Privacy Policy

Effective as of September 2, 2010.

General Statement of Privacy

The U. S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (“ILR”) respects the privacy of its members and of those who visit this site. Subject to the provisions of applicable laws, any information you submit to ILR will not be used in any manner to which you have not consented. While ILR does analyze its Web site logs to monitor the flow of traffic and make improvements to the site’s content, its Web site logs are not personally identifiable, and no attempt to link them to individual visitors to this site is made.

Personally Identifiable Information

We do not collect Personally Identifiable Information about you on the ILR Web site without your knowledge or action. Your information is collected through e-mail newsletter and listserv registrations and/or event registration forms. This information includes, but is not limited to, your name (first and last), company name, company address, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, and credit card information. You should be aware that if you disclose any information on a bulletin board or in a chat room or other open forum that is hosted by ILR, others may collect that information to send you unsolicited information from outside ILR, or for other purposes.

Use of Personally Identifiable Information

We reserve the option to share your contact information with certain third parties. These can include financial institutions, service providers, contractors,or affiliate organizations.You will always have the ability to opt out from receiving information from ILR as well as from said third parties.

Non-Personally Identifiable Information

Non-Personally Identifiable Information includes, but is not limited to, information we automatically collect on your use and/or actions on our Web site (e.g., user traffic patterns, page views on the Web site, click-through rates, search terms that users enter into our search utility). In addition, when a visitor arrives at our site, we collect the IP address, operating system, and browser software used. An IP address (which is not the same as an e-mail address) can tell us the user's internet service provider and, based on that, can suggest the geographic location of the connection. ILR recognizes that certain User Information of a key demographic nature (e.g., race, age, gender, national origin, income), while Non-Personally Identifiable Information, is still of a sensitive nature to users. As a general matter, ILR does not collect such information about you through the instituteforlegalreform.com/ instituteforlegalreform.org Web site. However, in recognition of the sensitive nature of such information, in the event ILR comes into possession of such information, whether through your voluntary submission of such information in response to a special feature on the Web site or by receiving such information from any of our business partners, such information shall, when coupled with any of your Personally Identifiable Information, itself be deemed to be Personally Identifiable Information and treated by ILR as such.

Use of Non-personally identifiable information

As a general matter, Non-Personally Identifiable Information helps us determine how the instituteforlegalreform.com/ instituteforlegalreform.org Web site is being used, helps us identify popular areas of the Web site, and helps determine the effectiveness of our promotional activities regarding the Web site.

Use of “Cookies”

Our Web site uses "cookies" (i.e., a small data file that our Web site writes to a user's hard drive) to help track your usage of our site, including what advertising you have seen. Instituteforlegalreform.com/ instituteforlegalreform.org's cookies do not include personal information about you, but they are unique to each user and include a member ID # (a randomly generated unique number) that enables the instituteforlegalreform.com/ instituteforlegalreform.org Web site to identify you when you visit, so you: (1) do not have to remember your username and password each time you visit the Web site; and (2) receive any personalized services you requested when you registered.

Neither our Web site, nor the cookies we write to the hard drives of our users, read any data off of your hard drive outside of our cookies. This includes not reading any cookie files created by other Web sites. You can refuse our cookies by turning them off in your browser (for more information on how to do this, please refer to your browser's documentation). You do not need to have cookies turned on in your browser to use our Web site; however, without cookies certain of the automated functions and features of our Web site will not be available to you. We also use cookies to measure the click through rate on e-mails delivered.

Third Party use of personal information

The ILR site contains links to other Internet Web sites, including co-branded or other affiliated sites. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, we are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web sites, including such sites' use of any information.

Security

You understand and agree that “perfect” security does not exist anywhere, including on the Internet. When you send credit card information, we encrypt this information between your computer and our server. Other information you send to this site, including email messages, will not be encrypted unless we advise you otherwise. Our Web site is protected by a firewall and monitored for security.

Merchant Services

You may be able to access certain information related to third parties at the Site, or via links, banner ads or clickthroughs from the Site, regarding the goods or services of third parties. You understand and agree that your access to or use of those services is a matter entirely between you and the associated third parties, and ILR shall have no liability whatsoever for any such access or use.

Legal Disclaimer

This site provides information designed to help users cope with their own legal, business, financial, and other needs. This information is not the same as retaining experts in those fields for advice. Although we go to great lengths to ensure the information is accurate, we strongly recommend you consult an expert, including but not limited to a lawyer, accountant, financial services consultant, or other professional as appropriate. Nothing contained in this web site is to be considered as the rendering of legal, financial, professional or other advice for specific cases, and users are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal, financial or other counsel. The information contained on this site is intended for educational, background and informational purposes only.

Correcting, Updating or Deleting Information

The instituteforlegalreform.com/ instituteforlegalreform.org Web site gives users the option to correct, update or delete any information previously provided to us by the user; however, we will maintain copies of user information to the extent retained as part of our Web site's standard backup/archive process.

To make changes to your contact information, or to opt out of receiving information, please contact us in one of the following ways:

1. Send an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

2. Send a written request to:
Institute for Legal Reform
1615 H Street NW
Washington, DC 20062

3. Call us at 202-463-5724

Changes to This Privacy Policy

This privacy policy is available at all times to all users of the instituteforlegalreform.com/ instituteforlegalreform.org Web site at http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/about-ilr/47.html. Any material changes to this privacy policy will be communicated to users through this Web page. Users are responsible for making use of this resource to stay up to date on the instituteforlegalreform.com/ instituteforlegalreform.org privacy policy.

INSTITUTEFORLEGALREFORM.COM/ INSTITUTEFORLEGALREFORM.ORG USER TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The instituteforlegalreform.com/instituteforlegalreform.org Web site ("Site") is made available by the U. S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform ("ILR"). All content provided on or through this Site may be used only under the Terms and Conditions stated below

USE OF THIS WEB SITE CONSTITUTES YOUR AGREEMENT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE ESTABLISED BY ILR

When you access information provided on the Site, you acknowledge your agreement to these Terms and Conditions. References to "you" or "your" refer to you as an individual as well as in any representative capacity you may have.

1. SERVICES PROVIDED
The Site provides information of importance to the business community. ILR may, as a service to its members, allow third parties to promote their services and/or products through the Site. The provision of such products and services is governed by the terms of use established by such third parties, and ILR assumes no responsibility either directly or indirectly for the provision of products or services by such third parties.

2. PROPERTY RIGHTS ON THE SITE AND IN USER-SUBMITTED DATA
2.1 Property Rights on the Site
(a) Subject to these Terms and Conditions ILR hereby grants to you, the right to access and use the Site for your own internal use. In your use of the Site you agree not to remove any copyright or other notices contained therein. Except as expressly authorized herein, you may not use, copy, reproduce, transmit, translate, offer for sale, sell, display, perform, distribute, publish, broadcast, circulate, modify, create derivative works of, disseminate, or commercially exploit the Site without the written consent of ILR. You also agree not to use the Site for any unlawful purpose.

(b) The Site is the property of ILR and is protected by applicable copyright, patent, trademark or other intellectual property law. ILR retains its title, ownership rights, and intellectual property rights in and to the Site. You agree to abide by any copyright notice or other restriction contained in any individual information, software, or other material accessible through the Site.

(c) In the event you use the Site or the links included on the Site to gain access to a World Wide Web site or Internet location or source of information, services, software, or goods of any company, organization, or person other than instituteforlegalreform.com/ instituteforlegalreform.org, or to any other Internet location, you acknowledge that such other sites or locations are not under the control of ILR and agree that ILR shall not be responsible for any of the information, services, software, or goods or other links found at any such World Wide Web site or Internet location or source of information, services, software, or goods, or for your use of such information, services, software, or goods.

(d) ILR MAKES NO EXPRESS REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY WITH RESPECT TO SUCH SITE, DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT), DISCLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR, AND ASSUMES NO LIABILITY REGARDING, ANY INFORMATION, SERVICES, SOFTWARE, OR GOODS AVAILABLE, ADVERTISED, SOLD, OR FOUND ON ANY OTHER WEB SITE NOT UNDER ILR'S CONTROL (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WEB SITES LINKED TO THE SITE) OR, WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, THE QUALITY, SAFETY, ACCURACY, AVAILABILITY, DECENCY, OR SUITABILITY OF SUCH INFORMATION, SERVICES, SOFTWARE, OR GOODS.

(e) Transmission or use of any material in violation of these Terms and Conditions - or any applicable law, rule or regulation (whether of the United States or other countries) - or the rights of any third party is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, copyrighted material, material which is defamatory, threatening, obscene, lewd and indecent, material protected by trademark, trade secret, or patent laws, or material that results in an invasion of privacy.

2.2 Property Rights in User Submitted Data
Data, information or other content uploaded directly to, or provided to ILR to place on, the Site by you ("User Submitted Data") shall be and remain your property (as between you and ILR). All other information gathered or provided by ILR (including, without limitation usage information and analysis based on User Submitted Data) shall be and remain the property of ILR ("Site Use Data"). ILR will retain possession of, and make use of, copies of the User Submitted Data and Site Use Data for the purpose of performing the Services and otherwise meeting ILR’s obligations and responsibilities under the Agreement. Subject to the confidentiality restrictions set forth in Paragraph 5 below, ILR’s use of the User Submitted Data and Site Use Data may include the display, parsing, modification, reproduction, copying, transmission, translation, performance, publication, broadcast, preparation of derivative works or dissemination thereof, internally by ILR, and to third parties with whom ILR does business for advertisement, market research and other commercial purposes. You grant to ILR all necessary rights and releases required for ILR to perform the services and the activities described on the Site.

3. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
3.1 THE SITE IS PROVIDED "AS IS." NEITHER ILR NOR ANY OF ITS LICENSORS OR SUPPLIERS MAKE ANY WARRANTY, GUARANTEE OR REPRESENTATION OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THAT ACCESS TO, OR USE OF, THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ABSOLUTELY SECURE, COMPLETE, ACCURATE OR ERROR FREE). IN ADDITION, THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR TIMELINESS OF THE INFORMATION ITSELF IS NOT WARRANTED OR GUARANTEED. YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES AND THE INFORMATION ACCESSED ON OR THROUGH THE SITE IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK AND IT IS YOUR SOLE RESPONSIBILITY TO EVALUATE ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS AND ILR AND ITS LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL EXPRESS AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.

3.2 YOU UNDERSTAND THAT ILR DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT IT WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE THE SITE AVAILABLE TO YOU, WHETHER BY THE SAME METHODS CURRENTLY USED OR OTHERWISE. ILR MAY DISCONTINUE PROVIDING THE SITE TO YOU AT ANY TIME. YOU AGREE NOT TO HOLD ILR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM A DISCONTINUATION OR MODIFICATION OF ALL OR PART OF THE SITE.

3.3 TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY (CONTRACT, WARRANTY, TORT OR OTHERWISE) WILL ILR OR ITS LICENSORS OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES INCURRED BY YOU AND IN ANY WAY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED IN ANY WAY TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SITE OR ANY DAMAGES YOU MAY INCUR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY DECISION MADE, ACTION, OR INACTION, TAKEN BY YOU OR ANY OTHER PARTY, IN RELIANCE UPON THE INFORMATION OR FOR THE RELIABILITY, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR TIMELINESS THEREOF, OR FOR ANY DELAYS OR ERRORS IN THE TRANSMISSION OR DELIVERY OF ANY PART OF THE INFORMATION OR SERVICES), EVEN IF ADVISED OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN ADDITION TO AND WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, ILR SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY HARM CAUSED BY THE TRANSMISSION, THROUGH THE SITE OF A COMPUTER VIRUS, OR OTHER COMPUTER CODE OR PROGRAMMING DEVICE THAT MIGHT BE USED TO ACCESS, MODIFY, DELETE, DAMAGE, CORRUPT, DEACTIVATE, DISABLE, DISRUPT, OR OTHERWISE IMPEDE IN ANY MANNER THE OPERATION OF THE SITE OR ANY OF YOUR SOFTWARE, HARDWARE, DATA OR PROPERTY.

4. YOUR INFORMATION
4.1 You hereby represent and warrant that you are at least thirteen (13) years of age; that any information you have provided to gain access to the Site is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge; and that you have read and agree to the terms of our Privacy Statement.

4.2 You shall not upload to the Site any User Submitted Data which:
(i) violates or infringes the rights of any persons, including without limitation rights in copyrights, patents, trademarks or other intellectual property rights;

(ii) is libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive or otherwise violates any law; or

(iii) contains viruses, "worms", "trojan horses" or any other harmful properties, or use the Services for, or to further, any illegal purposes. ILR reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to edit or delete any User Submitted Data uploaded to the Site in violation of the foregoing.

5. CONFIDENTIALITY
ILR agrees to protect and maintain the confidentiality of User Submitted Data in accordance with the policies, methods, and procedures set forth in the privacy statements and security policies on the Site.

6. TERMINATION
If we believe you have violated these Terms and Conditions, we may terminate your access to the Site.

7. INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless ILR (and its directors, officers, employees, control persons, suppliers, licensors and agents) from and against any and all claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorney's fees and costs) arising out of or related to: (a) your breach of your agreements, representations and warranties contained in these Terms and Conditions; (b) your use of the Site (i) in violation of these Terms and Conditions, (ii) in violation of any rights of ILR or any third-party information provider, including copyright, patent, trade secret, trademark, or other intellectual property rights and publicity and privacy rights, or (iii) in violation of any applicable law, rule or regulation; or (iv) information or materials you upload or post to the Site.

8. COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS
8.1 You will comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations in connection with your participation in our programs and use of our Web site, and will not engage in any act that has an adverse impact on the performance or availability of our programs or our Web site.

NOTICEOF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.
8.2 If you are a copyright owner who believes your copyrighted material has been reproduced, posted or distributed via the Site in a manner that constitutes copyright infringement, please report the violation to our designated copyright agent by sending written notice by U.S. Mail to U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, 1615 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20062, or by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please note that the contact information provided in this paragraph should only be used for reporting suspected copyright infringement. Contact information for other matters is provided elsewhere in these Terms and Conditionsor on the Site.

Please include the following information in your written notice:
(1) a detailed description of the copyrighted work that is allegedly infringed;
(2) a description of the location of the allegedly infringing material on the Site;
(3) your contact information, including your address, telephone number, and, if available, email address;
(4) your statement that you have a good-faith belief that the allegedly infringing use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
(5) your statement, made under penalty of perjury, affirming that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf; and
(6) an electronic or physical signature of the copyright owner or someone authorized on the owner's behalf to assert infringement of copyright and to submit the statement.

9. GENERAL
9.1 Notices given by ILR to you will be given by e-mail, or by a general posting on instituteforlegalreform.com/ instituteforlegalreform.org, or by conventional mail. In any matter requiring ILR's prior consent, such consent will be considered given only if made in the foregoing manner by an authorized representative of ILR. Notices given by you to ILR may be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by conventional mail addressedto the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform,1615 H Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20062.

9.2 Except as herein provided, no waiver, modification or amendment of any provision of these Terms and Conditions shall be effective against ILR unless the same is in writing and signed by an authorized official of ILR. ILR may modify these terms and conditions at any time upon written notice or posting to the Site. You agree that if you access and or use the Site after notification of changes in these Terms and Conditions, you will be bound by all such changes.

9.4 ILR's failure to insist at any time upon strict compliance with any term of these Terms and Conditions, or any delay by ILR in enforcing these Terms and Conditions, or a continued course of such conduct on ILR's part shall at no time operate as a waiver of such power or right, nor shall any single or partial exercise preclude any other future exercise. If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is declared invalid or otherwise unenforceable, the enforceability of the remaining provisions shall be unimpaired, and the parties shall replace the invalid or unenforceable provision with a valid and enforceable provision that reflects the original intentions of the parties as nearly as possible in accordance with applicable law. These Terms and Conditions will be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the substantive law of the District of Columbia. The parties consent to venue in Washington, D.C., and to the jurisdiction of competent D.C. federal courts for all litigation which may be brought with respect to the terms of, and the transactions and relationships contemplated by, these Terms and Conditions.

BY CONTINUING TO USE INSTITUTEFORLEGALREFORM.COM/INSTITUTEFORLEGALREFORM.ORG YOU AGREE TO ABIDE BY THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS