Privacy Policy Lawyers

Who we are

This website is operated by PAIL® Solicitors Limited, trading as PAIL Solicitors.

We are a firm of solicitors authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under SRA number 827265.

PAIL Solicitors Limited is a private limited company registered in England and Wales under company number 13350694. Our registered and principal office is:

23 Berkeley Square
Mayfair
London
W1J 6HE
United Kingdom

For the purposes of applicable data protection legislation, PAIL Solicitors Limited is the controller of personal data collected through this website and in connection with enquiries and legal services unless otherwise stated.

Scope of this Privacy Policy

This policy applies when you:

• visit or interact with pailsolicitors.co.uk;
• submit an enquiry, form or consultation request;
• correspond with us by email, telephone or other means;
• subscribe to newsletters or other legal updates;
• become, or are considering becoming, a client of the firm;
• are involved in a matter on which we are instructed; or
• otherwise provide personal data to us in connection with our services.

This policy should be read together with our Cookie Policy and Terms of Use.

Personal data we may collect

The information we collect depends upon your relationship with us and the nature of the legal services or website functionality involved.

Identity and contact information

• name and title;
• postal address;
• email address;
• telephone number;
• job title, occupation, business or organisation;
• other identifying information provided in connection with an enquiry or matter.

Enquiry and matter information

We may collect information contained in consultation requests, correspondence, supporting documents and other information you provide when seeking or receiving legal services.

Technical and usage information

Depending upon the technologies enabled on our website, we may receive information including:

• IP address;
• browser and device information;
• operating system;
• pages visited and interactions with the website;
• referral source;
• approximate geographic or regional information; and
• analytics and performance data.

Financial and transaction information

Where relevant, we may process invoice, billing and payment information relating to consultations or legal services.

Special category and sensitive information

The nature of legal work means that clients or other parties may sometimes provide information concerning health, racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, or other categories of sensitive personal data.

Matters may also involve information relating to criminal allegations, proceedings or convictions. Where we process such information, we do so only where permitted by applicable law and where necessary for the provision of legal services, establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, compliance with legal or professional obligations, or another applicable condition.

How we collect personal data

We may obtain personal data:

• directly from you;
• from a person or organisation acting on your behalf;
• from clients, counterparties or other participants in legal matters;
• from publicly available sources and registers;
• from courts, tribunals, regulators and public authorities;
• from professional advisers, experts and service providers;
• from social-media and online platforms where relevant to a matter; and
• automatically through website and analytics technologies.

How and why we use personal data

We may use personal data for purposes including:

• responding to enquiries and consultation requests;
• assessing whether we can act and carrying out conflict checks;
• providing quotations and engagement documentation;
• establishing and managing the solicitor-client relationship;
• providing legal advice and representation;
• communicating with clients and relevant third parties;
• preparing correspondence, contracts, pleadings and other legal documents;
• managing billing, invoices and payments;
• complying with professional, regulatory and legal obligations;
• maintaining records and defending or pursuing legal claims;
• operating, protecting and improving our website;
• monitoring website performance and user experience;
• preventing fraud, misuse and security incidents;
• sending newsletters or other updates where permitted by law; and
• managing and developing our legal practice.

Lawful bases for processing

We do not rely on a single lawful basis for every use of personal data. The lawful basis depends upon the purpose and circumstances of the processing.

Contract

We may process personal data where this is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into an engagement or to perform our obligations under a contract with you.

Legal obligation

We may process personal data where necessary to comply with obligations imposed by law, courts, regulators or the professional rules applying to solicitors.

Legitimate interests

We may rely on legitimate interests where the processing is necessary for the legitimate operation, protection and development of our practice, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

Consent

Where processing is based on consent, including certain marketing activities or non-essential website technologies, you may withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

Legal claims and professional services

Where special category data is involved, we may process that data where necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or where another condition permitted by applicable data protection law applies.

Who we may share personal data with

We do not sell personal data.

Where necessary and lawful, information may be shared with:

• barristers, counsel, experts and other professional advisers;
• courts, tribunals and dispute-resolution bodies;
• counterparties and their legal representatives where necessary for a matter;
• the Solicitors Regulation Authority and other regulators;
• law enforcement, government agencies or public authorities where legally required;
• our professional indemnity insurers and advisers;
• banks and payment-service providers;
• IT, hosting, communications and cybersecurity providers;
• website, analytics and performance providers; and
• other service providers acting on our instructions.

We require service providers handling personal data on our behalf to protect it appropriately and to process it only for authorised purposes.

Website and technology providers

Our website is hosted using Squarespace. We also use technologies and service providers that assist with website performance, security, analytics and user-experience monitoring.

Depending upon the services enabled from time to time, these may include Squarespace analytics, Google services, Hotjar and website performance or optimisation providers.

Further information about cookies and similar technologies, including how to manage your preferences, is available in our Cookie Policy.

International transfers

Some of our technology, cloud, communications or service providers may process personal data in countries outside the United Kingdom.

Where this amounts to a restricted international transfer under UK data protection law, we take appropriate steps to ensure that an applicable transfer mechanism is available. Depending upon the circumstances, this may include UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to approved standard contractual clauses, or another lawful safeguard or exception.

How long we keep personal data

We retain personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and to comply with legal, professional, regulatory, accounting and insurance requirements.

Client matter files will generally be retained for approximately six years after the relevant matter is closed, although a longer or shorter period may apply depending upon the nature of the matter, professional obligations, limitation periods, regulatory requirements or another legitimate reason.

Different retention periods may apply to enquiry information, accounting records, marketing preferences, website data and other categories of information.

Marketing communications

Where permitted by law, we may send legal updates, newsletters or information about our services.

You may unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time by using an unsubscribe mechanism provided in the communication or by contacting us.

We may retain a minimal suppression record where necessary to ensure that we continue to respect an unsubscribe request.

Your data protection rights

Depending upon the circumstances and applicable law, you may have rights including the right to:

• request access to personal data we hold about you;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data;
• request erasure of personal data in certain circumstances;
• request restriction of processing in certain circumstances;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests;
• object to direct marketing at any time;
• receive certain personal data in a portable format where the right to data portability applies;
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and
• raise concerns with the Information Commissioner's Office.

These rights are not absolute. In particular, legal professional privilege, confidentiality, legal obligations, regulatory requirements and the rights of other people may affect whether and to what extent a request can be fulfilled.

To exercise a data protection right, please contact: peter@pailsolicitors.co.uk.

Automated decision-making

PAIL Solicitors does not ordinarily make decisions about clients or prospective clients solely by automated means where those decisions produce legal or similarly significant effects.

Security

We use organisational and technical measures designed to protect personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access.

Access to personal data is restricted to those who have a genuine business or professional need for access and who are subject to appropriate confidentiality obligations.

We also maintain procedures for responding to suspected personal data breaches and will notify affected individuals and regulators where required by law.

Children

Our website and legal services are not directed at children and we do not ordinarily seek to collect personal data directly from anyone under the age of 18 through the website.

If you believe that a child has provided personal data through our website in circumstances where this was not appropriate, please contact us.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar storage or access technologies for purposes including essential website operation, analytics, performance and, where enabled, marketing or related functionality.

Non-essential technologies are subject to the applicable consent requirements.

Please see our Cookie Policy for more information about the technologies used and the choices available to you.

How to complain

If you have concerns about how we have handled your personal data, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to consider and respond to your concerns.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK's independent data protection regulator.

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Complaints information: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, regulatory guidance, our services or the technologies used by our website.

The date shown at the top of this page identifies the most recent update. We encourage visitors to review this policy periodically.

How to contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise a data protection right or have concerns about our use of personal data, please contact: