ADAMSON LAW PRIVACY STATEMENT (Client Privacy Statement)

Our website address is: https://adamsonlaw.co.uk.

Your privacy is important to us, this privacy statement explains what personal data we collect and
how we use it.

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.

Who we are

Data is collected, processed and stored by Adamson law trading name of Premier Solicitors (Bedford) Limited, Premier House and we are what is known as the ‘data controller’ of the personal information you provide to us.

Premier Solicitors (Bedford) Limited is registered in England and Wales. Registration number
12495770, and authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under number
8003412.

Premier Solicitors is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under registration
reference Z955355X.

What we collect

  • Your contact details
  • Proof of Identity
  • Limited Financial Information
  • Information that you provide to us to confirm your identity when you first instruct us
  • Information contained in emails or other correspondence from you and records of telephone calls or meetings with you
  • We may also ask you to complete surveys that we use for research purposes, although you do not have to respond to them
  • Details of transactions you carry out through us and of the fulfilment of our services to you

Why we need it

The primary reason for asking you to provide us with your 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
  • Processing your legal transaction instructions
  • 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

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 – if you have the authority 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 (not exhaustive list):
    • Banks or building societies
    • Panel providers who allocate legal work to law firms
    • Medical or financial institutions – who provide your personal records / information

Who has access

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 Adamson Law. However, there may be
circumstances, in carrying out your legal work, where we may need to disclose some information to
third parties; for examples (but not exhaustive):

  • 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
  • External auditors
  • 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.

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 exceptional standards of technology and operational security in order to protect personally
identifiable data from loss, misuse, alteration or destruction. Similarly, we adopt a high threshold
when it comes to confidentiality obligations and both internal and external parties have agreed to
protect confidentiality of all information; to ensure all personal data is handled and processed in line
with our stringent confidentiality and data protection policies.

We use computer safeguards such as firewalls and data encryption, passwords and limited access to
your matters; and we enforce, where possible, physical access controls to our buildings and files to
keep data safe.

How long will we keep your data.

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 complete your legal instructions
  • For a minimum of 6 years from the conclusion or closure of your legal instructions; in the event that 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 the GDPR legislation, you are entitled to request a copy of your personal data (otherwise
known as a Subject Access Request). If you wish to make a request, please do so in writing addressed
to our Data Protection Officer Sunil Kambli – Contact details Sunil Kambli Premier Solicitors, Premier
House, Lurke Street Bedford MK40 3HU.

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 etc. This means that a
Subject Access Request will not normally result in you getting a copy of your file because you are
only entitled to your personal data – not the documents that contain that data. Upon receipt of the
request we are permitted to request a fee to cover costs.

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 Sunil Kambli
Premier Solicitors, Premier House, Lurke Street Bedford MK403 HU.

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) on the
following telephone number: 0303 123 1113