Our Privacy Policy
- APPLICATION OF PRIVACY POLICY
- GOVERNING LAW
- PRIVACY OFFICER
- 4. PURPOSES OF COLLECTING, USING AND/OR DISCLOSING PERSONAL INFORMATION
- Provide legal services to our clients in accordance with the Law Society of Ontario’s requirements and Rules of Professional Conduct, and the common law governing a solicitor’s duty of care to a client;
- Provide legal services to individuals who self-identify as class members or putative class members in certified or proposed class actions, respectively, being prosecuted by our firm, in accordance with the Law Society of Ontario’s requirements and Rules of Professional Conduct, the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 6, and the common law governing class counsel’s duty of care to a class member or putative class member;
- Efficiently deliver services to our client, manage our operations, and/or improve our service. This may include disclosure of personal information to outside printers, process servers, legal suppliers, outside professionals, experts and consultants;
- Screen prospective clients, identify clients, and administer financial arrangements with clients. This includes identifying and avoiding conflicts of interest, fulfilling the Law Society of Ontario’s client identification requirements, preparing retainer agreements, issuing invoices, collecting and processing payments, maintaining records, and enforcing our right to collect unpaid accounts;
- Prepare and distribute marketing materials and useful legal information to prospective and existing clients, and generally to develop business;
- Conduct market research and evaluate client satisfaction;
- Detect and protect against error, negligence, breach of contract, fraud, theft and other illegal activity, and where necessary to meet our insurance requirements;
- CONSENT
- we have reasonable grounds to believe the information could be useful when investigating a contravention of a federal, provincial or foreign law and the information is used for that investigation;
- an emergency exists that threatens an individual’s life, health or security;
- the information is for statistical study or research;
- the information is publicly available;
- the use is clearly in your interest, and consent is not available in a timely way;
- knowledge and consent would compromise the availability or accuracy of the information; or
- collection is required to investigate a breach of an agreement.
- LIMITING COLLECTION, USE & DISCLOSURE
- if the transfer is simply for processing purposes, the third party only uses the information for the purposes for which it was transferred, and we have ensured that the third party has appropriate contractual safeguards are in place as contemplated in Principle 4.1.3 of Schedule 1 of the PIPEDA;
- to a lawyer representing us;
- to collect a debt owed to us by you;
- to comply with a subpoena, a warrant or an order made by a court or other body with appropriate jurisdiction;
- to a law enforcement agency in the process of a civil or criminal investigation;
- to a government agency or department requesting the information; or
- as otherwise required by law.
- RETENTION
- SAFEGUARDS
- ACCESS
- the information is protected by solicitor-client privilege;
- to provide access would reveal confidential commercial information;
- the information was collected without consent in the course of investigation into the breach of an agreement or of a law of Canada or any Canadian provinces or territory;
- the information was generated in the course of a formal dispute resolution process; or
- access is otherwise limited by the PIPEDA.
This Privacy Policy regulates how Charney Lawyers PC (“Charney” or “we”) collects, uses and/or discloses any personal information within our possession during commercial activities. It applies to our principals, employees, contractors, and authorized representatives (“Staff”).
This Privacy Policy is at all times subject to the requirements of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, 2000, S.C., 2000, c. 5 (the “PIPEDA”). Any term not defined herein has the meaning attributed to it by the PIPEDA.
We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy at any time by posting a new version on our website. In the event of a conflict between this version and another, the version that is later in time prevails.
This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of Ontario and the laws of Canada as applicable. It is not a contract and will be treated as a non-contractual set of policies and practices intended to give effect to the principles set out in Schedule 1 of the PIPEDA.
Our Privacy Officer is responsible for ensuring that Staff comply with this Privacy Policy. The identity of our Privacy Officer is available upon written request. They can be contacted at:
Charney Lawyers PC
Attention: Privacy Officer
151 Bloor St. W., Suite 602
Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1S4
Tel: (416) 964-7950
Fax: (416) 964-7416
E-Mail: info@charneylawyers.com
The Privacy Officer is responsible for:
(a) implementing procedures contained in this Privacy Policy to protect personal information;
(b) training Staff to comply with this Privacy Policy and the PIPEDA and communicating information about changes and updates to our policies and practices relating to personal information to Staff;
(c) enforcing this Privacy Policy and correcting any potential or actual instances of breach; and
(d) reviewing and responding to any communication or notice relating to this Privacy Policy or the PIPEDA.
Should you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please direct them to the Privacy Officer.
We collect, use and/or disclose personal information in order to:
(“Purpose”)
If we change our Purpose, we will publish an updated Privacy Policy.
When you provide personal information voluntarily for a specific purpose, we rely on your implied consent to use the personal information for that purpose. We will also imply your consent to collect or receive any supplementary information that is necessary to fulfil the same purpose. Your consent will be obtained if, or when, a new purpose for use of that personal information is identified.
We may use your personal information without your consent only in accordance with professional rules of confidentiality, and where:
In all other circumstances, your express informed consent will be obtained before collection, use or disclosure of your personal information.
Information from children
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children (anyone under 18 years of age) over the telephone or in person without a parent’s express oral consent. When collecting personal information electronically (by web-form or e-mail) we do not verify the age of the person from whom we are collecting information. In the absence of any indication to the contrary, we will assume anyone supplying us with information online is over 18 years of age. Parents are strongly encouraged to discuss responsible Internet use and personal information disclosure with their children.
Withdrawing consent
Consent to collection, use and/or disclosure of personal information may be withdrawn at any time by writing to our Privacy Officer. We will inform you of any implications connected to withdrawing your consent.
Anonymized data
This Privacy Policy does not cover statistical or anonymized data from which the identity of individuals cannot be determined. We retain the right to use and disclose such data as we determine to be appropriate.
Personal information collected, used and/or disclosed will be limited to the Purpose set out in this Privacy Policy, where implied or express consent has been received.
Disclosure to third parties
Personal information may be disclosed to third parties without your knowledge and consent only in accordance with professional rules of confidentiality, and as follows:
In all other circumstances, your informed consent will be obtained before your personal information is disclosed to third parties.
Personal information found in the files of prospective clients, clients, or former clients will be retained in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements and professional standards.
We retain contact information about individuals for the period of time the individual subscribes to receive communications from us and does not opt out of receiving such communications.
Destruction of information
Once the retention period is over for personal information, we destroy it in accordance with the guidelines established by the Law Society of Ontario.
We use physical, organizational and technological measures to safeguard personal information. We regularly review these measures to ensure they are in keeping with regulatory and industry standards.
Physical measures
Active files are stored in locked filing cabinets when not in use.
Access to work areas where active files may be in use is restricted to members of Staff only and to authorized third parties.
All personal information no longer required is shredded prior to disposal.
Organizational measures
Personal information will only be disclosed to those members of Staff who need to know the information for the purposes of their work.
Members of Staff are not permitted to copy or retain any personal information on individuals or clients.
Members of Staff are required to sign a confidentiality agreement binding them to maintain the confidentiality of all personal information to which they have access, in accordance with this Privacy Policy, the PIPEDA, and any other applicable regulation or legislation.
Technological measures
All personal information contained on electronic devices (computers, smartphones, servers) is password protected.
Firewalls, encryption and intrusion detection are utilized to prevent hacking or any other unauthorized computer access.
Electronic devices containing personal information may not be left unattended by Staff while out of the office.
Remote access to personal information contained on Charney computers or servers is limited only to approved devices which have been equipped with appropriate technological safeguards.
Personal information is not transferred via e-mail or other electronic form unless it is encrypted and password protected.
Upon written request to our Privacy Officer, you have the right to be informed of the existence, use and disclosure of your personal information, and to request access to your personal information, as well as an account of the use that has been made or is being made of your personal information, and of any disclosures that were or may have been made to third parties of your personal information.
Upon verification of your identity, the Privacy Officer will respond to any such requests in accordance with the timelines set out in s. 8 of the PIPEDA. We may refuse to provide access to personal information where:
Any refusal of access will be made in writing, setting out the reasons and the recourses available.
Accuracy
You have the right to challenge the accuracy and completeness of your personal information and amend it as appropriate. Amended information shall be transmitted to any third parties having access to the information in question, where and as appropriate. Information contained in inactive files is not updated.
Upon verification of your identity, the Privacy Officer will respond to any such requests in accordance with the timelines set out in s. 8 of the PIPEDA.