Cookie Policy
Last Updated: January 18, 2024
This Cookie Policy explains how BL Rankings, LLC (“Best Lawyers,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) uses "cookies" and similar technologies (such as web beacons and pixels) on bestlawyers.com and bestlawfirms.com (our “Websites”). In some cases we may use cookies to collect personal information, or that becomes personal information if we combine it with other information. This Cookie Policy forms part of, and should be read in conjunction with, our Privacy Policy.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small data files that that are placed on your computer or mobile device when you access our Websites. Cookies are widely used by website owners in order to make their websites work, or to work more efficiently, as well as to provide reporting information. First-party cookies are set by us. Third-party cookies are set by others, such as analytics providers or advertisers. The parties that set these third-party cookies can recognize your computer both when it visits the website in question and also when it visits certain other websites.
Most browsers can be set to detect cookies and give you an opportunity to reject them, but refusing cookies may, in some cases, inhibit or preclude your use of the website or its features. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Websites. You can learn more about cookies at https://allaboutcookies.org.
Why We Use Cookies
We use cookies for several reasons. Some cookies are required for technical reasons in order for our Websites to operate, and we refer to these as “essential” cookies. Other cookies are used to improve your access to our websites (for example, by storing your username so you can log in more easily), and to allow you to share website content with social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Cookies also enable us to track and target the interests of visitors to our websites, so that we can provide more customized content. Cookies can also be used to collect general usage and aggregated statistical information.
Cookies We Use
There are different types of cookies—called "Necessary cookies" and other technologies used on our website:
- “Essential cookies” – These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our Websites and to use some of its features, such as access to secure areas.
- "Session cookies" – These cookies only last as long as your online session and disappear from your computer or device when you close your browser.
- "Persistent cookies" – These cookies stay on your computer or device after your browser has been closed and last for a time specified in the cookie. We use persistent cookies when we need to know who you are for more than one browsing session. For example, we use them to remember your preferences for the next time you visit.
- "Web Beacons/Pixels" – Some of our web pages and emails may also contain small electronic images known as web beacons, clear GIFs or single-pixel GIFs. These images typically work in conjunction with cookies to collect data, such as counting the number of users who have visited a web page or acted upon one of our email digests.
Analytics/Performance Cookies. We also use the following analytic tools to help us analyze the performance of our website and services as well as how visitors use our website and services:
- Google Analytics — Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit our site, what pages they visit when they do so and what other sites they used prior to coming to our site. We use the information we get from Google Analytics to improve our site. Google Analytics collects only the IP address assigned to you on the date you visit our site, rather than your name or other identifying information. We do not combine the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with personally identifiable information. Although Google Analytics plants a permanent cookie on your web browser to identify you as a unique user the next time you visit our site, the cookie cannot be used by anyone but Google. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to our site is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use. To opt-out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. This will allow you to download and install a Google Analytics cookie-free web browser.
- Google Tag Manager
Facebook, Twitter and other Social Network Cookies. Our content pages allow you to share content appearing on our website to your social media accounts through the "Like," "Tweet" or similar buttons displayed on such pages. To accomplish this, we embed code that such third-party social networks provide and that we do not control. These buttons know that you are logged in to your social network account and therefore such social networks could also know that you are viewing our website.
Optional Cookies. We also use the following analytic tools to understand who our website visitors are and how these visitors are utilizing our website and services:
- Visual Visitor — Visual Visitor is a consent-based identification tool which allows us to see who is visiting our website and how they use it. If you accept this cookie, then Visual Visitor will collect information about you such as your IP address, your name and email. We collect this information so we can communicate better with our website visitors. This information is collected by Visual Visitor, but we retain ownership of the information collected on our website’s visitors per their Services Agreement and Terms of Service. An individuals’ Cookie consent is stored for 12 months unless you choose to remove it at any point prior to the end of the 12 months. At any time, you may contact us to delete all data collected by Visual Visitor at info@bestlawyers.com. For more information about Visual Visitor, you can visit https://www.visualvisitor.com/what-we-do/.
Changes to this Cookie Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time in order to reflect, for example, changes to the cookies we use or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. Please therefore revisit this Cookie Policy regularly to stay informed about our use of cookies and related technologies. The date at the top of this Cookie Policy indicates when it was last updated.
If you have any additional questions or concerns about this Policy, please feel free to contact us any time through this website or at:
Privacy Matters, c/o BL Rankings, LLC
801 Broad Street, Suite 950
Augusta, GA 30901
USA