Cookie policy

This cookie policy (“Cookie Policy”) is intended to inform you of how Home Counsel Legal Services Professional Corporation ("Home Counsel Legal Services", "our" or "we") uses “cookies” and similar technologies on our website at www.hc-ls.ca (“Website”) and to assist you in making informed decisions when using our Website. Please take a moment to read and understand this Cookie Policy.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small data files a website can store in your browser and receive with later requests. Browsers do not necessarily ask permission each time. Local storage is another way to save information on your device, but it is not automatically sent with each web request.

With your Analytics permission, the live website uses Google Analytics cookies to understand visits. With your Office tour permission, it loads Vimeo, which may use cookies. Advertising features are disabled. When the chat loads, Clio Grow sets its own cookie, described under External services. Hosting and security services may process technical request information separately from browser storage. Third-party websites linked from this site may use their own cookies.

For more details on cookies and similar technologies, please visit All About Cookies. For the purposes of the remaining sections of this Cookie Policy, we will refer to all technologies using the above features as “cookies”.

Cookies and preferences on this website

Google Analytics is optional and is loaded on the live website only after you allow Analytics in the cookie banner. It measures visits to public pages and use of phone, email, booking and intake links. We exclude URL query strings, fragments, search terms, form answers, calculator entries and results, and the addresses behind contact links. Google receives technical information such as browser and device information and connection data. Advertising features and Google Signals are disabled. See Google’s Privacy Policy and how Google uses information from partner sites.

Analytics cookies include “_ga” and “_ga_R4L9PENRVM”, used to distinguish browser visits and maintain session information. Our tag sets a lifetime of up to 180 days without renewing it on every visit. Withdrawing Analytics permission stops collection by this tag and clears this website’s first-party “_ga” cookies; it does not remove information previously received by Google. Local and staging previews do not load analytics. The embedded Vimeo office tour is described below.

If you use the site’s “Reduce motion” control, your choice is saved in your browser’s local storage under “hcls-reduce-motion”. This allows the website to remember your animation preference. It has no automatic expiry and remains until changed or cleared. Local storage is separate from cookies; this preference stays on your device and is not used for advertising or visitor analytics.

You can change this choice using the control in the footer, or remove it by clearing this website’s saved data in your browser. Your device’s reduced-motion accessibility setting is also respected.

The header’s sun/moon control saves your theme preference under “hcls-theme” until you change it or clear site data. The cookie banner saves your separate Analytics and Office tour choices and their date under “hcls-cookie-consent” for up to 180 days. Select “Cookie settings” in the footer to change that choice. If browser storage is unavailable, the choice lasts only for the current page session.

External services

The live website offers Clio Grow chat to help you contact HCLS. The chat loads 20 seconds after you open your first page on this website. Once loaded, it connects your browser to Clio and to service providers Clio uses, including Amazon CloudFront (content delivery), Bugsnag (error reporting) and Google Fonts. These receive technical connection information and may use cookies or similar technologies. Clio Grow sets a “_grow_session” cookie on hcls.cliogrow.com, which expires within two days. Messages and contact details you choose to enter are sent to Clio Grow for HCLS to handle your inquiry. The chat is separate from the optional Analytics and Office tour choices. If you have allowed Analytics, the Clio embed can also receive the existing Google Analytics browser and session identifiers. Do not use chat for urgent matters or send detailed confidential information before speaking with us.

Intake forms, appointment booking, payment services, and social content are provided through links to external websites. Those websites operate under their own privacy and cookie policies. Selecting a link to those services takes you away from this website.

The Ottawa office tour uses an embedded Vimeo player. The player stays blocked until you allow Office tour in the cookie banner. After that permission, it loads and plays silently when the tour comes into view, unless reduced motion is enabled. Selecting “Essential only” keeps the still image and removes any loaded player. You can also choose the separate link to watch on Vimeo’s website. Playback pauses when the tour leaves view or the browser tab is hidden. With reduced motion enabled before the player loads, a still image is shown instead. Vimeo receives technical information needed to deliver the video and may use cookies or similar technologies under its own privacy and cookie policies. The player requests Vimeo’s do-not-track mode. Vimeo may still use security cookies, and your browser may send Vimeo cookies stored from earlier visits. Removing the player prevents further player requests from this page but does not erase cookies held by Vimeo. Use your browser settings to clear third-party cookies if desired.

Other websites

Visitors can navigate to a variety of external websites where Home Counsel Legal Services or users may have a presence or wish to visit. When visitors select the option to view content from these websites, they are redirected from the Home Counsel Legal Services website to the other site, where a variety of cookies may be used throughout the visit. Home Counsel Legal Services is not responsible for any cookies used once a visitor leaves the Home Counsel Legal Services website.

Can you block cookies?

You can block the use of cookies altogether by activating the relevant settings in your browser. You can find out how to do this for a variety of browsers at All About Cookies. For more information on cookie management and blocking or deleting cookies for a wide variety of browsers, visit All About Cookies.

For questions, contact admin@hcls.law. See our Privacy Policy for access rights and complaints. If new or changed optional tracking is introduced, we will update this policy and obtain consent where required before enabling it.

Last updated: September 27, 2026