LAW SOCIETY OF SASKATCHEWAN

Transcription

1 LAW SOCIETY OF SASKATCHEWAN This Anti-Spam Compliance Policy and Procedure has been prepared and generously provided by MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP based on their internal processes and procedures. These materials are provided by the Law Society of Saskatchewan as part of its mandate to provide continuing professional development activities and resources to its members. The views expressed herein are the personal views and opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Law Society of Saskatchewan. These materials are the result of the authors. However, the authors of these materials have assumed that its users will exercise their professional judgment regarding the correctness and applicability of the material. No warranty is made with regard to these materials. The Law Society of Saskatchewan can accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions, and expressly disclaims any such responsibility.

2 Law Firm Anti-Spam Compliance Policy [This template was prepared by MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP based on MLT's internal policy. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Randy Brunet at (306) / rbrunet@mlt.com or Jade Buchanan at (306) / jbuchanan@mlt.com.] This policy is designed to be circulated to staff and lawyers. It shifts compliance obligations on to one individual (or a few individuals) to avoid diffused expertise and responsibility.] Canada's new anti-spam laws will be in force as of July 1, In order to avoid sending any unwanted s, [Law Firm] LLP is asking that all promotional s be sent through our Anti-Spam Compliance Officer. This means that employees should not send promotional s, including s which may be: Offering to provide a new service to a client Telling a client about a Law Firm event, Law Firm news or a Law Firm legal bulletin If you would like to send a promotional , please contact our Anti-Spam Compliance Officer for assistance: Anti-Spam Compliance Officer: Employees lawyers and are permitted and encouraged to share Law Firm promotional materials on social media websites (e.g. "share" on LinkedIn and "re-tweet" on Twitter). Please do not send Law Firm promotional materials through direct messages (including and direct messages on social media) without first checking with our Anti-Spam Compliance Officer. Often, the material can still be sent by based on Law Firm's business relationship with the contact. However, with the new laws it is important to check with Law Firm's Anti-Spam Compliance Officer before promoting Law Firm by . When Rules Do Not Apply For most Law Firm s, Anti-Spam laws are not an issue. For example, the following s can be sent without contacting the Compliance Officer: Providing Services - reporting on a litigation matter, sending a reminder statement, etc. Enforcing rights - sending a cease and desist, demand letter or other communication to an opposing party in litigation or pre-litigation Hiring agent - getting searches done in another province or country, setting up a corporation in another province, etc. Quotes - responding to an from someone looking for legal services Hiring Service Provider - contacting a stationery printer to print business cards, contacting a restaurant to book a client dinner, etc. When in doubt contact our Anti-Spam Compliance Officer at:

3 Internal Anti-Spam Compliance Procedures for Use by Law Firm Compliance Officer [This template was prepared by MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP based on MLT's internal process. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Randy Brunet at (306) / rbrunet@mlt.com or Jade Buchanan at (306) / jbuchanan@mlt.com. This process is designed to assist the person or persons who have been charged with compliance. The final page also includes a flow chart that can be followed when sending CEMs to ensure they are CASL compliant. The technical side of compliance will depend on what law firms have available. There are, however, inexpensive software options for managing mailing lists available online.] This Anti-Spam Compliance Procedure (the "Procedure") is designed to ensure LLP ("Law Firm") is compliant with Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation ("CASL"), as per Law Firm's Anti- Spam Compliance Policy ("Anti-Spam Policy"). CASL requires that commercial electronic messages only be sent to recipients who have consented (explicitly or implicitly). Commercial electronic messages must also clearly identify the sender and allow the recipient to withdraw consent. 1. Definitions For the purposes of this Procedure, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "Anti-Spam Compliance Officer" or "Compliance Officer" means. [NTD: This individual should be a key person who is responsible for marketing s and other electronic communications. This may be a lawyer or key staff member.] "CEMs" or "Commercial Electronic Messages" means any electronic message sent by or on behalf of Law Firm which may be seen as encouraging participation in a commercial activity, including the promotion of Law Firm or any other person or organization involved in the sale of goods and/or services. "Do Not List" is the list of addresses and other electronic addresses created and managed by the Compliance Officer which includes the electronic address of persons who have expressly indicated to Law Firm that they do not wish to be contacted via or other electronic means. "Express Consent List" means the list of addresses of persons who have provided express consent to receive electronic messages containing general news and updates from Law Firm and which list shall be maintained by the Compliance Officer. [NTD: Firms should consider where express consent can be obtained, such as client intake forms.] "Implied Consent List" means the list of addresses of persons who have implicitly consented to receive general news and updates from Law Firm and which list shall be maintained by the Compliance Officer.

4 2. Responsibility for Administering Procedure The Compliance Officer shall be responsible for the maintenance and enforcement of this Procedure and shall be available to answer questions regarding compliance. 3. Sending Commercial Electronic Messages [NTD: By shifting responsibility to one person or persons to review CEMs, compliance can be ensured. This avoids having to train every lawyer and staff member in your office and avoids diffused responsibility.] Senders: CEMs shall only be sent by the Compliance Officer. Employees shall not be permitted to send CEMs, except under the direction of the Compliance Office or as expressly permitted in Section 5 of this Procedure. When sending s, the Compliance Officer shall follow the Anti-Spam Compliance Flow-Chart (attached). Recipients: CEMs shall only be sent to electronic addresses on the Express Consent List and Implied Consent List. The Blog Consent List shall only be used to announce posts on the Blog. 4. Mailing List Management and Form of CEMs [NTD: The specific lists used will depend on how Law Firm collects addresses and builds its marketing lists. Some businesses rely on express consent only while others use implied consent. ] The Compliance Officer will create and maintain the following mailing lists in accordance with the following instructions: Express Consent List The Express Consent List will consist of individuals who have expressly agreed to receive CEMs from Law Firm. The Compliance Officer shall save copies of each expressed consent in a secure folder. All consent requests shall include the following: [NTD: The form of consent may vary based on capabilities. Some businesses use service providers such as MailChimp ( or Constant Contact to manage marketing lists. Others simply use Survey Monkey ( to collect addresses. Others still just request a manual return .]

5 o A subscribe option with the following text and an opt-in mechanism: I want to receive updates from [Law Firm] LLP on Law Firm, services news, events and announcement. o The following information: You may unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time. If you have questions or concerns, please contact us at: [Law Firm] LLP [address] [phone number, address or web address] All CEMs sent to the Express Consent List will include the following: Implied Consent List o Law Firm's contact information: This was sent by [Law Firm] LLP [address] [phone number, address or web address] o The unsubscribe mechanism allowing the recipient to unsubscribe via (and which should include an address). [NTD: Implied consent lists are more difficult to manage administratively but can be useful where most recipients are not likely to expressly consent. One option to avoid reliance on implied consent lists is to simply send a blanket request for consent in advance of July 1, Where individuals consent, they can be moved to the consenting list. Where they do not, they can be sorted to determine if there will be implied consent or if the person should not be ed at all. Moving more s from the Implied Consent List to the Expressed Consent List can significantly reduce the administrative burden of CASL.] The Implied Consent List will consist of individuals who have implicitly consented to receive CEMs from Law Firm. Persons who have implicitly consented are persons who have paid for Law Firm's services in the preceding two years. On or before July 1, 2014, the Compliance Officer shall create/review the Implied Consent List to ensure it consists only of persons who have used Law Firm's services at some point after July 1, On June 1, 2017 and on June 1 of every year thereafter, the Compliance Officer shall review the Implied Consent List and undertake the following: o Flag every address that is related to an individual or business who has not used Law Firm's services in the preceding two years; o Send a request for express consent to all flagged addresses; and

6 o Where consent is not obtained, the flagged address shall be removed from the Implied Consent List. Where express consent is obtained, the consenter shall be moved from the Implied Consent List to the Express Consent List. All CEMs sent to the Implied Consent List will include the following: 5. Social Media o Law Firm's contact information: This was sent by [Law Firm] LLP [address] [phone number, address or web address] o The unsubscribe mechanism allowing the recipient to unsubscribe via (and which should include an address). [NTD: This section is included for firms which operate social media accounts, such as LinkedIn or Twitter.] Only the Compliance Officer or persons under the direction of the Compliance Officer shall post on Law Firm's social media accounts. At no point shall direct messages be sent to any person (including persons who follow Law Firm on social media). Employees and lawyers will be permitted to re-post promotional material from Law Firm's social media accounts (e.g. "share" on LinkedIn and "re-tweet" on Twitter). 6. Unsubscribe Management / Do Not List The Compliance Officer will create and maintain the Do Not List. CEMs will not be sent to any person on the Do Not List. Where a person unsubscribes, they shall be removed from the Express Consent List and Implied Consent List, where applicable. 7. Training Prior to July 1, 2014, all employees of Law Firm shall be sent and instructed to review the Anti-Spam Policy.

7 The Anti-Spam Policy shall be included in training materials for all new employees and lawyers / students. The Anti-Spam Policy shall be circulated as recommended by the Compliance Officer. 8. Revision This Procedure and the Anti-Spam Policy will be revisited and reviewed on June 1 of each year by the Compliance Officer and the Head of the Marketing Committee [NTD: These are suggested reviewers; they may be changed if appropriate.]

8 Anti-Spam Compliance Flow-Chart Law Firm's Anti-Spam Compliance Officer should follow this flow chart when sending s which may be considered advertising, marketing, or otherwise promote Law Firm or any other person. Sending a Marketing ? (Promoting Law Firm, a service, blog post, announcement etc.) Is Recipient on Do Not list? No Yes Do Not Consider a letter or a phone call Is the Recipient on Express Consent List or Implied Consent List? Yes No Can the Recipient be Added to the Implied Consent List? (Has recipient used Law Firm services in the last two years?) Yes No Ensure Information Message Follows CEM Template (Unsubscribe Mechanism and Contact Information are Included) Add to Implied Consent List Do Not Consider a letter or a phone call Okay to Send