Carlsons Solicitors respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy notice will inform you as to how we look after your personal data when you visit our website (regardless of where you visit it from) and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.
It is important that you read this privacy notice together with any other privacy notice or fair processing notice we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal data about you so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your data. This privacy notice supplements the other notices and is not intended to override them.
Changes to the Privacy Notice
This policy is updated from time to time. The latest version is published on this page.
This website privacy policy was updated on: 1 July 2023
Scope
This privacy policy describes how Carlsons Solicitors collects, uses and shares the information you provide to us and the information we collect in the course of operating our business. This policy also pertains to the information that is collected through https://www.carlsonssolicitors.com, whose ownership lies with Carlsons Solicitors Limited, a company incorporated in England & Wales, whose registered office is at: Whetstone House, 1/3 Oakleigh Road North, Whetstone, London, N20 9HE.
Purpose
The policy will govern the privacy of those internet users who choose to use https://www.carlsonssolicitors.com. This policy will demonstrate how Carlsons Solicitors complies with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), the Privacy & Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Through each section, this privacy policy aims to explain how the various areas of the website may affect your privacy and personal details, how we collect, manage and store those details, and how your rights under the GDPR, DPA & PECR are adhered to. Additionally, it will explain the use of cookies, by way of an extension to the Cookie Policy for this site.
Controller
Carlsons Solicitors is the controller and responsible for your personal data (collectively referred to as “we”, “us” or “our” in this privacy notice).
We have appointed a data privacy manager who is responsible for overseeing questions in relation to this privacy notice. If you have any questions about this privacy notice, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact the data privacy manager using the details set out below.
Informing us of changes to your Personal Data
It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. We will endeavour to ensure that your personal data, which we have collected, remains accurate. In addition to this, we also respectfully ask you to keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us.
External Links & Third Parties
Carlsons Solicitors determine the external links that are included within the site: https://www.carlsonssolicitors.com. Whilst we endeavour to provide quality and safe external links, visitors to the website are advised to adopt a policy of caution before clicking any external and/or third-party link, appearing throughout this site.
Despite our meticulous curation, Carlsons Solicitors cannot guarantee or verify the contents of any externally linked websites. By clicking through on any external link present on https://www.carlsonssolicitors.com, the visitor assumes the risk and full liability of visiting those third-party sites. Carlsons Solicitors cannot be held liable for any damages or implications, as a result of this action.
We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit.
Data We Collect
Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).
Any personal information that is provided to us, through our website, will never be leased, distributed or sold to third parties, unless we have your permission, or the law requires us to.
The personal information that we hold about you is stored and processed under our Data Protection Policy, in line with the Data Protection Act 1998.
We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:
Identity Data includes first name, maiden name, last name, marital status, title, date of birth and gender.
Contact Data includes email address, telephone numbers and utility bills as proof of address.
Financial Data includes bank account details, bank statements, credit information, employment information and salary slips.
Transaction Data includes details about transactions to and from you and services you have purchased from us.
Profile Data includes your interests, preferences, reviews & feedback and survey responses.
We will process personal information that you give to us including when you email us or contact us, specifically, through various channels, as follows:
Signing up for services on our Site: when you sign up for newsletters, webinars, events or obtain legal services from us or when you contact us with queries or respond to our communications the personal information you provide may include your full name, title, telephone number, email address and content, date and time of your email correspondence and information about your employer or your business.
In connection with our provision of legal services: if you are a client of Carlsons Solicitors you will provide us with personal information when you or the company you represent becomes a client. If you are not a client we may collect or receive your personal information because you are involved in one of our client’s matters.
Recruitment application: when you apply for a role with us you may provide us with your full name, date of birth, nationality, education and qualification details, your gender, your CV, photograph, passport details, marital status, home address and home telephone number, mobile telephone number and other details set out in your application.
We may collect Special Categories of Personal Data about you (this includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health and genetic and biometric data).
As part of the performance of a contract between Carlsons Solicitors and our clients, we do collect information relevant to your case. This may also include information about any criminal convictions and county court judgments, and credit information for the purposes of assessing your credit, only where relevant to the legal work that we carry out, on your behalf.
How Your Personal Data is Collected
We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:
Direct interactions. You may give us your Identity, Contact and Financial Data by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you:
Instruct Carlsons Solicitors to be your legal representatives;
Completing and signing our letter of engagement;
Give us feedback / reviews.
Information Obtained from Other Sources
If we collect or receive your personal information in the context of our provision of legal services we might receive information from third parties such as your employer, other parties relevant to the services we are providing (e.g. counterparties in transactions) and others such as regulators and authorities. That information could include your name, contact details, employment details and other information relevant to the legal services that we are providing to our client.
If you apply for a position with us we may collect personal information relating to past employment, qualifications and education, opinions from third parties about you, past employment history and other details about you, which will be provided to us by a third party that provides background screening services to us.
How We Use Your Personal Data
We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:
a) use it to provide legal services to the relevant client
b) use it to engage in marketing and business development activity in relation to our legal services. This may include sending you newsletters, legal updates, marketing communications and other information that may be of interest to you
c) where you have applied for a position with us, to review and process your job application
d) to comply with legal and regulatory obligations that we have to discharge
e) use it to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights or for the purpose of legal proceedings
f) record and monitor your use of our websites or our other online services for our business purposes which may include analysis of usage, measurement of site performance and generation of marketing reports
g) use it for our legitimate business interests, such as undertaking business research and analysis, managing the operation of our websites and our business
h) use it to look into any complaints or queries you may have, and
i) use it to prevent and respond to actual or potential fraud or illegal activities.
You can find below more about the types of lawful basis that we will rely on to process your personal data.
Legitimate Basis for Processing Your Personal Data
We rely on the following legal grounds to process your personal information, namely:
Consent - we may (but usually do not) need your consent to use your personal information. You can withdraw your consent by contacting us (see below).
Performance of a contract - we may need to collect and use your personal information to enter into a contract with you or to perform our obligations under a contract with you.
Legitimate interest - we may use your personal information for our legitimate interests, some examples of which are given above.
Compliance with law or regulation - we may use your personal information as necessary to comply with applicable law/regulation.
We have set out below, in a table format, a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified what our legitimate interests are where appropriate.
Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out in the table below.
Purpose/Activity
Type of data
Lawful basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest
| Purpose/Activity | To register you as a new client |
|---|---|
| Type of data |
|
| Lawful basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest | Performance of a contract with you |
| Purpose/Activity | To process and manage your transaction including:
a) Manage payments, fees and charges b) Collect and recover money owed to us |
|---|---|
| Type of data |
|
| Lawful basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest |
|
| Purpose/Activity | To manage our relationship with you which will include:
a) Notifying you about changes to our terms or privacy policy b) Asking you to leave a review or take a survey c) Manage your contact preferences d) Ensure your data records are accurate and up-to-date |
|---|---|
| Type of data |
|
| Lawful basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest |
|
Change of Purpose
We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we have collected, and you have explicitly consented to. Should we require to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so, seeking your consent if and when necessary.
Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.
Disclosures of Personal Data
We may have to share your personal data with external third parties, set out below:
Third party agents/suppliers or contractors
Bound by obligations of confidentiality, in connection with the processing of your personal information for the purposes described in this Policy. This may include, but is not limited to, IT and communications service providers.
Third parties relevant to the legal services that we provide
This may include, but is not limited to, counterparties to transactions or litigation, other professional service providers, regulators, authorities, governmental institutions and stock exchanges.
To the extent required by law, regulation or court order
For example, if we are under a duty to disclose your personal information in order to comply with any legal obligation.
We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.
Additionally, we carry out due diligence on third parties to ensure that they comply with the Data Protection Act 1998, incorporating GDPR. In particular, Article 32 which deals with the obligations and specific requirements to the security of data processing.
International Transfers
There may be, on occasion, the need to transfer your personal data outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Should this be deemed necessary, in compliance with a legal obligation, we will inform you in advance.
Data Security
We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed.
In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
Additionally, we have put into place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.
Data Retention
How we retain your personal information
We will retain your personal information in accordance with applicable laws. We will take reasonable steps to destroy or anonymise personal information we no longer need for the purposes we have set out above.
Our retention periods are:
| Type of data | Retention period | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Client information collected for CDD purposes, including:
|
7 years from date transaction complete or end of business relationship | In accordance with Regulation 40 of MLR2017 (minimum 5 years, maximum 10 years). Client consent is obtained for this purpose as per our authority to proceed form. |
| Client files – general, low risk | 7 years from date of closure of file | |
| Property | ||
| Client files – property sale | 7 years from date of closure of file | |
| Client files – property purchase and mortgage | 15 years from date of closure of file | |
| Client files – leasehold and tenancy | Length of term plus 7 years | |
| Corporate and commercial | ||
| Client files - employment | 7 years from date of closure of file | |
| Client files - immigration | 7 years from date of closure of file | |
| Client files – business/corporate | 12 years from date of closure of file | Consider keeping for longer if there are complex issues |
| Litigation | ||
| General litigation | 12 years from date of closure of file | Keep longer if the client is under a disability |
| Personal injury | ||
| Client files – personal injury | 7-15 years from date of closure of file | Keep for longer if there are complex issues such as lifetime or provisional damages awarded, or children involved |
| Client files – medical negligence | 15 years from date of closure of file | Keep for longer if there are complex issues such as lifetime or provisional damages awarded, or children involved |
| Family | ||
| Client files – family matters | 15 years from date of closure of file | |
| Client files – involving children | 21 years from date of closure of file | To cover all periods of childhood |
| Wills and probate | ||
| Original will | Indefinitely | |
| Client file with original will | Indefinitely | |
| Client file without original will | 21 years from date of closure of file | |
| Documents relating to VAT liability | 7 years | |
| Trusts | ||
| Original trust deed, supplemental deeds, letter or memorandum of wishes, paperwork completed by the settlor during the creation of the trust | Indefinitely, or at least the duration of the Trust, plus 6 years | |
| Trust administration files | 6 years after the end of the Trust period | |
| Documents relating to VAT liability | 7 years | |
| Documents relating to tax | 12 years after the end of the trust period | Schedule 11, paragraph 6(3) of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 says that records and papers relevant to VAT liability have to be kept for six years. |
| Private client non-litigation advice | 7 years |
| Type of personal Information | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| General personal data which includes your normal personal data, personal identity and personal financial data. | 7 years after the end of our business relationship with you, or the end of your matter which ever comes later. Your consent is obtained in this regard at the outset of your matter. For retention periods Wills & Probate Files will be retained indefinitely. Conveyancing Purchase Files will be retained for 15 years |
| Client Due Diligence Material which includes copies of your Passport, Drivers Licence, Bank Statements and any associated documents and explanations you have given to us to prevent fraud, financial crime and money laundering. This will also include all documents and reports provided by the Third party electronic ID provider. | 5 years after the end of our business relationship with you, or the end of your matter which ever comes later. Your consent is obtained in this regard at the outset of your matter. |
| Special categories of personal data. | 6 years after the end of our relationship with you. |
Your Legal Rights
Under certain circumstances, you have rights under current data protection laws in relation to your personal data.
You have the right to:
Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a “data subject access request”). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.
Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.
Request erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.
Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground as you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and freedoms.
Request restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in the following scenarios: (a) if you want us to establish the data’s accuracy; (b) where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it; (c) where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; or (d) you have objected to our use of your data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.
Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.
Withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.
If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us by emailing us at admin@carlsonssolicitors.com at any time.
Subject Access Requests
You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.
We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.
We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made several requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.
How to Contact Us
If you would like further information on the collection, use, disclosure, transfer or processing of your personal information or the exercise of any of the rights listed above, please contact us:
020 8445 3331
You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.