Privacy Legislation

Since January 1, 2004, all Canadian organizations engaged in commercial activities have been required to comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information incorporated by reference into PIPEDA. These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms, including Separy Law P.C.  In addition, an Act respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector has been in force in Quebec since 1994 and sets out rules regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information within that province. Lastly, as a professional services firm, we have professional and ethical obligations to keep confidential the information we receive in the context of a lawyer-client and agent-client relationship.

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. In other words, it does not include the information that one expects to find on a business card.

Consent to Our Collection of Personal Information

In most cases, we obtain your consent to collect, use and disclose your personal information. Usually, if you retain our firm, we assume that we have your implied consent to our collection and use of your personal information, however, at times we may ask for your express consent, either verbally or in writing. Generally, we collect your personal information directly from you at the start of or during the course of your retainer with our firm. Sometimes we may obtain information about you from other sources such as a government registry or other professionals who serve you.

Use of Personal Information at Separy Law P.C.

We use your personal information to provide legal advice and services to you, to issue invoices and to maintain our database of clients.

In addition, if you apply for a position with Separy Law P.C. we will use your personal information to assess your candidacy. Lastly, we may use your contact information (name, e-mail and postal address) so that we may communicate with you about recent developments in the law, keep you abreast of Separy Law P.C.’s news and invite you to our firm events.

Withdrawal of Consent

You may withdraw your consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information at any time, subject to legal and/or contractual restrictions and upon reasonable notice. Your withdrawal of consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information may impact our ability to represent you and provide you with legal advice.

You can ask us not to send you marketing communications by following the opt-out instructions in each communication or you may let us know by contacting our marketing department at [email protected].

Disclosure of Personal Information

Generally, we do not disclose your personal information to third parties without your consent unless permitted or required by applicable laws or court orders. The following are some examples where we may disclose your personal information:

  • Such disclosure is necessary to collect fees or disbursements;
  • We contract with a third party to provide us with certain services such as archival file storage or insurance.

In such cases, we will use contractual or other means to ensure the third party service provider is bound by obligations regarding privacy which are consistent with this policy; or we engage expert witnesses or other law firms on your behalf.

Accuracy of Your Information

It is important that the information that we have on file be accurate and up-to-date. If, during the course of the retainer, any of your information changes, please inform us so that we can make any necessary changes. We may also ask you from time to time whether your personal information is up-to-date.

Safeguards

Separy Law P.C. uses various safeguards to ensure that your personal information is protected against loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying or alteration. These include: security of our physical premises; our professional obligations; security software and firewalls to prevent unauthorized computer access or “hacking”; and internal passwords that restrict access to our electronic files.

Access to Your Personal Information

You have a right to challenge the accuracy and completeness of your personal information and to have it amended, as appropriate. You also have a right to request access to your personal information and receive an accounting of how that information has been used and disclosed, subject to certain exceptions prescribed by law. For example, if the requested information would reveal personal information about another individual, your request for access may be limited or denied. If your request for access is denied, Separy Law P.C. will notify you in writing of the reason for the denial.

To request access or to amend your personal information, please contact the lawyer or agent with whom you normally correspond or write to our Privacy Contact at the address below. Separy Law P.C. will respond within thirty (30) days of receipt of your written request.

Website Privacy

Like most other commercial websites, we may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information to optimize your visit to our website. We do not use cookies or any electronic means to collect personal information from you or your computer; however, our website server will automatically collect IP addresses. We may view the IP log from time to time, for example, to maintain the security of our website. We do not link the IP addresses to other personally identifiable information.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on our website at www.separylaw.com and will be made available upon request through your contact at Separy Law P.C. Please check from time to time to ensure you are aware of our current policy.