Privacy Policy – Smith Dominguez Law

Privacy Policy Overview

At Smith Dominguez, PLLC, your privacy is very important to us. As a planning- and solutions-based law firm in the heart of Raleigh, North Carolina – and everywhere else we do business – that means protecting the personal data you’ve trusted with us. Our Privacy Policy relates to the information we collect from you as a client, potential client, or interested party when you connect with our firm – whether through our website, client portal, e-mail, or in-person during a scheduled appointment. Committed to client-centric, bespoke, and compassionate service in everything we do, this includes how we handle your data privacy. This Privacy Policy is intended to inform you – clearly and plainly – about how we collect, use, disclose, protect, and otherwise manage your data, and what your and our rights are as it relates to information in our system. If you’re a current or potential client of the firm; if you’ve simply expressed interest in engaging with us; or if you’re merely browsing for information on how your data is treated at Smith Dominguez, PLLC – we invite you to look through this policy so that you can best understand how your data is consistently handled and cared for by our team.

Who We Are: Smith Dominguez, PLLC

Smith Dominguez, PLLC is a North Carolina bilingual law firm co-founded by attorneys Alexia Dominguez and Ayeshinaye Smith. Our Raleigh, North Carolina based firm offers full-service legal representation in the areas of estate planning, business law, family law, immigration, personal injury, and traffic tickets. Among other service areas, we are proud of our commitment to tailor our legal counsel to meet the needs and expectations of every client in a straightforward and solution-oriented manner. We provide comprehensive legal services to clients throughout the state of North Carolina and cases are handled in a bilingual fashion, in English and Spanish (Hablamos Español). For inquiries regarding this Privacy Policy or the above-referenced legal services, please contact us at (919) 390-3521 or at [email protected]. Our address is 4822 Six Forks Rd, Ste 102, Raleigh, NC 27609.

What Does This Privacy Policy Apply To?

This Privacy Policy is applicable to all information collected by Smith Dominguez, PLLC, including information gathered through smithdominguez.com, our client portal, our various social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok), phone calls, and/or in person at our office. It includes data gathered from our clients, potential clients, newsletter recipients, and visitors to our site. This policy does not extend to third party sites or services that are hyperlinked from this site nor is it applicable to third parties that cannot be controlled by our firm. By using our firm’s services or website, you agree to the privacy practices outlined in this Privacy Policy.

Categories of Information We Collect

Personal Identification Information: For example: your name, street address, phone number, email address, date of birth, and other information that can be used to identify you.
Case-Related Information: Information related to your case, such as family matter (i.e. were you and your spouse married, or is the defendant in a criminal case a family member), financial information including assets, business interests, and more.
Communications History: Email, phone log, chats and transcripts, and other communications with us.
Online Data: IP address, type of browser, device ID or other information collected by a cookie or similar mechanism when you visit our site or client portal.
Payment Information: For example: your billing address, payment type and bank account information, purchase or refund history (we do not store full credit card numbers, all bank transactions are made securely through our trusted third party vendors).
Demographic Information: Language preference, occupation, or any other information that can help us better serve you more efficiently.

Methods for Collecting Information

We may collect information in a number of ways to provide and improve our legal services.

Directly from the Client: You may give us information about you through a consultation, filling out a form on our website, interacting with our legal services, emailing or calling us, or accessing the client portal.
Automatically: When you visit our website or interact with our legal services, we automatically collect certain technical data through cookies, analytics software, and server logs.
From Other Sources: With your permission or as otherwise permitted by law, we may obtain information about you from other sources, such as court records, government websites or agencies, and lawyers representing other parties.

Use of Your Personal Information

The information we receive from you is used by Smith Dominguez, PLLC only to administer and manage the high-quality legal services offered to you personally, and to enhance your interactions with Smith Dominguez, PLLC. In particular, we may use your information:

To schedule and conduct an in-person or telephonic consultation
To evaluate your legal need and dispense specific legal advice concerning your situation
To draft, review and/or file legal papers with a court or other entity for you
To advise you as to your case, changes in law or updates from the firm
For billing, payment or other administrative purposes
To improve the operation of our website and enhance the visitor experience
To send you our monthly email newsletter, legal alerts and insights (only with your opt-in agreement)
To fulfill our duties as Attorneys licensed in North Carolina.

Legal Basis for Processing Personal Information

Smith Dominguez, PLLC collects and processes your personal information on the basis of one or more of the following legal grounds:

Contractual necessity: When we need to perform a contract with you, for example when you are our client or prospective client.
Legal compliance: When necessary to comply with relevant laws and our professional obligations as attorneys.
Legitimate interests: To provide you with better services, keep information secure and to operate an efficient law firm.
Consent: Where necessary and appropriate, we will request your consent before processing certain types of personal information. For example, when you subscribe to our Newsletter.

Disclosure and Sharing of Information

We honor the privacy of your information. Smith Dominguez, PLLC does not sell, rent or trade your personal information. We share your information only in the following limited situations:

With Your Permission: When you give us permission to share your information with third parties including other lawyers, experts or vendors who assist with your case.
For Legal Reasons: When we are required by law, court order, or government regulation to do so.
To Service Providers: With service providers who provide software or other services for case management, payment processing, cloud storage, server maintenance and IT security. These service providers are subject to contractual obligations that restrict their use of your information and require them to protect its privacy and security.
Business Transfers: In connection with a merger, sale of business assets, or similar event, information associated with our firm may be transferred as part of a business reorganization.

Keeping Information Confidential

As a law firm, Smith Dominguez, PLLC is subject to strict confidentiality obligations under the NC Rules of Professional Conduct. Information shared with Smith Dominguez in connection with the provision or receipt of legal advice is protected by attorney-client privilege subject to limited exceptions in the law, and Smith Dominguez takes all available steps to ensure that privileged information is not disclosed or used without our clients’ express consent to do so.

Cookies and Internet Tracking Technologies

We employ cookies and other tracking devices on our website and through the client portal to enhance its functionality, monitor overall traffic patterns, and optimize your site experience. Cookies are simple data files that are stored on your device. We use session cookies (that last until a user shuts their browser) and persistent cookies (that last until deleted). Cookies can be managed through the options provided in your browser; however, if you choose to disable cookies some parts of the site may not function properly or you may lose access to certain content. We do not use cookies to track sensitive personal information and we do not use cookies to monitor your internet activity on any unrelated websites.

Analytic and Third Party Services

To better serve our users and enhance website performance, Smith Dominguez, PLLC may employ third-party analytics services such as Google Analytics. Analytics services collect aggregated, anonymized information regarding usage patterns, device types, and geographic locations of users. Smith Dominguez, PLLC does not share personally identifiable information with analytics service providers. In addition, Smith Dominguez, PLLC uses only reputable, secure vendors for payment processing, cloud storage, and client communications. These vendors are each contractually obligated to comply with a host of data protection standards.

How We Safeguard Your Information

Smith Dominguez, PLLC takes significant technical, administrative, and physical steps to safeguard your data from loss, misuse, unauthorized access or disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These include:

Client portals that are secured and encrypted in transmitting documents and messages.
Regularly updating security software and monitoring.
Access controls so that system information is strictly limited to authorized personnel.
Limiting site access and protecting the company’s physical office environment.
Training employees on confidentiality and the proper handling of private information and data.
Backups and disaster recovery plans that systematically save data regularly.

Nothing is fool-proof, but we work hard to protect you. We encourage you to create strong passwords and of course let us know immediately if you believe someone has unlawfully accessed your information.

Our Retention of “Your” Information

We will retain your information, including personal, financial, and case-related in nature, for as long as is necessary to provide legal services to you, to comply with any contractual or legal obligation and/or our professional record keeping rules. However, at the conclusion of your matter we may continue to hold and use your information or certain documents for a limited period which is required by law or our professional rules of retention (usually seven years), before securely destroying or anonymizing them. You may request earlier removal of your information, in accordance with any relevant legal and/or ethical obligations.

Your Rights and Options

As a prospective client or website visitor, you have the following rights with respect to your personal information:

Access-you can ask us for a copy of any information we have about you
Correction-you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information we have about you
Deletion-you can ask us to delete your personal information subject to certain legal, ethical, and reporting obligations
Restrict-You can ask us to restrict how certain data is processed or shared
Object-you can object to geolocation data or our use of your data for purposes including direct marketing communications
Withdraw consent-In circumstances where we rely on consent (such as a request that we provide specific information), you can withdraw your consent at any time

To exercise these rights, contact us at [email protected] or (919) 390-3521. We will respond quickly and consistent with applicable law.

Children’s Privacy

Smith Dominguez, PLLC does not knowingly solicit or collect personally identifiable information from children under age 13 without verifiable parental or guardian consent. If you have any reason to believe that a child under the age of 13 has submitted personally identifiable information to us without appropriate parental or guardian consent, please contact us immediately at [email protected] so we may take such action as appropriate to remove such personally identifiable information.

Cross-Border Data Transfers

Our firm is based in the United States and works primarily with clients in North Carolina. For any access of services outside of the United States, please note that information may be transferred, stored, controlled, and processed in the United States where data laws may not be as protective as those in your country. By accessing services, you consent to the transfer, storage, control, and processing of such information.

Third-Party Links and Other Services

This website and electronic communications may contain links to other websites, materials, or services that we do not operate. Smith Dominguez, PLLC is not responsible in any manner for the privacy policies of third parties who operate these linked areas. We suggest that you review any third party services’ privacy policies before providing any personal information.

Newsletters and Other Communications

With your express consent, Smith Dominguez, PLLC (“SD”) may send you via email a monthly newsletter containing news, legal updates, and information about SD. You may subscribe to receive such communications through our website and/or client portal. Your consent is given at the time you subscribe to receive such communications. You may opt-out from receiving these communications at any time by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link in any such newsletter or emailing [email protected]. We will not sell or rent or otherwise provide your email information to outside marketers, unrelated third parties, or for any other purpose not related to SD.

Social Media Platforms and User-Generated Content

Smith Dominguez, PLLC has a public presence on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to share updates and interact with our community. Please note that any information you send to these public social media channels is available to the general public and is not protected by any confidentiality protections as it would be under the attorney-client privilege. We ask that you do not share information through direct messages or public posts on social media or any other electronic communication about your legal matters, which should always be discussed between you and your attorney in a private conversation. If you have a legal matter that needs to be addressed because of your CBD-related business, please call or email us directly to discuss.

Payments and Financial Information

Payments may be provided through our client portal in a secure manner, or may be made in person at our office in Raleigh. Our payment processors have security protocols, and comply with industry standards (PCI DSS). We do not maintain your full card information, but instead the necessary payments are securely transferred directly to our payment processor. Direct inquiries about payment security to our office at (919) 390-3521.

Notification of a Breach

In the unlikely event of a data breach involving your personal information, Smith Dominguez, PLLC will quickly investigate and take appropriate remedial action. We will inform affected individuals and the relevant authorities, as required by law. The notification will include information regarding the nature of the breach, steps we are taking to remedy it, and instructions on what steps you can take to protect yourself from further harm or misuse of your information.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

Smith Dominguez, PLLC may periodically amend this Privacy Policy to make changes to our practices or with respect to applicable law or technology. In that case, we will post the amended Privacy Policy on our website with a new “Last Updated” date. We will notify clients who are affected by material changes or whose written engagements require a change in an appropriate form of communication. We encourage you to periodically review this policy so that you will be updated on our current policy with regard to your information.

Contact Us About Privacy Matters

If you have any questions, issues, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, or the treatment of your personal information, please contact Smith Dominguez, PLLC at:
Phone: (919) 390-3521
Email: [email protected]
Address: 4822 Six Forks Rd, Ste 102, Raleigh, NC 27609
You may also send us an inquiry via Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok (any or all of these platforms), but please limit those to general questions and not for sensitive information. We ask that you call or email for more private matters.

Your Confirmation and Acknowledgment

Through use of Smith Dominguez, PLLC’s services (including, but not limited to, the use of this website and client portal, in person meetings at our office location or yours or by telephone), you agree that you have read, understand, and agree to the terms set forth in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, we encourage you to call and discuss your concerns with us or to cease from using our services.

Taking The Next Step: Safeguarding Your Future and Privacy

At Smith Dominguez, PLLC, trust is the cornerstone of every client relationship with which we are involved. That trust encompasses everything from legal advice rendered to how we treat your personal information with the utmost respect and discretion. If you are ready to step up and make your family’s future secure with compassionate, bilingual legal support, contact us to set up your consultation today. Be sure to subscribe to our monthly newsletter for legal tips and news you can use. Your privacy and peace of mind will always be the focus at our law firm.