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This firm recognizes the importance of protecting your personal information and privacy. Lawyers have a professional obligation to keep confidential all information received within a lawyer-client relationship. We are committed to protecting any personal information we collect. This Privacy Policy outlines how we manage your personal information and safeguard your privacy.
YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS
Effective January 1, 2004, all businesses engaged in commercial activities must comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information, which it incorporates. These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms. The Act gives you rights concerning the privacy of your personal information.
We are responsible for the personal information we collect and hold. To ensure this accountability, we have developed this policy, and trained our staff about these policies and practices.
WHY DO WE NEED PERSONAL INFORMATION?
We provide legal services and products to a wide range of clients. In doing so, we produce marketing materials concerning our services and developments in the law.
WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?
Personal information is any information that identifies you, or by which your identity could be deduced. If we do not collect and use your personal information we would not be able to provide you with legal services.
HOW DO WE COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?
We collect information only by lawful and fair means and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. Wherever possible we collect your personal information directly from you, at the start of a retainer and in the course of its representation. Sometimes we may obtain information about you from other sources such as, for example:
In most cases, we will ask you to specifically consent if we collect, use, or disclose your personal information. Normally, we ask for your consent in writing, but in some circumstances, we may accept your verbal consent. Sometimes, your consent may be implied through your conduct or by our legal representation of your interests.
USE OF YOUR INFORMATION
We use your personal information to provide legal advice and services to you, to administer client databases and to include you in any direct marketing activities. If you tell us that you no longer wish to receive information about our services, or about new developments in the law, we will not send you any further material.
We do not disclose your personal information to any third party to enable them to market their products and services. For example, we will not provide our client mailing lists to other law firms or third parties.
DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Under certain circumstances, we will disclose your personal information:
Since we use your personal information to provide legal services to you, it is important that the information 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.
IS YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION SECURE?
We take all reasonable precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modifications or disclosure. The steps we have taken to protect your information include:
You may ask for access to any personal information we hold about you. Summary information is available on request. More detailed requests which require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to our normal professional and disbursement fees.
CORRECTING ERRORS
If we hold information about you and you can establish that it is not accurate, complete and up-to-date, we will take reasonable steps to correct it.
CAN YOU BE DENIED ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Your rights to access your personal information are not absolute. We may deny access when:
CAN YOU REQUEST ANONYMITY?
Whenever it is practicable and legal, we may offer the opportunity to deal with general inquiries without providing your name. The Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act requires us to confirm the identity of all new clients. It may also require us to disclose information to FINTRAC in relation to certain large cash transactions.
CREDIT BUREAUS
To help us make credit decisions about clients, prevent fraud, check the identity of new clients and prevent money-laundering, we may on occasion request information about you from the files of consumer reporting agencies.
COMMUNICATING WITH US
You should be aware that e-mail is not a 100% secure medium, and you should be aware of this when contacting us to send personal or confidential information.
CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
Since we regularly review all our policies and procedures, we may change our Privacy Policy from time to time. Your continued access to our website following the posting of changes to our Privacy Policy will mean you accept and agree to be bound by such changes.
REQUESTS FOR ACCESS
If you have any questions, or wish to access your personal information, please write to us at:
Peter D. Bouroukis
Barrister and Solicitor
Suite 411, 15 Wertheim Court
Richmond Hill, Ontario, L4B 3H7
EMPLOYMENT INQUIRIES
If you apply to us for a job, we need to consider your personal information as part of our review process. We normally retain information from candidates after a decision has been made, unless they ask us not to retain the information. If we offer you a job, which you accept, the information will be retained in accordance with its privacy procedures for employee records.
WEB SITE
Our website may contain links to other sites which are not governed by this privacy policy. We may also collect personal information on our website. We will only collect the information you provide to us voluntarily when you send us an e-mail message, complete forms or use any links contained on the website. We may collect and use your name, address, telephone number, email address and other information you submit on or through the website for the purposes for which you provided the personal information, to respond to your inquiries, and to provide you with updates and information that we think may be of interest to you. If you provide us with personal information on or through this website, you consent to the collection and use of that information for these stated purposes. We currently do not use cookies on this website. "Cookies" are small text files that recognize repeat visitors and track their visits to a website.
Our website, like most other commercial websites, may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information in order to optimize its web service. We may provide aggregated information to third parties, but these statistics do not include any identifiable personal information.
YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS
Effective January 1, 2004, all businesses engaged in commercial activities must comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information, which it incorporates. These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms. The Act gives you rights concerning the privacy of your personal information.
We are responsible for the personal information we collect and hold. To ensure this accountability, we have developed this policy, and trained our staff about these policies and practices.
WHY DO WE NEED PERSONAL INFORMATION?
We provide legal services and products to a wide range of clients. In doing so, we produce marketing materials concerning our services and developments in the law.
WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?
Personal information is any information that identifies you, or by which your identity could be deduced. If we do not collect and use your personal information we would not be able to provide you with legal services.
HOW DO WE COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?
We collect information only by lawful and fair means and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. Wherever possible we collect your personal information directly from you, at the start of a retainer and in the course of its representation. Sometimes we may obtain information about you from other sources such as, for example:
- your accountant;
- insurance company;
- your real estate agent in a property transaction;
- from a government agency or public registry;
- your employer, if we are acting for you, at its request; and
- other lawyers and law firms.
In most cases, we will ask you to specifically consent if we collect, use, or disclose your personal information. Normally, we ask for your consent in writing, but in some circumstances, we may accept your verbal consent. Sometimes, your consent may be implied through your conduct or by our legal representation of your interests.
USE OF YOUR INFORMATION
We use your personal information to provide legal advice and services to you, to administer client databases and to include you in any direct marketing activities. If you tell us that you no longer wish to receive information about our services, or about new developments in the law, we will not send you any further material.
We do not disclose your personal information to any third party to enable them to market their products and services. For example, we will not provide our client mailing lists to other law firms or third parties.
DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Under certain circumstances, we will disclose your personal information:
- when it is required or authorized by law to do so, for example if a court issues a subpoena;
- when you have consented to the disclosure;
- when the legal services we are providing to you requires us to give your information to third parties (for example, during negotiations of a contract on your behalf), your consent will be implied unless you tell us otherwise;
- where it is necessary to establish or collect fees;
- if we engage a third party to provide administrative services to us (like computer back-up services or archival file storage) and the third party is bound by our privacy policy;
- if we engage expert witnesses on your behalf;
- if we retain other law firms in other jurisdictions on your behalf; and
- if the information is already publicly known.
Since we use your personal information to provide legal services to you, it is important that the information 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.
IS YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION SECURE?
We take all reasonable precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modifications or disclosure. The steps we have taken to protect your information include:
- premises security;
- restricted file access to personal information;
- deploying technological safeguards to attempt to prevent hacking or unauthorized computer access; and
- internal password and security policies.
You may ask for access to any personal information we hold about you. Summary information is available on request. More detailed requests which require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to our normal professional and disbursement fees.
CORRECTING ERRORS
If we hold information about you and you can establish that it is not accurate, complete and up-to-date, we will take reasonable steps to correct it.
CAN YOU BE DENIED ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Your rights to access your personal information are not absolute. We may deny access when:
- denial of access is required or authorized by law (for example, when a record containing personal information about you is subject to a claim of legal professional privilege by one of our clients);
- information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings against you;
- when granting you access would have an unreasonable impact on other people’s privacy;
- to protect our rights and property; and
- where the request is frivolous or vexatious.
CAN YOU REQUEST ANONYMITY?
Whenever it is practicable and legal, we may offer the opportunity to deal with general inquiries without providing your name. The Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act requires us to confirm the identity of all new clients. It may also require us to disclose information to FINTRAC in relation to certain large cash transactions.
CREDIT BUREAUS
To help us make credit decisions about clients, prevent fraud, check the identity of new clients and prevent money-laundering, we may on occasion request information about you from the files of consumer reporting agencies.
COMMUNICATING WITH US
You should be aware that e-mail is not a 100% secure medium, and you should be aware of this when contacting us to send personal or confidential information.
CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
Since we regularly review all our policies and procedures, we may change our Privacy Policy from time to time. Your continued access to our website following the posting of changes to our Privacy Policy will mean you accept and agree to be bound by such changes.
REQUESTS FOR ACCESS
If you have any questions, or wish to access your personal information, please write to us at:
Peter D. Bouroukis
Barrister and Solicitor
Suite 411, 15 Wertheim Court
Richmond Hill, Ontario, L4B 3H7
EMPLOYMENT INQUIRIES
If you apply to us for a job, we need to consider your personal information as part of our review process. We normally retain information from candidates after a decision has been made, unless they ask us not to retain the information. If we offer you a job, which you accept, the information will be retained in accordance with its privacy procedures for employee records.
WEB SITE
Our website may contain links to other sites which are not governed by this privacy policy. We may also collect personal information on our website. We will only collect the information you provide to us voluntarily when you send us an e-mail message, complete forms or use any links contained on the website. We may collect and use your name, address, telephone number, email address and other information you submit on or through the website for the purposes for which you provided the personal information, to respond to your inquiries, and to provide you with updates and information that we think may be of interest to you. If you provide us with personal information on or through this website, you consent to the collection and use of that information for these stated purposes. We currently do not use cookies on this website. "Cookies" are small text files that recognize repeat visitors and track their visits to a website.
Our website, like most other commercial websites, may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information in order to optimize its web service. We may provide aggregated information to third parties, but these statistics do not include any identifiable personal information.