General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
You may have heard that a new data privacy law has been introduced in the UK. It’s known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and it gives you much more control over your personal information and transparency around how it’s used.
Privacy Policy
PRIVACY POLICY
This notice explains when and why we collect personal information about you; how we use it, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others and how we keep it secure.
For clients of this firm, you should read this notice alongside our general terms and conditions which provide further information on confidentiality, data privacy etc.
This notice does not apply to any websites that may have a link to ours.
1. Who we are?
2. Children
3. What we need
4. Sources of information
5. Why we need it
6. Who has access to it
7. How do we protect your personal data?
8. How long we keep it for
9. What are your rights?
10. Complaints about the use of personal data
11. Marketing data
Who Are We?
All Data that is collected, processed and stored is done so by Faith Williams Law Solicitors, we are known as the Data Controller of any personal information you provide us.
Faith Williams Law Solicitors is a trading name of Faith Williams, Solicitor Sole Practitioner registered in England and Wales (Registration number 393615 and 621186), authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
The Data Protection Officer is Faith Williams who can be contacted by email at faith@faithwilliamslaw.com
Children
Children are identified as vulnerable and deserving of special protection under GDPR, this means data controllers will implement appropriate measures to ensure that GDPR principals are an integral part of processing, collecting or storing the personal data of a child.
Generally, in Legal work children will be represented by a parent or guardian, however in some matters children will be involved and personal data will be collected with the permission of the parent or guardian, or the child if they are of the age of 13 years or above. If you are a child and would like more
information about what personal information is held about you, or how GDPR affects you, please contact us for more information.
What We Need
The information that we need from you will depend largely on the type of action you have entered into with us.
There are two types of information which are considered your Personal Data.
- · Personal Data: is the general information that you supply about yourself, such as your name, address, gender, date of birth, contact details, financial information etc.
· Sensitive Personal Data: is, by its nature, more sensitive information and may include your racial or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, health data, philosophical views, biometric and genetic data.
In most cases we will only require your Personal Data and Sensitive Personal Data will only be collected if relevant to your action.
Sources of Information
Information about you may be obtained from a number of sources; including:
You may volunteer the information about yourself
You may provide information relating to someone else, if you have the authority to do so
Information may be passed to us by third parties in order that we can undertake your legal work on your behalf. Typically, these organisations can be:
Banks or building societies
Panel providers who allocate legal work to law firms
Organisations that have referred work to us
Medical or financial institutions, who provide your personal records/information, such as a GP or Hospital
Why We Need It
The primary reason for asking you to provide us with your personal data, is to allow us to carry out your requests, which will ordinarily be to represent you and carry out your legal work.
The following are some examples, although not exhaustive, of what we may use your information for:
Verifying your identity
Verifying source of funds
Communicating with you
To establish funding of your matter or transaction
Obtaining insurance policies on your behalf
Processing your legal transaction including:
Providing you with advice;
Carrying out litigation on your behalf;
Attending hearings on your behalf;
Preparing documents or to complete transactions
Keeping financial records of your transactions and the transactions we make on your behalf
Seeking advice from third parties; such as legal and non-legal experts
Responding to any complaint or allegation of negligence against us
Who has Access to It?
Generally, we will only use your information within Faith Williams Law Solicitors. However, there may be circumstances, in carrying out your legal
work, where we may need to disclose some information to third parties; for example:
HM Land Registry to register a property
HM Revenue & Customs; e.g. for Stamp Duty Liability
Court or Tribunal
Solicitors acting on the other side
Asking an independent Barrister or Counsel for advice; or to represent you
Non legal experts to obtain advice or assistance
Translation Agencies
Contracted Suppliers
External auditors or our Regulatory body
Bank or Building Society; or other financial institutions
Insurance Companies
Providers of identity verification
Any disclosure required by law or regulation; such as the prevention of financial crime and terrorism
If there is an emergency and we think you or others are at risk
In the event any of your information is shared with the aforementioned third parties, we ensure that they comply, strictly and confidentially, with our instructions and they do not use your personal information for their own purposes unless you have explicitly consented to them doing so.
There may be some uses of personal data that may require your specific consent. If we need to do so we will contact you separately to ask for your consent which you are free to withdraw at any time.
We will not sell or rent your information to third parties. We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.
How do we protect your Personal Data?
Your Personal Data is of the upmost importance and as such we take special measures to protect this data.
We store our electronic files on an encrypted sophisticated system which is built around the security of data which includes exceptional standards of technology including systems such as firewalls to protect your data and prevent cyber-attacks, access is only granted to employees of Faith Williams Law Solicitors who sign a confidentiality agreement, and only use the data as permitted by this policy.
We enforce physical protocols to protect data kept within our properties, which in turn are also covered by security measures.
How long will we keep it for?
Your personal information will be retained, usually in computer or manual files, only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which the information was collected; or as required by law; or as long as is set out in any relevant contract you may hold with us. For example:
As long as necessary to carry out your legal work
For a minimum of 7 years from the conclusion or closure of your legal work; in case you, or we, need to re-open your case for the purpose of defending complaints or claims against us
For the duration of a trust
Some information or matters may be kept for 16 years – such as commercial transactions, sales of leasehold purchases, matrimonial matters (financial
orders or maintenance agreements etc.)
Probate matters where there is a surviving spouse or civil partner may be retained until the survivor has died in order to deal with the transferable Inheritance Tax allowance
Wills and related documents may be kept indefinitely
Deeds related to unregistered property may be kept indefinitely as they evidence ownership
Personal injury matters which involve lifetime awards or PI Trusts may be kept indefinitely
What are your rights?
Under the GDPR, you are entitled to access your personal data (otherwise known as a ‘right to access’). If you wish to make a request, please do so in writing addressed to our Data Protection Officer Faith Williams; or contact the person dealing with your matter.
A request for access to your personal data means you are entitled to a copy of the data we hold on you such as your name, address, contact details, date of birth, information regarding your health etc. but it does not mean you are entitled to the documents that contain this data.
Under certain circumstances, in addition to the entitlement to ‘access your data’, you have the following rights:
1. The right to be informed: which is fulfilled by way of this privacy notice and our transparent explanation as to how we use your personal data
2. The right to rectification: you are entitled to have personal data rectified if it is inaccurate or incomplete
3. The right to erasure / ‘right to be forgotten’: you have the right to request the deletion or removal of your personal data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing. This right only applies in the following specific circumstances:
Where the personal data is no longer necessary in regards to the purpose for which it was originally collected
Where consent is relied upon as the lawful basis for holding your data and you withdraw your consent
Where you object to the processing and there is no overriding legitimate interest for continuing the processing
The personal data was unlawfully processed
Where you object to the processing for direct marketing purposes
4. The right to object: you have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests; and direct marketing. This right only applies in the following circumstances:
An objection to stop processing personal data for direct marketing purposes is absolute – there are no exemptions or grounds to refuse we must stop processing in this context
You must have an objection on grounds relating to your particular situation
We must stop processing your personal data unless:
We can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms; or
The processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
5. The right to restrict processing: you have the right to request the restriction or suppression of your data. When processing is restricted, we can store the data but not use it. This right only applies in the following circumstances:
Where you contest the accuracy of the personal data – we should restrict the processing until we have verified the accuracy of that data
Where you object to the processing (where it was necessary for the performance of a public interest or purpose of legitimate interests), and we are considering whether our organisation’s legitimate grounds override your right
Where processing is unlawful and you request restriction
If we no longer need the personal data but you require the data to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim
Complaints about the use of Personal Data
If you are unhappy at anyway that your Personal Data has been used you can make a complaint in the first instance to our Data Protection Officer Faith Williams who will investigate further, you can contact her at faith@faithwilliamslaw.com
If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are not processing your personal data in accordance with the law, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Marketing Data
We will not sell or rent your information to third parties. We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.
We will not use your Personal Data for the purpose of our own marketing, nor will we contact you for marketing purposes.