Privacy policy
In our work advising and representing you as a client of this firm we have always regarded the confidentiality of your data and affairs as of paramount importance. In addition the way we handle your personal information is protected by data protection legislation and most recently by the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR.
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.
This notice deals with the following matters:-
Who we are
What we need
Sources of information
Why we need it
Who has access to it
How do we protect your personal data
How long we keep it for
What are your rights?
Complaints about the use of personal data
Who we are
Data is collected, processed and stored by Williams Beales & Co Limited, practising as Williams Beales & Co. Registered in England Wales under Co. Reg.7406986 at 9 Broad Street, Hay on Wye, Hereford, HR3 5DB. We are what is known as the ‘data controller’ of the personal information you provide to us.
Williams Beales & Co Limited is a limited liability company, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under number SRA No 549727
The person responsible for matters relating to data protection is Teresa Ryall who can be contacted by email - teresa@williamsbeales.co.uk
What we need
The exact information we will request from you will depend on what you have asked us to do or what we are contracted to do for you.
There are two types of personal data (personal information) that you may provide to us:
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, political opinions, health data, trade union membership, philosophical views, biometric and genetic data.
In the majority of cases personal data will be restricted to basic information and information needed to complete ID checks. However some of the work we do may require us to ask for more sensitive information.
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
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.
In some cases where we retain your personal information for longer than the currency of your matter, for instance, for the purposes of storage on your behalf (for instance if your Will or a Trust Deed is stored in our deeds safe), we will retain your personal information so that we can contact you regarding any changes in storage arrangements. We may also contact you (but are not obliged to do so) to advise you to review the legal arrangements on which we have previously advised you.
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
We have a data protection regime in place to oversee the effective and secure processing of your personal data. We will not sell or rent your information to third parties. We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.
Generally, we will only use your information within Williams Beales & Co, although we do use a secure cloud based provider to hold accounting information and may extend this to hold other information concerning the matters we are dealing with on your behalf. 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 Regulator; e.g. Lexcel, SRA, ICO etc.
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 require 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 this is the case we will contact you separately to ask for your consent which you are free to withdraw at any time.
How do we protect your personal data
We recognise that your information is valuable and we take all reasonable measures to protect it whilst it is in our care.
We have standards of technology and operational security in order to protect personally identifiable data from loss, misuse, alteration or destruction. Similarly, we adopt a high threshold when it comes to confidentiality obligations and we require both internal and external parties to protect confidentiality of all information; to ensure all personal data is handled and processed in line with our confidentiality and data protection policies.
We use computer safeguards such as firewalls, anti virus software and computer password protection; and we enforce, where possible, physical access controls to our buildings and files to keep data safe.
How long will we keep it for
Your personal information will be retained, usually in secure cloud based and internal 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 our archive file retention policy. 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 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 Teresa Ryall 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 wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact Teresa Ryall whose e-mail address is teresa@williamsbeales.co.uk and she will investigate further.
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).
How we may use your details
The following are examples, although not exhaustive, of how we may use your personal information for our legitimate business interests:
• fraud prevention
• network and information systems security
• data /analytics /enhancing, modifying or improving our services
• identifying usage trends
You have the right to object to this processing. Should you wish to do so please email teresa@williamsbeales.co.uk
Any questions regarding this notice and our privacy practices should be sent by email to teresa@williamsbeales.co.uk