Our practice understands that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your personal data is used. We respect and value the privacy of everyone who visits this website and will only collect and use personal data in ways that are described here, and in a way that is consistent with our obligations and your rights under the law.
Please read this Privacy Notice carefully and ensure that you understand it.
This Privacy Notice applies only to your use of Our Site and personal data that we collect from you in any other interactions that you have with us outside of Our Site. Our Site may contain links to other websites. Please note that we have no control over how your data is collected, stored, or used by other websites and we advise you to check the privacy policies of any such websites before providing any data to them.
Personal data is defined by the General Data Protection Regulation (EU Regulation 2016/679) (the “GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (collectively, “the Data Protection Legislation”) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier’.
Personal data is, in simpler terms, any information about you that enables you to be identified. Personal data covers obvious information such as your name and contact details, but it also covers less obvious information such as identification numbers, electronic location data, and other online identifiers.
Under the Data Protection Legislation, you have the following rights, which we will always work to uphold:
For more information about our use of your personal data or exercising your rights as outlined above, please contact us using the details provided in the section of this privacy policy titled “How do I contact you?”
It is important that your personal data is kept accurate and up-to-date. If any of the personal data we hold about you changes, please keep us informed as long as we have that data.
Further information about your rights can also be obtained from the Information Commissioner’s Office or your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
If you have any cause for complaint about our use of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. However, we would welcome the opportunity to resolve your concerns ourselves, so please contact us first, using the details in the section of this privacy policy titled “How do I contact you?”
Depending upon your use of Our Site, we may collect and hold some or all of the personal and non-personal data set out below:
Under the Data Protection Legislation, our practice must always have a lawful basis for using or processing personal data. Our Lawful basis for using your personal data is based on the grounds that, you have made an enquiry about our legal services, asked for a quote, or we have been instructed by you to act as your Attorney in order to carry out your client instructions. The specific details of those instructions will have been confirmed to you in writing and stored in your client file. Depending on the circumstances of your instructions, and how and why we are processing your data, this will usually fall under the lawful basis of “Contract”, although there are circumstances where it could fall under the lawful bases of “Legitimate interests”, “Legal Obligation”, “Consent” and even more rarely “Vital Interests”. If the lawful basis is other than the lawful basis of Contract, this will be documented in our records and where necessary communicated to you in writing.
With your permission and/or where permitted by law, our practice may also use your personal data for marketing purposes, which may include contacting you by email and/or telephone and/or text message and/or post with information, news, and offers on our products and or services. You will not be sent any unlawful marketing or spam. Our practice will always work to fully protect your rights and comply with our obligations under the Data Protection Legislation and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, and you will always have the opportunity to opt-out.
We will only use your personal data for the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected unless we reasonably believe that another purpose is compatible with that or those original purpose(s) and need to use your personal data for that purpose. If we do use your personal data in this way and you wish us to explain how the new purpose is compatible with the original, please contact us using the details provided in the section of this privacy policy titled “How do I contact you?”
If we need to use your personal data for a purpose that is unrelated to, or incompatible with, the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected, we will inform you and explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.
In some circumstances, where permitted or required by law, we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent. This will only be done within the bounds of the Data Protection Legislation and your legal rights.
We will not keep your personal data for any longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected. Where we are acting as your Attorney, depending on the nature of your matter, your personal data will usually be kept for a period of no longer than 6 years after your matter has concluded. The exact period for which your client file and your personal data will be kept and the information on storage and retrieval will be given to you in a closing letter at the conclusion of your matter.
However, where you do not have a legal matter with us then your data may be held for no more than 2 years after your enquiry or quote has been received. In practice however, we will not keep your personal data for any longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected. This means that your data could be deleted within mere weeks of it being collected but the exact retention period will vary depending on the nature of the data and the reasons for which it was collected and the lawful basis under which it was collected.
We will usually only store or transfer your personal data within the UK. This means that it will be fully protected under the Data Protection Legislation. Where it is necessary to store or transfer your data within the European Economic Area, your personal data will also be fully protected under the Data Protection Legislation.
Where it is necessary for us to store or transfer your data in countries who may not have data protection laws that are as strong as those in the UK and/or the EEA, we will take additional steps in order to ensure that your personal data is treated just as safely and securely as it would be within the UK under the Data Protection Legislation.
The security of your personal data is essential to us, and to protect your data, we take a number of important measures, including the following:
Our practice will not share any of your personal data with any third parties for any purposes, subject to the following exceptions:
In some limited circumstances, our practice may be legally required to share certain personal data, which might include yours, if we are involved in legal proceedings or complying with legal obligations, a court order, or the instructions of a government authority.
In circumstances where we need to instruct Barristers, experts or other third parties in order to progress you case in your best interests. We sometimes use outsourcing services e.g. secretarial, outsource support, telephone services, IT services (includes website management, digital marketing), accounts, billing etc.
In circumstances where we need to use approved outsourced providers to carry out work on your file such as cost draftsman services, Forensic scientists, Medical personnel, billing services etc., these will be found in our list of approved outsourced providers and we will have taken appropriate precautions to ensure that your personal data will be protected.
You may access certain areas of our website without providing any personal data at all. However, to use all features and functions available on website you may be required to submit or allow for the collection of certain data.
If you want to know what personal data we have about you, you can ask us for details of that personal data and for a copy of it (where any such personal data is held). This is known as a “subject access request”.
Subject access requests can be made verbally or in writing and sent to the email or postal addresses shown in the section of this privacy policy titled “How do I contact you?” To make this as easy as possible for you, a Subject Access Request Form is available for you to use. You do not have to use this form, but it is the easiest way to tell us everything we need to know to respond to your request as quickly as possible.
There is not normally any charge for a subject access request. If your request is ‘manifestly unfounded or excessive’ (for example, if you make repetitive requests) a fee may be charged to cover our administrative costs in responding.
We will respond to your subject access request as soon as reasonably possible and, in any case, not more than one month after receiving it. Normally, we aim to provide a complete response, including a copy of your personal data where appropriate within that time. In some cases, however, particularly if your request is more complex, more time may be required up to a maximum of three months from the date we receive your request. You will be kept fully informed of our progress.
To contact us about anything to do with your personal data and data protection, including to make a subject access request, please use the following details:
12. Changes to this Privacy Notice
We may change this Privacy Notice from time to time. This may be necessary, for example, if the law changes, or if we change our business in a way that affects personal data protection.
Any changes will be immediately posted on Our Site and you will be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Privacy Notice on your first use of Our Site following the alterations. We recommend that you check this page regularly to keep up-to-date.
