Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy informs you how Hodnett, as a data controller, handles personal information collected from you, our clients or via independent third parties.
Types of Personal Information collected
The type and extent of the information we collect may vary depending on the nature of the legal services we provide or when you use our website or client portal. "Personal Information" is any information that can be used to identify you directly or indirectly and may include:
1. Contact information: Full name, date of birth, postal address, email address and phone number(s);
2. KYC information: Passport, driving licence or other photographic identity details;
3. Company or organization details;
4. Financial information such as payment details;
5. Information relating to the legal services we will perform on an individual's or organization’s behalf; and
6. Other information we collect automatically through cookies or online identifiers related to services offered, or collected in satisfaction of our legal obligations under regulatory laws and for marketing purposes.
We may also collect, store and use sensitive personal information which requires a higher level of protection and includes:
1. Racial or ethnic origin;
2. Political opinions, religious or similar beliefs;
3. Trade union membership;
4. Data concerning physical or mental health or condition;
5. Medical data;
6. Genetic data or biometric data;
7. Marital or family status; or
8. Data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.
Personal Information you provide to us voluntarily
We may also collect other information that you voluntarily provide to us, including when you communicate with us via email, post, telephone or other channels; when you sign up for or request that we send you our e-alerts, or other marketing materials; when you submit an application for an employment position with us; when you sign up for an event; and when you respond to our communications or requests for information.
Information we may collect from other independent sources
We may receive Personal Information about you from other independent sources, including lawyers, tax advisors, wealth manager as well as from publicly sources such as websites, social media platforms, official registers and databases.
How we may use and share the information we collect
We may use the information we collect:
a. To respond to your enquiries;
b. To send you marketing communications and other information or materials;
c. To maintain our list of contacts;
d. To comply with our legal obligations including responding to legal process or requests for information issued by government authorities or other third parties;
e. To protect your rights.
We may also share information we collect with others only if and to the extent necessary and appropriate and which may include the following:
a. Third-party service providers engaged by us to perform services on our behalf such as IT service providers, insurers, accountants, etc.;
b. Law enforcement, courts or tribunals, other government or competent authorities, or third parties (within or outside the jurisdiction in which you reside) and with whom we are legally obliged to share your Personal Information (but only to the extent we are legally permitted to do so);
c. Service providers, advisors, potential transactional partners, or other third parties in connection with the transaction or who provide ancillary services which complement the legal services we provide.
Retention of Personal Information
We retain the Personal information we collect for no longer than is reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes for which we collect the information and to comply with our legal obligations.
Security of Personal Information
We utilize a range of tools, techniques, measures and safeguards such as firewalls, backup and disaster recovery systems, antimalware and encryption to ensure that your Personal Information is secure and not at risk of unauthorized access or disclosure or accidental loss.
Notwithstanding our robust breach detection measures, no information system can be 100% secure and to this extent we are unable to guarantee the absolute security of your information in cases where you transmit your Personal Information to us over networks that we do not control. In the event of a security breach, we will notify you in accordance with the requirements provided under our Data Protection Act.
Legal Justification for collecting and using personal information:
We rely on the following legal grounds to process Personal Information, namely:
a. Contract necessity in the provision of services. We may need to collect and use Personal Information to enter into a contract with you or to perform a contract that you have entered into with us.
b. Legal obligation and regulatory requirement. For example, undertaking client due diligence and background screening.
c. Consent provided by you.
d. Legitimate business interest to include marketing initiatives.
Your Rights
In accordance with the Data Protection Act, you may have certain legal rights in respect of the Personal Information which is processed by Hodnett including the rights of access; right to have your data corrected, updated, rectified or erased; right to object to the processing of or restrict the processing of your data; right to withdraw your consent previously given to processing of your data; and to request the transfer of your data to another party. Should you wish to exercise any of your rights you should send your request to: compliance@hodnettlegal.co.uk
If you no longer wish to receive marketing communications from us, please utilize our opt-out mechanisms that allow you to opt-out from receiving those communications, update your contact information or change your preferences at any time. You may also opt back in to receive those communications at any time.
How to contact us
We welcome your enquiries and comments. If you would like to contact us with questions about our privacy or data protection practices, please send us an email via our Contact Us page or at compliance@hodnettlegal.co.uk.
If you believe that we have not been able to assist with your complaint or concern, you may have the right to complain to the data protection authority/regulator:
Ombudsman
PO Box 2252, Grand United Kingdom, KY1-11-7
https://ombudsman.ky/data-protection
Changes to this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time and any updates will be published on our website at www.hodnettlegal.co.uk
You can also request data removal via the form on our Data Removal Request page.
© Hodnett 2022.