Privacy Notice

Our approach to privacy

We take the protection of your personal information seriously.

This Privacy Notice explains how Quebec Law Solicitors Limited handles personal information when you use our website, contact us, make an enquiry or instruct us to provide legal services.

We aim to use personal information lawfully, fairly and transparently and to keep it secure. This notice should be read alongside any specific privacy information provided to you during the course of a matter and our website terms and conditions.

01

Who we are

Quebec Law | Solicitors is the trading name of Quebec Law Solicitors Limited, a company incorporated and registered in England and Wales with its registered office at 291 Roundhay Road, Leeds, LS8 4HS.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Quebec Law Solicitors Limited will generally be the data controller of the personal information described in this notice. This means we determine why and how that information is used.

Our data protection obligations are principally governed by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and other applicable data protection legislation as amended from time to time.

02

Information we may collect

The personal information we collect will depend on how you interact with us and the nature of any legal services you ask us to provide. It may include:

your name, address, telephone number, email address and other contact details;
identification and verification information required for regulatory, anti-money laundering and client due diligence purposes;
information you provide when making an enquiry or instructing us;
documents, correspondence and evidence relevant to your legal matter;
financial information, including information required for billing, payments or the conduct of your matter;
information about other people where it is relevant to the legal services we provide; and
technical information generated when you use our website, where applicable.

Legal matters may sometimes require us to process more sensitive information, including special category personal data or information relating to criminal allegations or convictions. We will only do so where there is a lawful basis and the processing is necessary and appropriate.

03

How we use your information

Depending on the circumstances, we may use your personal information to:

respond to enquiries and assess whether we can act for you;
open, administer and conduct your legal matter;
provide legal advice, representation and other services you have asked us to provide;
communicate with you, other parties, courts, tribunals and third parties involved in your matter;
carry out identity, conflict, regulatory and anti-money laundering checks;
manage our relationship with you, including billing and the recovery or payment of monies;
comply with legal, professional and regulatory obligations;
establish, exercise or defend legal claims;
protect the security and integrity of our systems and services; and
manage and improve our business and website.

04

Our lawful bases

We will only process personal information where the law allows us to do so. The lawful basis will depend on the particular processing activity and may include:

Contract

Where processing is necessary to enter into or perform our contract with you.

Legal obligation

Where we must process information to comply with legal, professional or regulatory duties.

Legitimate interests

Where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of another person, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights.

Consent

Where we rely on your consent. If consent is the lawful basis, you may withdraw it at any time.

Where special category data is processed, we will also identify an appropriate additional condition under data protection law.

05

Sharing your information

We do not sell personal information. We may disclose personal information where this is necessary for the conduct of your matter, the operation of our business or compliance with our legal and regulatory obligations.

Depending on the matter, recipients may include:

courts, tribunals, government departments and regulatory bodies;
barristers, experts, mediators, costs professionals, process servers and other professional advisers;
opponents, their legal representatives and other parties involved in proceedings or negotiations;
banks, insurers, auditors and professional indemnity insurers;
identity verification and anti-money laundering service providers; and
technology, hosting, document management and other service providers who support our business.

Where a third party processes personal information on our behalf, we take appropriate steps to ensure that the information is protected.

06

How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, regulatory, accounting and professional obligations and to deal with possible complaints or legal claims.

The appropriate retention period will depend on the type of information, the nature of the matter and the legal or regulatory requirements that apply. We periodically review the information we hold and securely delete or destroy it when it is no longer required.

07

Your rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis on which we are processing your information, UK data protection law gives you a number of rights.

Access to your information

You may ask us to confirm whether we process your personal information and request a copy of the information we hold about you. This is commonly known as a subject access request.

We will normally respond without charge and within one month. The law allows different arrangements in certain circumstances, including where a request is complex, repeated or manifestly unfounded or excessive.

Rectification

You may ask us to correct personal information that you believe is inaccurate and to complete information you believe is incomplete.

Erasure

In certain circumstances, you may ask us to delete personal information we hold about you. This right is not absolute. We may need to retain information where, for example, we have a legal or regulatory obligation to do so or where it is required for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Restriction of processing

In certain circumstances, you may ask us to restrict how we use your personal information, for example while the accuracy of information is being checked or while an objection is being considered.

Object to processing

You may have the right to object where we rely on legitimate interests or where information is used for direct marketing. We will consider any objection in accordance with the requirements of data protection law.

Data portability

In certain circumstances, you may ask us to provide personal information that you supplied to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or to transfer it to another controller.

Withdraw consent

Where we rely on consent as the lawful basis for processing, you may withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

Exercising your rights

Contact us about your personal information

To exercise any of these rights, please email info@quebeclaw.co.uk. We may ask you for information necessary to confirm your identity and understand your request.

08

Keeping information secure

We take appropriate organisational and technical measures designed to protect personal information against accidental or unlawful loss, alteration, disclosure or access. Access to personal information is limited to those who need it for legitimate business or professional purposes.

No method of transmitting information over the internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If you send information to us electronically, you should take reasonable care when choosing what information to send and how it is transmitted.

09

Complaints about data protection

If you have concerns about how we have used your personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to address the issue.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent supervisory authority for data protection.

Independent regulator

Information Commissioner's Office

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Visit the ICO

10

Changes to this notice

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time to reflect changes in the law, regulatory guidance, our services or the way we process personal information.

Any updated version will be published on this page. Where a change materially affects how we use your personal information, we will take reasonable steps to bring the change to your attention where required.

11

Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or how we use your personal information, please contact:

Zahila Bi, Director
Quebec Law Solicitors Limited
291 Roundhay Road
Leeds
LS8 4HS

0113 345 4114
info@quebeclaw.co.uk