YOU ARE OUR TOP PRIORITY.

The following pages outline the Firm’s privacy statement, which is our commitment to you to provide you with information about what your Personal Information is and what we do with your Personal Information and how we store and safeguard it.

WHO DOES THIS PRIVACY STATEMENT APPLY TO?

In the course of our operations, we collect, use and disclose Personal Information in the context of a variety of different relationships.  This Privacy Statement applies to the following relationships: website visitors and those we serve, our clients.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRIVACY STATEMENT

The purpose of this Privacy Statement is to let you know how the Firm respects privacy and maintains confidentiality.

COMPLIANCE

The Firm has a professional obligation to keep confidential all information received within a lawyer-client relationship.   This Privacy Statement supplements our professional obligation and sets out how we collect, use, disclose and protect Personal Information generally.     All of the Firm’s privacy and confidentiality related practices have been designed to comply with or exceed applicable privacy legislation, specifically, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

​WHAT IS PERSONAL INFORMATION?

“Personal Information” is defined in PIPEDA as information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization. It includes such things as your name, address, age, income, date of birth, gender, and financial information.

​WHAT DO WE COLLECT?

The Personal Information we collect depends on your relationship with the firm. See below for a discussion on clients and website visitors.

HOW DO WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION?

We collect information only by lawful and fair means, and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. Generally, we collect your Personal Information directly from you. Sometimes we collect Personal Information by recording how you interact with us, for example, by way of using Google Analytics, in connection with our website.  Occasionally we may obtain information about you from other sources, for example:

  • Paypal, Square, or a third-party credit card company;
  • Docusign;
  • your insurance company;
  • your real estate agent in a property transaction;
  • from a government agency or registry;
  • your employer, if we are acting for you, at its request; and/or
  • your accountant.

WHY DO WE COLLECT USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

We limit the Personal Information that we collect about you to that which is necessary for our purposes as outlined in this Privacy Statement, including, in the case of a client who has entered into an Agreement with us, compliance with record-keeping requirements of the Law Society of Ontario. Further, we also only use and disclose your Personal Information for these purposes.

If the Personal Information we require is collected for a reason other than as outlined in this Privacy Statement or if a new purpose arises, we will seek your further consent.

Depending on an individual’s relationship with us, the specific Personal Information that we collect, use and disclose and the related purposes varies. You may have more than one type of relationship with us.  For example, you may be both a website visitor and a client.

WHAT WE WON’T DO WITH YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

The Firm does not sell or rent your Personal Information. For example, we do not provide our client mailing lists to other law firms. Nor do we disclose your Personal Information to any persons that are not involved in providing services to you. Some of your Personal Information may be transmitted to Docusign, COSMOLEX, Paypal, Square or a credit card company when you make payment. For example, Docusign may record your email address and name, or Paypal or Square may record your name and see details of your purchase.

WHAT DO WE DO TO PROTECT PRIVACY?

We are responsible for the personal and other confidential information within our control. We strive to protect not only your Personal Information, but all client related information. We have established policies and procedures, specifically designed to protect Personal Information from theft, loss, unauthorized use, disclosure, copying, modification or disposal.  We educate our staff about these policies and procedures and monitor compliance on a regular basis. Among the steps taken to protect your information are:

  • Premises security;
  • Restricted file access;
  • Deploying technological safeguards like security software and firewalls to prevent hacking or unauthorized computer access; and
  • Internal password and security policies.

Please note that if you provide us with an email address, we will interpret that as consent to email communications to you, including unencrypted confidential documents, unless instructed otherwise. You should be aware that email is not a 100% secure medium. Email systems are subject to various vulnerabilities and we do not make any warranties or guarantees, including for example, that all communications and documents will always be received, or that such communications and documents will always be virus free.

Please also note that the Firm is implementing a cloud-based document management system, COSMOLEX. While we may still retain printed records in line with our record keeping obligations, we will also be using the cloud system.

HELP US KEEP YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION UP TO DATE.

Since we use your Personal Information to provide legal services to you, it is important that the information be accurate. If during the course of the Agreement, any of your information changes, please inform us so that we can keep our records accurate and up to date, which helps us to protect your privacy.

YOUR CONTROL OVER YOUR OWN PERSONAL INFORMATION

When you or someone you have authorized, provides us with your Personal Information, you are consenting to our collection, use and disclosure of that Personal Information for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Statement.  For example, in the case of clients, we assume that we have implied consent to our collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information for the purposes of providing legal services to the client.  In many circumstances, we also employ other methods to further confirm consent.  For example, our forms often contain consent provisions and alerts to our Privacy Statement.

You can change your consent preferences or withdraw your consent for the collection, use and disclosure of any or all of your Personal Information, at any time (see contact information below).  It is important to note, however, that when you change or withdraw your consent, it will not have a retroactive effect; it may have implications to you –  in the case of clients, we may not be able to provide legal services and it will not affect the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information where such collection use and disclosure is permitted or required by law without consent. Please note that certain information, such as your name, occupation, address and phone numbers, must be kept in order to company with Law Society record-keeping requirements. 

You may, subject to a few limited legal exceptions, access your Personal Information.  If any inaccuracies are noted, you can request that we correct those inaccuracies.

QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS?

We are committed to providing you with understandable and easily available information about our Privacy Statement.  We encourage you to contact us with any questions you might have.  We are committed to listening, learning and responding to any concerns you may raise. 

RESOLVING PRIVACY MATTERS

We encourage you to let us try and resolve any privacy concerns that you may have.  However, you also have the right to complain about any violation of your privacy rights to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada who can be reached at:

30 Victoria Street                                 Tel: (819) 994-54443 or (800) 282-1376

Gatineau, QC, K1A 1H3                      Website:  https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/contact-the-opc/

UPDATES

We may update this Privacy Statement from time to time and encourage you to refer back to it regularly.  This Privacy Statement is current as of the “last revised” date which appears at the top of this document.

THANK YOU FOR READING OUR PRIVACY STATEMENT

WEBSITE VISITORS

Like most other organizations, we may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information. By accessing and browsing our website, you agree that we may collect, use and disclose any Personal Information collected about you through our website as described in this Privacy Statement. Below we outline the types of Personal Information that we collect, use and disclose about website visitors and the related purposes.

Examples of Personal Information that the Firm may collect from website visitors are as follows:

  • When you view our website your internet protocol (IP) address, your browser type and the date and time of your visit are automatically logged. IP addresses are unique numbers assigned by internet service providers to all devices used to access the Internet. The IP address on its own does not identify you and while we generally do not try to link it with other data, it is possible.
  • We also employ digital markers. A digital marker is a small file placed on your computer.  A “cookie” is an example of a digital marker.  Our digital markers allow us to recognize a previous visitor to our website.  They also allow us to track what information is viewed, for how long, the sequence and other information.

The Personal Information about website visitors that the Firm may collect, use and disclose is for the below listed purposes:

  • Conducting web analytics including monitoring website use, traffic patterns and other aspects, so that we can work at improving your on-line experience.
  • In the context of the use of any website feature, to fulfill the purpose of that feature and also to understand better who is using our features, so that we can target improvements.
  • Evaluating, planning, administering and managing our operations.
  • Any other purposes required or permitted by law.

FIRM CLIENTS

Below we outline the types of Personal Information that we collect, use and disclose about the Firm’s clients and the related purposes.

Examples of Personal Information that the Firm collects from its clients are as follows:

  • Contact information, such as name, address, email address, telephone number
  • Date of birth
  • Occupation and address of employment
  • Proof of identity, such as signature or government issued identification (e.g., driver’s license)
  • Billing and account information
  • Any other personal and other information relevant to fulfilling our obligations for which we have been retained.

​The Personal Information about our clients that we collect, use and disclose is for the below listed purposes.

  • Verifying identity and preventing fraud
  • Providing you with the services that you request
  • Connecting you with other service providers and working with them as requested by you, such as for example: expert witnesses, insurance professionals, lenders and accountants
  • Responding to your requests
  • Where it is necessary to establish or collect fees
  • Accurate record keeping.
  • Any other purposes required or permitted by law.

A NOTE ON OUR CLOUD BASED SYSTEM

The Firm operates with a document management and time management system operated by COSMOLEX. COSMOLEX has offices in Canada and its servers are located in Canada. COSMOLEX has automated a lot of the Firm’s processes which permits the Firm to keep overhead low and ultimately benefit you, the client, with lower fees and more time to speak directly with a lawyer. Since it is a cloud system, it does have security risks that other forms of electronic communication also have.