Taking Privacy Seriously
Privacy Policy
Mockford Law ("I") recognize the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information. Lawyers have professional obligations regarding the confidentiality of information we receive from our clients within a lawyer-client relationship. These obligations are regulated by our professional body, the Law Society of Ontario. I am committed to protecting the personal information I hold in accordance with law. This Privacy Policy outlines how I manage personal information and safeguard privacy.
Definitions
Personal Information ("Personal information") means information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization.
PIPEDA - All Canadian organizations engaged in commercial activities must comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA") and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information incorporated by reference into PIPEDA. These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms, including Mockford Law.
Personal Information at Mockford Law
Mockford Law provides legal services to a wide range of clients. In doing so, I may collect and use personal information. As well, Mockford Law may send information and marketing materials concerning developments in the law and my services to individuals.
Collecting Personal Information
I collect personal information fairly and in accordance with the law. Generally, I collect your personal information directly from you. Such collection may be done at the start of our relationship or during the course of my retainer. With respect to institutional clients, I may collect information about your directors, officers, independent contractors and employees. Sometimes I may obtain information about you from other sources including, for example: 1. from a government agency or registry; 2. your website and other public sources of information; 3. other professionals who serve you; 4. other parties or witnesses in the context of litigation; and 5. other parties or participants in a commercial transaction. I may collect personal information from candidates for employment to assess qualifications.
Consent
In most cases, if I collect, use, or disclose your personal information, I will obtain your consent. Sometimes I will ask for your consent in writing, but in some cases I may accept your oral consent. Sometimes your consent may be implied through your conduct with me or the nature of my retainer. Should you withdraw your consent for me to collect, use or disclose your personal information, it may impact on my ability to serve you and to maintain our relationship.
Use of Personal Information
I use your personal information to provide legal advice and services to you, to administer client (time and billing) databases, to build and to maintain expertise and knowledge, and to include you in information distribution and marketing activities. If you no longer wish to receive information about developments in the law or my services, you can ask me not to send any further material.
Disclosure of Personal Information
Mockford Law does not disclose your personal information to third parties to enable them to market their products and services. Under certain circumstances I may disclose your personal information. Some examples are: 1. when you have consented to the disclosure; 2. when I am required or authorized by law to do so, including, for example, if a court issues a warrant or a subpoena; 3. in order to comply with the requirements of the Law Society of Ontario, the regulatory body that governs the practice of law in Ontario, or the Law Society of Alberta, the regulatory body that governs the practice of law in Alberta; 4. when the legal services I am providing to you require me to give your information to third parties (in which case your consent will be implied, unless you tell me otherwise at the outset of the retainer); 5. where it is necessary to collect fees or disbursements; 6. if I engage a third party to provide administrative services to me (such as computer back-up services, archival file storage, or insurance) and the third party is bound by obligations regarding privacy that are consistent with this policy; 7. in the event of a merger by or growth of Mockford Law (in which case the third party will be bound by obligations regarding privacy that are consistent with this policy); 8. if I engage expert witnesses on your behalf; or 9. if I retain another law firm (such as, for example, law firms in other jurisdictions) on your behalf.
Updating Your Information
Since I 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 me so that I can make any necessary changes. I may also periodically inquire of you whether your personal information is accurate and up-to-date.
Securing Personal Information
Mockford Law takes precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Among the steps taken to protect your personal information are: 1. premises security; 2. confidentiality policies as part of professional obligations; 3. deploying technological safeguards like security software; and 4. internal password and security policies.
You should be aware that e-mail is not an entirely secure medium, and you should be aware of this when contacting me to send personal or confidential information.
Accessing Personal Information
You may ask for access to personal information I hold about you. Detailed requests that require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to normal professional and disbursement fees. Your rights to access your personal information are not absolute. There are a number of situations where I may deny access. If I deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct personal information, I will provide a reason or reasons for doing so.
Credit Bureaus
To help me make credit decisions about clients, to try to prevent fraud, and to check the identity of new clients, on occasion I may request information about you from the files of consumer reporting agencies.
Website
My website may from time to time contain links to other sites, which are not governed by this policy. On my website, like most other commercial websites, I may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information in order to optimize my web service. I may provide aggregated information to third parties, but these statistics do not include any identifiable personal information. Mockford Law does not use cookies or any electronic means to automatically collect personal information from you or your computer; however, web servers used by Mockford Law will automatically collect IP addresses and I may view the web server IP log from time to time to prevent fraudulent acts and possible network attacks.
Requests for Access
If you have any questions, or wish to access your personal information, please contact me at:
Angela Mockford
Mockford Law
16 Charnby Place
St. Catharines, ON L2N 6Y3
(905) 327-7824
If you are not satisfied with my response, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada can be reached at:
112 Kent Street Ottawa, ON K1A 1H3
1.800.282.1376
Changes to this Privacy Policy
Mockford Law reviews all policies and procedures and I may change this Privacy Policy from time to time.