assigned to their cases, not disclose their passwords through unsecure channels (such as by typing them in an email), and report any suspicious activity or notice of possible security breach to us immediately.
How We Share and Disclose Information
Desert Bankruptcy Law has a firm policy of never selling or leasing client information. We share your information only in the following circumstances:
- With Your Consent: We may share client information with other third parties (such as financial advisors or accountants) at your direction and upon your express consent.
- Legal Reasons: We may disclose client information when permitted or required by law, court order, subpoena, or other legal process (including the filing of documents in a bankruptcy court, regulatory demands, and other legal processes that we receive).
- Service Providers: We may share client information with third parties that provide services to us, such as computer or IT support, cloud storage services, or other professional services providers that help us better serve our clients. Our business service providers are required by contract to maintain the confidentiality of client information and are not authorized to use such information for other purposes.
- Protecting Rights: We may disclose client information where we believe doing so is necessary for us to remain in compliance with applicable laws and/or protects the firm’s rights or interests, our clients or service providers, our systems, property or services, or others.
- Sale of Business / Transitions: In the unusual event of a sale of all or part of our business, or a merger or acquisition, client information may be passed along as one of the constituent assets to the entity acquiring the information in a transaction. Such third parties are required by contract to maintain the confidentiality of the records they receive and are limited in their use of such records except as necessary to carry out the purposes for which the records were received.
We will take reasonable steps to ensure that third-party companies and service providers to whom client information is shared protect the privacy and security of such information.
Your Choices and Rights
Desert Bankruptcy Law seeks to enable visitors to our website and clients to make informed decisions about their respective information. Depending on your relationship with us and the governing laws, you have the following rights:
- Access and Correction: You may have a right to request access to personal data we hold about you and ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Data Portability (where applicable): You may have a right to request a copy of your information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
- Restriction and Removal: You may have a right to request that we restrict how we process your information or request removal of your information, subject to legal or contractual restrictions.
- Opt-out: You can opt out at any time from receiving marketing communications from us by following the instructions in the emails or by contacting us at [email protected].
- Withdrawal of Consent (where applicable): Where we rely on your consent to process information, you may withdraw your consent at any time and such withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
To exercise any of the foregoing rights, please contact us via [email protected] or phone (347) 419-0787. We will treat your requests in accordance with applicable laws.
Cookies and Website Analytics
Our website https://desertbk.com/ uses cookies and similar tools to enhance your experience, analyze site traffic, and provide better site functionality. Cookies are small files placed on your device that identify your preferences, authenticate users, and track site use.
We may use the following types of cookies on our site:
- Necessary Cookies: These enable basic site functionality, such as navigation and the ability to access secure areas.
- Performance/Analytics Cookies: These collect anonymized data on how visitors use our website to help us analyze website traffic and track usage trends.
- Functional Cookies: These remember choices you make and provide enhanced features, such as language and location settings.
- Third-Party Analytics Cookies: We use (i) Google Analytics to collect information about site traffic as well as about site usage, in order to help us improve our website and functionality. These third parties may also place their own cookies and use their own privacy policies.
Cookies can typically be managed through your browser settings. However, if you choose to disable cookies you may not be able to use certain functionality of the site. To learn more, review our Cookie Policy or contact us at [email protected].
Data Retention and Storage
Desert Bankruptcy Law retains your personal and case related information for no longer than is necessary to achieve the purposes for which it was collected, meet our legal and regulatory obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
- Legal Files: Bankruptcy case files and other legal matters are generally kept for a period of not less than seven (7) years from completion of your matter because these files are required to be kept by applicable professional rules and can be used in the future should the need arise.
- Financial Files: Financial information may be stored and kept pursuant to IRS rules or requirements as well as other applicable laws.
- Website Files: Data tracking and analytics of website use may be stored for a shorter time period – typically not more than two (2) years – unless necessary for ongoing data analysis or security measures.
We securely destroy or anonymize any information no longer needed pursuant to applicable best practices. We will destroy your data if you ask us unless legally required to retain this information or necessary for purposes of legitimate business needs.
Children’s Privacy
Desert Bankruptcy Law and its website are an informational resource for adults seeking to obtain legal and financial information. We do not intentionally collect, accept, use, or maintain personal information from or about anyone under the age of 18. If you are the parent and/or legal guardian of a minor who you believe may have submitted information to us, and which information you wish us to remove, please contact us immediately by using any of the contact information on this site, or at [email protected] or (347) 419-0787, and we will promptly investigate your request and remove information from our files to the extent required by law.
Data Transfers and Geographic Scope
Desert Bankruptcy Law provides services to clients throughout the United States, and in some circumstances utilizes service providers or partners who may store or process data in other jurisdictions. Regardless of where you access our services or where your information is processed, we will make the appropriate efforts to ensure that your information receives adequate protection pursuant to this privacy policy and applicable law in the United States.
If you are accessing our services from outside of the United States, please note that your information may be transferred to, processed, and stored in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those of your country. By using our services, you consent to such transfer, processing, and storage subject to this policy’s safeguards.
Compliance with Legal and Ethical Standards
As a law firm, Desert Bankruptcy Law strictly adheres to the highest standards of professional and ethical conduct. Desert Bankruptcy Law abides by all applicable relevant federal and state privacy requirements including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the rules established by the American Bar Association. We also honor the attorney-client privilege and confidentiality rules of professional responsibility.
The privacy of our clients is important and our privacy practices are reviewed periodically to assure compliance with changing law. Our clients can be assured that we will use every effort to properly maintain, protect, and process personal information that comes to our attention.
Third-Party Links and External Websites
We may provide links to affiliates, government agencies, credit counseling websites, educational information, and other third party sites that are not owned or controlled by Desert Bankruptcy Law. We do not control, recommend, or review the sites that we provide links to and this Privacy Policy does not apply to those sites. We strongly recommend that you check the privacy policy of any third party site before you visit them. Desert Bankruptcy Law is not responsible for the privacy or security practices of any external websites.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
Occasionally, we may update or change this Privacy Policy to comply with new legal requirements, industry standards, or for business reasons. Any changes to the policy will be reflected on https://desertbk.com/ at an updated effective date. We encourage you to periodically review this policy.
If we have substantial changes to the Privacy Policy that may be of interest to you or that would change how we treat your information, we will provide notice via email and/or a banner on our website before the changes become effective.
How to Contact Us
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy and/or the information we have collected from you, please feel free to contact us. The company (Desert Bankruptcy Law) will respond to your inquiries quickly, openly, and honestly.
If you would like to reach us during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 9:00AM-5:00PM; Saturday by appointment) at the following:
| Address: | 100 Park Ave Fl 89, New York NY 10017 |
| Phone: | (347) 419-0787 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
Information pertaining to this and other services is located on Desert Bankruptcy Law’s website at https://desertbk.com/.
Effective Date and Policy Acceptance
This Privacy Policy is effective as of June 2024. By using our website or engaging in Desert Bankruptcy Law’s services, you have read, understood, and agreed to the following statements. Your use of our services will serve as an acceptance of the policy set forth in this document and any updates to those policies. We appreciate you trusting us and look forward to assisting you towards financial freedom.