Our GDPR and Privacy Policies

Our GDPR and Privacy Policies

At Family Law in Partnership Ltd (FLiP) we are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. The following statement explains how we will use any personal data that we have collected from you.

Where we ask you to provide information that means you could be identified when using our services, you can be assured that it will only be used in line with this privacy statement.

Please note, this policy may change from time to time, however the latest version will be found on our website, or you can request a copy directly from us.

Data controller / who we are

Where data is collected, processed and stored by FLiP we are what is known as the ‘data controller’ of the personal information you provide to us.

Family Law in Partnership Ltd (Co. Reg. 8518635) is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under number 596724. The firm is also registered with the Information Commissioner (Reg. ZA061512)

For any questions with regards to this policy or the way that we manage your data please contact our Practice Manager, whose details can be found on our website.

Children

As part of working with our clients and dealing with family matters we may hold data on children. Generally they are represented by their parents or guardians who have been requested to provide consent to use a child’s personal data.

If you are a child and are concerned or would like to understand about how we would use your data please ask the person in the firm who is working with your family. We will then arrange to speak to you to answer any questions that you may have.

What we need

Any information that we ask you to provide will be dependent on what you have asked, or instructed, us to address on your behalf.

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) there are two types of personal data (personal information) that you may provide to us:

• Personal data: is the general information that you supply about yourself – such as your name, address, gender, date of birth & contact details.
• Sensitive personal data: is, by its nature, more sensitive information. It may include your racial or ethnic origin, religion, health or criminal convictions. It may also include other personal and financial details relevant to your matter.

The nature of the services that we provide regularly require us to hold and use sensitive personal data in the furtherance of your matter. We ask for your specific permission to do so in our letter of engagement.

Sources of information

We may obtain information about you and parties related to your case from a range of sources. These would include:

1. Information provided by you (or by a named representative)
2. Information provided by third parties to allow us to undertake legal work on your behalf, such as:

• Banks / building societies
• Experts and independent financial advisors
• Solicitors acting for the other side
• Medical or financial institutions

Why we need your data

The central reason for us asking you to provide us with your personal data is so that we can deliver our services to you in accordance with your instructions and our regulatory duties.

Examples of what we use your information for include:

• Verifying your identity and the source of funds (including anti money laundering checks)
• Liaising and communicating with you
• Delivering our services to you, including providing advice, preparing documentation and representation in proceedings
• Keeping financial records of transactions
• Obtaining advice from third parties including both legal and non-legal experts
• Responding to any complaint or allegation of negligence

This list is not exhaustive and is intended to be indicative only.

Who has access to your data

We will not sell or rent your information to third parties. Nor will we share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.

Typically your information will only be used within our firm for delivering our services to you, staff training and development.

We may also have occasions where, in the course of delivering our legal services to you, we are required to disclose information to third parties. Examples of this would include:

• HM Land Registry to register a property
• Courts or other alternative dispute resolution processes
• Communications with the solicitor for the other side
• Instructing a Barrister or Counsel on your behalf
• Dealings with other legal and non-legal third parties in the furtherance of your matter
• If disclosure is required by law or regulation, for instance the prevention of financial crime and terrorism
• If there is an emergency and we believe that you , or others, may be at risk

Where we do need to share your information with third parties we do so on the basis that they comply strictly and confidentially with our instructions and that they do not use your personal information for their own purposes (unless you have specifically consented to them doing so).

Occasionally, some uses of personal data may require your specific consent. If this is the case we will contact you separately to ask for your consent that you are free to withdraw at any time.

We also have Information Management and Data Protection policies aimed at ensuring safe processing of all data.

How do we protect your personal data

We appreciate how important your personal information is and it is critical to us that your data is protected while in our care.

We closely manage our IT and operational security to protect personally identifiable data from loss, misuse, alteration or unplanned destruction. We use a range of IT security solutions to support this including off site backups, data encryption, log in protection and anti malware or phishing software.

We manage as far as possible physical access to our offices and ensure hard copy files are kept in private areas of the office. We take our obligations seriously and staff are trained and aware of their confidentiality and data protection responsibilities. Both internal and external parties that we work with have agreed to confidentiality of all information either within their contracts or through the use of Non Disclosure Agreements.

How long will we keep your data for

Personal information can be held both in computer and manual files. It will be retained only for as long as is necessary, or as required by law, or as will be set out in any relevant contract with you.

We may hold personal data for differing lengths of time depending on the reason for doing so. For example:

• As long as is necessary to deliver our services to you and to avoid potential conflicts of interest in the future.
• Typically for a minimum of ten years from the conclusion of your legal work in the event that we need to re-open your matter for any reason. In some matters certain documents and information may be kept for significantly longer (16+ years), for instance on some financial orders and maintenance agreements.

Marketing data

We may contact you for the purposes of marketing and updating you on latest developments.

This means that we may use your personal data to send you updates about legal developments that might be of interest and relevant to your case, or to invite you to events we are running.

The direct marketing channels that we use include social media channels, email or post. We will never send marketing communications via SMS or call you without your specific consent; nor do we ever pass on or sell your details to a third party for marketing purposes.

We may collect your personal information for marketing in a number of ways, including:

• At the end of your matter we will ask if you would like to receive such communications and updates
• Sign-up to receive our FLiPside news letter
• Submitting an enquiry via our website
• Following our social media channels
• Responses to surveys

When we do collect data you will be provided the opportunity to “opt in” to receiving marketing data from us. You also have the right to opt out of this at any time by simply using the unsubscribe link on emails, contacting our Practice Manager or telling the solicitor you are dealing with at the time.

We hope you will provide this information and that you find our communications useful, but if you choose not to, this will have no effect on accessing our legal services.

Please note that once unsubscribed, you may still receive transactional emails from us regarding your legal case.

How we may use your details for legitimate business interests

Under GDPR we have the right to use your personal data for necessary and legitimate business interests. This might include:

• Anti money laundering and fraud prevention
• Prevention of conflicts of interest
• The furtherance of your matter and to protect your legal interests in the prosecution or defence of your case
• Direct marketing and updates
• Managing network in IT security
• Data analysis and to improve our services
• Understanding trends in our sector

You have the right to object to this processing. Should you wish to do so please contact our Practice Manager via our main office number and email.

What are your rights?

GDPR entitles you to request a copy of your personal data. This is known as a “Subject Access Request”. If you wish to make such a request please do so in writing to our Practice Manager, or speak directly to the person in our firm who is dealing with your matter.

A request for access to your personal data means you are entitled to a copy of the personal data we hold on you – such as your name, address, contact details, date of birth, information regarding your health etc. This means that a Subject Access Request will not normally result in you getting a copy of your file because you are only entitled to your personal data – not the documents that contain that data.

You have the right to request that personal data that we hold on you is deleted or transferred to a third party and we have a duty to acknowledge these requests. They should be submitted in writing to our Practice Manager. However please note that our response will be subject to our other legal and regulatory duties and this may impact on our ability to comply fully with such requests.

Complaints about the use of personal data

If you wish to raise a complaint with regards to the way that we have handled your personal data please contact our Practice Manager. We will investigate any complaint or potential complaint in line with our Complaints Policy and respond to you with the results of our investigation, along with any proposed remedial, if appropriate.

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are not processing your personal data in accordance with the law, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).