Privacy policy
As a provider of legal services, maintaining confidentiality and privacy is one of our foremost concerns.
The purpose of this policy is to describe the ways in which we collect, hold and disclose personal information. This policy applies to your use of our web site, as well as to all of our dealings with clients and other individuals.
We may vary this policy from time to time.
Source of obligations
Privacy and confidentiality in the legal profession are paramount. We meet and surpass our professional and legal obligations in this respect as a matter of course.
In addition, we are continuously taking steps to ensure that we exceed the requirements of the National Privacy Principles ('NPPs'), and we make this statement in respect of those requirements.
How do we collect personal information?
We may receive personal information about you in a number of situations. For example, we could collect that information over the telephone, in correspondence (such as by fax, letter or email), in person, or occasionally through our dealings with third parties.
If we collect personal information from a third party, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that you:
- have been informed that we have collected that information,
- understand the purposes for which we have collected that information, and
- are aware how we might use that information or disclose it to third parties.
What personal information do we collect?
The types of personal information we collect can be extremely varied. Usually that information would include:
- name and contact details; and
- any other information we require to provide legal services to our clients.
If you do not supply us with all the information we request, our ability to provide quality legal services to our clients may be jeopardised.
We do not collect personal information that we do not need.
Why do we collect personal information and how do we use it?
Generally, the reasons why we collect personal information will be self-evident. For example, we collect personal information for one or more of the following purposes:
- to provide legal services to you, our clients, or another organisation in which you are involved;
- in considering whether to make an offer of employment to you; and
- to facilitate our internal business operations and to allow us to conduct our business generally.
Sometimes we may use personal information to communicate legal or firm developments to you, or to undertake other marketing activities.
If we require personal information about you for a specific purpose that is not obvious, we will let you know that purpose at the time the information is collected.
Using this website
We will not be collecting any personal information about you as a result of you simply visiting our web site. However, we may collect personal information if, in using this web site, you contact us by e-mail.
Our web site may contain links to other web sites. We have no control or knowledge of the information management policies of those web sites.
We cannot inform you if, by visiting linked web sites, your personal information will be collected by someone else, and if so, what use or disclosure may be made of that information.
When might we disclose personal information?
We may disclose personal information about you to achieve the same purpose for which it was collected. We might also disclose personal information about you:
- where doing so is necessary in the course of providing legal services (subject to our overriding duty of confidentiality to our clients);
- within our organisation;
- on a confidential basis to external service providers;
- if we are otherwise permitted or required to do so by law;
- in other circumstances where you have first consented to the disclosure.
Storing and retaining personal information
We store personal information in our internal databases, which may be in electronic or hardcopy form (or both).
Our databases are only accessible by our staff. (Some of our suppliers may also have incidental access to personal information, to allow them to supply their services to us. Software maintenance personnel are a relevant example).
We destroy personal information we collect as soon as we consider it is no longer needed.
Access
We welcome you to update any personal information you think we may hold about you. To do this, or to simply find out what personal information we currently hold, please contact us.
If you wish to access the personal information we hold about you, we may charge a fee to cover our costs of supplying that information. We will inform you of this cost at the time you make a request.
Queries and complaints
If you have any other query or complaint in relation to the way in which we collect, use or disclose personal information, please contact us. We will use our best efforts to respond to your query or request as quickly as reasonably possible.
