ACC Canadian Communication Policy and Procedures July 18, 2014

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1 The basics of CASL and ACC s policy to comply CASL governs electronic communications to people in Canada in two different categories with some relevant general exceptions. ACC staff will comply with the requirements and rules detailed in this policy and procedures document. 1. Direct Business Relationship: ACC has a direct business relationship with current ACC members and current sponsors and vendor in Canada. Starting July 1, we can continue to communicate electronically with them, but we MUST include important language in every communication as detailed below. There is one caveat: If anyone opts- out of receiving electronic communications, we CANNOT send them further electronic communications. 2. No Direct Business Relationship: ACC does NOT have an established direct business relationship with prospective members, former members and prospective sponsors, prospective vendors, prospective media contacts, and potential speakers and partners such as government officials and legal academics in Canada. Starting July 1, we CANNOT send any electronic communications to them without obtaining their expressed consent FIRST. Starting July 1, this expressed consent MUST be obtained through a call to that person s business phone or through mail sent by post. 3. CASL Exceptions: ACC recognizes that CASL does provide some exceptions that will enable ACC staff to communicate with people in Canada who have not provided their expressed consent; such examples are the Business Card and Inquiry exceptions. CASL- violations are punishable by heavy penalties, including up to 1,000,000 Canadian dollars per violation in the case of an individual, and 10,000,000 Canadian dollars per violation in the case of another person. Special note about U.S. CAN- SPAM Act Many countries, including the United States, have rules and regulations on sending advertising and promotional s to people. Examples of such s ACC sends are promotions on membership drives, Annual Meeting and webcasts. These regulations are not as broad as Canada s CASL, which can apply to almost any sent from ACC. ACC has in place very good systems that control our mass marketing s to not include those people who have requested to not receive such s. In most cases, the s you send directly to people in the US and other countries, except Canada, will be fine. If you find that you are sending an that is strictly promotional to someone you or another staff member have not communicated with in some manner previously, please check to see if that person has unsubscribed from receiving such s, and confer with Legal Resources if they have, in fact, unsubscribed. 1

2 ACC process requirements to comply with ACC s policy Requirement 1: ACC Staff Mandatory Signature Block and Language: All s from ACC staff MUST contain the following signature block and unsubscribe language: [Your name] [Your ACC title] Association of Corporate Counsel 1025 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 200 Washington, DC , USA [Your ACC address] [Your ACC telephone number] If you do not wish to receive further electronic communications from the Association of Corporate Counsel, please send your request by to unsubscribe@acc.com and you will be permanently removed from the distribution lists of both ACC and the ACC local chapters Requirement 2: When communicating with people in Canada, you must check the appropriate database to determine if they have consented or unsubscribed/opted- out of receiving communications based on the rules listed below. Databases where you must check for consents and unsubscribes: For members, prospective members and lapsed members, please check MemberMax. MemberMax provides details on the types of communications ACC can send to ACC members. Please carefully follow the instructions provided by Membership on the ACC Intranet. Marketing, Communications and Advocacy contacts (all individuals who are not or could not be a member) will be stored in the ACC Intranet database that will be available by the end of July Details on this will be forthcoming. Questions and Training: If you have questions about the policy and procedures, please submit them by s to Susanna McDonald at McDonald@acc.com. ACC has been providing mandatory training to its staff regarding this policy and procedures. If you have not yet received such training, please let Susanna know. If you have questions about using MemberMax and reviewing the data to determine if the individual has consented or unsubscribed, please review the MemberMax instructions loaded on the ACC Intranet. If you have further questions about the consent and unsubscribed process in MemberMax and the types of communications members can unsubscribe to, please contact Danielle Boshart at boshart@acc.com or Dominique Evans at evans@acc.com. 2

3 RULE 1: Existing Business Relationship If ACC has an existing business relationship (current member, sponsor, vendor, regular media contact, etc.) with the person in Canada, check the appropriate database to determine if the person has unsubscribed from receiving s from ACC. If they have not unsubscribed, you can them. Step 1: Determine if the person is in Canada. Step 2: Check the appropriate database to see if they have unsubscribed. Remember to check the type of communications they may have unsubscribed from if the person is a member or prospective member. Step 3: Take the appropriate action: o If they have not unsubscribed, you may them using the mandatory signature block and unsubscribed language. o If they have unsubscribed, you may call them on their business phone OR send them mail by post. RULE 2: No Existing Business Relationship If ACC does NOT have an existing business relationship (prospective or lapsed member, prospective sponsor, potential vendor, someone we have never communicated with before, etc.) with the person in Canada, check the appropriate database to determine if the person has consented to receiving s from ACC. If they have consented, you can them. Step 1: Determine if the person is in Canada. Step 2: Check the appropriate database to see if they have consented to receiving s. Step 3: Take the appropriate action: o If they have consented, you may them using the mandatory signature block and unsubscribed language. o If they have not consented, YOU MAY NOT THEM. You may call them on their business phone only OR send them mail by post. When speaking to a person in Canada by business phone, please encourage him/her to give his/her consent: Tell the person that, per Canadian legislation, ACC needs him/her to send us his/her express consent to receive electronic communications from ACC. Direct him/her to the appropriate webpage where he/she can express his/her consent. For prospective members, use the website Different opt- in webpages will be created, to which you should direct Marketing, Communications and Advocacy contacts that are not prospective members. More details on this to follow. IMPORTANT: Do not send them the consent URL by . You should not send anyone an until they have communicated their consent in writing. Once the person has filled out the online consent form, you can him/her about ACC topics (i.e., news, updates and promotions or information about membership, 3

4 programs, surveys and resources), and each of your s must include the above signature line and unsubscribe option. RULE 3: The Business- Card Exception If people from or in Canada (check if the postal address on their card is in Canada) give their business card to ACC staff without indicating that they do not wish to receive , ACC staff can send them an , as long as the information contained in the pertains to that individual s business function. Examples would include ACC membership information to prospective members, or sponsorship opportunities for prospective sponsors. Please follow these rules: Step 1: Make a note of the date and event on the business card you received. Step 2: Your first to this person must start with: Thank you for giving me your business card at [event] on [date]. I am following up with you regarding [topic],. Step 3: Your should only address a topic in line with the person s business function as discussed in the paragraph above. Step 4: If the person has not previously provided expressed consent, you can include in the an invitation to consent as follows: Finally, we would be very grateful if you could visit our webpage and fill out a short form expressing your consent to receive s from ACC. For prospective members, the webpage for the consent is http// Different opt- in webpages will be created to which you should direct Marketing, Communications and Advocacy contacts that are not prospective members. Step 5: IMPORTANT: Blind copy ( BCC ) CASLProof@acc.com in your first to the individual who gave you his/her business card. This will provide ACC with evidence that we had the appropriate implied consent to the individual if ACC is audited. RULE 4: The Inquiry Exception Inquires: If someone in Canada contacts you by and asks for information, you can respond to that person s inquiry by . Please follow these rules: Step 1: Your must start with: Following your [ / phone] inquiry of [date] regarding [topic],. Step 2: Your should only address the person s inquiry. For any other s, please follow the relevant rules above. Step 3: If the person has not previously provided expressed consent, you can include in the an invitation to consent as follows: Finally, we would be very grateful if you could visit our webpage and fill out a short form expressing your consent to receive s from ACC. For prospective members, the website for the consent is Different opt- in webpages will be created to which you should direct Marketing, Communications and Advocacy contacts that are not prospective members. Step 4: IMPORTANT: Blind copy ( BCC ) CASLProof@acc.com in your response to the individual. This will provide ACC with evidence that we had the appropriate implied consent to the individual if ACC is audited. 4

5 Phone Inquires: If someone in Canada contacts you by phone, return their inquiry by phone, unless they give you express permission to respond by . If you have this permission, follow the rules above for inquiries. RULE 5: Contractors and Consultants Several departments within ACC use independent contractors and consultants (collectively referred to as contractors ) to communicate with a variety of people in Canada on behalf of ACC. All contractors MUST comply with ACC policies and procedures when communicating with people in Canada as identified above and must include specific signature block and unsubscribed language as described below. Particular challenge: There is one particular challenge with contractors. Most, if not all, do not have access to our databases to determine if the person they need to communicate with have provided consent or have opted out of electronic communications. Each department will need to determine the best method for providing the contractor with this information PRIOR to the contractor ing people in Canada. Additional mandatory language in the signature block: The signature block required for consultants is identical to the signature block for all staff with just a bit more information: [Contractor s name] [Contractor s telephone number or address] This message is sent on behalf of the Association of Corporate Counsel 1025 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 200 Washington, DC , USA [ACC address] Tel: If you do not wish to receive further electronic communications from the Association of Corporate Counsel, please send your request by to unsubscribe@acc.com and you will be permanently removed from the distribution lists of both ACC and the ACC local chapters. 5