Privacy Policy

JAMS Privacy Policy

Effective November 15, 2016

Welcome to the JAMS website located at www.JAMSADR.com (the “Site”). JAMS (“JAMS,” “we,” “us” or “our”) is committed to respecting the privacy rights of all Site visitors and users (“Users,” “you,” or “your”). We have established this Privacy Policy, publicly available at the bottom of the home page of the Site, to explain our practices regarding the collection and use of information about Site Users. This is the Privacy Policy intended to apply to Users in the United States. We have an affiliated company in the United Kingdom, JAMS International, that has its own website and privacy policy for users and visitors in the United Kingdom. The Site is intended to provide information pertaining to JAMS alternative dispute resolution services and to promote communication between our arbitrators, mediators or others who preside over disputes or conduct alternative dispute resolution services (“Neutrals”), associates/employees, and clients. The Site provides access to event information, membership registration, newsletters, links to other internet resources, and more. We use information that we collect from you to efficiently provide the local JAMS Resolution Centers with demographic and other information to help our organization better serve its clients and the community. By visiting the Site or using any of the Site’s features or online services (collectively, “Services”) you consent to JAMS’ collection, use, processing, storage, deletion and disclosure of personally identifiable information relating to you as set forth in this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy is effective upon posting.

Information We Collect and Why
JAMS collects the following information from Users. Except as otherwise indicated below, JAMS does not collect personally identifiable information or “PII” (as defined below) unless you voluntarily provide it to us. In addition, JAMS limits the PII it collects to information that is relevant for purposes of processing.

Information You Give Us: All Users may visit the public areas of the Site without disclosing any personal information about themselves. However, in order to use certain Services, you may be asked to fill in dropdown menus or otherwise provide certain personally identifiable information such as your name, email address, mailing address, phone number and similar information (collectively, “PII”). We only collect PII from you that you choose to provide, or authorize us to collect. When you complete a case submittal form, you may also be required to provide your name, position, company name, address, telephone, fax, web address, email address and similar information for each party, as well as your preferences for the hearing format, resolution center and Neutral and other information about your case. Users may request to receive information from JAMS, or to otherwise interact with JAMS, in which case an email or other address or PII information may be collected in order to allow us to comply with the request, and for other purposes as may be disclosed to you at the time the request is made or otherwise as set forth in this Privacy Policy.
Other PII: With respect to PII transferred from the European Union (EU) to the United States and compliance with the Privacy Shield Framework described below, JAMS case information that Users and others provide to JAMS’ UK affiliate, JAMS International, including PII, would in the ordinary course reside on servers at JAMS’ secure third party data center in the United States. PII relating to Neutrals in the United Kingdom also would reside in such data center in the United States. Finally, while no PII relating to associates/employees of such UK affiliate reside on servers in the United States in the ordinary course, it is possible that in connection with specific matters relating to such associates/employees, transfers of relevant PII with respect to certain employees may from time to time take place to us in the United States.

Cookies: “Cookies” are small bits of electronic information that a website sends to a User’s browser for storage on your hard drive, which make your interaction with the Site more efficient by remembering you, so for example you may not have to reenter a User ID on a subsequent Site visit. Like most websites, we employ the use of "cookies" in certain areas of our Site and with certain Services to allow us to provide information that is targeted to your interests and optimizes your online experience, such as providing information of potential interest to you based on your use of the Services. Most cookies are "session cookies," meaning that they are automatically deleted at the end of your session. Moreover, you always have the right to decline our cookies by setting your web browser to reject cookies, although this may adversely affect the usability of the Site.

Tracked Information: Our servers automatically track certain information about you as you use our Site, some of which may contain PII. This information may include the URL that you just came from, which URL you go to next, what browser you are using, which webpages and Services you use, how long you spend on particular webpages, and your IP address. Our Site logs track and collect aggregate and sometimes anonymized Site usage data, such as the number of hits and visits to our Site (“Usage Data”). This information is used for internal purposes by technical support staff to provide better services to the public and may also be provided to third parties, but the statistics are aggregate and contain no individual PII. We do not ask for, collect or knowingly receive sensitive PII.

How We Use and/or Disclose the Information
We may use PII that you provide to us to personalize your profile information in connection with your use of Services such as case management, or to maintain, customize and add new resources and services, and to allow communication and interaction between you and JAMS, and between JAMS, parties, Neutrals and JAMS associates/employees. In addition, we will share the personal information we collect from you under the following circumstances:

Protection of rights. We will share PII if we have a good faith belief that (i) access, use, preservation or disclosure of such information is reasonably necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, such as a court order or subpoena, or a request by law enforcement or governmental authorities, (ii) such action is appropriate to enforce the Terms of Service for the Site, including any investigation of potential violations thereof, (iii) such action is necessary to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues associated with the Services, or (iv) such action is appropriate to protect the rights, property or safety of JAMS, its employees, Neutrals, users of the Services or others.
Asset/equity transfers. If we become involved in a merger, acquisition or other transaction involving the sale of some or all of JAMS’s assets or equity, information on Users, Neutrals and associates/employees, including PII collected from you through your use of the Site and its Services, could be included in the transferred assets. Users of the Site will be notified via a prominent notice on the Site prior to a change of ownership or control that would involve a transfer of User information held by us, subject to applicable law including any statutory periods restricting disclosure.
Service Providers. In the event that we engage service providers as data processors on our behalf, then subject to appropriate confidentiality and security measures, including compliance with this Privacy Policy, we may share your PII with them. Any such third party data processors are and/or will be subject to contractual agreements to ensure that they only process PII provided by JAMS in a manner consistent with JAMS’ obligations under the Privacy Shield Principles as more fully described and made accessible to you below. JAMS remains liable under such Principles if its agent processes your PII in a manner inconsistent with the Principles, unless we can prove that we are not responsible for the event giving rise to any damage.
Marketing purposes. We will occasionally use your PII for our own marketing purposes, subject to applicable law, and subject to your clearly indicated right to opt-out of receiving any such communications from us. We may send you emails, newsletters, articles of potential interest, announcements involving our Neutrals or new Services, and notice about bar association and legal events that may be of interest to our Users.
Usage Data. We may share Usage Data and other aggregated information that shows patterns, trends, preferences, and other collective characteristics of our Users, with third parties. Disclosure of this information helps us and our marketing partners evaluate and tailor our communications, advertisements, Services and general business practices to the needs of our Users.
Public Authorities. We may disclose your PII in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or enforcement requirements.

Control of Your Information; Opt-Out
You have the right to access your personal data/PII. You may choose to opt out of certain disclosure if you do not want your information disclosed to a third party or be used for a purpose materially different than the purpose for which it was originally collected or subsequently authorized by you (unless the disclosure is merely to an agent performing tasks for us under our instructions or control).. You may request that we update, correct, amend or delete any of the PII or other information we have collected from you, or you may opt out of receiving JAMS emails and other communications such as newsletters, by sending an email to us at info@jamsadr.info. We may choose not to fulfill any request that we determine is illegal or where the burden or expense of providing access would be disproportionate to the risks to the individual’s privacy, or where the rights of persons other than the individual would be violated, but our intention is to comply with opt-out requests, and other requests that seek to correct, update or delete your PII, as fully as possible in accordance with applicable law and the Privacy Shield Principles. You will also be given notice should we use your PII for a purpose other than that for which it was originally collected or processed. We do not ask for, collect or knowingly receive sensitive PII, i.e., PII specifying medical or health conditions, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, or information relating to sex life. Organizations that seek or disclose such sensitive PII must receive your affirmative express consent (opt in) before disclosing it to a third party or using it for a purpose other than that for which it was originally collected or subsequently authorized.

Under the Privacy Shield Principles, regarding PII transferred from the EU/UK, you will have the right to (i) obtain our confirmation as to whether or not we are processing your PII; (ii) have communicated to you such PII so that you can verify its accuracy and the lawfulness of the data processing; and (iii) have your PII corrected, amended or deleted where it is inaccurate or processed in violation of such Principles. We have the right to charge a fee that is not excessive to comply with your request. You do not have to justify your request for PII, but we have the right to engage in a dialogue with you to better understand what you are seeking. We also have the right to obtain sufficient information about your identity to ensure that the request is not fraudulent. If we determine that access should be restricted, we will provide you with an explanation as to why we made that determination, and give you a contact point for any further inquiries. For example, if we are unable to separate confidential commercial information from your PII, we have the right to deny or limit access to avoid revealing such confidential commercial information or redact the confidential commercial information. Moreover, we have the right to set reasonable limits on the number of times within a given period you have the right to make access requests, so as to limit repetitious or vexatious requests.

With respect to human resources-related PII about employees/associates of JAMS’ affiliated company, JAMS International, we use commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that this PII remains in the United Kingdom and is not processed or stored in the United States. To the extent that any such information is processed in the United States, it would only occur for specific employment-related purposes for small numbers of employees, and the notice and choice Principles would be observed. If appropriate, access to such information will be provided to such associates/employees either directly or through JAMS International. Should any such employees not be satisfied with internal review procedures or applicable grievance procedures by law or contract regarding any complaint about data protection rights, their recourse is to the national data protection authority in the jurisdiction where such employees work. We will cooperate with any such authority.

Because JAMS provides alternative dispute resolution mechanisms that operate in accordance with judicial procedures, we may also deny or limit access to PII in the following contexts: (i) interference with law enforcement or with private causes of action, including the prevention, investigation or detection of offenses or the right to a fair trial, arbitration or mediation; (ii) disclosure where the legitimate rights or important interests of others would be violated; (iii) breaching a legal or other professional privilege or obligation; (iv) prejudicing employee security investigations or grievance proceedings or in connection with employee succession planning and corporate reorganizations; or (v) prejudicing the confidentiality necessary in monitoring, inspection or regulatory functions connected with sound management, or in future or ongoing negotiations involving JAMS.

Third-Party Websites
While using the Site and certain Services, you may have access to or link to third-party websites, or your use of the Services may involve transfer to a third-party website, e.g., you may be referred to a payment processor website to provide credit card information or to a case management site to facilitate such services . Linked third-party websites are independent of JAMS, and have their own terms of use/service and privacy policies, which govern your use of such websites. Any link does not imply JAMS’ endorsement of the third-party website.

Security
Any PII that you provide to us is stored on servers located in secure third-party data centers with restricted access, and which are protected by protocols, procedures and best practices designed to ensure the security of such information. In addition, we restrict access to PII to JAMS employees, independent contractors and agents who need to know this information in order to develop, operate and maintain the Services, and are subject to confidentiality obligations. However, no server, computer or communications network or system, or data transmission over the Internet, can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect User information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us or through the use of the Site or any of the Services. In the event that we believe that there has been a security breach involving your PII, we would endeavor to notify you promptly in accordance with applicable law. In the event such notification is appropriate under the circumstances, we would first try to notify you at the latest email address we have for you on record, subject to legal requirements.

Children’s Privacy
The Site is a general audience website not intended for any person under 18 years old. We do not knowingly collect PII from any person under the age of 13.

Notification of Changes
This Privacy Policy may change from time to time and we will post all the most current, updated Policy here. We suggest you review it periodically to ensure that you are in agreement with the latest updates.

Privacy Shield
JAMS has self-certified its compliance with the Privacy Shield Framework between the European Union (”EU”) and the United States, and its adherence to the Privacy Shield Principles, to ensure compliance with EU data protection requirements when transferring PII from the EU to the United States. JAMS’ , self-certification has been approved by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration as of November 7, 2016. For further information about the requirements for compliance with the Privacy Shield, and further detail about the Privacy Shield Principles, please visit https://www.privacyshield.gov. For purposes of our participation in the Privacy Shield, JAMS confirms that we are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and to its investigatory and enforcement powers,

Complaints and Dispute Resolution
If you have any complaint or concern regarding your PII (personal data) under this Privacy Policy, or arising under the Privacy Policy please contact us at info@jamsadr.com. We suggest that you put in the subject line of any email or communication “Privacy Policy” or “Privacy Complaint.” We will respond within 45 days. If this does not resolve your concern, you have three (3) escalating options. (1) If you have an unresolved privacy or data use dispute or concern that we have not addressed satisfactorily, please contact our U.S.-based third party dispute resolution provider (free of charge) at https://feedback-form.truste.com/watchdog/request. (2) If you are unable to resolve your issue under clause (1) above, you can raise the issue with the local Data Protection Authority in the UK/EU regarding customer data, and you must choose this route concerning your Human Resources PII that is the subject of your complaint (that is, PII transferred from the UK/EU to the United States relating to your employment status), which will then be taken up by the relevant EU Data Protection Authority with the US Department of Commerce to resolve the issue, and the Department of Commerce will use best efforts to resolve the issue within timeframes set forth in the Letter from the International Trade Administration of such Department, at no cost to you. As the likely source of Human Resources Data for JAMS from outside the United States would be the United Kingdom, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office in the United Kingdom, which is the local Data Protection Authority, at https://ico.org.uk/concerns or call its helpline in the UK at 0303 123 1113. (3) If you still believe that your complaint or dispute has not been resolved, you can invoke binding arbitration as a last resort (if permitted with respect to your complaint), by providing notice to us in the manner indicated in Annex I to the Privacy Shield Principles, available online, and following the procedures set forth in such Annex. You agree that the arbitration shall take place in Los Angeles, California, USA unless not permitted by applicable law (most likely you will not need to attend in person), and that to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you will not be entitled to recover attorneys’ or arbitration fees, even if you would otherwise be entitled to them. Finally, EU citizens have the right to initiate a private cause of action. JAMS commits to follow up in its verification that the attestations and assertions made in this Privacy Policy are true, and to remedy any problems that may arise if we fail to comply with the Privacy Shield Principles.

Mediation
You also agree that, in the event any dispute or claim arising out of or relating to your use of the Site or the Services or this Privacy Policy that does not relate to your PII (personal data), or that is not covered by the previous paragraph, you and JAMS will attempt in good faith to negotiate a written resolution of the matter directly between the parties. You agree that if the matter remains unresolved for forty-five (45) days after notification (via certified mail or personal delivery) that a dispute exists, all parties shall join in mediation services in Los Angeles, California with a mutually agreed mediator in an attempt to resolve the dispute. Should you file any arbitration claims, or any administrative or legal actions without first having attempted to resolve the matter by mediation, then you agree that to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you will not be entitled to recover attorneys’ fees, even if you would otherwise be entitled to them.

Verification
JAMS self-assesses its compliance to the Privacy Shield Framework. JAMS’ Privacy Policy regarding PII received from the EU is accurate, comprehensive and conforms to the Privacy Shield Principles.

Questions? Contact Us
If you have any questions about our privacy practices or this Privacy Policy, please contact us by email at info@jamsadr.info or you can contact us by mail at:

JAMS
18881 Von Karman Ave.
Suite #350
Irvine, CA 92612
Attn: Sheri Eisner, Assoc. General Counsel

Terms of Service
Please also read the Terms of Service governing use of the Site and the Services.