Privacy Policy
In short:
- We collect what you choose to send us, such as a consultation request or a newsletter sign-up, plus standard technical information about your visit.
- We use it to respond to you, check for conflicts of interest, send updates you have asked for, and understand how the site is used.
- We do not sell your personal information.
- Analytics cookies are on by default. You can opt out at any time from Cookie settings at the bottom of every page, and we honor your browser's Global Privacy Control signal.
- Please do not send confidential details of your matter through the site.
Who we are and what this covers
This website, irstax-attorney.com (the "site"), is published by Whiteford, Taylor & Preston L.L.P. and Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLC ("Whiteford," "we," "us" or "our") to describe the firm's tax controversy and tax defense practice. This policy explains how we collect, use, share and protect personal information through the site, and through the emails the site sends and receives.
It does not cover information we collect offline, through the firm's other websites (which have their own privacy policies), or in the course of representing a client. Client information is governed by the engagement agreement and by the rules of professional conduct.
Whiteford is a law firm. Our attorneys and staff are bound by professional rules that require them to protect the confidential information of clients and others, and we apply this policy with those obligations in mind.
Information we collect
Information you give us
- Consultation requests. Your name, email address, and optionally your phone number, the area of law your matter involves, how urgent it is, and your message. If you reach the form from an attorney's profile, we also record which attorney.
- Newsletter sign-ups. Your email address. We add you to the list only after you confirm by clicking a link in the email we send you.
- Emails and calls. Whatever you choose to share when you write to or call us.
Information collected automatically
- Visit information. Your IP address, browser and device type, operating system, the pages you view, the page that referred you, and the time of your visit. Our hosting provider and our analytics tools collect this information.
- How you found us. On your first visit, the site records any campaign tags in the link you followed (such as
utm_source), any Google Ads click identifier, the referring website and the page you landed on. It keeps them in a cookie for 90 days and, if you later submit a form, attaches them to your submission. - Security information. When you submit a form, we record your IP address, browser, referring page and approximate country, and run a bot check. This helps us block spam and abuse.
Information we do not want
We will not ask you to send sensitive information through the site. Please do not include Social Security or taxpayer identification numbers, tax returns, bank or account numbers, health information, or details of any conduct that may be under investigation. An attorney will tell you when it is appropriate to share that kind of information and how to send it securely. If you believe you have sent us sensitive information through the site, please contact privacy@irstax-attorney.com.
Cookies and similar technologies
Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser. This site uses the following:
| Technology | Set by | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
cookie_consent | This site | Remembers whether you accepted or opted out of analytics cookies. | 1 year |
wf_attrib | This site | Records how you first arrived (campaign tags, ad click identifier, referring site and landing page) so we can tell which sources lead to inquiries. | 90 days |
| Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics and Google Ads measurement | Measures how visitors use the site and whether our advertising leads to inquiries. Records events such as clicks on phone numbers, email links and buttons, and completed forms. | Set by Google, often up to 2 years | |
| Cloudflare Turnstile | Cloudflare | Checks that a form is being submitted by a person rather than a bot. | For the duration of the check |
Your choices. The cookie notice that appears on your first visit lets you opt out. Selecting "Got it", or clicking elsewhere on the page, leaves analytics on. You can change your choice at any time here, or from Cookie settings at the bottom of every page. When you opt out, we tell Google's tags not to use cookies for analytics or advertising, and we remove the Google cookies already set on this site.
Your choice can be changed here when JavaScript is on. You can also block cookies in your browser settings.
If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, we treat it as a request to opt out and turn analytics and advertising cookies off automatically. The site does not respond to "Do Not Track" signals.
You can also:
- block or delete cookies in your browser settings, although some features may then not work;
- install Google's Analytics opt-out browser add-on;
- manage Google's ad personalization at My Ad Center; and
- opt out of interest-based advertising from participating companies through the Network Advertising Initiative.
How we use information
- To respond to your inquiry, arrange a consultation and send you a confirmation email.
- To check for conflicts of interest before an attorney can discuss your matter, as the rules of professional conduct require.
- To send the newsletter and updates you have confirmed you want.
- To understand which pages, searches and advertising campaigns lead to inquiries, and to improve the site.
- To keep the site and its forms secure, and to prevent spam, fraud and abuse.
- To comply with law, legal process and our professional obligations, and to protect the rights and safety of Whiteford, our clients and others.
- To create aggregated or de-identified information that does not identify you.
How we share information
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing. We share it only as follows:
- Within Whiteford. Inquiries go to the attorneys and staff who respond to them and run conflict checks, and to the people who administer this site.
- Service providers. We use Cloudflare (hosting, data storage and bot protection), Resend (email delivery and the newsletter mailing list) and Google (tag management, analytics and advertising measurement). They process information on our behalf to provide their services. Google's tools also collect information directly from your browser, as described above.
- Legal requirements. We disclose information when required by law, court order or legal process, or to respond to a government or regulatory request, consistent with our professional obligations.
- Protection. We disclose information when we believe it is necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of Whiteford, our clients or others.
- Business transfers. Information may be transferred as part of a merger, reorganization or similar transaction involving the firm.
- With your consent. We share information when you ask us to or agree that we may.
How long we keep information
We keep consultation requests as part of the firm's records, including the records we use to check for conflicts of interest, for as long as we need them for those purposes and to meet our legal and professional obligations. We keep newsletter subscribers until they unsubscribe. After that, we keep a record of the unsubscribe so that we do not email you again. The wf_attrib cookie expires after 90 days and cookie_consent after one year. Records used to limit repeated form submissions expire within a day.
Security
We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards to protect personal information, including encrypted connections, restricted access to submissions and bot protection on our forms. No website or internet transmission is completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee the security of information you send us. Please do not send confidential details of your matter through a web form or by email. Call us instead at (410) 347-8730.
Your choices and rights
- Emails. Every newsletter includes an unsubscribe link. You can also ask us to remove you by emailing privacy@irstax-attorney.com.
- Access, correction and deletion. You can ask us whether we hold personal information about you that we collected through the site, ask for a copy, or ask us to correct or delete it. Email privacy@irstax-attorney.com.
- Cookies. See Cookies and similar technologies above.
Depending on the state you live in, you may have additional rights under state privacy law, such as the right to know what information we have collected about you, to obtain a portable copy of it, to opt out of targeted advertising, and to appeal a decision we make about your request. We will honor these rights as the law applicable to us requires. We will not discriminate against you for exercising them.
To protect you, we may need to verify your identity before acting on a request, and we may ask an authorized agent for proof of authority to act for you. We may decline a request where the law or our professional obligations require us to keep information, for example conflict-check records. If we decline, we will explain why, and you may ask us to reconsider.
Children
This site is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If we learn that we have, we will delete it. If you believe we hold information about a child, please contact privacy@irstax-attorney.com.
Where information is processed
This site is intended for people in the United States. Whiteford is based in the United States. Our service providers may process information in the United States and in other countries where they operate, whose privacy laws may differ from those where you live.
Other websites
The site links to websites we do not control, such as those of the IRS, the Department of Justice and the courts. This policy does not apply to them. Please read their privacy policies.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top shows when it last changed. If we make a material change to how we handle personal information, we will also post a notice on the site.
Contact us
To ask a question about this policy or exercise any of the rights described above, contact us by:
- email at privacy@irstax-attorney.com;
- mail to Whiteford, Taylor & Preston L.L.P., Attn: Privacy, 7 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202; or
- phone at (410) 347-8730.
Please see also our Terms of Use and Disclaimer.