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BACKGROUND:
Hamblin Family Law LLP (Company Number OC445648) understands that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your personal data is used. We respect and value the privacy of everyone who visits this website, (www.hamblinfamilylaw.com) (“Our Website”) and only collect and use your personal data as described in this Privacy Policy. Any personal data we collect will only be used as permitted by law. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully and ensure that you understand it.
1. INFORMATION ABOUT US
Our Website is operated by Hamblin Family Law LLP, a Law firm registered in England and Wales and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
2. WHAT DOES THIS POLICY COVER?
This Privacy Policy applies only to your use of Our Website. Our Website may contain links to other websites. Please note that we have no control over how your data is collected, stored, or used by other websites and we advise you to check the privacy policies of any such websites before providing any data to them.
3. WHAT IS PERSONAL DATA?
Personal data is defined by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (collectively, “the Data Protection Legislation”) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier’. Personal data is, in simpler terms, any information about you that enables you to be identified. Personal data covers obvious information such as your name and contact details, but it also covers less obvious information such as identification numbers, electronic location data, and other online identifiers.
4. WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS?
Under the Data Protection Legislation, you have the following rights, which we will always work to uphold:
a) The right to be informed about our collection and use of your personal data. This Privacy Policy should tell you everything you need to know, but you can always contact us to find out more or to ask any questions using the details in Part 10.
b) The right to access the personal data we hold about you. Part 9 will tell you how to do this.
c) The right to have your personal data rectified if any of your personal data held by us is inaccurate or incomplete. Please contact us using the details in Part 10 to find out more.
d) The right to be forgotten, i.e. the right to ask us to delete or otherwise dispose of any of your personal data that we hold. Please contact us using the details in Part 10 to find out more.
e)The right to restrict (i.e. prevent) the processing of your personal data.
f) The right to object to us using your personal data for a particular purpose or purposes.
g) The right to withdraw consent. This means that, if we are relying on your consent as the legal basis for using your personal data, you are free to withdraw that consent at any time.
h) The right to data portability. This means that, if you have provided personal data to us directly, we are using it with your consent or for the performance of a contract, and that data is processed using automated means, you can ask us for a copy of that personal data to re-use with another service or business in many cases.
i) Rights relating to automated decision-making and profiling. We do not use your personal data in this way.
For more information about our use of your personal data or exercising your rights as outlined above, please contact us using the details provided in Part 10.
It is important that your personal data is kept accurate and up-to-date. If any of the personal data we hold about you changes, please keep us informed as long as we have that data.
Further information about your rights can also be obtained from the Information Commissioner’s Office or your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
If you have any cause for complaint about our use of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. We would welcome the opportunity to resolve your concerns ourselves, however, so please contact us first, using the details in Part 10.
5. WHAT PERSONAL DATA DO WE COLLECT AND HOW?
Subject to the following, we do not collect any personal data from you. We may place cookies on your computer or device, but we do not do any other means of data collection.
If you send us an email, we may collect your name, your email address, and any other information which you choose to give us. For the purposes of the Data Protection Legislation, we are the data controller responsible for such personal data.
The lawful basis under the Data Protection Legislation that allows us to use such information allows us to process personal data when it is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests, in this case, the proper operation and functionality of Our Website. If you contact us as described above, you will be required to consent to our use of your personal data to contact you. In this case, our lawful basis for using your personal data under the GDPR, which allows us to use your personal data with your consent for a particular purpose or purposes.
6. HOW DO YOU USE MY PERSONAL DATA?
Where we collect any personal data, it will be processed and stored securely, for no longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected. We will comply with our obligations and safeguard your rights under the Data Protection Legislation at all times. For more details on security see Part 7, below.
As stated above, we do not generally collect any personal data directly from you, but if you contact us and we obtain your personal details from your email, we may use them to respond to your email. The other technical data referred to above is necessary for the technical operation of Our Website.
Our template states: We will not share your information with third parties unless this is part of the work on your legal matter. For example, we may need to send certain information about you to other lawyers working on the case, or representing others in the proceedings, witnesses, experts and other professionals we may engage in relation to your matter, official bodies with whom legal documents must be lodged, such as the Courts/ Tribunals or government bodies, such as the Land Registry. We do also work with some trusted contractors or consultants who may have access to your information, such as IT service and software providers, including our client due diligence and screening providers, (Info Track via its Ecos digital onboarding platform) and cloud service providers (Microsoft 365, Leap and Quantum Cloud), suppliers of photocopying services and file archive storage providers. We may also share certain information about you with external auditors, such as Lexcel, CQS, SQM etc and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) or other relevant professional body, or independent organisations in order to comply with our money laundering, terrorist financing and financial crime prevention obligations, as well as our professional indemnity insurers and their advisers.
We sometimes need to make reports of suspicious activity to the National Crime Agency (NCA), which may contain personal data, and we may have to disclose the identity of the people for whom we hold client money in our pooled client account if requested to do so by our bank.
All contractors have a contract with us which requires that your information be accessed appropriately and kept confidential (among other data protection requirements). If you have any concerns about our work with trusted sub-contractors, you must inform us before agreeing to these terms.
If you instruct us jointly with another client, then it will be necessary to share certain information relevant to you with the corresponding joint client in order to fulfil your instructions to us.
7. HOW AND WHERE DO YOU STORE MY DATA?
We will only store your personal data in the UK. This means that it will be fully protected under the Data Protection Legislation.
We use cloud storage providers to store data and we ensure that our contracts with such providers are compliant with applicable law. The cloud storage provider we use is Microsoft 365, LEAP and Quantum Cloud.
If you do not wish your files and/ or other information to be stored in this way, please let us know as soon as possible.
8. HOW CAN I ACCESS MY PERSONAL DATA?
If you want to know what personal data we have about you, you can ask us for details of that personal data and for a copy of it (where any such personal data is held). This is known as a “subject access request”.
All subject access requests should be made in writing and sent to the email or postal addresses shown in Part 10.
There is not normally any charge for a subject access request. If your request is ‘manifestly unfounded or excessive’ (for example, if you make repetitive requests) a fee may be charged to cover our administrative costs in responding.
We will respond to your subject access request within one month of receiving it. Normally, we aim to provide a complete response, including a copy of your personal data within that time. In some cases, however, particularly if your request is more complex, more time may be required up to a maximum of three months from the date we receive your request. You will be kept fully informed of our progress.
9. HOW DO I CONTACT YOU?
To contact us about anything to do with your personal data and data protection, including to make a subject access request you should email Georgina Hamblin.
Please use the following details:
Email address: georgina@hamblinfamilylaw.com
If you have a complaint about how your personal information is being used which we have not been able to address to your satisfaction under our Complaints Policy Complaints procedure | Hamblin Family Law ), please note that you may be able to make a complaint to the Information Commission (IC) directly. You can learn more about the IC and personal data rights at: www.ico.org.uk and specifically about complaints in relation to the use of your personal data at: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-protection-complaints/.
10. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
We may change this Privacy Notice from time to time. This may be necessary, for example, if the law changes, or if we change our business in a way that affects personal data protection.
Any changes will be immediately posted on our website and you will be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Privacy Policy on your first use of our Website following the alterations.
