This Notice is primarily for the benefit of our clients or potential clients or for related third parties whose data we may process as part of the provision of legal services. We maintain and will provide separate privacy notices in relation to the collection and use of personal information about our staff and employees, including potential employees, during and after their working relationship with us.

This firm processes your data in accordance with the terms of the Data Protection Act 2018, the Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and the relevant provisions relating to the General Data Protection Regulation contained within the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (UK GDPR).

This Data & Privacy Notice explains, in detail, the types of personal data we may collect about you when you interact with us. It also explains how we will store and handle that data and keep it safe. Unless otherwise indicated, references in this Data and Privacy Notice to the GDPR refer to the UK GDPR.

We know that there’s a lot of information here, but we want you to be fully informed about your rights, and how our firm uses your data. We hope the following sections will answer any questions you have but if not, please do get in touch with us.

Conditions for Processing Data

We are only entitled to hold and process your data where the law allows us to. The current law on data protection (Article 6 GDPR) sets out a number of different reasons for which a law firm may collect and process your personal data. These include:

 

Contractual obligations

The main purpose for our holding your data is to provide you with legal services under the agreement we have with you. This agreement is a contract between us and the law allows us to process your data for the purposes of performing a contract (or for the steps necessary to enter in to a contract).

Legitimate Interests

In specific situations, we require your data to pursue our legitimate interests in a way which might reasonably be expected as part of running our business and which does not materially impact your rights, freedom or interests. This may include to satisfy our external quality auditors or our Regulators.

Legal compliance

If the law requires us to, we may need to collect and process your data. For example, we can pass on details of people involved in fraud or other criminal activity.

Consent

In some situations, we can collect and process your data with your consent. For example, when you tick a box to receive email newsletters. When collecting your personal data, we’ll always make clear to you which data is necessary in connection with a particular service.

When do we collect your data?

We normally collect your data when you provide it to us or when it is provided to us by others (your opponent’s solicitors for example) during your case. You may give us your data by email; through an online web form; over the telephone; face to face; or by post.

What sort of data do we collect?

Information you provide to us

You voluntarily give us your personal information for instance when:

• you contact us via our website
• provide a comment on our website
• write a review
• sign up to any newsletters
• interact with us on social media platforms, and/or
• use our services.

Where we request information from you we will collect the information set out in the relevant web pages, or as explained to you over the telephone or face to face.

Client services

We may collect personal data as follows:

• name and contact details (including address, email and phone numbers). This may include asking for and keeping a copy of your passport/driving licence and proof of address
• date of birth
• personal information that may be included in communications with us

We also collect and hold information about your case or legal problem.

Website or third party sources

We collect certain related technical information including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, logs (including, where available, the IP address and location of the device connecting to the online services and other technical information and identifiers about the device and the nature of the visit such as clickstream to, through and from our website) and other communication data, and the resources that you use.

On occasions, we acquire information from other companies, to collect information about how visitors to our website use the site. Information is also collected about how you arrived at our websites in the first place, including what links or adverts you have viewed or clicked on to reach us, or any search terms you have used. We do this to maintain and improve our website, getting a better understanding of visitor and client profiles and ultimately delivering a better experience. Information may be collected through the use of cookies or pixels.

CCTV

We have installed CCTV systems in our offices and on the outside of the buildings and personal data in form of images or CCTV footage may be recorded.

We operate CCTV in accordance with the ICO CCTV Code of Practice and are processing CCTV data in order to pursue our legitimate interests of:

• promoting a safe working environment and monitoring health and safety at our premises
• monitoring the safety and security of our premises
• deterring and assisting in the prevention, investigation and detection of crime and/or serious breaches of policies and procedures, and
• assisting with the identification and prosecution of offenders, including use of images as evidence in criminal proceedings.

CCTV is never used for any automated decision taking.

We will only disclose images and audio to other authorised bodies such as the police or other law enforcement agencies for the purposes set out above.

Telephone call recording

We record most incoming and outgoing telephone calls with the exception of calls (or parts of those calls) where payment is taken. Your personal data may be collected as a result.

We record conversations for the following reasons:

• to allow us to be able to properly assess the needs of our clients (including potential clients) and third parties in order that we can provide them with a better service and resolve their queries
• to ensure we comply with regulatory requirements
• to identify training and development needs
• to identify and evaluate any expressions of dissatisfaction and/or complaints
• to enable us to review call quality
• to protect the wellbeing and safety of our staff by identifying any threatening behaviour which can then be evidenced and acted upon where necessary.

Call recordings are destroyed in accordance with the retention information in this Notice. If the recording is available, you can submit a request a copy of your call by making a data subject access request to our DPO (as set out below).

How do we use your data?

Provision of services

We only use your data for the purposes of providing you with legal advice, assistance and where appropriate, representation and for reasons directly associated with those services (i.e. providing information to quality auditors etc.).

In particular:

• to deliver our services
• to manage our relationship and communicate with you
• to provide you with advice or guidance about our services
• to make and manage payments
• to respond to complaints and seek to resolve them
• to train our staff and measure the quality of the service we give to clients.

Regulatory

We also use data to communicate with our regulators or legislators and to obey laws, regulations and codes of conduct that apply to us.

For example, we will process your data to enable us to identify and/or verify your identity and conduct fraud, credit and anti-money laundering checks in accordance with anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing legislation and regulation.

Consent 

We may use your data to notify you of our other services but only where we have your consent to do so.

Website enhancement and business development

We also use data to develop our business and services. In particular:

• to respond to individual experiences shared with us and for editorial content
• to enhance your online experience
• to conduct research and surveys
• to develop and manage our services including marketing of new or enhanced services
• to research your views and experiences for research and editorial purposes, including through requests for feedback on our services
• to understand your website journey, including what pages you have viewed and for how long
• to administer and keep safe and secure our website and for internal operations, including data analysis, testing, statistical purposes.

Cookies

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

By law, we may not place cookies on your computer without your consent, unless they are strictly necessary to the operation of the service that we provide on the website.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

We use Google Analytics to monitor how our website is being used so we can make improvements. Our use of Google Analytics requires us to pass to Google your IP address (but no other information) – Google uses this information to prepare site usage reports for us, but Google may also share this information with other Google services. In particular, Google may use the data collected to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network. Related information:

• Google’s privacy policy
• How Google uses this information.

If you have any queries about the cookies that we use, or would like more information, please contact info@bplegal.co.uk

Artificial Intelligence

In order to provide an optimum service to our clients, under the agreement we have with you to provide legal services, we may utilise technology which uses artificial intelligence (AI). However, we aim to take steps to ensure that we remain fully accountable and our use of AI technology is safe, secure and compliant with data protection legislation as well as the professional rules that govern our work.

In addition to adhering to the data processing principles in the UK GDPR including fairness and accuracy, we also seek to evaluate and improve the ‘statistical accuracy’ of data generated by any AI system. Statistical accuracy refers to the accuracy of an AI system itself. Any AI system we use needs to be sufficiently statistically accurate to ensure that any personal data generated by it is processed lawfully and fairly.

In many cases, the outputs of an AI system are not intended to be treated as factual information about an individual. Instead, they are intended to represent a statistically informed guess as to something which may be true about the individual now or in the future. To avoid such personal data being misinterpreted as factual, we seek to ensure that the records generated by an AI tool indicate:

• wherever data outputs are statistically informed guesses rather than facts
• where possible, the provenance of the data and the AI system used to generate the inference
• where the inference was based on inaccurate data, or the AI system used to generate it is statistically flawed in a way which may have affected the quality of the inference
• if the processing of the incorrect inference may have an impact on an individual. If this applies, an individual affected it would be notified and may request the inclusion of additional information in their records to counter the incorrect inference.

Wherever possible, we will ensure any factors that may result in inaccuracies in personal data are corrected and the risk of errors is minimised.

We seek to apply enhanced and comprehensive security whenever AI is implemented. Personal data will only be processed through an AI tool where we have conducted a data protection impact assessment and are assured that we can put in place practical steps to mitigate any risks and adequately maintain and protect confidentiality and privacy.

How do we protect your data?

We take protecting your data very seriously. The data you give us may be subject to Legal Professional Privilege and is often extremely sensitive and confidential.

With this in mind we will treat your data with the utmost care and take all appropriate steps to protect it. We have clear data protection and information security policies and procedures in place (along with Regulatory and other legal obligations to keep your data safe) and these are regularly assessed as part of our Quality Standards and compliance processes.

We protect our IT system from Cyber Attack. Access to your personal data is password-protected, and sensitive data is secured by encryption.

We regularly monitor our system for possible vulnerabilities and attacks, and we carry out penetration testing to identify ways to further strengthen security.

How long will we keep your data?

We only keep your data for as long as is necessary for the purpose(s) for which it was provided.

We use the following retention periods and review these periodically to make sure we are only keeping personal data and other data for as long as is needed:

• information in a matter file or related to a matter or instructions to us such as information on our case management system will usually be kept for a period of 7 or 12 years as per our file retention schedule, after the case or matter ends unless it is required to be kept for longer (for instance, the information is required for another or related case or matter or where the person is currently under the age of eighteen, in which case data will need to be held for 7 years after they reach the age of eighteen), or we have another legal basis to process that information. This is because we are required to keep client files for that period by our Regulator and/or by the SRA. This also protects you should you be unhappy with our services and want to complain or even due us after your case ends.
• data obtained for compliance with crime or fraud prevention has to be retained by us to meet our legal or regulatory obligations for five years from the close of the individual matter or the end of our business relationship with a relevant person, whichever is later
• enquiries where we do not take on your case are kept for only 18 months
• any complaints files for 7 years after the complaint is concluded (with the associated matter file(s)
• financial information and any financial transactions will be kept for a period of 7 years to comply with HMRC requirements except for cardholder data which will generally be destroyed immediately after the transaction is processed
• call recordings are stored for 30 days.

For some data we may decide that it is proper and appropriate to keep data for longer than the above, but we will notify you if we believe that your case falls into this category or there is another reason your data has to be retained.

Who do we share your personal data with?

We sometimes share your personal data with trusted third parties. We only do this where it is necessary for providing you legal services or for the effective operation of our legal practice.

For example, we may share your data with barristers; experts; translators; costs draftsmen; process servers; secure file storage and destruction companies; auditors; the company that securely hosts our off-site cloud storage servers.

We apply a strict policy to those recipients or data processors to keep your data safe and protect your privacy. In particular:

• We provide only the information they need to perform their specific services
• They may only use your data for the exact purposes we specify in our contract with them
• We work closely with them to ensure that your privacy is respected and protected at all times
• If we stop using their services, any of your data held by them will either be deleted or rendered anonymous.

Where is your data processed?

We may transfer personal data overseas. In particular, [please set out how and why data maybe transferred outside of the UK, for instance] [we use cloud IT and similar data storage facilities and so we may store, process and transmit data in locations outside the UK] [the firm’s information systems, including electronic matter files, client information and finance systems are accessible by our offices in different counties which means personal data may be accessed by our firm’s personnel overseas] [where a client matter involves obtaining legal or other professional advice from another country, our firm may need to transfer details about the client matter, including personal data, to a third party in that country.

Whenever we transfer any data out of the UK, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it and treated with the same security measures regardless of location, and in accordance with our internal processes and policies as well as regulatory and legal obligations. In particular, we ensure that at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:

• we will only transfer personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data by the UK by means of an adequacy decision or similar in accordance with UK adequacy regulations or otherwise comply with EU GDPR transfer restrictions, as applicable
• where we use certain service providers, we may use specific contractual provisions which gives personal data the same protection it has within the UK and ensures a similar level of protection to the personal data as if it was processed within the UK, as applicable, and/or
• we will require that any overseas third party to which we disclosure personal data to: (a) only use that personal data for the purposes for which it was disclosed (b) use all technical and organisational measures which are reasonable in the circumstances to secure that personal data (c) delete that personal data when it is no longer required, and (d) treat that personal data in accordance with this Data and Privacy Notice and that appropriate data privacy law.

What are your rights?

You have the following rights under the UK GDPR:

1. the right to be informed – the provision of clear and concise information about what we do with your personal data, as outlined within this Data & Privacy Notice
2. the right of access – commonly referred to as a ‘data subject access request’, this enables you to request a copy of your personal data to understand how and why we are using your data, and to check we are doing so lawfully. If we choose not to action your request, we will explain to you the reasons for our refusal
3. the right to rectification – the ability to have inaccurate personal data rectified or, in specific circumstances dependent on the purposes for our processing of your data, the ability to have incomplete personal data completed
4. the right to erasure – also known as the right to be forgotten, this permits you to request we erase your personal data. This only applies to data we hold at the time your request is received and does not apply to any data that may be obtained in the future. Please note that this is not an absolute right and only applies in certain circumstances. We may have overriding duties to retain some data which you cannot ask to be erased immediately or at all. For instance, once you become a client of our firm or you are an interested party in a case, we will be required by our regulators and for legal purposes to retain some of your personal data and other information within casefiles for a certain period (for retention periods, please see above)
5. the right to restrict processing – the ability to request a temporary restriction on the processing of your personal data, where one of a limited number of reasons specified by the ICO applies
6. the right to data portability – the ability to receive personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format. This also gives you the right to request that we transmit this data directly to another Data Controller
7. the right to object – the ability, in certain circumstances, to request we stop processing your personal data. This request may relate to all of your personal data we hold or only certain information, and may only apply to a particular purpose for processing
8. rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling – restrictions on the use of automated decision making and profiling where such decisions have a legal or similarly significant effect on you. It is unlikely that our firm will use automated decision making and profiling.

For further details on your rights, please visit the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/.

Contact Details

For information on how your information is used, how we maintain the security of our information, and to exercise your rights to access information we hold on you, please contact us. Similarly, if you believe that the information we hold is wrong or out of date, please let us know and we will update it. The person in this firm responsible for data protection is our Data Protection Officer Bhumika Parmar, and enquires and requests can be sent to them by telephone 0116 253 6856, by emailing info@bplegal.co.uk or in writing to BP Legal Solicitors,  221 Belgrave Gate, Leicester, LE1 3HT.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this policy. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement or policy applicable to the website in question.

The Regulator

If you feel that your data has not been handled correctly, or you are unhappy with our response to any requests you have made to us regarding the use of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

You can contact them by calling 0303 123 1113.

Or go online to www.ico.org.uk/concerns (opens in a new window; please note we can’t be responsible for the content of external websites).