ASSOCIATION OF CORPORATE COUNSEL
GLOBAL PRIVACY POLICY
The Association of Corporate Counsel (“ACC”) is committed to the protection of your personal data. For the purposes of this Policy, “ACC” or “we” refers to the Association of Corporate Counsel, , ACC East Asia Ltd., ACC AsiaPac Pty Ltd., the ACC Foundation, the ACC Credentialing Institute, and all of ACC’s chapters (such as ACC Europe and Hong Kong Corporate Counsel Association) and all ACC affiliates. This Privacy Policy sets out the basis on which we collect and use personal data about you as part of our business activities.
This Privacy Policy describes in detail who is responsible for the personal data that we collect about you, what personal data we collect, how we will use such personal data, who we may disclose it to and your rights and choices in relation to your personal data.
In this Privacy Policy we use the words “personal data” to describe information that is about you and which identifies you. Section 2 below sets out the personal data we collect in more detail.
Special notice to our members in Australia and Hong Kong: All members of ACC registered in Australia are automatically members of ACC Australia (also known as Australian Corporate Lawyers Association or ACLA), and all personal data provided by them will be shared with ACC Australia. All members of ACC registered in Hong Kong are automatically members of ACC Hong Kong (also known as Hong Kong Corporate Counsel Association or HKCCA), and all personal data provided by them will be shared with ACC Hong Kong. If you do not wish to have your information shared with ACC Australia or ACC Hong Kong, please contact membership@acc.com. If you opt out of ACC sharing your personal data with ACLA or HKCCA, your access to information, services and ACLA or HKCCA membership benefits will be limited.
- Who is Responsible for the personal data that we Collect?
For the purpose of data protection law, ACC is the data controller in respect of the personal data that we collect and use as part of our business activities. This is because we determine the purpose for which your personal data is used and how we use your personal information.
In certain instances, an entity related to ACC, such as a local chapter, may act as the data controller. For example, if ACC Europe or Hong Kong Corporate Counsel Association collects or uses personal data for its purposes, then that entity will act as the data controller.
- What personal data do we Collect?
While some of the information collected is required for membership or business engagement purposes, other information is voluntarily given by the individual. The type of personal data that ACC may collect could include, but is not limited to, the following:
- Your full name, address, phone, fax and email contact information
- Your practice areas
- Law school name and graduation date
- Years of practice
- Legal bar association
- Information about your employment such as employer name, title, address, the industry of your employer, and size of your legal department
- Payment information
- Dietary preferences and requirements
- Photos
- Preference information, such as the communications you receive from us
- Information you provide to us for the purposes of attending meetings, events, webinars and other programs
- Any other information relating to you (or other individuals) that you provide to us
If you are providing personal data to us relating to a third party, you confirm that (i) you have the consent of the third party or another legal basis to share such personal data with us; (ii) you have the consent of the third party or another legal basis for us to use their personal data in accordance with this Privacy Policy; and (iii) that you have made the information in this Privacy Policy available to the third party.
Sensitive or Special Categories of Information
Some countries consider some personal data particularly sensitive or special. ACC only collects this data when voluntarily given by the individual, such as for processing CLE/CPD when necessary, and for statistical purposes only. ACC does not share this information with third parties for direct marketing purposes. Such information may include the following:
- Date of birth
- Ethnicity, nationality, gender and other demographic information
Website Usage Information
We collect information when you provide it to us, such as when you use the “contact us” feature on the website or otherwise communicate with us (such as by email or via our social media pages).
ACC collects certain information automatically when you use the website, such as the IP addresses and domain names of visitors, browser type, history of pages viewed and other usage information about your use of the website. We collect this information for site administration purposes, such as to analyze this data for trends and statistics. We may share statistical or aggregated information about our users with advertisers, business partners, sponsors and other third parties. This data is used to customize our website content and advertising to deliver a better experience to our users. Please see the section below on cookies for more information.
- How do we obtain your Personal Data?
As noted above, we collect information from you in the course of your use of the ACC website, products and services. For example, we collect information from you when you enroll as a member. We collect information from you when you contact or communicate with us (including through the website, by email or otherwise). We also collect your personal data while monitoring the ACC website, products and services. We gather information about you when you provide it to us, or interact with us directly, for instance engaging with our staff or registering for an event. We may also in certain cases collect or receive information about you from other sources, such as from an administrative user in your organisation in order to create a member account for you.
- How do we use the personal data we Collect?
ACC collects personal data for the following principal purposes. We have also set out below the legal basis (as set out in the General Data Protection Regulation “GDPR”) that we rely on to justify each use of your personal data.
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- Who do we share your personal data with?
ACC reserves the right to disclose and/or transfer personal data to a third party if ACC has reason to believe that disclosing the personal data is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) our rights or property, other website users or anyone else who could be harmed by such activities. Additionally, ACC may disclose personal data in response to a subpoena, warrant or other court order, or when we believe in good faith that a law, regulation, subpoena, warrant or other court order requires it – or authorizes us to do so – or to respond to an emergency situation.
ACC reserves the right to disclose and/or transfer personal data to a third party in the event of a proposed or actual purchase, sale (including a liquidation, realization, foreclosure or repossession), lease, merger, amalgamation or any other type of acquisition, disposal, transfer, conveyance or financing of all or any portion of ACC, or of any of the business of ACC or a chapter/division thereof, in order for you to continue to receive the same products and services from the third party.
We may share information with affiliated entities, and between ACC and our chapters. See more information with respect to such transfers under the section entitled “Transfer of personal data Across Borders.”
We may share your information with professional advisors, such as accountants and lawyers, who assist us in carrying out our business activities.
ACC may share personal data with third parties engaged to assist ACC in providing services to you or to carry out one or more of the purposes described above. These service providers are prohibited from using your personal data for any purpose other than to provide this assistance and are contractually required to protect personal data disclosed by ACC and to comply with law and the general privacy principles described in this Privacy Policy. We share your information with service providers, contractors and sub-contractors to help us provide the website, products, events and services. For example, we may use a service provider to process payment information, manage our events, provide a platform for our events, provide analytics or use third party software to manage our customer relationship management (CRM) system.
In addition to the uses and disclosure of personal data noted above, personal data of ACC members and registrants at our events may be shared with the following entities based on our legitimate interest to do so:
- We share your personal data with our event sponsors so they may contact you with information about the sponsor’s activities, services and products. For example, personal data of registrants of ACC's educational programs, including ACC Webcasts, the Corporate Counsel University, and the Annual Meeting may be shared with sponsors of these meetings for promotional purposes. You will have the option to opt out of sharing this information when you register for the programs or by contacting dataprivacy@acc.com at any time. In some instances, if you opt out of allowing us to share your personal data, you will be unable to participate in an program or event. The information provided will contain your name, title, company and mailing address.
- In some instances (where allowed by local law or with you express consent) ACC makes member mailing information available to third-partiesx. Only your name, title, company and mailing address are included on these lists. You may remove yourself from such mailing lists at any time by contacting the ACC Membership Department at membership@acc.com, dataprivacy@acc.com or by calling +1.202.293.4103 x360. If you do not want to make a long-distance phone call, please email us with your contact information and best times to reach you, and we will contact you as soon as it is practical.If you choose not to provide ACC with your personal information or disable certain cookies, you may still visit most of the ACC website. However, you may be unable to access certain options, offers and services and you may be unable to take advantage of certain ACC benefits or membership.
Transfer of personal data Across Borders
ACC is a global organization headquartered in the United States of America. We may allow your personal data to be shared with our related entities or third-party service providers based in the United States and/or in other countries. This may entail a transfer of your information from a location within the European Economic Area ( “EEA”) to one outside the EEA, or from outside the EEA to a location within the EEA. Please see the section entitled ‘Who do we Share your personal data with’ for more detail on how the information may be shared with ACC related entities and third party service providers.
When we provide your personal data across borders, we do so in connection with providing you with member benefits, requested information or services or as required or authorized under law. The receiving entities we share your information with may not be subject to laws that provide the same level of protection of information as your country of residence or employment, or may not be subject to any privacy obligations. Those entities may be required or compelled to disclose your personal data to a third party, such as a national or local authority.
When we transfer information outside the EEA, we will implement appropriate measures to ensure that your personal data remains protected and secure in accordance with applicable data protection laws. For example, we will implement EU standard contractual clauses (as contemplated by Article 46(2) of the GDPR) between the ACC related entities that share and process personal data. Where our third party service providers process personal data outside the EEA in the course of providing services to us, our written agreement with them will include appropriate measures, usually standard contractual clauses. For more information about the measures in place, please contact us (see section below ‘Contacting ACC with Questions, Concerns or Complaints').
Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we use reasonable efforts to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal data transmitted to our website and any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your personal data, we will use reasonable and appropriate procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorized processing.
- Your Rights, including Removing, Correcting or Updating Personal Information
If you change your mind on how ACC discloses or uses your information, or wish to access, correct or update personal data (such as your address), we will endeavor to correct, update or remove the personal data you give us. If you are receiving text messages from us and wish to stop receiving them, simply respond with “STOP” to the number from which you received the message.
The below table applies to individuals located in the European Union (eu) and european economic area (EEA) ONLY: You have certain rights with respect to your personal information. The rights may only apply in certain circumstances and are subject to certain exemptions. Please see the table below for a summary of your rights and who to contact to exercise them.
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Summary of your rights |
Who to contact |
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Right of access to your personal information |
You have the right to receive a copy of the personal data that we hold about you, subject to certain exceptions. We may require further information in order to respond to your request (for instance, evidence of your identity and information to enable us to locate the specific personal data you require). |
ACC Membership department at membership@acc.com or +1.202.293.4103 x360 |
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Right to rectify your personal information |
You have the right to ask us to correct the personal data that we hold where it is incorrect or incomplete. |
Members may correct or update personal data by going directly to “My Account” at www.acc.com/myacc/ (you must be logged in). Non-members or members may at any time revise this information or question it by directly contacting our Membership Department at membership@acc.com or by calling +1.202.293.4103 x360. If you do not want to make a long distance phone call, please email us with your contact information and best times to reach you, and we will contact you as soon as it is practical. |
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Right to erasure of your personal information: |
You have the right to ask that your personal data be deleted in certain circumstances. For example (i) where your personal data is no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise used; (ii) if our processing was based on your consent and there is no other legal ground for for our continued use of your personal data; (iii) if you object to the use of your personal data (as set out below); (iv) if we have used your personal data unlawfully; or (v) if your personal data needs to be erased to comply with a legal obligation. |
Membership Department at membership@acc.com or by calling +1.202.293.4103 x360. If you do not want to make a long distance phone call, please email us with your contact information and best times to reach you, and we will contact you as soon as it is practical. |
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Right to restrict the use of your personal information |
You have the right to suspend our use of your personal data in certain circumstances. For example (i) where you think your personal data is inaccurate and only for such period to enable us to verify the accuracy of your personal information; (ii) where you believe the use of your personal data is unlawful; (iii) when we no longer need your personal data, but you require it you for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; or (iv) if you have objected to the use of your personal data and we are verifying whether our grounds for the use of your personal data override your objection. |
Membership Department at membership@acc.com or by calling +1.202.293.4103 x360. If you do not want to make a long distance phone call, please email us with your contact information and best times to reach you, and we will contact you as soon as it is practical. |
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Right to data portability |
You have the right to obtain your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and for it to be transferred to another organisation, where it is technically feasible. The right only applies where the use of your personal data is based on your consent or for the performance of a contract, and when the use of your personal data is carried out by automated (i.e. electronic) means. |
Membership Department at membership@acc.com or by calling +1.202.293.4103 x360. If you do not want to make a long distance phone call, please email us with your contact information and best times to reach you, and we will contact you as soon as it is practical. |
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Right to object to the use of your personal data |
You have the right to object to the use of your personal data in certain circumstances. For example (i) where you have grounds relating to your particular situation and we use your personal data for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party); and (ii) if you object to the use of your personal data for direct marketing purposes. |
Membership Department at membership@acc.com or by calling +1.202.293.4103 x360. If you do not want to make a long distance phone call, please email us with your contact information and best times to reach you, and we will contact you as soon as it is practical. |
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Right to withdraw consent |
You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time where we rely on consent to use your personal data. |
Membership Department at membership@acc.com or by calling +1.202.293.4103 x360. If you do not want to make a long distance phone call, please email us with your contact information and best times to reach you, and we will contact you as soon as it is practical. |
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Right to complain to the relevant data protection authority |
You have the right to complain to the relevant data protection authority where you think we have not used your personal data in accordance with data protection law. |
Find your National Data Protection Authority online.
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- How Long will we Keep your Personal Data?
We will keep your personal data for the period of time that you are a member of the ACC or one of its chapters or divisions and for 10 years after your membership ends or the maximum retention period permitted by the laws of your jurisdiction, whichever ends earlier.
- Links to Other Websites
ACC's website may contain links to other sites such as ACC's Alliance Partners or relevant legal services sites. These sites are not controlled by ACC and ACC is not responsible for any content contained on any such website. We are not responsible for the privacy practices employed by other sites, and the privacy practices employed by such sites may not be the same as ACC’s practices. As with our website, you should become familiar with any external party's privacy policy before visiting and/or providing any personal data through any such site.
- Cookies
ACC uses cookies to manage our website and email programs. A cookie is a small file placed on your computer when you visit a website. Cookies are used to store information to manage your website experience such as your type of web browser. A cookie can also store preference information to customize your website experience.
Cookies help us understand how consumers use our websites and emails so we can design better services in the future.
Web browsers can be adjusted to disable cookies. However, ACC may not be able to provide you with all the service or functionality you require on the ACC website if you choose to disable cookies.
You may also remove cookies from your browser. The cookie ACC has loaded onto your browser is called *acc.com. Please refer to your browser’s help menu for instructions.
- Contacting ACC with Questions, Concerns or Complaints
Should you have any questions, concerns or a complaint about this Privacy Policy, please contact ACC’s Office of General Counsel at +1.202.293.4103 x456, dataprivacy@acc.com, or via mail at 1001 G Street NW Suite 300W Washington, DC 20001, USA. If you do not want to make a long-distance phone call, please email us with your contact information and best times to reach you, and we will contact you as soon as it is practical.
You are entitled to make an anonymous complaint or inquiry in relation to this Privacy Policy or your privacy rights; however, we may require you to identify yourself if required by law or it is impracticable for us to deal with your matter otherwise.
We will acknowledge receipt of any complaint within five business days and will endeavor to provide you with a written response within 30 days of receipt of your complaint. There may be instances where this is not possible due to the contents of the complaint. In such circumstances, we will respond to your complaint in a reasonable and practical time.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint you may contact the appropriate authorities in your jurisdiction.
- ACC Website and Communications Terms of Use
Please refer to ACC’s Terms of Use on all issues related to accessing, posting and sharing information through ACC’s website and communication services.
- Changes to our Privacy Policy
Any material changes to this Privacy Policy will be posted on this page. Subject to any applicable legal and/or regulatory requirements, the updated Privacy Policy will take effect and be binding on you as soon as it has been updated.
ACC reserves the right to amend the terms of this Privacy Policy from time to time at its absolute discretion.
This Privacy Policy was last updated on 07 February 2023.