Privacy Policy

This notice explains when and why we collect personal information about you; how we use it, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others and how we keep it secure.

For clients of this firm, you should read this notice alongside our general terms and conditions which provide further information on confidentiality, data privacy etc.

This notice does not apply to any websites that may have a link to ours.

Who we are

Data is collected, processed and stored by Frances Lindsay and Co; and we are what is known as the ‘data controller’ of the personal information you provide to us.

Frances Lindsay is a partnership, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under number 290026

Our Data Protection Officer is Frances Lindsay, who can be contacted by email at info@franceslindsay.co. 

Children

Our website and services are not aimed specifically at children because in legal work children are generally represented by their parent or guardians.

What we need

The exact information we will request from you will depend on what you have asked us to do or what we are contracted to do for you.

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, financial information etc.
• Sensitive personal data: is, by its nature, more sensitive information and may include your racial or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, political opinions, health data, trade union membership, philosophical views, biometric and genetic data.

In the majority of cases personal data will be restricted to basic information and information needed to complete ID checks. However some of the work we do may require us to ask for more sensitive information.

Sources of information

Information about you may be obtained from a number of sources; including:

• You may volunteer the information about yourself
• You may provide information relating to someone else – we will tell you if you are not permitted to do so.
• Information may be passed to us by third parties in order that we can undertake your legal work on your behalf. Typically these organisations can be:
  • Banks or building societies
  • Panel providers who allocate legal work to law firms
  • Organisations that have referred work to us
  • Medical or financial institutions – who provide your personal records / information

Why we need it

The primary reason for asking you to provide us with your personal data, is to allow us to carry out your requests – which will ordinarily be to represent you and carry out your legal work.

The following are some examples, although not exhaustive, of what we may use your information for:

• Verifying your identity
• Verifying source of funds
• Communicating with you
• To establish funding of your matter or transaction
• Obtaining insurance policies on your behalf
• Processing your legal transaction including:
  • Providing you with advice; carrying out litigation on your behalf; attending hearings on your behalf; preparing documents or to complete transactions
• Keeping financial records of your transactions and the transactions we make on your behalf
• Seeking advice from third parties; such as legal and non-legal experts
• Responding to any complaint or allegation of negligence against us

The Lawful Basis for Processing Personal Data

Data Subject: Prospective Employees

Who has access to it

We have a data protection regime in place to oversee the effective and secure processing of your personal data. We will not sell or rent your information to third parties. We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.

Generally, we will only use your information within Frances Lindsay. However there may be circumstances, in carrying out your legal work, where we may need to disclose some information to third parties; for example:

• HM Land Registry to register a property
• HM Revenue & Customs; e.g. for Stamp Duty Liability
• Court or Tribunal
• Solicitors acting on the other side
• Asking an independent Barrister or Counsel for advice; or to represent you
• Non legal experts to obtain advice or assistance
• Translation Agencies
• Contracted Suppliers
• External auditors or our Regulator; e.g. Lexcel, SRA, ICO etc.
• Bank or Building Society; or other financial institutions
• Insurance Companies
• Providers of identity verification
• Any disclosure required by law or regulation; such as the prevention of financial crime and terrorism
• If there is an emergency and we think you or others are at risk

In the event any of your information is shared with the aforementioned third parties, we ensure that they comply, strictly and confidentially, with our instructions and they do not use your personal information for their own purposes unless you have explicitly consented to them doing so.

The Lawful basis for processing this information is Contract; Legitimate Interests; Legal Obligations.

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

How do we protect your personal data

We recognise that your information is valuable and we take all reasonable measures to protect it whilst it is in our care.

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed.

We also limit access to your personal data to only Frances Lindsay’s employees, appointed representatives, advisers, business partners and suppliers who have a business need to know. They are also subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

Cookies

When using the Frances Lindsay website, 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 parts of our websites may become inaccessible or not function properly.

How long will we keep it for

Your personal information will be retained, usually in computer or manual files, only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which the information was collected; or as required by law; or as long as is set out in any relevant contract you may hold with us. For example:

• As long as necessary to carry out your legal work
• For a minimum of 6 years from the conclusion or closure of your legal work; in case you, or we, need to re-open your case for the purpose of defending complaints or claims against us
• For the duration of a trust
• Probate matters where there is a surviving spouse or civil partner may be retained until the survivor has died in order to deal with the transferable Inheritance Tax allowance
• Wills and related documents may be kept indefinitely
• Deeds related to unregistered property may be kept indefinitely as they evidence ownership

What are your rights?

Under GDPR, you are entitled to access your personal data (otherwise known as a ‘right to access’). If you wish to make a request, please do so in writing addressed to our Data Protection Officer Frances Lindsay or contact the person dealing with your matter.
A request for access to your personal data means you are entitled to a copy of the data we hold on you – such as your name, address, contact details, date of birth, information regarding your health etc. – but it does not mean you are entitled to the documents that contain this data. 
Under certain circumstances, in addition to the entitlement to ‘access your data’, you have the following rights:

1. The right to be informed: which is fulfilled by way of this privacy notice and our transparent explanation as to how we use your personal data

2. The right to rectification: you are entitled to have personal data rectified if it is inaccurate or incomplete

3. The right to erasure / ‘right to be forgotten’: you have the right to request the deletion or removal of your personal data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing. This right only applies in the following specific circumstances:

• Where the personal data is no longer necessary in regards to the purpose for which it was originally collected
• Where consent is relied upon as the lawful basis for holding your data and you withdraw your consent
• Where you object to the processing and there is no overriding legitimate interest for continuing the processing
• The personal data was unlawfully processed

4.  The right to object: you have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests; and direct marketing. This right only applies in the following circumstances:

• An objection to stop processing personal data for direct marketing purposes is absolute – there are no exemptions or grounds to refuse – we must stop processing in this context
• You must have an objection on grounds relating to your particular situation
• We must stop processing your personal data unless:
  • We can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms; or
  • The processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

5. The right to restrict processing: you have the right to request the restriction or suppression of your data. When processing is restricted, we can store the data but not use it. This right only applies in the following circumstances:

• Where you contest the accuracy of the personal data – we should restrict the processing until we have verified the accuracy of that data
• Where you object to the processing (where it was necessary for the performance of a public interest or purpose of legitimate interests), and we are considering whether our organisation’s legitimate grounds override your right
• Where processing is unlawful and you request restriction
• If we no longer need the personal data but you require the data to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim

Complaints about the use of personal data

If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Officer who will investigate further. Our Data Protection Officer is Frances Lindsay and you can contact her by emailing info@franceslindsay.co.uk or write to her at 48 Broadway, Maidenhead, SL6 1LU

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). Their website is www.ico.org.uk