I. Introduction
This Privacy Policy explains how the ABA collects, uses, shares and safeguards Personal Data and Non-Personal Data on www.americanbar.org, www.abajournal.com, mobile websites, microsites, mobile applications, ABA profiles on ABA social media sites and any other digital services and platforms officially operated or used by the ABA from time to time (“Sites”), as well as by phone or by paper. In certain Sites operated overseas, the privacy policy displayed on those Sites, and not this Privacy Policy, may govern the collection, use and sharing of information.
II. Changes to the Privacy Policy
As the ABA, its membership, products and services change from time to time, this Privacy Policy is expected to change as well. We reserve the right to amend the Privacy Policy at any time, for any reason. The date of the last revision to the Privacy Policy will be indicated by the "Effective Date" at the bottom of this page.
III. Types of Data We Collect
Personal Data
We collect information (whether online, by phone, or by paper) that enables the ABA to identify or contact you (“Personal Data”) to carry out its business purposes. ABA Sites collect this information for a variety of business reasons, including but not limited to, applying for membership, registering for an ABA event or program, purchasing ABA products or services, or otherwise interacting with the ABA.
The types of Personal Data we collect include, but are not limited to:
- General data (e.g., names, dates of birth, home and business addresses, email addresses, Internet protocol addresses and mobile/landline business/personal telephone numbers that are provided by our members/customers)
- Professional data (e.g., bar pass date and state(s))
- Government-issued identification numbers (e.g., social security numbers, national identification numbers and tax identification numbers), for example from employees and independent contractors, but not from members unless the ABA makes payments to members, such as honoraria or royalties for publishing rights
- Other identification information (e.g., photographs)
- Financial information (e.g., credit and debit card numbers, credit reports, passwords and PIN numbers) for product sales or employment purposes
- Sensitive Personal Data (e.g., racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation and disability data) for diversity or accessibility purposes
- Site usage (e.g., browsing history, search terms, number of clicks, referring/exit pages, date/time stamp, time on Site)
- Products and services viewed, including advertisements for such products and services
- Computer type, operating system and platform type
- Internet service provider
- Your industry and business (e.g., company size and location, job functions and seniority levels)
The ABA also receives Personal Data from third parties for the ABA’s use in marketing to potential new members, such as lists of new state bar admittees from various state bar entities.
IV. How We Use Your Data
In addition to the uses described above, we use your Personal Data in order to:
- Identify you when you visit the Sites;
- Provide transactional service communications such as bill reminders, order confirmations, program registrations and customer service messages;
- Provide products, information and services you request or that we think you may be interested in, or in order to respond to your emails regarding the same;
- Deliver and process surveys regarding the practice of law and ABA membership activities;
- Personalize and improve the functionality of the Sites;
- Fulfill and/or deliver products and services;
- Tailor content, advertising and marketing to your specified interests, memberships, and/or practice areas; and
- Publish publicly available and internal membership directories, membership lists and registration lists on the Sites and/or in print and digital media. In the case of publicly available directories and lists, you will be required to provide consent in order to be included.
- Improve the usability of our Sites and for other business reasons.
- Provide or allow third parties to provide advertisements and targeted advertisements to you. The third party might also collect data over time and across other websites. Among other things, they may use this data to serve ads tailored to your interests, which may include ads about our products or services.
This list of uses for Personal Data is non-exhaustive. We also have a legitimate interest in maintaining that data so that we can easily address questions about an order. As a result, our collection and processing of your data is based on either your consent, our need to perform a contract, our legal obligations, and/or our legitimate interest in conducting our business. Please note that, when you select an advertising link or other link that takes you to sites not operated by the ABA, you may be subject to the privacy policies of these third-party sites.
V. How We Share Your Data
We share your Personal Data in a variety of ways including, but not limited to the below:
- We may share your data with third parties to fulfill service requests and to perform business functions. The ABA often contracts with third parties to provide services on our behalf, such as data hosting services; packaging, mailing and delivering services; customer support and consulting services; and event registration and management services.
- We may share your data with regulators, governmental agencies; legal representatives; or other third parties as required by law or to protect the ABA in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process served on the ABA; (b) protect and defend the ABA’s rights or property; or (c) protect the personal safety of ABA personnel or members of the public in appropriate circumstances.
- We may share your data with third parties if the ABA and/or its assets (or a portion of its assets) are sold, assigned, transferred, or merged, or if the ABA undergoes some other change including a change to its corporate form as part of a bankruptcy proceeding or otherwise; information may be transferred as part of that transaction or change.
- We may share your data with social media sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, X (formerly known as Twitter), You Tube, Instagram, and others who may contact you with “targeted ads” relating to legal and other services.
In addition to these instances, we may share your data with third parties under other unanticipated situations with your prior consent. In any manner in which the ABA is sharing your data, we will take every effort to comply with all applicable statutes and regulations, including all applicable state regulations and the EU General Data Protection Regulation.
Except as provided in section “How We Share Your Email Address,” we may sell your general data and industry and business data with third parties to offer you products and services that may be of interest to you professionally or personally (e.g., products and services, including upcoming conference and/or CLE opportunities; business software solutions; or member product discounts). Users can opt out of having their information sold by us by requesting by contacting us, as set forth in the “Contact Information” section below.
VI. How We Share Your Email Address
You may receive email communications regarding upcoming programs or services that align with your expressed interests. However, the ABA does not sell or rent your private email addresses to any third party. Neither does the ABA share your private email address with third parties, except in certain circumstances for the purpose of conducting ABA business or as required by law. No private email address that you provide will be shared with corporate sponsors, advertisers, member benefits providers, insurance providers (with the exception of USI Affinity for use in promoting ABA Insurance), or any third-party selling products and services on the Association’s behalf without prior consent.
VII. How We Use Your Mobile Information
Upon messaging opt-in, you may receive informational SMS or text messages from the ABA in order to achieve our normal business purposes. However, the ABA does not use or share your mobile information for marketing/promotional purposes without prior consent. Further, no mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All the stated categories in this privacy policy exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
You can opt-out by replying STOP or ask for more information by replying HELP. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply.
VIII. How You Can Manage the Processing of Your Data
You can manage your profile and email preferences, including “opting out” of email by logging into the ABA website and editing your profile, or by contacting the ABA Service Desk using the information in the “Contact Information” section below. If you prefer to receive hard copy mailings only from the ABA, you can contact us and request to have your name and address removed from any lists we provide to third parties.
Our processing of your data is based upon your consent, contract performance (e.g., your purchase of products or membership sign-up/renewal), legitimate business interest (e.g., direct marketing of goods and services), or compliance with law. You have the right to object to our processing of your data or to restrict our processing of your data. In addition, if you have consented to the processing of your Personal Data, you have the right to revoke your consent at any time. Should you revoke your consent, such revocation will be effective no later than 30 days after your request, unless an earlier date is required by law.
IX. California Privacy Rights
In addition to the rights as explained in this Privacy Policy, under California’s "Shine the Light" law, California residents who provide personal information (as defined in the statute) to obtain products or services for personal, family, or household use are entitled to request and obtain from us, once a calendar year, information about the personal information we shared, if any, with other businesses for marketing uses. If applicable, this information would include the categories of personal information and the names and addresses of those businesses with which we shared such personal information for the immediately prior calendar year (e.g., requests made in the current year will receive information about the prior year). To obtain this information please write to us at: American Bar Association, 321 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60654-7598. Attn: ABA List Sales — California Privacy Law. Please include your full name and address and ABA Member Number, if applicable.
X. Children
The ABA is geared towards legal professionals, law students, and others interested in the rule of law. We do not knowingly market to, or collect Personal Data from, children under the age of 13.
XI. How We Protect and Retain Personal Data
The ABA implements commercially reasonable security measures to help protect against unauthorized access to or unauthorized alteration, disclosure, or destruction of data. Except for membership directories, membership lists, registration lists, and the sharing of information as set forth in this Privacy Policy, we restrict access to Personal Data to certain companies who need the data to operate, develop, or improve our services. These individuals or partner organizations are bound by confidentiality obligations and may be subject to discipline, including termination and criminal prosecution, if they fail to meet these obligations.
Unfortunately, no data transmitted over the Internet or stored electronically is fully secure. Accordingly, and despite our reasonable efforts to protect your Personal Data from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, the ABA cannot guarantee or warrant the security of the Personal Data you transmit to us, or to or from our online Sites. Accordingly, if you have issues in making a financial transaction online, please do not transmit your payment information to us via email, but contact the ABA Service Center at the number listed below.
Typically, we retain your Personal Data for the period necessary to fulfill the normal business use for which it was collected, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.
XII. User ID and Password
Certain areas of the Sites require the use of a user ID, email address, or password as an additional security measure that helps protect your Personal Data. To help you protect your privacy, these Sites have tools to help you log in and log out. In order to help us with our efforts to protect your data, we ask that you select a complex password and that you refrain from using the same passwords across sites.
XIII. Linking to Other Internet Sites
You should be aware that other internet sites that are linked from our Sites or from an ABA email message may contain privacy provisions that differ from the provisions of this Privacy Policy. To ensure your privacy is protected, we recommend that you review the privacy statements of these other linked sites, applications, or other digital platforms.
XIV. Your Choices
Some jurisdictions give you a right to make the following choices about your personal data:
Access. You may request access to your personal data or confirmation that we have data about you. In certain limited cases, you may ask to receive access to your data in a portable, machine-readable form.
Modifications. If you are a user of our Sites, a subscriber to any ABA publications, a purchaser of any ABA products and services, or an ABA member, you can review, update and correct your information directly on the ABA’s website or by contacting us using the information in the “Contact Information” section below. We rely on you to update and correct your Personal Data.
Deletions. Please note that you can request that we delete your Personal Data at any time. All requests must be directed to the contact in the “Contact Information” section below. We can elect to delete your Personal Data if we determine that the data is incomplete, inaccurate, or that our continued use and storage are contrary to our obligations to other members, individuals, or third parties. We will delete your Personal Data where it is required by law. When we delete your Personal Data, it will be removed from our active databases or anonymized so that the data is no longer identified with you, but the data may remain in our archives if the ABA determines that it is not practical or possible to delete it.
Objection to or Restriction of Certain Processing. In certain circumstances, you may object to the processing of your personal data or ask that we restrict processing of your personal data. To do so, follow the instructions below.
Revocation Of Consent. Where we process your personal data based upon consent, you may revoke consent. Note, if you revoke consent for processing personal data, we may no longer be able to provide you some types of services.
Not all the rights above are absolute, and they do not apply in all circumstances. We may limit or deny some requests because the law permits or requires us to. We will not discriminate against individuals who exercise their privacy rights under applicable law.
Submitting Requests
You may exercise the above rights by contacting us via the contact information below. If you disagree with our denial of a request, you may appeal our decision by contacting us with the subject line “Appeal.”
As required by law, we will require you to prove your identity. We may verify your identity by phone call or email. Depending on your request, we will ask for information such as your name, the last item you purchased from us, or the date of your last purchase from us. We may also ask you to share a signed declaration confirming your identity. Following a request, we will use reasonable efforts to supply, correct or delete personal data about you in our files.
In some circumstances, you may designate an authorized agent to exercise certain privacy rights on your behalf. If you are an authorized agent submitting a request on behalf of an individual, you must attach a copy of a letter signed by the beneficiary which shows that you may act on another’s behalf.
XV. Cookies and Other Web Devices
Our website sends cookies (e.g., pieces of code or text placed on your computer by us or third- parties when you browse our Sites) to your web browser (if your browser’s preferences allow it) to collect data when you browse our Sites. Cookie settings can be controlled through the browser pop- up or through the settings in your internet browser to automatically reject some forms of cookies. If you view our Site without changing your cookie settings, you are indicating your consent to receive all cookies from our Sites. If you do not allow cookies, some features and functionality of our Sites may not operate as expected. In addition to cookies, we place technological tools (and allow certain third parties to place technological tools) such as tags and beacons (e.g., code scripts that are primarily used to track visitors’ activities on our Sites by web analytics software), Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, and other tools, to collect your data for the purposes listed in this Privacy Policy.
We do not recognize the “Do Not Track” signal. In addition, some third-party tools may not honor Do Not Track signals from your browser. Other tools may not allow you to opt-out of data collection. We recognize Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals broadcast from web browsers as a valid opt-out request where required by applicable law. Please note that the GPC will apply only to your current browser.
XVI. Transmission of Data to Other Countries
Your Personal Data is processed in the United States, where privacy laws may be less stringent than the laws in your country and where the government, courts, or law enforcement may be able to access your data. By submitting your Personal Data to us, you acknowledge the transfer, storage and processing of your Personal Data in the United States. Where your Personal Data is collected outside of the United States, it is protected pursuant to the standard contractual clauses. If you want to obtain a copy of the standard contractual clauses, you can contact us at [email protected].
XVII. Right to Complain to Supervisory Authority
If the GDPR applies to the processing of your data, you, as the data subject, have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, if you believe that the processing of your personal data does not comply with legal requirements.
XVIII. Breach Notification
In the event we determine the occurrence of a data security incident, we will notify you by email, US mail, telephone, or other means as permitted by law
XIX. Contact Information
If you have questions, comments, or complaints concerning our privacy practices, if you need access to this Privacy Policy in a different form due to disability, or if you wish to change, access, or remove your Personal Data, please contact us as indicated below. We will attempt, where practical, to respond to your requests and to provide you with additional privacy related information.
American Bar Association 321 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL 60654 americanbar.org:
(800) 285-2221 or (312) 988-5000
[email protected]
Effective Date: 4/15/2025