H/L* Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 3, 2023

PLEASE READ THIS PRIVACY POLICY CAREFULLY, WHICH IS INCORPORATED INTO OUR TERMS OF USE AND FORMS A PART OF YOUR AGREEMENT WITH US. BY USING OUR WEBSITE YOU ARE ACKNOWLEDGING YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO COMPLY WITH AND BE BOUND BY EVERYTHING WRITTEN HERE. IF YOU CANNOT OR DO NOT AGREE OR DO NOT WISH YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION TO BE SUBJECT TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY, PLEASE LEAVE OUR WEBSITE IMMEDIATELY AND DO NOT USE OUR WEBSITE.

* As defined in our Terms of Use, “H/L”, “H&L”, “we”, “us” “our”, or “ours” and similar terms, means and refers to Hoffman/Lewis d/b/a H&L Partners and/or H/L, 100 Webster Street, Oakland, California 94607, and any other term not defined in this Privacy Policy, has the meaning defined or ascribed to it in our Terms of Use. In addition, when we refer to a “user” or “using” or “use” of our Website or similar words and phrases, it will mean and refer to you, or anyone that uses your email account or device to use, access, browse, visit or otherwise display or interact with our Website, whether through a browser, mobile or wireless device or otherwise.

Your privacy and the protection of information about you is important and this Privacy Policy describes our privacy practices, including how we obtain, collect, store and use information obtained from users of the Website. This Privacy Policy also describes your rights and our obligations, as well as the choices available to you, with respect to your personal information. If, after reading this Privacy Policy, you have any questions or require more information, do not hesitate to contact us. This Privacy Policy only applies to your online activities and information we obtain when you use the Website. It does not apply to any information we obtain offline or through channels other than the Website.

What is Personal Information?

In this Privacy Policy, we use the term “personal information” to mean and refer to any data or information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular person or household or that could uniquely identify a person. Laws and regulations of some jurisdictions define personal information or personally identifiable information very broadly and even include things such as IP protocols, browser and mobile device data. In some jurisdictions, even using our Website in the context of performing your business or employment responsibilities falls within the legal definition of “personal” or “personally identifiable” information. If there is any possibility we may be able to determine an individual’s identity using our Website, even if we have no intention of doing so, it may still be covered by these laws. Consequently, for purposes of this Privacy Policy we include all of these within the meaning of “personal information,” although personal information does not include information that is deidentified or aggregated in a way that no individual can be readily identified.

Our Website may allow you to request information and/or contact us and when you do, you may be asked to enter personally identifiable information in order for us to understand your request and respond. In fact, even if you are just using our Website and you don’t enter any information, don’t try to contact us or request information, our Website may still obtain information the law considers “personal information.” Of course, if you do give us personal information, we have the right to use your personal information to respond to you, in addition to any other rights described in this Privacy Policy.

We may also use third party operational service providers, website and communications hosting companies, support resources and other professionals in the hosting, operation, maintenance and support of the Website (“Service Providers”) and when we use terms such as “us”, “we”, “our” or “ours” in this Privacy Policy, we are also referring to and include those third parties. If we do use Service Providers, we will have agreements with each of them that obligate them to the same requirements regarding your personal information that apply to us under this Privacy Policy.

Your Age and Your Location

Our Website is not intended for children and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under the age of 18 or that the law does not consider an adult capable of entering into agreements or providing informed consent (a “minor”). If you are the parent, legal guardian or custodian of a minor and determine or suspect we may have received any information from or about your minor, please notify us immediately. We will confirm you are the parent, legal guardian or custodian and then promptly take steps to delete the minor’s information anywhere it may be in our possession or under our control.

Our servers are primarily located in the United States and our business is directed solely at businesses and customers in the United States, but we and our Service Providers may use cloud-based technology or servers that may be located in other jurisdictions in order to provide optimal experiences for users. If you are not a citizen or legal resident of the United States or your business is not incorporated, organized or otherwise a legally recognized entity in the United States, your country may not consider the privacy or data protection laws and regulations of the United States adequate and if you choose to use our Website you are expressly consenting to and authorizing the export, transmission, storage, processing and use of your information, including personal information, to, from and within the United States of America, and you understand and agree your use of our Website will be subject to the provisions of this Privacy Policy, as well as the Federal and State laws and regulations applicable in the United States of America and not the laws of any other jurisdiction.

How We Obtain Information

As mentioned above, you may choose to give us information by entering personal information into our Website. Whether you are requesting information or asking us to contact you for any reason. We always have the right to use your personal information to respond or handle your request. Even when you simply use our Website, we may automatically collect and store non-personal elements of information related to your use. Generally, all this non-personally identifiable information is recorded in such a way that it does not reflect or reference any identifiable individual. However, even though this information does not identify you, as mentioned above, the law may include this information within the definition of personal information. For example, non-personally identifiable information may include the type of Internet browser and operating system you are using, your IP address, the domain of the website you came from (sometimes called a referring URL), how many times and the dates and times of your visits and the average amount of time you spend on the Website. Sometimes the Website may also be able to identify the application or device you are using, your mobile network (e.g., carrier name and phone number) and the interaction of your apps, browser and devices with the Website. Technology may enable us to determine when you search on the Website for particular words and the content your browser opens. We may keep track of the pages you visit, the content your browser displays, as well as third party advertisements and content and even the hypertext links you select on the Website. Gathering this information can help us better understand how to improve the Website and the user experience when you visit. Sometimes, with varying degrees of accuracy, your location can be determined by your IP address, GPS, sensor data from your device or from nearby technology (e.g., Wi-Fi access points; cell towers; Bluetooth-enabled devices) and the capability to capture this type of information often depends on your device location settings, which you generally have the ability to turn on or off.

Our Website may also use technology to remember whether you’ve been there before. A “cookie” (i.e., a text file placed on your hard disk by a web page server) is one example, but there are currently many different types of technology that perform similar functions (e.g., pixel tags, server logs, invisible GIFs, web beacons, application data caches). Some of the technology the Website uses makes things more efficient and may provide faster loading times for content that benefit users who visit the Website repeatedly. Similarly, unique, non-personal identifiers (“tags”) enable us to track information without identifying you or any individual. Tags may

simply be strings of characters that can uniquely identify a browser, app, or device. You may be familiar with an IMEI number associated with your mobile device – a unique identifier incorporated into the device by the manufacturer. Most browsers and many devices give you the ability to configure settings to refuse cookies or indicate when a cookie is being sent or prevent certain data gathering or tracking technologies. While you should configure those settings in any way you prefer, some features, functions and content on the Website may not function or be displayed fully or properly based on your choice of settings.

Our Website does not support Do Not Track and we do not respond to Do Not Track requests. “Do Not Track” or “DNT” is a preference you can set in your browser to inform websites you do not want to be tracked. You can enable or disable Do Not Track by visiting the Preferences or Settings page of your web browser.

Contacting Us/Chatting with Us

When you enter your name, email address, phone number or other information on our Website, ask us to contact you, or you request information using our Website, you understand, acknowledge and agree that by doing so you are requesting us and giving us your permission and explicit consent to allow us to use your personal information to respond to you and/or handle your request. If you ask us to respond by email, you will always be given the ability to opt out of receiving future unsolicited marketing emails by using an unsubscribe link at the bottom of each email we send you, or by contacting us at the address below.

How We Store, Use, Share and Disclose Information

Storing: We may store personal information on servers and storage media of ours or our Service Providers and we may share personal information in aggregate or anonymous form with third parties for storage purposes and to help gather statistics and Website analytics or to respond to your requests. Service Providers with whom we share personal information are prohibited from using personal information and are required to treat and handle personal information, at a minimum, in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy.

Using: There are a number of purposes for which we use the information, including personal information, that we obtain and although some are already mentioned, they are worth repeating:

To help operate, administer, maintain and improve the quality and performance and operation of the Website and obtain analytical data and metrics so we can better understand how the Website is being used and improve your experience when using the Website;
To track outages or troubleshoot problems and detect, prevent and respond to possible fraud, abuse and security risks;
To provide information or to contact you in response to your requests or otherwise as permitted by law;
To personalize your experience as when you use the Website repeatedly and sometimes notify you of offers or other content we may offer or make available to returning users;
To allow us to deliver and improve content, including content and materials from unaffiliated third parties (e.g., advertisers, promotional partners, suppliers and others) (“Third Party Content”), we believe may be of interest to users of the Website; and
To protect us and others from harm and to detect, respond and help us prevent fraud, abuse and security risks (e.g., SPAM, malware or malicious code) that could do harm.

Sharing and Disclosing

If you are a returning user, we may use your information to deliver targeted advertising to you when you visit our Website. Since many of these technologies ‘remember’ the websites you have visited and searches you have made using your browser, even when you visit other third party websites, the technology may allow and enable targeted advertising to appear that is related to your browsing and searching history. This is often referred to as “behavioral advertising” and is used to customize and deliver advertising we believe is more tailored to your personal interests and preferences. Except as specifically provided in this Privacy Policy, we do not share, sell, rent or lease any of your personal information to anyone, unless we have your permission. We may share and provide information to third parties, including information that may have been derived from personal information, for marketing, advertising, research or other uses, including, without limitation, aggregated information regarding activity on the Website, but we do so only in aggregated form that does not enable identification of any individual.

We always reserve the right and may use, preserve and/or disclose personal information of or about you in response to: (a) requests from local, state, or federal law enforcement officials; (b) judicial, administrative, or similar proceedings or orders, such as a subpoena; (c) a legal compulsion or requirement; and/or (d) to investigate suspected fraud, harassment, physical threats, or other violations of your Agreement with us, including our Website Terms of Use and this Privacy Policy, the rights of third parties, any law or regulation, or to investigate suspected conduct we reasonably determine is in violation of your Agreement with us.

Disclosing Information:

We may disclose your personal information under the following circumstances:

If we have your consent;
To fulfill the purposes for which we obtained it, as well as satisfying any legal, audit or reporting requirement;
To respond to threats or attacks on the security or integrity of the Website;
To Service Providers who help us operate and maintain our business and technology, so long as those parties agree to keep the information confidential, at a minimum, in compliance with this Privacy Policy;
To enforce any and all terms and conditions of our Agreement with you applicable to the Website;
To detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or other technical issues, including our investigating potential abuse or violations;
To protect and/or defend against damage or harm or violations of any our rights, property or safety, or the rights, property or safety of others, including, without limitation, the public as and if required by law;
If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, we will continue to ensure the confidentiality of your personal information and give affected users notice before transferring any personal information or your becoming subject to a different privacy policy.

We will always ask for your consent before we use personal information for a purpose that isn’t covered by or provided for in this Privacy Policy and if we do provide personal information to third parties outside the scope of these criteria, we only provide aggregated, compiled or derivative information that doesn’t reveal or allow the identification of any individual person or their personal information. Even if we delete some or all of your information, unless prohibited by law or regulation, we may continue to retain and use your information, including personal information, as long as we have transformed, aggregated and anonymized it so that it cannot be identified to you or any other person.

Links to Other Websites and Social Media

As mentioned in our Terms of Use, our Website may contain links to other websites that are not operated or controlled by us. If you click on any Third Party Content, you may be directed to a third party’s website (URL) and we strongly advise you to review the privacy policy of every website you visit, because their terms of use and privacy policies will apply, not ours. Visiting any other websites or using apps of others is at your own risk. Our Website may also contain links to social media platforms, and if you choose to connect to them, depending on the social media platform and your settings, if you post or enter information or interact with the platform or

others, your information may also be visible to others. You do so at your own risk and like any other third party links, we have no control over and are not liable or responsible for any use of your information by or through any social media platforms. Similar to Third Party Content, we also don’t monitor or review, nor are we responsible for websites or webpages owned, controlled, managed or operated by Service Providers and consequently, we cannot be and are not responsible for their privacy practices or policies. As a reminder, you should make sure you review the terms, conditions and privacy practices of all third party websites carefully, because once you leave our Website, your personal information and any activity or transactions you engage in will be under their control and subject to their policies, not ours. Our Website may also contain various videos from Vimeo, a platform owned and operated by Vimeo, Inc. is a video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider based in New York City, New York State. These videos are embedded on the Website with the aid of a plugin or code – programs that allow you to view the videos directly through the Website. Although they appear on the Website, your browser is actually establishing a direct connection to Vimeo servers and Vimeo may be able to detect the websites you have accessed, including our Website. If you have a Vimeo account, Vimeo may also be able to associate this information with your personal user account with them. You may be able to avoid this if you log out of your Vimeo account before viewing the videos (which use these plug-ins or code), but to be sure, you should consult Vimeo’s privacy policy and terms of use since that is the only source of accurate information.

You Can Control Your Privacy Choices

We want you to have choices and control over how we collect and use your personal information. If you contact us, ask us to provide you with information or receive unsolicited marketing or promotional emails from us, you will always be able to opt out of receiving those types of email communications from us.

You always have the right to ask us to provide you with a digital file containing a copy of your personal information and request that we delete all or any portion of your personal information. We still must and do reserve the right to retain any of your personal information as long as necessary to fulfill and service any transactions or requests you have made or initiated that require our performance and for legal and audit purposes.

To be sure your rights are clear, in summary, you have the right:

To know what categories of personal information we collect;
To know the purposes for which we collect and use personal information and to whom personal information is disclose and/or shared;
To know what specific personal information we have about you and with whom we shared or provided it;
To tell us not to sell your personal information;
To request us to delete all or any portion of your personal information;

We have the right to deny or delay responding to your requests, if retaining your information is necessary for us to:

Complete and fulfill a transaction, any contractual obligation, any associated request, customer service or other purpose related to your continued existing relationship with us;
Complete and take any action consistent with the purpose for which we collected the information and for which you previously consented or agreed, whether based on the Agreement you have with us or otherwise,
Detect and identify security incidents, protect against illegal activity and provide evidence necessary to prosecute, cooperate with law enforcement or other governmental agencies or enforce our rights;
Repair or correct errors, malfunctions or deficiencies in our products, the Website, our systems or communications capabilities; and/or
Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

If we need to retain any information for business or legal purposes, we will keep it only as long as necessary for us to comply with those requirements. You can appreciate, we also need to be sure your personal information isn’t accidentally or maliciously altered or deleted without your permission or knowledge, so there could be a delay in deleting information in our systems and backups to make sure we are following your instructions.

Exercising Your Privacy Rights

If you want to exercise any of the rights you have, you can send us your request by email at sl-digital@hl.agency or by regular mail to, H/L, 100 Webster Street, Oakland, California 94607, Attention: Privacy. Bear in mind only you or someone legally authorized to act on your behalf under the laws that apply to you is allowed to send us requests to exercise your rights. Your request must also include enough information to enable us to verify you are the individual that is the subject of your request or to authenticate anyone else authorized to make the request on your behalf. We may request additional information or confirmation from you to do so. You should describe your request, consistent with your rights, in enough detail so we can understand and respond to it properly and you should understand it will only cover the 12 month period preceding your verifiable and understandable request. If you don’t, or if we cannot verify your identity or the authority of another person to make the request on your behalf and make sure the request relates to your information, we will not be able to honor your request until you meet these conditions. We will generally respond to a complete and proper request, at no charge to you, within 45 days of receiving your verifiable and understandable request. If we need more time, we will notify you, but it won’t be longer than another 45 days. If we send you a digital file to allow for data portability, we will use a widely used file format which should allow you to transmit the information easily.

Compliance, Questions and Comments

We establish and maintain reasonable security measures and try to keep track of known security threats and prevent problems before they occur. If we can’t prevent them, we try to detect and correct them promptly, in compliance with the laws and regulations that apply. We review Website information (e.g., logs and archive information) immediately before a problem starts to help us identify and fix problems more quickly. We also regularly review this Privacy Policy and our compliance with it, to make sure we keep up to date with our legal obligations. We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time and will post the new Privacy Policy on this web page, as well as other areas of the Website that link back to this Privacy Policy. Unless we provide a future effective date, the new updated Privacy Policy will be effective when we post it, and it is your obligation to check back here often so you remain aware of all of the current terms and conditions that apply to you.

Contact Us

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy you can send an email to sl-digital@hl.agency or send your inquiry by regular mail to H/L, 100 Webster Street, Oakland, California 94607, Attention: Privacy

Privacy Policy