Terms of Use

Treadstone Associates ("Treadstone Associates") maintains a web site currently located at www.treadstonelaw.ca (the "Site") which provides articles, publications, information, data and other materials (the "Content"). The Site is provided to you subject to your compliance with these terms and conditions of use ("Terms and Conditions"). By accessing or using the Site you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions, please do not access or use the Site.

Modifications to the Terms and Conditions

Treadstone Associates reserves the right to change these Terms and Conditions at any time and your continued access to or use of the Site after such changes indicates your acceptance of these Terms and Conditions as modified. It is your responsibility to review these Terms and Conditions regularly.

Professional-Client Relationship Not Created

Your use of or access to the Site does not create a professional-client relationship. Your use of the Site may facilitate access to or communications with members of Treadstone Associates by way of e-mail transmissions or otherwise via the Site. Receipt of any such communications or transmissions by any member of Treadstone Associates does not create a professional-client relationship.

Legal Advice Not Provided

The Content is current as of its original date of publication, but should not be relied upon as accurate, timely or fit for any particular purpose. Content is provided solely for informational purposes. It is not intended to be legal or other professional advice or an opinion of any kind. You are advised to seek specific legal advice by contacting members of Treadstone Associates (or your own professional) in relation to your specific issues.

Viruses

The downloading of Content is done at your own risk. Treadstone Associates cannot and does not guarantee or warrant that the Site or the Content are compatible with your computer systems or that the Site or the Content will be free of viruses, worms, trojan horses or disabling devices or other code that manifests contaminating or destructive properties. You are responsible for implementing safeguards to protect the security and integrity of your computer system and you are responsible for the entire cost of any service, repairs or connections of and to your computer system which may be necessary as a result of your use of the Site.

Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

THE SITE AND THE CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND. USE OF THE SITE OR THE CONTENT IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. TREADSTONE Associates DOES NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS ABOUT THE QUALITY, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, COMPLETENESS, CURRENCY, OR TIMELINESS OF THE SITE OR THE CONTENT. TREADSTONE Associates DOES NOT ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR INACCURACIES IN THE SITE OR THE CONTENT.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, TREADSTONE Associates DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS AND CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO THE SITE AND THE CONTENT WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR COLLATERAL, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OR THAT THE SITE OR THE CONTENT ARE OR WILL BE ERROR-FREE OR WILL OPERATE WITHOUT INTERRUPTION. IN NO EVENT WILL TREADSTONE Associates BE LIABLE, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, FOR ANY DAMAGES OR ANY KIND (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE DAMAGES, LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF DATA, PERSONAL INJURY, FINES, FEES, PENALTIES OR OTHER LIABILITIES), WHETHER OR NOT TREADSTONE Associates IS ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, RESULTING FROM THE USE OF, OR THE INABILITY TO MAKE USE OF, THE SITE OR THE CONTENT.

Communications Not Confidential

Treadstone Associates does not guarantee the confidentiality of any communications made by you via e-mail or otherwise through the Site and cannot guarantee that any such communications are protected by solicitor-client privilege. If you wish to provide information of a confidential or sensitive nature to one of the members of our firm, please contact them directly by telephone.

No Unlawful or Prohibited Use

You agree that you will not, without our prior written permission, use the Site and the Content for purposes other than your own personal non-commercial use and benefit. You may not frame the Site or the Content or any part thereof on any commercial or non-commercial internet web site. You acquire absolutely no rights or licences to the Site or the Content other than the limited right to use the Site and the Content in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. You agree that you will not use the Site for any purpose that is unlawful. Except as expressly provided in these Terms and Conditions, any reproduction, retransmission, distribution, sale, republication, modification, translation of or creation of derivative works based on the Site or the Content, in whole or in part, and any decompilation disassembly, reverse engineering or other exploitation of the Site, without prior written permission, is strictly prohibited.

Ownership

All Content, designs, graphics, pictures, illustrations, software, artwork, video, music, sound, names, words, titles, phrases, logos and marks displayed on the Site or in the Content are owned by Treadstone Associates and are protected by copyright, trade-mark and other intellectual property laws and treaty provision laws.

Third Party Sites

The Site may provide links to third party web sites. Treadstone Associates does not endorse the information contained in those web sites or guarantee their quality, accuracy, reliability, completeness, currency, timeliness, non-infringement, merchantability or fitness for any purpose. The content in any linked web site is not under Treadstone Associates' control and if you choose to access any such web site, you do so entirely at your own risk.

Governing Law

These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the applicable laws of Canada and these laws apply to the use of the Site or the Content by you, notwithstanding your domicile, residency or physical location. The Site and the Content are intended for use only in jurisdictions where it may lawfully be offered for use.

General Provisions

These Terms and Conditions, including any documents referenced herein, constitute the entire agreement between Treadstone Associates and you pertaining to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral or written, between you and Treadstone Associates with respect to the Site. A printed version of these Terms and Conditions and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to these Terms and Conditions to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form. Treadstone Associates' failure to insist upon or enforce strict performance of any provision of these Terms and Conditions shall not be construed as a waiver of any provisions or right. If any of the provisions contained in these Terms and Conditions are determined to be void, invalid or otherwise unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, such determination shall not affect the remaining provisions contained herein.

Disclaimer

Treadstone Associates ("Treadstone Associates"). All rights reserved. The content on this web site and webinar is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice or an opinion of any kind. Users of this web site and webinar are advised to seek specific legal advice by contacting members of Treadstone Associates (or their own professional) regarding any specific legal issues. Treadstone Associates does not warrant or guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of any information on this web site. The articles published on this web site are current as of their original date of publication, but should not be relied upon as accurate, timely or fit for any particular purpose.

Accessing or using this web site or webinar does not create a professional-client relationship. Although your use of the web site may facilitate access to or communications with members of Treadstone Associates via e-mail transmissions or otherwise via the web site, receipt of any such communications or transmissions by any member of Treadstone Associates does not create a professional client relationship. Treadstone Associates does not guarantee the security or confidentiality of any communications made by e-mail or otherwise through this web site.

This web site may contain links to third party web sites. Monitoring the vast information disseminated and accessible through those links is beyond our resources and Treadstone Associates does not attempt to do so. Links are provided for convenience only and Treadstone Associates does not endorse the information contained in linked web sites nor guarantee its accuracy, timeliness or fitness for a particular purpose.

Privacy

Introduction

Treadstone Associates and its management services provider Treadstone Group ("Treadstone Associates" or "we") are committed to protecting the personal information that we collect, use and disclose in the course of providing legal services and operating our law firm, in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements, including applicable privacy legislation, and consistent with our professional obligations. As practicing professionals we have professional and ethical obligations to maintain information we have received within our client relationships in confidence. This Privacy Policy supplements our professional obligations of client confidentiality and sets out in general terms how we collect, use, disclose and protect the personal information of our clients, other individuals and our web site users ("you").

"Personal Information"

Privacy legislation in Canada defines "personal information" broadly as any information about an identifiable individual. In general, personal information does not include business contact information, including your name, title or position, business, telephone or facsimile number.

Accountability

Treadstone Associates is responsible under applicable privacy legislation for the personal information in our possession or control. This includes personal information we receive directly, such as from individual clients or other individuals, and personal information we receive indirectly from clients or others. We have established policies and procedures with the objective of protecting personal information and have appointed a Privacy Officer to oversee privacy matters for our firm. Our Privacy Officer can be reached at info@treadstonelaw.ca.

What Personal Information Do We Collect?

The types of personal information we may collect about you include your name and home contact information, billing and account information, information relevant to a client's legal matters and other information incidental to the provision of legal advice and services by our firm. Examples of the types of personal information we may collect include personal information about directors, officers and employees of a client or other party, witnesses, beneficiaries, family members, adverse parties or parties-in-interest, and information about shareholders, security-holders, investors, potential investors or buyers, business partners, targets, competitors or customers of clients, individuals, clients, pension plan members, or other parties who are individuals.

We may also collect information about your online interactions through our treadstonelaw.ca website and our other web-enabled extranet services (collectively, the “Sites”), our email communications, and our online ads. We may collect this information for the purposes of (i) tailoring content that we may send or show you, (ii) to authenticate you, enable access to information, and otherwise administer the Sites, and (iii) for analytical purposes to better understand digital interactions with our firm.

Our Purposes for Collecting, Using or Disclosing Personal Information

General

Treadstone Associates collects, uses and discloses personal information for the primary purpose of providing our clients with professional legal services and representation, including for the following purposes:

• to establish and manage client relationships, provide legal advice, perform legal services, fulfil legal duties, and avoid legal conflicts of interest;
• to share personal information with third parties for the purpose of providing legal services in the context of legal proceedings, including conducting litigation, arbitrations, mediations or other proceedings. Such third parties may include opposing parties, parties in interest, opposing, foreign and other counsel and advisors, witnesses, courts, adjudicators, arbitrators, other decision-makers and experts;
• to represent clients in the context of business transactions involving the exchange or disclosure of personal information, including by purchase, sale, lease, merger, amalgamation, arrangement or any other type of acquisition, disposition, public offering, securitization, investment, financing or other transaction;
• to establish and maintain commercial relationships with clients, suppliers and other third parties, including to issue invoices, administer accounts, collect and process payments, evaluate credit standing, and to fulfil contractual obligations;
• to contact and communicate with clients and other individuals for the purpose of conducting market research, and evaluating client service and satisfaction;
• to distribute our publications and invitations to events to individuals who subscribe to our mailing lists;
• to maintain, develop and manage our document management, knowledge-management and precedent systems and databases;
• to consider the admission of individuals as employees and members of the firm;
• to develop and manage our business and operations;
• to detect and protect against error, negligence, breach of contract, fraud, theft and other illegal activity, and where necessary to meet our insurance requirements; and
• as permitted by, and to comply with, applicable legal or regulatory requirements or provisions.

Publications and Seminar Programs

Our publications program uses the contact information of those who subscribe through our Sites or by invitation from firm members. Our seminar and marketing programs draw on a contact database of primarily business contacts that may also include individuals. We provide an opportunity to any contact to unsubscribe from our publications program or opt-out of contact for seminar, client events or marketing purposes on an ongoing basis by accessing our web page, or e-mailing to info@treadstonelaw.ca.

Sites

• Cookies - Cookies are small elements of data placed on your devices when you visit a web site in order to track use of the site and to improve your user experience. Treadstone Associates may, from time to time, collect personal information about you and your use of the site though the use of cookies as outlined above. Some browsers can be set to reject all cookies; if you choose to modify your browser in this manner, not all features offered through our Sites may remain available.
• On-line Communications - In order to provide our Site users with publications, information or requested services, visitors may voluntarily submit personal information to us for such purposes as subscribing to or downloading publications, participating in a seminar or other event, participating in surveys or asking a question. We use the personal information you provide only for the purpose for which you have provided it. If a subscriber or visitor has subscribed or attended a seminar or other event in the past, we may combine the information with information submitted on the Sites. We provide an on-going opportunity to unsubscribe or opt-out of contact by the firm by accessing our Sites, or by e-mail to info@treadstonelaw.ca.
• E-Mail Communications - We may send e-mail communications to subscribers or other individuals in our contact database to advise of legal developments, distribute publications or to advise of events or seminars. Each e-mail includes an opt-out feature and instructions on how to un-subscribe if you do not wish to receive future e-mails from Treadstone Associates for these purposes.
• Links - Our Sites may present links to other websites. You should be aware that operators of linked websites may also collect your personal information and information generated through the use of cookies when you link to their websites. Treadstone Associates is not responsible for how such third parties collect, use or disclose your personal information, so it is important to review their privacy policies before providing them with your personal information.

Service Providers

To the extent we enter into arrangements with service providers, agents and contractors to store, handle or process personal information on our behalf, such as for data processing, document storage software support and office services, our policy will be to require such parties by contractual or other means to provide comparable privacy protection while the information is processed or handled by them.

Internet Advertising

We may also use third parties to serve advertisements on our Sites and on third party websites. These companies may use cookies, tracer tags or web beacons to report information about your interaction with our email communications, Sites and online ads, for the purposes of tailoring content that we may send or show you, and for analytical purposes to better understand digital interactions with our brand.

Consent

We will obtain a client's consent to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information about the client, and the consent of other individuals where required by applicable privacy legislation. We assume that an individual has consented to our reasonable collection and use of personal information consistent with the purposes for which the information was given, when the individual initiates contact with us or voluntarily provides personal information to us. We also assume that clients who retain us, or individuals involved in proceedings or matters opposite or adverse to our clients, consent to the reasonable collection, use and disclosure of their personal information by our professionals and agents for purposes of our representation or provision of legal advice to our clients and the conduct of the transactions or proceedings involving our clients.

We do not collect, use or disclose personal information without consent unless authorized or required by law to do so, such as in the following circumstances:

• if a client provides personal information about third parties to us for purposes of our legal representation or advice to the client;
• where a court order or subpoena is issued, or under applicable rules of production, a regulatory or other body with jurisdiction to compel production so requires;
• when the information is publicly available within the meaning of applicable privacy legislation, such as in professional or other directories, in public registries, publicly-filed court records or information appearing in published form;
• if we are investigating the breach of an agreement, a legal duty or contravention of a law and obtaining consent would compromise the investigation or the accuracy of the information;
• if we are required to disclose personal information to a lawful authority;
• as otherwise authorized by law.

As practicing professionals, we are subject to professional and ethical obligations and we do not disclose personal information subject to solicitor-client privilege unless the privilege is lawfully waived or we are required by law to do so.

We obtain the electronic or oral consent of individuals who subscribe to our publications program or who indicate an interest to members of the firm in receiving such materials. We provide an opt-out opportunity to individuals from our publications, seminar and other events on an ongoing basis (see Publications and Seminar Programs above)

Limited Collection, Use and Disclosure

We collect personal information by fair and lawful means and, wherever appropriate, directly from the individual. Wherever possible, we limit the amount of personal information we collect, use or disclose to that necessary and appropriate to provide our legal services, advice and representation and to operate our firm business. We limit the personal information we collect and use for client relationship and development purposes and for our publication and seminar programs to contact information and information about preferences provided by the individual.

We keep records of the work performed and services provided by us in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements and professional standards. These records may include personal information. Our records are stored with safeguards against inappropriate or unauthorized access.

Accuracy of Information

In order to provide clients or subscribers with a professional level of service and to maintain appropriate contact preferences, we may ask you to update your personal information, contact information or preferences from time to time, and we provide an ongoing opt-out opportunity by link or hard copy with all publications, invitations and notices. Clients are encouraged to contact their professional to update the personal information we maintain in our client files.

Safeguards

We protect personal information in our files and document management systems from loss, misuse, unauthorized access and alteration by using physically secure facilities, password protection, standard security practices and tools and well-defined internal policies and practices.

Access to Your Personal Information

Individual clients may review any personal information concerning themselves we have on file in our offices by contacting their professional.