Privacy & Legal Notices
What we collect,
and what we don’t.
The Bear Firm runs no analytics, no advertising trackers, and no third-party marketing cookies. This page sets out the little we do collect, why, and what you can ask us to do about it.
Effective August 5, 2026 · Last updated August 5, 2026
Privacy Policy
Who we are
The Bear Firm is a litigation boutique practising through two professional entities. The Bear Firm, P.C. serves New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, at 45 Rockefeller Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, New York 10111. The Bear Firm, P.A. serves Florida, at 701 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1550, Miami, Florida 33131.
For the purposes of the European and United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, the entity you contact is the data controller for the information you send it. Questions about this policy go to administration@bearfirm.law.
What we collect
Information you give us. If you use the consultation form or the U.S. Launch Program form, we receive the fields you complete — your name, telephone number, email address, the office nearest you, the nature of your matter, and any message you write. The Launch Program form also asks about your company, home country, preferred language, intended United States activities, entity status, target states, facilities, personnel and immigration needs, and timing.
Those forms open a message in your own email program. Nothing reaches us until you send that message, and it arrives in the firm’s ordinary email.
Information collected automatically. Our host, Vercel Inc., records standard server log data for every request: IP address, date and time, the page requested, the referring page, and browser and device type. It is used to operate and secure the site.
A preference stored on your device. If you choose a language from the language bar, that choice is stored in your browser under bf-lang so the site opens in that language next time. It holds nothing but a two-letter language code, is never transmitted to us, and you can clear it in your browser at any time.
Typefaces. This site loads its typefaces from Google Fonts, which means your browser contacts Google’s servers and Google receives your IP address in the process.
What we do not do. We use no analytics, no advertising or tracking pixels, no third-party marketing cookies, and no social-media trackers. We do not sell or share personal information, and we do not use it for behavioural advertising.
Why we use it, and on what basis
| Purpose | Legal basis (GDPR Art. 6) |
|---|---|
| Responding to your enquiry and evaluating whether the firm can act | Steps taken at your request before entering a contract — Art. 6(1)(b) |
| Operating, securing, and maintaining the website | Legitimate interests — Art. 6(1)(f) |
| Remembering your language choice | Strictly necessary for a service you asked for |
| Meeting the firm’s professional and regulatory record-keeping duties | Legal obligation — Art. 6(1)(c) |
How long we keep it
Enquiries that do not become matters are retained for twenty-four months and then deleted, except where a record must be kept longer to check future conflicts of interest. Client files are retained under the applicable rules of professional conduct and the terms of our engagement letter. Server logs are retained by our host on its standard schedule.
Who sees it
Only the firm’s lawyers and administrative staff, and only as needed. A small number of service providers process data on the firm’s behalf:
- Vercel Inc. — website hosting (United States)
- Microsoft Corporation — firm email, Microsoft 365 (United States)
- PracticePanther — practice management, for matters the firm opens (United States)
- Progress Software / ShareFile — secure client file exchange (United States)
We disclose your information to no one else, except where compelled by law or court order, or where necessary to establish or defend a legal claim.
International transfers
The firm is based in the United States and its service providers process data there. If you contact us from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, your information is transferred to the United States. Where required, those transfers rely on the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses or an equivalent safeguard, and you may ask us for a copy of the relevant terms.
Your rights
If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you may ask for access to your personal data, correction of inaccurate data, erasure, restriction of processing, or portability, and you may object to processing based on legitimate interests. You may also complain to your national supervisory authority.
If you are a California resident, you may ask to know what personal information the firm has collected, ask that it be deleted or corrected, and you are entitled not to be treated differently for asking. The firm does not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined in the California Consumer Privacy Act.
To exercise any of these, write to administration@bearfirm.law. We may need to verify your identity, and some information must be kept where the rules of professional conduct require it.
Please do not send confidential or privileged information through this website. Until the firm has agreed in writing to represent you, no attorney–client relationship exists, and what you send is not protected by the attorney–client privilege. Use the forms to tell us how to reach you and, in general terms, what the matter concerns.
Security
The firm maintains administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information it holds, and this site is served over HTTPS. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and ordinary email is not an encrypted channel. For sensitive documents, ask us for a secure ShareFile link.
Children
This site is not directed to children under sixteen, and the firm does not knowingly collect their information.
Changes
Any revised policy will be posted here, with the date above updated.
Legal Notices
Attorney advertising
This website constitutes attorney advertising under the rules of professional conduct of the jurisdictions in which the firm practises. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
No legal advice
The content of this website is provided for general informational purposes only. It is not legal advice, it may not reflect the most current law, and it should not be relied on or acted upon without consulting a lawyer licensed in the relevant jurisdiction about your particular facts.
No attorney–client relationship
Visiting this website, sending us an email, or submitting a form does not create an attorney–client relationship. That relationship arises only when the firm and the client have signed a written engagement agreement.
Jurisdictions
The firm’s lawyers are admitted in New York, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and Florida, and before the federal courts identified elsewhere on this site. Nothing here is an offer to practise law in a jurisdiction where the firm’s lawyers are not admitted. Admission to a court of appeals does not indicate admission to a state bar, the presence of an office, or the firm’s availability to accept a matter in that state.
Responsible attorney
Albert J. Santoro, Managing Partner, 45 Rockefeller Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, New York 10111, is responsible for the content of this website.
Firm entities
The Bear Firm is the trade name of The Bear Firm, P.C. (New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia) and The Bear Firm, P.A. (Florida).
Testimonials
Client statements appearing on this site are the views of the individuals who gave them. They describe outcomes that turned on their own facts, and they are not a guarantee, a warranty, or a prediction about any other matter.
Third-party links
Links to courts, bar authorities, and other outside sites are provided for convenience. The firm does not control them, is not responsible for their content, and a link is not an endorsement.
Copyright
© 2026 The Bear Firm. All rights reserved. The text, design, photographs, and maps on this site may not be reproduced without permission, except that photographs credited to third parties remain subject to the licences noted alongside them.
Questions about this page, or about how the firm handles your information, go to administration@bearfirm.law or (212) 970-1099.