Privacy

Privacy

This privacy notice contains information about the information collected, stored and otherwise processed about you and the reasons for the processing. It also explains who we share this information with. If you need any further information or wish to discuss how we use your data, you can contact our Head of Chambers Richard Matthews KC or Sorcha Duncan our Practice Manager.

We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. As a chambers, we collect, use and are responsible for personal information (data) about our clients. If we have been instructed by you or on your behalf on a case, or if you have asked for a reference, your personal information has to be provided to enable us to provide you with advice or representation. It also enables us to comply with our professional obligations, and to keep accounting records, therefore we need to collect and hold personal data. This includes client’s personal data and the personal data of others who may feature in a matter in which we are instructed.

This means we are a ‘controller’ of this information for the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

 

Personal Information

When carrying out the provision of legal services we may collect some or all of the following personal information that you provide:

  1. personal details

  2. family details

  3. lifestyle and social circumstances

  4. goods and services

  5. financial details

  6. education, training and employment details

  7. other personal data relevant to instructions to provide legal services, including data specific to the instructions in question.

  8. physical or mental health details

  9. racial or ethnic origin

  10. political opinions

  11. religious, philosophical or other beliefs

  12. trade union membership

  13. sex life or sexual orientation

  14. genetic data

  15. biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person

  16. criminal proceedings, outcomes and sentences, and related security measures

 

We refer to the information in items (1) to (7) as “General personal information” and to the information in items (8) to (16) as “Special category information” (being information considered to be particularly sensitive, including information about health and convictions or offences).

The personal information we obtain may include information which has been obtained from:

  • lay clients

  • other legal professionals, including trainee barristers (pupils)

  • prosecution, regulatory and enforcement authorities

  • courts and tribunals

  • experts and other witnesses

  • family and associates of the person whose personal information we are processing

  • in the event of complaints, another barrister or mediator dealing with complaints, the Bar Standards Board, and the Legal Ombudsman

  • current, past or prospective employers

  • business associates, professional advisers and trade bodies, e.g. the Bar Council, the Bars Standards Board

  • education and examining bodies

  • the intended recipient, where we have been asked to provide a reference.

 

How we use your Personal Information

We may use your personal information for the following purposes:

  1. to provide legal services to our clients, including the provision of legal advice and representation in courts, tribunals, arbitrations, and mediations

  2. to keep accounting records and carry out office administration

  3. where necessary for the administration of justice

  4. as required or permitted by law

  5. to take or defend legal or regulatory proceedings or to exercise a legal right

  6. to respond to potential complaints or make complaints

  7. to check for potential conflicts of interest in relation to future potential cases

  8. to promote and market our services to you

  9. to carry out anti-money laundering and terrorist financing checks

  10. to respond to requests for references

  11. when procuring goods and services

  12. to publish legal judgments and decisions of courts and tribunals

  13. for marketing purposes. Please note that we will not share information from which you can be identified for marketing purposes unless you have consented or it is already lawfully in the public domain (for example, because there have been proceedings or a hearing held in open court)

The legal basis for processing your information

Personal Information

The legal basis for processing your general personal information is as follows:

  • If you have consented to the processing of your personal information, then we may process your information for the purposes set out above to the extent to which you have consented.

  • If you are a client, processing is necessary for the performance of a contract for legal services or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract.

  • We rely on our legitimate interest and/or the legitimate interests of a third party in carrying out the processing for the purposes set out above.

  • In certain circumstances processing may be necessary in order that we can comply with a legal obligation to which we are subject (including carrying out anti-money laundering or terrorist financing checks), or for the administration of justice.

  • The processing is necessary to publish judgments or other decisions of courts or tribunals.

Special category information

The legal basis for processing your special category information:

  • We are entitled by law to process the information where the processing is necessary for legal proceedings, legal advice, or otherwise for establishing, exercising or defending legal rights.

  • We rely on your explicit consent for any processing for the purposes set out above.

Legal Professional Privilege

If you are a client, some of the information you provide will be protected by legal professional privilege unless and until the information becomes public in the course of any proceedings or otherwise. Our individual barristers have an obligation to keep your information confidential, except where it otherwise becomes public or is disclosed as part of the case or proceedings.

Sharing your information

It may be necessary to share all or part of your information with any of the following:

  • A service provider engaged by me acting as my data processor

  • Other legal professionals

  • Experts and other witnesses

  • Prosecution, enforcing and regulatory authorities

  • Courts and tribunals

  • Lay clients

  • Family and associates of the person whose personal information we are processing

  • In the event of a complaint, another barrister or mediator dealing with complaints, the Bar Standards Board, and the Legal Ombudsman

  • Current, past or prospective employers

  • Education and examining bodies

  • Business associates, professional advisers and trade bodies, e.g. the Bar Council and the Bar Standards Board

  • The intended recipient, where you have asked me to provide a reference.

  • We may be required to provide your information to regulators, including the Information Commissioner’s Office. In the case of the Information Commissioner’s Office, there is a risk that your information may lawfully be disclosed by them for the purpose of any other civil or criminal proceedings, without our consent or yours, which includes privileged information.

  • We may also be required to disclose your information to the police or intelligence services, where required or permitted by law.

If you reside outside the EEA or the legal services involves persons or organisations or courts and tribunals outside the EEA, it may be necessary to transfer some of your data to that country outside of the EEA for that purpose.

If your information has to be transferred outside the EEA, then it may not have the same protections and you may not have the same rights as you would have within the EEA.

In providing legal services we may communicate with you and other persons by email or other electronic means and your information may be held electronically. Accordingly, your information may be transferred to or held on servers and computers located outside the EEA when this is necessary for:

  1. the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;

  2. the performance of any contract between you and me or the implementation of pre-contractual measures taken at your request;

  3. the making or performance of a contract made between me and another person in your interests;

  4. or you have explicitly consented after having been informed of the possible risks.

If we publish a judgment or other decision of a Court or Tribunal containing your information then this will be published to the world on the world wide web.

Retention of your personal data

We will retain your personal data for the length of time required for the specific purpose or purposes for which it was collected. However, we will take into account:

  • Legal obligations under applicable law to retain data for a certain period of time

  • Any statute of limitations under applicable law

  • Any potential or ongoing complaint

  • The minimum information needed to make checks for conflict of interest

  • The minimum information needed to manage outstanding financial matters.

We are relying on your explicit consent to process your Special category information (items (h) to (p) above). You provide this consent when you agree that we provide legal services.

You have the right to withdraw this consent at any time, but this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing activity we have carried out prior to you withdrawing your consent. However, where we also rely on other bases for processing your information, you may not be able to prevent the processing of your data.

 

Your Rights

Much of the information which is held by our individual barristers is subject to legal professional privilege and/or a duty of confidentiality. In such cases your rights may be restricted by law. Where such restrictions do not apply you have a number of rights that you can exercise in certain circumstances. These are free of charge. In summary, you may have the right to:

  • Ask for access to your personal information and other supplementary information;

  • Ask for correction of mistakes in your data or to complete missing information we hold on you;

  • Ask for your personal information to be erased, in certain circumstances;

  • Receive a copy of the personal information you have provided to us or have this information sent to a third party. Where appropriate this will be provided to you in a machine readable format e.g. a Word file or PDF;

  • Object at any time to processing of your personal information for direct marketing;

  • Object in certain other situations to the continued processing of your personal information;

  • Restrict our processing of your personal information in certain circumstances. More information about your rights under the GDPR is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

If you want to exercise any of these rights, please:

  • Use the contact details on our website

  • Provide a contact address so that you can be contacted to request further information to verify your identity;

  • Provide proof of your identity and address;

  • State the right or rights that you wish to exercise.

We will respond to you within 28 days  from when your request is received.

Complaints

The GDPR also gives you the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office if you are in the UK, or with the supervisory authority of the Member State where you work, normally live or where the alleged infringement of data protection laws occurred. The Information Commissioner’s Office can be contacted at http://ico.org.uk/concerns/.

We do not intend to process your personal information except for the reasons stated within this privacy notice. If this changes, this privacy notice will be amended, an updated version will be published on the Mayfair Place Chambers website.