Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how ForensisGroup, Inc. ("ForensisGroup," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, discloses, and protects personal information when you visit our website https://www.forensisgroup.com/ (the "Website") and when you interact with us offline, including as a client, expert, business contact, event attendee, or job applicant. It also includes disclosures required under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and supplements any notices that we provide at or before particular points where we collect personal information. This Privacy Policy does not apply to our current employees, whose information is addressed in a separate notice.

We encourage you to read this Privacy Policy carefully, together with our Cookie Policy and{" "} Terms of Use. Depending on where you are located and how you interact with us, additional privacy or electronic communications laws may apply to particular processing activities.

What information do we collect about you?

Depending on how you interact with us, we collect the following categories of personal information. Not every category applies to every individual. In the past 12 months, we have collected the categories listed below.

Personal information we collect:

• Name
• Phone number
• Email address
• Mailing address
• Location data, limited to approximate location (such as city, state, or country) derived from your IP address
• Internet or other electronic network activity information, such as pages you view on our Website, links you click, time spent on pages, referring websites, and your interactions with our emails and advertisements
• Professional or employment related information, such as law firm or company name, job title, bar admission status, and professional credentials
• Educational information that is not publicly available, such as education details contained in expert resumes and CVs
• Expert information, such as resumes, CVs, rates and fee schedules, and testimony and case history
• Billing and payment information, such as invoices, billing contacts, and payment history
• Tax information, such as information provided on IRS Form W-9 by experts
• Bank account information used to pay experts
• Online identifiers, such as IP address, cookie identifiers, device identifiers, and advertising IDs
• Device and browser information
• Advertising click and conversion data
• Hashed or otherwise transformed identifiers derived from information such as email addresses or telephone numbers, where used from advertising audience matching, suppression, or measurement
• Email engagement data
• Session recordings and heatmap data relating to your interaction with the Website, such as pages viewed, clicks, scrolling, pointer or mouse movements, and similar interaction data
• Lead scores, vetting results, and other inferences
• Marketing preferences and consent records
• Referral source
• Communications with us, such as emails, messages, and form submissions
• Information you choose to provide through Website forms, including inquiry details and information about a matter or requested service
• Case information, such as matter details provided by our clients
• Party and case participant names
• Event and webinar registration information
• Job applicant information, such as resumes, work history, and references

We may also collect sensitive or otherwise confidential personal information, including information that may qualify as “sensitive personal information,” “special category data,” or a similar category under applicable law:

• Health information, which may be contained in case materials provided by our clients
• Social security number or taxpayer identification number, collected from experts for tax reporting
• Financial, criminal history, or other sensitive information contained in case materials provided by clients where relevant to an engagement

Case information provided by our clients may include sensitive information about parties or other individuals, such as health, financial, or criminal history information. We use this information only to provide our services and as required by law. We do not use sensitive case information for advertising or marketing, do not use sensitive personal information to infer characteristics about individuals, and do not intentionally sell or share sensitive personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

Sources of personal information

We collect personal information from the following categories of sources:

• Directly from you
• Automatically, when you use our Website
• From our clients, referral sources, service providers, and advertising and analytics providers
• From publicly available sources

a. Directly from you

We collect information you provide when you submit a form on our Website, email or call us, engage our services, apply to join our expert network, register for an event, or apply for a job. This may include your name, contact information, professional details, and information about your matter. If you submit personal information about another person, you are responsible for ensuring that you are authorized to provide that information to us and, where required, that any applicable notice or consent requirements have been satisfied.

b. Automatically, when you use our Website

When you visit our Website, we automatically collect information from your device and browser through cookies and similar technologies, including analytics, session recording, advertising, audience measurement, and conversion technologies. Depending on your location, privacy choices, and applicable law, these technologies may collect information such as IP address, browser or device identifiers, pages viewed, referring pages, links or buttons selected, timestamps, scrolling and interaction data, and advertising conversion information.

We use session recording and heatmap tools to help us understand how visitors interact with the Website. We configure these tools to suppress or mask text entered into form fields and do not intend for them to capture confidential case submissions, payment information, Social Security numbers, taxpayer identification numbers, bank information, health information, or other sensitive information entered into Website forms.

c. From third parties and publicly available sources

We receive case and party information from our clients, information about potential clients or experts from referral sources, and information from our service providers and advertising and analytics providers. We also review publicly available sources, such as state bar and professional licensing databases, court records, and other government records, in connection with evaluating engagements, conducting conflict checks, and verifying professional credentials.

Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device. We, our service providers, and our advertising partners use cookies and similar technologies, such as pixels, tags, and session recording tools, for the purposes described in our Cookie Policy.

For more information about cookies and similar technologies, please visit our Cookie Policy.

Where applicable law requires prior consent, we do not activate non-essential cookies or similar technologies until the required consent has been obtained. Where applicable law provides an opt-out right, we honor applicable opt-out mechanisms as described in this Policy and our Cookie Policy.

Do not track requests

Some web browsers offer a "Do Not Track" (“DNT”) setting. Because there is currently no uniform industry standard for recognizing or responding to DNT signals, our Website does not respond to them. We recognize qualifying opt-out preference signals, including the Global Privacy Control (“GPC”), as a request to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information for the browser or device from which the signal is sent where required by applicable law. Where we can reasonably associate the browser or device with a consumer profile, we will apply the request to that profile to the extent required by law. GPC and other opt-out preference signals do not replace consent where applicable law requires affirmative consent before particular cookies or tracking technologies may be used. You can also manage your cookie preferences at any time through the "Consent Preferences" link on our Website.

Why do we collect information about you?

We use personal information for the following business and commercial purposes:

• To provide and maintain our services and Website
• To perform our contracts with clients and experts
• To send marketing and promotional communications, subject to your right to opt out
• To evaluate and improve our products/services
• To respond to inquiries and communicate with you
• To deliver targeted advertising and measure the performance of our advertising campaigns
• To create, match, suppress, and measure advertising audiences using information such as hashed email addresses or similar identifiers
• To analyze Website usage trends
• To evaluate, negotiate, complete, or administer corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, financings, reorganizations, or transfers of all or part of our business or assets
• To conduct conflict checks
• To identify and match clients with qualified experts
• To verify the credentials of experts and the licensing of attorneys
• To process invoices, collect payments, and pay experts
• To comply with legal obligations, including tax reporting and responding to subpoenas and court orders
• To protect the security of our Website and systems and prevent fraud
• To establish, exercise, or defend legal claims
• To enforce our Terms of Use and other agreements
• To administer events, webinars, and continuing legal education (CLE) programs
• To recruit and evaluate job applicants

We do not use case information or sensitive personal information contained in case materials for targeted advertising, audience matching, or marketing.

Legal basis for processing where European or UK data protection law applies

Where the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), UK GDPR, or similar data protection law applies to our processing, we process personal information only where we have an applicable legal basis. Depending on the context, those bases may include:

• Performance of a contract with you or taking steps at your request before entering into a contract;
• Our legitimate interests, including responding to business inquiries, operating and securing our Website, conducting conflict checks, identifying and vetting experts, managing our business relationships, and improving our services, where those interests are not overridden by applicable individual rights and interests;
• Compliance with legal obligations;
• Establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims; and
• Consent, where applicable law requires or permits us to rely on consent, including for certain non-essential cookies, tracking technologies or marketing activities.

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing that occurred before withdrawal.

How long do we retain your information?

We retain personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes in this Policy, including providing services, meeting legal obligations, resolving disputes, and enforcing agreements. Our general retention periods and retention criteria include the following, subject to legal obligation, contractual requirements, litigation holds, protective orders, security requirements backup cycles, and other legitimate business needs: client and case records, 7 years after the matter closes, unless a court or protective order requires earlier destruction; expert records, while active plus 3 years; inquiries not resulting in an engagement, 3 years; billing and tax records, 7 years; marketing engagement data linked to known contacts, 3 years after last engagement (opt-out records are kept to honor requests); website analytics, up to 14 months; session recordings, up to 12 months; cookies, as stated in our Cookie Policy; job applicant records, 4 years; privacy request records, 24 months. We may retain aggregated or de-identified information for longer periods where it is no longer reasonably capable of being associated with an identifiable individual, subject to applicable law. When no longer needed, we securely delete or de-identify information, and may retain it longer where required by law or a legal hold.

When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or de-identify such information, or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

How do we disclose your information?

We disclose personal information in the following circumstances:

• Service providers: We disclose personal information to service providers that perform services on our behalf, such as website hosting, CRM and marketing automation, analytics, email, IT and security, payment processing, and accounting. Where required by applicable law, we enter into contractual terms with service providers and processors that restrict their use, retention, disclosure, and other processing of using personal information.
• Where applicable data protection law restricts transfers of personal information across national borders, we use an available transfer mechanism or other appropriate safeguards as required by law.
• Experts and clients: To provide our services, we share information about a client's matter with experts we identify or retain for that matter, and we share expert information, such as resumes, credentials, and rates, with clients considering an engagement.
• Professional advisors: We disclose personal information to our attorneys, auditors, and insurers as needed.
• Advertising partners: As described in "Sale or sharing of personal information" below.
• Sharing with your consent: When you give consent, we may share your information with third parties for the purposes that are mentioned in the consent notification.
• Legal Obligations: We may disclose information where we are legally required to do so in order to comply with applicable law, governmental requests, a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process, such as in response to a court order or a subpoena (including in response to public authorities to meet national security or law enforcement requirements).
• For business transfers: We may share your personal information in connection with, or during the course of negotiations regarding merger, sale of business assets, financing or acquisition of all or a part of our business by another entity.

Sale or sharing of personal information

We do not sell personal information in exchange for money. We do, however, use advertising, measurement, and audience matching technologies that may disclose personal information to advertising platforms for cross-context behavioral advertising and related measurement. Certain of these disclosures constitute "sharing" and may constitute a "sale" under the CCPA even though we do not receive money in exchange for this information. In the past 12 months, we have sold or shared the following categories of personal information with the following categories of third parties. We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of consumers under 16 years of age.

Categories of personal information sold or shared:

• Identifiers, such as IP address, cookie identifiers, device identifiers, advertising IDs, and contact information you provide to us through our Website forms, such as name, email address, and phone number (which may be shared in hashed form)
• Internet or other electronic network activity information, such as pages viewed, links clicked, time spent on the Website, referring websites, and interactions with our advertisements
• Approximate geolocation data derived from IP address (city, state, or country level)
• Inferences drawn from the above, such as interest in litigation consulting or expert witness services, used to create advertising audiences

Categories of third parties to whom personal information is sold or shared:

• Identifiers: advertising networks and platforms, including Google (Google Ads, including Customer Match), Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Reddit
• Internet or other electronic network activity information: advertising networks and platforms, including Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Reddit
• Approximate geolocation data: advertising networks and platforms, including Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Reddit
• Inferences: advertising networks and platforms, including Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Reddit

We may disclose contact information, such as your name, email addresses, telephone numbers, or other identifiers, to advertising platforms such as Google for audience matching, suppression, targeted advertising, campaign measurement, or similar advertising purposes. Where supported by the applicable service, this information may be hashed or otherwise transformed before transmission. Hashing does not necessarily cause information to cease being personal information under the applicable privacy law. We do not intentionally disclose case materials, Social Security numbers, taxpayer identification numbers, bank account information, health information contained in case materials, or other sensitive case information to advertising platforms for targeted advertising.

Your right to opt out. You may opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information at any time by clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link on our Website, by enabling the Global Privacy Control (“GPC”) signal in your browser, or by contacting us as described below. We process opt-out requests within 15 business days. Where another applicable privacy law provides a right to opt out of targeted advertising, profiling, or sale or personal information, we will process the request in accordance with that law.

Disclosures for business purposes in the past 12 months

In the past 12 months, we have disclosed the following categories of personal information to the following categories of recipients for business purposes. These disclosures are not sales or sharing of personal information.

Categories of personal information disclosed for business purposes:

• Identifiers, such as name, email address, phone number, mailing address, IP address, and online identifiers
• Customer records, such as billing information, payment details, and tax information
• Commercial information, such as records of services requested, engagements, and invoices
• Professional or employment-related information, such as law firm or company name, job title, and professional credentials
• Education information, such as details contained in expert resumes and CVs
• Internet or other electronic network activity information, such as website usage and email engagement data
• Approximate geolocation data derived from IP address
• Inferences, such as lead scores and interest profiles
• Case information, including party names and matter details, which may contain sensitive information about parties
• Sensitive personal information, including Social Security or taxpayer identification numbers for tax reporting purposes and, where necessary to provide our services, sensitive information contained in client-provided case materials

Categories of recipients:

• Service providers that host our Website, provide IT, security, and email services, and support our operations
• CRM and marketing automation providers
• Analytics providers
• Payment processors, accountants, and tax preparers
• Experts and consultants retained in connection with client engagements
• Such experts and consultants receive case-related personal information only where reasonably necessary to evaluate, establish, or perform an engagement
• Professional advisors, such as attorneys, auditors, and insurers
• Government authorities, courts, and parties to legal proceedings, where required by law, subpoena, or court order

Use and disclosure of sensitive personal information

We use and disclose sensitive personal information only for the following purposes permitted under the CCPA. Because we do not use it for any other purpose, the right to limit the use of sensitive personal information does not apply.

• To perform services or deliver goods.
• To prevent, detect, and investigate security incidents that compromise the availability, authenticity, integrity, or confidentiality of stored or transmitted personal information.
• To resist malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal actions directed at the business and to prosecute those responsible for those actions.
• To ensure safety of natural persons.
• For short-term, transient use, including, but not limited to, non-personalized advertising shown as part of a consumer's current interaction with the business.
• To perform services on behalf of the business
• To verify or maintain the quality or safety of a product, service, or device and to improve or upgrade them.
• To collect or process sensitive personal information where such collection or processing is not for the purpose of inferring characteristics about a consumer.

International visitors

Our Website and services are directed to individuals and organizations in the United States and Canada. Although we do not specifically market out services to individuals in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, data protection laws in those jurisdictions may apply to particular processing activities depending on the circumstances. For example, the GDPR may apply to processing relating to the offering of goods or services to individuals in the EEA or to the monitoring of their behavior in the EEA. Similar principles may apply under UK data protection law. If you visit our Website from another country, your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country. Where applicable law requires safeguards for an international transfer of personal information, we use an available transfer mechanism or other legally recognized safeguard. We require our service providers to protect personal information under appropriate contractual terms.

If applicable law grants you rights in relation to our processing of your personal information, you may contact us using the details below. Depending on the law that applies, these rights may include rights to access, correct, delete your personal information, withdraw consent, and lodge a complaint with an applicable data protection authority. We will respond in accordance with the law applicable to the relevant processing. Where applicable law requires prior consent for storing or accessing information on your device, or for related processing of personal information, we will not activate non-essential cookies or similar technologies until the required consent has been obtained.

Additional rights for EEA and UK individuals

Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies to our processing of your personal information, you may have the right to request access to and a copy of your personal information, correction of inaccurate information, deletion in certain circumstances, restriction of processing, portability of certain information, and objection to certain processing. Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time. Where processing is based on legitimate interests, you may have the right to object based on your particular situation. You may exercise these rights using the contact information below. You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with the data protection authority in the country where you live, work, or where you believe a violation occurred.

Privacy of children

Our Website and services are intended for adults and business users and are not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13 through the Website,, and we do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of consumers under 16. Where applicable law establishes a different age threshold or requires parental authorization for particular processing, we will comply with those requirements. If you are a parent or legal guardian and believe that your child has provided us with information, please contact us. Upon verification, we will delete the information.

California Notice at Collection

At or before the time we collect personal information from California consumers, we provide information about the categories of personal information collected and the purpose for which they are collected or used. The categories we may collect are described in “What information do we collect about you?” above, and the purposes are described in “Why do we collect information about you?” We retain each category only for so long as reasonably necessary and proportionate for the disclosed purposes, subject to the retention periods and criteria described in “How long do we retain your information?”

We may sell or share certain identifiers, internet or electronic network activity information, approximate geolocation information, and related inferences for cross-context behavioral advertising as described in “Sale or sharing of personal information.” You may opt out using the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” or equivalent privacy-choice mechanism on the Website, or through a qualifying opt-out preference signal such as GPC.**

We do not sell or share sensitive personal information and do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes that currently require us to provide a right to limit under the CCPA.**

CCPA disclosures

Financial incentives

We do not offer financial incentives or price or service differences in exchange for personal information.

Sale or share of information

We sell or share personal information only for the following business or commercial purposes:

• To deliver targeted advertising about our services and to measure the effectiveness of our advertising

Your rights

The California Consumer Privacy Act grants California consumers the following rights:

• The right to know what personal information a business has collected about them, including: the categories of personal information collected; the categories of sources from which the personal information is collected; the business or commercial purposes for collecting, selling, or sharing personal information; the categories of third parties to whom the business discloses personal information; and the specific pieces of personal information the business has collected about the consumer.
• The right to delete personal information that the business has collected from the consumer, subject to certain exceptions.
• The right to correct inaccurate personal information that a business maintains about the consumer.
• The right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information, if the business sells or shares such information.
• The right to limit the use or disclosure of sensitive personal information if the business uses or discloses it for purposes other than those permitted under the CCPA or its regulations.
• The right to non-discrimination, meaning consumers will not receive discriminatory treatment for exercising their CCPA rights, including protection against retaliation for employees, applicants, or independent contractors who exercise such rights.

Exercising your rights

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), you have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of the personal information we have collected about you. You may also have the right to know specific details about how we collect, use, disclose, and sell or share your personal information.

You may submit a request to access, know, correct, or delete your personal information through our Privacy Request form, by emailing us at website@forensisgroup.com, or calling us toll-free at (800) 555-5422. You may also opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information by clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link on our Website or by enabling the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal in your browser. If you are exercising a right under another applicable privacy law, you may use the same methods unless we provide another method required by that law.

When you make a request, we will take steps to verify your identity before fulfilling it, which may include asking you to provide certain identifying information and matching it against information we already have. You may also authorize an agent to make a request on your behalf We may require appropriate proof that the agent is authorized to act for you and, where permitted by applicable law, may require you to verify your identity or confirm that you authorized the request. We may still require you to verify your identity directly with us.

We will confirm receipt of your request within 10 business days and respond within 45 calendar days. If we need more time, we will notify you and may extend this period by up to an additional 45 days. We process requests to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information within 15 business days. There is no charge for processing your verifiable consumer request unless it is excessive or repetitive. If we deny your request in whole or in part, we will explain why, and you may appeal our decision by emailing website@forensisgroup.com with the subject line "Privacy Request Appeal." We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your privacy rights.

Residents of other U.S. states

Depending on where you live, you may have rights similar to those described above under your state's consumer privacy law, including the rights to access, correct, delete, and obtain a copy of your personal information, to opt out of targeted advertising and the sale of personal information, and to appeal our decision on your request. You may exercise these rights using the methods described above. The specific rights available, the circumstances in which they apply, and the response and appeal procedures may vary depending on your state of residence.

Security of your personal information

We maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, acquisition, use, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of internet transmission or digital storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Links to other websites or apps

On our website, we may provide links to external websites, apps, or services. These are not operated by us and therefore are not governed by our Privacy Policy or practices. We strongly recommend that you review the privacy policies of such websites or services before engaging with them to ensure that you do not provide personal information that you do not wish to share.

Changes to this privacy policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law or our privacy practices. When we do, we will update the "Last Updated" date above and, if the changes are material, take reasonable steps to notify you. We recommend that you review this privacy policy periodically to ensure it remains in line with your expectations.

The privacy policy will be effective from the date it is posted on this page.

Accessibility

This Privacy Policy is available in alternative formats upon request. Please contact us at website@forensisgroup.com or (800) 555-5422. If you have difficulty accessing this Privacy Policy or submitting a privacy request because of a disability, please contact us using the information below so that we can provide assistance or an alternative method.

Contact us

For any questions or concerns regarding your privacy, or to exercise any of your rights, you may contact us using the following details:

Address: 251 S. Lake Ave Ste 835 Pasadena, CA 91101 USA

Email address: website@forensisgroup.com

Phone: (800) 555-5422

Link to our contact page: https://www.forensisgroup.com/about-us/contact-us