Your privacy is important to us,
and we go to great lengths to protect it.
West, a Thomson Reuters business, is committed to fair information practices. West respects the privacy and security of our users. Our goal is to provide you with a personalized Internet experience that delivers the information, resources, and services that are most relevant and helpful to you.
In order to achieve this goal, we sometimes collect information during your visits to understand what differentiates you from each of our millions of other users. We will not disclose it to any person or organization outside Thomson Reuters, except as described in this Privacy Policy.
To demonstrate our commitment to your privacy, we have prepared this statement disclosing our privacy practices. Here, you will learn what personal identifying information of yours is collected, how and when we might use your information, how we protect your information, who has access to your information, and how you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.
Information We Collect and How We Use It
West collects certain information from and about its users three ways: from our Web server logs, with cookies, and directly from the user.
Web server logs: When you visit our West websites, we may track information to administer the site and analyze its usage. Examples of information we may track include:
- Your Internet protocol address
- What kind of browser or computer you use
- The number of links you click within the site
- The state or country from which you accessed the site
- The date and time of your visit
- The name of your Internet service provider
- The Web page you linked to our site from
- The pages you viewed on the site
Cookies: Our websites use cookies (i.e., small bits of text that our servers place into a file on your computer's hard drive). This is used to save your preferences and login information, and provide personalized functionality. We use third-party advertising technology to provide you with information about our products when you visit this website. This technology uses information derived from unique visits and page views on the site to identify product promotions that may be of interest to you. In order to provide you with relevant promotions, a unique third-party cookie or cookies may be placed on your browser. To opt out of this service, please call West Customer Service at 1-800-328-4880. You can reject cookies by changing your browser settings, but be aware that this will disable some of the functionality on our websites.
Personal information provided by the user: On some of our websites, visitors can register to purchase products or services, receive personalized content, and participate in surveys or contests. When you register, we will ask you for some personal information.
If you're purchasing a product, we'll request financial information (e.g., What is your credit card number?). Any financial information we collect is used only to bill you for the products and services you purchased. If you purchase by credit card, this information may be forwarded to your credit card provider.
For other types of registrations, we will ask for your name, address, email address, or telephone number. We may then contact you with information about other West products and services.
Finally, you may be asked to disclose personal information to us so that we can provide assistance and information to you. For example, we may collect personal information from you (such as an email address, system information, and problem descriptions) in order to provide online technical support and troubleshooting.
If you don't want to receive promotional materials from West or our marketing partners, you can opt out at any time. You simply need to update your preferences with each West service to which you are registered. Here's how:
- FindLaw & West Legal Directory: send an email message to wld.update@thomson.com Include your name and contact information, and a message saying you'd like to stop receiving promotional materials
- West and Westlaw: update your preferences on this site
- West LegalEdcenter: update your preferences on this site
If you have questions about opting out, send an email message to
west.privacypolicy@thomson.com.
More Details About Information We Collect on our Web Sites
Westlaw: Information about Westlaw subscribers and their Westlaw usage is maintained in a secure environment. This information is not shared with third parties for marketing purposes. West does not disclose any information about any subscriber's usage of Westlaw, except to enforce the terms of our subscriber agreements or as required by law.
FindLaw Public Forums and West Legal Directory: Some West websites (such as www.findlaw.com) make chat rooms, forums, message boards, or news groups available to you. Please remember that any information disclosed in these areas is public. You should exercise caution when disclosing personal information in these areas. Don't disclose information in these public forums that might be considered confidential.
Additionally, West offers legal professionals the ability to provide personal information for inclusion in the
West Legal Directory (WLD) If you submit your information, know that:
- It must be accurate, complete, and current. It will be distributed to third parties in multiple formats (including online), and you will not be compensated by West in any way for its use
- West has no control over how third parties use your profile information, and these third parties may contact you for any purpose, including marketing
Visit the
FindLaw Privacy Policy for information on terms of service.
West LegalEdcenter: West's online Continuing Legal Education (CLE) service, West LegalEdcenter, collects personal identification information and tracks all site usage. West LegalEdcenter also provides a discussion forum and interactivity features that use personal identification information.
If you view our CLE content, West LegalEdcenter is obligated to pass along your name, attorney identification number, and contact information to third-party content providers and some state accreditation agencies. They may contact you as a result.
West LegalEdcenter also may provide summary statistics about our customers' interests and preferences, products sold, traffic patterns, and related site information to reputable third parties. These statistics do not include personal identification information; they are used only to enhance the design of our website and customize new product offerings to our customers. For more information, including the Click-Wrap license agreement, please see the
West LegalEdcenter Terms and Conditions statement.
Public Records, Including Social Security Numbers and Credit Histories:
Please review the
West Privacy and Public Records Policy Statement to learn about the kinds of public records West gathers and makes available on Westlaw.com. If you have further questions, please send an email message to
west.privacypolicy@thomson.com.
How We Protect Your Information
West uses technical security measures to prevent the loss, misuse, and alteration of information under our control.
For example, when we ask customers to provide financial information (such as a credit card number) that data is protected using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology.
Learn more about SSL.
Who Has Access to the Information?
West will share your personal data in four ways:
- As required by law, in a matter of public safety or policy, or as needed in connection with the transfer of other business assets. In compliance with U.S. law, West does not share information with any unaffiliated third parties for marketing purposes unless you expressly ask us to do so
- With other Thomson businesses
- With agents and contractors who use it on West's behalf or in connection with their relationship with us. For example, if you register for a contest, the company that manages the contest for us will have access to your personal data
- In the case of continuing legal education classes from West LegalEdcenter, West will share your class credit information with Mandatory Continuing Legal Education regulators and content providers who track online continuing legal education usage
Links to Other Companies' Sites
Our websites contain links to sites maintained by companies that are not affiliated with West. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of those sites, and we encourage you to use caution when visiting them. In particular, we recommend you view the privacy policy posted on each site.
For users of Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping features available on Westlaw, please refer to the
Microsoft Online Privacy Statement on the Microsoft site.
How to Correct Inaccuracies
If you've registered with our websites, you can access and update your information online using these links:
Privacy Policy Changes
If our information practices change in a significant way, we will post and highlight the policy changes.
Questions?
Please send an email message to
west.privacypolicy@thomson.com