GDPR Privacy Notice

Our ICO Registration Number is:  ZA465525

Samuels Solicitors LLP is a data controller. We are committed to respecting your privacy and protecting your personal data. This notice applies to all of your personal data which we might collect through our communications with you.

Our Data Privacy Manager is Judith Thompson. She can be contacted by telephone by calling 01271 343457 or by email on jmt@samuels-solicitors.co.uk.

You have the right to make a complaint relating to the processing of your personal data to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/.

 

How And What Data Do We Collect?

We may collect your personal data from various sources:

  • From you;
  • From third parties or organisations including your employer, GP surgery, hospitals, treating professionals or agencies involved with you;
  • From publicly available sources;
  • From any interactions we have with you on any of our social media platforms;
  • From any witnesses we speak to about your case; and
  • From statistical information vis Google Analytics, although you cannot be personally identified via this.

We do not use Google AdWords and therefore no data will be collected about you using that route. 

The types of data we may collect will include:

  • Any information that relates to you as an identifiable person including your name and contact details;
  • Your financial information;
  • Details about your employment and/or business details;
  • Your personal identification documents;
  • Information about your friends and family; and
  • Information about your social media accounts and lifestyle.

Depending on the subject matter of your case, we may process “special category data” relating to your health, your racial or ethnic origin, any political opinions you may hold and any organisations you belong to, your religious or other beliefs, details about your sexual life, details of any trade union membership, information about any criminal offences you have been accused or convicted of, and any and criminal proceedings which may have been, or will be, brought against you.

 

Legal basis for Processing Your Data

By providing us with information and documents about you, you give consent for us to process your personal data.

We use your data to provide legal services to you and to comply with our legal obligations. Where we process data about your criminal offences or special category data, this is to enable us to give you the advice you require.

 

How Is Your Data Used?

We will use your personal data to provide legal advice and representation. We will also use your data for administration purposes to maintain files and account records

From time to time, it will be necessary for us to share your personal data with third parties including, but is not limited to:

  • Technical service providers;
  • Professional advisers including other lawyers, bankers, auditors, banking, legal, accounting, costs draftsmen and other professional services;
  • Professional experts and those involved in the writing or provision of reports;
  • HM Land Registry, Information Commissioner’s Office, HM Courts and Tribunal Services and any other public office based in the United Kingdom, such as the SRA, Legal Ombudsman, The Law Society, mediation and arbitration providers, and employees of the firm;
  • Where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation to which we are subject; or
  • For the promotion of our services unless you have opted out of this.

 

Security: How we store and protect your personal information

All electronic devices used by us are password protected and only authorised persons have access.

Our hosting provider for our IT system stores documents in secure servers within this jurisdiction, and are accredited to IS027001.

We will make you aware if we need to transfer your personal data outside of the European Union.  

 

Retention of Data

If we are providing legal services to you, we will tell you how long we will keep your data for when we close your matter. We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for of satisfying any legal, accounting or reporting requirements and if required to defend against any legal claims.

If you have contacted us about a matter, but do not go on to instruct us, we will keep the information you have provided for at least 7 years, unless you tell us that you would like us to delete it sooner.

 

Your Rights to Access Information

You have the right to obtain confirmation that your personal data is being processed by us and to obtain a copy of your personal data from us.

You also have various other rights in relation to your personal data which include:

  1. The right to ask us to correct personal data;
  2. The right to ask us to delete your personal data or stop processing it, which we will comply with unless it is necessary for us to retain it to comply with our legal obligations;
  3. The right to restrict our use of your personal data; and
  4. Object to our use of your data.

 

If you have any questions about how we process your data, please do not hesitate to contact us.