Data Protection & Privacy Notice- May 2018

Definitions:

References to “You” refer to you the client.      References to “We” or “Us” refer to Awan Legal Associates Ltd

Name

Awan Legal Associates Ltd

Reg. Office

Awan Legal Associates Ltd –135 High Street, Slough, SL1 1DN

Telephone                0175351876

Email info@awanlegal.co.uk

SRA details

Awan Legal Associates Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA No 598284).

ICO Registration

Awan Legal Associates Ltd is registered as a Data Controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office.  Reg. ZA040470.

Awan Legal Associates Ltd respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data.  We agree to to comply with all relevant data protection laws in force within the UK at the time of instruction including the General Data Protection Regulations (as enacted in UK).  This privacy notice aims to give you information on how Awan Legal Associates Ltd collects and processes your personal data.

How we use your data

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your data (a) where it is necessary for our legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests and (b) where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation
The types of lawful basis that we will rely on to process your personal data are set out below. Generally we do not rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your personal data other than in relation to sending third-party direct marketing communications to you via email or text message.  You have the right to withdraw consent to marketing at any time by contacting us.

Lawful Basis and your rights

The lawful basis upon which we rely to process any personal data is contract necessity, legal obligation and legitimate interest in respect of the provision of the services. You will have the right to data portability of your personal data in the event you wish to move to another provider and we have the electronic ability to do this quickly and easily.

Should we wish to send you updates in respect of Know-how and activities then we will seek your consent regarding unrelated marketing matters; you will always have the opportunity to quickly and easily unsubscribe in respect of any mailings.

If you are a business contact that we have met through networking and wish to stay in contact with you or wish to refer business to you, then we will rely on legitimate interest to do so since we believe that this is the nature of business networking and it would be in both of our interests to do this. For these purposes, you have the right to object to such processing, the right to erasure and the right to amendment of your personal details we process thereunder.

Sharing of your personal data

In respect of client work, we will obtain personal data from you when taking instructions on the file and share data with other parties when;

• We are undertaking your ID checks
• Working on our electronic systems (using Leap legal software)
• Working with permitted third parties with your consent (e.g Home Office /SSHD, courts, business contacts, other solicitors, Barristers, professional advisors)

Should you choose not to provide your ID, we will possibly be unable to provide our services; this depends on the nature of the advice being sought. You should be aware that the Solicitors Regulatory Authority direct us to undertake “know your client” checks on every client of the firm and this is one of the reasons why we do this, as well as to comply with Money Laundering requirements.

You may withdraw your consent to our sharing of data with third parties at any point in time; kindly do this in writing to info@awanlegal.co.uk   We share our opinions, activities, information and posts on various social media platforms eg. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. As public forums; your rights are largely under your control accessed via your account administration panel; please check the relevant platform’s privacy policy for further information.

Should you be a business contact that we have met through business marketing then we may provide people with your personal data in order to refer business or enquiries to you.  We will retain your business card in our locked office.

Transfer of Data outside the EEA

To the best of our knowledge, none of the client data within Awan Legal Associates Ltd is transmitted outside of the EEA (unless this happens technologically without our knowledge).

Information security

Our electronic systems are based on Leap legal software for which all staff use a securely paid legal software for the services we use in Awan Legal Associates Ltd. Our systems inform us that all firm data is actually based in the UK. We use up to date commercial grade anti-virus software on our systems and these are automatically updated to maintain safety of our electronic systems. All computers and devices are password protected. We print out the minimum required for paper files – and what files exist are kept in a locked office at all times.

Data Retention Periods

Ordinarily, we will store client file data for 6 years in line with regulatory requirements and it will be erased, shredded and deleted thereafter. If there is a statutory/regulatory requirement to keep the documentation for a longer period – it will be kept for that period.

Your Data Subject Rights

Subject Access Requests: should you wish to exercise your right to submit a Subject Access Request under GDPR/UK Data Protection Bill/Act then you must submit your request via email to  info@awanlegal.co.uktogether with a copy of your photo ID (Passport/driving licence) .  We may refuse to comply in the event of a manifestly unfounded, excessive or repetitive request. We will check our systems for the requested information and a response will be made available to you within one month.

We will ordinarily exercise any reasonable request for rectification (innacurate/incomplete personal data), erasure, restriction of processing, portability of data as soon as reasonable practicable save unless there is a lawful reason as to why we need not comply with such request.

If you require your data to be ported to another firm – then we will do that provided all fees that are undisputed and our dues have been paid.

Automated Decision Making

Note that Awan Legal Associates Ltd does not make automated decisions.

Cookies

You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies or to alert you when websites set or access cookies.  If you disable or refuse cookies please note that some some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly.

Complaints

If you are concerned about the way we have handled your personal data – you have the right to complain to the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office). You should note that they have an expectation that you will have raised it with Awan Legal Associates Ltd directly first, so please contact info@awanlegal.co.uk in the first instance and we will deal with your complaint as soon as reasonably practicable.

Should you require independent advice on how you can raise a concern with Awan Legal Associates Ltd you may wish to visit the ICO’s websitehttps://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/raising-concerns/

If you would like to report a concern then the ICO’s current contact details are available athttps://ico.org.uk/concerns/or call the ICO helpline at 0303 123 1113

Awan Legal Associates Ltd

May 2018

 

Kind Regards,

Awan Legal Associates Limited