Barrister, Solicitor and Notary
103-121 Kendalwood Road, Whitby, Ontario, Canada, L1N 2E9
CALL US TODAY: (905)240-7797
Pellegrino Law Professional Corporation ( "PLPC") recognizes the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information. As a lawyer I have a professional obligation to keep confidential all information I receive within a lawyer-client relationship. I am committed to protecting any personal information we hold. This Privacy Policy outlines how I manage your personal information and safeguard your privacy.
Your Privacy Rights:
Businesses engaged in commercial activities must comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information, which it incorporates. These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms, including PLPC. The Act gives you rights concerning the privacy of your personal information. PLPC is responsible for the personal information I collect and hold.
Why Does PLPC Need Personal Information:
PLPC provides legal services and products to a wide range of clients and produce direct marketing materials concerning its services and developments in the law.
What personal information do we collect?
Personal information is any information that identifies you, or by which your identity could be deduced. If we did not collect and use your personal information, I could not provide you with legal services.
How do we collect your personal information?
I collect information only by lawful and fair means, and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. Wherever possible I collect your personal information directly from you, both at the start of a retainer and in the course of my representation. Sometimes I may obtain information about you from other sources, for example: your insurance company; your real estate agent in a property transaction; from a government agency or registry; your employer, if we are acting for you, at its request; your accountant, etc.
Consent:
In most cases, I shall ask you to specifically consent, if I collect, use, or disclose your personal information. Normally, I ask for your consent in writing, but in some circumstances, we may accept your oral consent. Sometimes, your consent may be implied through your conduct with me.
Use of Your Information:
I use your personal information to provide legal advice and services to you, to administer my client (time and billing databases) and to include you in any direct marketing activities. If you tell me that you no longer wish to receive information about our services, or about new developments in the law, I will not send any further material. PLPC does not disclose your personal information to any third party to enable them to market their products and services. For example, I do not provide my client mailing lists to other law firms.
Disclosure of your Personal Information:
Under certain circumstances, PLPC will disclose your personal information: when I am required or authorized by law to do so, for example if a court issues a subpoena; when you have consented to the disclosure; when the legal services we are providing to you requires me give your information to third parties (for example a lender in a real estate mortgage transaction) your consent will be implied, unless you tell me otherwise; where it is necessary to establish or collect fees; if I engage a third party to provide administrative services to me (like computer back-up services or archival file storage) and the third party is bound by our privacy policy; if I engage expert witnesses on your behalf; if I retain other law firms at your request, and on your behalf; if the information is Publicly Available Personal Information, as it is defined under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
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 we can make any necessary changes.
Is My Personal Information Secure?
PLPC takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Among the steps taken to protect your information are: premises security; restricted file access to personal information; deploying technological safeguards like security software and firewalls to prevent hacking or unauthorized computer access; internal password and security policies.
Access to Your Personal Information:
You may ask for access to any personal information I hold about you. Summary information is available on request. More detailed requests which require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to my normal professional and disbursement fees.
Correcting Errors:
If PLPC holds information about you and you can establish that it is not accurate, complete and up-to-date, Pellegrino Law Professional Corporation will take reasonable steps to correct it.
Can I be denied access to my Personal Information?
Your rights to access your personal information are not absolute. We may deny access when: it is required or authorized by law (for example, when a record containing personal information about you is protected by solicitor-client privilege); to do so would reveal confidential commercial information, and the personal information cannot be severed from the record; to do so could reasonably be expected to threaten the life or security of another individual, and the personal information cannot be severed from the record; or the information was generated in the course of a formal dispute resolution process. If I deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct information, I shall explain why. PLPC does not use your Social Insurance Number as a way of identifying or organizing the information we hold upon you.
Can I request anonymity?
Whenever it is legal and practicable, I may offer the opportunity to deal with general inquiries without providing your name (for example, by accessing general information on our website). The Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act requires us to confirm the identity of all new clients. It may also require us disclose information to FINTRAC in relation to certain large cash transactions.