Last updated: September 2019

Introduction

Matthew Wilkinson Solicitors Limited (Registered in England and Wales, Company Number 7496907) (“us”, “we”, or “our”) operates the https://matthewwilkinson.co.uk website. We are a firm of Solicitors authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under reference 557317 and provide legal services in England and Wales (the “Service”). Our registered office is 39 Albert Road Middlesbrough TS1 1NS.

This page informs you of our policies regarding the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information when you use our Service.

We will not use or share your information with anyone except as described in this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Business.

We are also registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a Data Controller and we are committed to protecting your information and privacy in accordance with our professional rules and obligations under the SRA Code of Conduct 2011 and the GPDR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

The person with responsibility for Data Protection within the firm is the Director, Matthew Wilkinson.

The firm has not appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO. It is not obliged to do so as it is not a Public Authority and its core activities do not require large scale systematic monitoring of individuals, nor large scale processing of special categories of data relating to criminal convictions or offences. The firm considers that any tasks that might have been usefully performed by a DPO would be adequately carried out by the person identified above or otherwise in the manner described in this document. The firm has made suitable alternative arrangements which have been set out in this document.

We use your Personal Information for providing and improving the Service.

By using the Service, you acknowledge that you have received notice of our Privacy Policy .Unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy, terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in our Website Terms and Conditions, accessible at https://matthewwilkinson.co.uk/terms-and-conditions

Our Collection And Use of Information
(a) Collection: While using our Service, we may ask you to provide us with information about you and your matter to enable us to respond to your enquiry or process your legal work and this will include personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you. Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to, your email address, name, phone number, postal address (“Personal Information”). It is not possible for us to process your enquiry or any legal work on your behalf without obtaining Personal Information as it will be required for normal communications, proceeding with your enquiry or matter and for regulatory checks. Please also see the sections below in respect of data collection we use through the internet, under the headings, Log Data, Cookies, Google and Remarketing services

(b) We may receive personal data from you for the purposes of our money laundering checks, such as a copy of your passport.

(c) Use: We use the information you provide primarily for the provision of legal services to you and for related purposes including:
  • If you provide us with any personal data while using this website we may use it to provide you with any information or services you have requested.
  • We may also use it for any other purpose for which you give your consent. For example we may send you additional information about the firm or its services, if you have consented to us doing so.
  • Communicating with you and third parties in the normal course of your enquiry or matter
  • updating and enhancing client records
  • analysis to help us manage our practice
  • statutory returns
  • legal and regulatory compliance
  • Information and identity documents for anti-money laundering checks will be processed only for the purposes of preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, or as otherwise permitted by law or with your express consent.
  • replying to queries or complaints
  • processing enquiries received for purposes preparatory to engaging in a contract for legal services
  • marketing and statistical analysis for the purposes of our business ( but we will not send you marketing material after completion of your matter without your consent)
Our use of that information is subject to your instructions, data protection law and our duty of confidentiality.
Log Data

We collect information that your browser sends whenever you visit our Service (“Log Data”). This Log Data may include information such as your computer’s Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages and other statistics.

In addition, we may use third party services such as Google Analytics that collect, monitor and analyze this type of information in order to increase our Service’s functionality. These third party service providers have their own privacy policies addressing how they use such information.

Cookies

Cookies are files with small amount of data, which may include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to your browser from a web site and stored on your computer’s hard drive.

We use “cookies” to collect information. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Service.

Behavioural Remarketing

Matthew Wilkinson Solicitors Limited uses remarketing services to advertise on third party web sites to you after you visited our Service. We, and our third party vendors, use cookies to inform, optimise and serve ads based on your past visits to our Service.

Google

Google AdWords remarketing service is provided by Google Inc.

You can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising and customise the Google Display Network ads by visiting the Google Ads Settings page.Google also recommends installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on for your web browser. Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on provides visitors with the ability to prevent their data from being collected and used by Google Analytics.

For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms web page.
Sharing data with others

We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our Service, to provide the Service on our behalf, to perform Service-related services or to assist us in analysing how our Service is used. This can include expert witnesses and other professional advisers such as Barristers, including sometimes advisers appointed by another party to your matter. We may also give such information to others who perform services for us, such as managing our marketing, assisting with our enquiry process and information gathering and document services including document signing, witness proofing, status enquiries, telephone, typing or photocopying. Our practice may be audited or checked by our accountants or our regulator, or by other organisations.

These third parties have access to your Personal Information only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

On what legal basis do we process your information?

We keep records of the data processing activities we carry out and they fall into the specific categories set out below, where we also provide details of the legal basis upon which we process the data.

The legal grounds for processing your information and personal data depend upon the nature of our relationship with you and the context of the processing we carry out:

  1. Conducting your Matter-Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you. The contract or retainer is set out in our Client Care Letter, Terms of Business and any Funding Agreement, which set out the terms of our contract and the services to be provided to you.
  2. Processing an Enquiry- Processing is necessary to take steps requested by you prior to entering into a contract with you.
  3. Marketing analytics, Re-marketing, Cookies, Google adwords-Processing is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests in managing and promoting our business and reaching customers wishing to use our services, except where those interests are overridden by the interests, or fundamental rights or freedoms of affected individuals. In order to determine this we shall balance factors such as what you were told at the time you provided your data, what your reasonable expectations are, and the nature of the data and if you could be identified from it, how it would impact upon you.
  4. Legal and Regulatory compliance-Processing is necessary for compliance with mandatory legal obligations to which we are subject.
How long will we keep the information?

We retain personal data for as long as is necessary depending upon the purpose for which it was obtained This is in order that we can respond to any queries or issues which may arise following the completion of your enquiry or matter or to comply with our legal obligations ( e.g. there are minimum periods for anti-money laundering regulations). We also may need to retain information or files to conduct legal work, or in responding to Complaints or in establishing or defending claims which could be made against us, for example for negligence in the performance of our duties. We have to take account of the time allowed to bring complaints or to start a negligence claim including the date of knowledge provisions which can extend the usual 6 years period to 3 years from a date of knowledge, although in negligence claims this is subject to a 15 year Long Stop.

In the case of matter files, starting from the end of the matter, we may retain files for 15 years. (unless the matter was conducted on behalf of a client under the age of 18 in which case the file may be retained for 15 years from their 18th birthday). For Enquiries we may retain the information for 7 years.

With regard to Information and documents provided for Anti–Money Laundering checks you consent to us retaining such data for longer than the five year statutory period, unless you tell us otherwise and they will be stored and destroyed with the relevant matter file.

We will review these retention periods at least annually.

Compliance With Laws

We will disclose your Personal Information where required to do so by law or in accordance with an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or if we believe that such action is necessary to comply with the law and the reasonable requests of law enforcement or in accordance with our right under the law to protect the security or integrity of our Service.


Security

The security of your Personal Information is important to us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure.

While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. As such we make no warranties as to the level of security afforded to your data whilst you transmit it to us. After we have received your data we will take all reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised access to it and to ensure that it is used in accordance with this Privacy Policy and in accordance with the relevant UK and EU legislation.


International Transfer

We do not normally copy such information to anyone outside the European Economic Area, where the data protection laws may differ than those from your jurisdiction, however we may do so when the particular circumstances of your matter so require. All such third parties are required to maintain confidentiality in relation to your information and files. If the county concerned is not designated by the EU Commission as providing adequate data protection we will ensure that there are appropriate contract clauses agreed with the recipient to protect the data.

If you are located outside of the United Kingdom and choose to provide information to us, please note that we transfer the information, including Personal Information, to United Kingdom and process it there.

Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer.

In the event that a dispute arises with regards to the international transfer of data, you agree that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the matter.


Links To Other Sites

Our Service may contain links to other sites that are not operated by us. If you click on a third party link, you will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit.

We have no control over, and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.


Children’s Privacy

Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 16 (“Children”).

We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 16. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your Children has provided us with Personal Information, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Information from a children under age 16 without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.


Data Protection – Your Obligations

If you send us personal data about anyone other than yourself you will ensure you have any appropriate consents and notices in place to enable you to transfer that personal data to us, and so that we may use it for the purposes for which you provide it to us.


Access to your Information

You have a right of access under data protection law to the personal data that we hold about you and to correct or complete information held by us. We seek to keep that personal data correct and up to date. You should let us know if you believe the information we hold about you needs to be corrected or updated.


Other Rights

You may also in certain circumstances have other rights as follows:

  • A right to request that we erase the personal data we hold about you
  • A right to restrict its processing whilst we continue to hold it
  • If we process your personal data by automated means, ask us to transmit that data to another data controller.
  • A right to object to processing. This applies unless we can demonstrate (1) an overriding legitimate business interest or (2) such processing is necessary in relation to legal proceedings
  • Rights in respect of automated decision making and profiling. This is unlikely to apply as we do not currently carry out any profiling or automated decision making using personal data and we are very unlikely to take decisions which have a legal or similarly significant effect on you by automated means
  • A right to be informed about a personal data breach if it results in a high risk to your rights and freedoms
  • A right to withdraw your consent if you have given your consent to our processing of any of your personal data. However, this cannot affect the validity of any processing carried out prior to withdrawal and it will not invalidate our processing which is not relying upon consent and which is being carried out on a different legal basis( see above for the legal basis for the use of your data).
  • There is usually no charge in respect of the exercise of these rights.

If you wish to exercise any of your rights in relation to your personal data, then please email us at data@matthewwilkinson.co.uk or write to us at Matthew Wilkinson Solicitors Limited 39 Albert Road Middlesbrough TS1 1NS.


Keeping You Informed

We may from time to time whilst dealing with your matter send you information which we think might be of interest to you (for example about legal developments or our other services). If you do not wish to receive that information please notify us, preferably in writing.


Training for Personnel on Data Protection and Information Security

The firm has provided all staff with details of its rules on data protection and information management and recirculates them to all staff at least annually.

In addition the firm trains staff on these issues upon induction and thereafter at least annually using online course materials provided by Socrates Training. Further information is circulated to staff as developments and updates in the law or relevant risks are received.


Complaints

If you believe that we have breached our professional obligations, in relation to data protection, then please contact us on 01642 218888 or write to data@matthewwilkinson.co.uk .You are also entitled to report the matter to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) by telephone on 0303 123 1113. Their website is at ico.org.uk


Changes and Updates to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.

We will in any event carry out an annual review of this Policy. Reviews will include considering the data processing activities of the firm in light of the obligation of data protection by design and default. A review will also be carried out if there is a substantial change in the data processing activities of the firm. A Data Protection Impact Assessment will be carried out before the firm undertakes processing that is likely to result in high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

If we are acting for you in your matter, further information about data protection is set out in our terms of business. This page was last updated September 2019.


Jurisdiction

This Policy shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.


Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us.