Privacy Policy
Mahmud Law recognizes the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information. Lawyers have a professional obligation to keep confidential all information received within a lawyer-client relationship. I am committed to protecting any personal information I hold. This Privacy Policy outlines how I manage your personal information and safeguard your privacy.
Your Privacy Rights
The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act applies to lawyers and law firms, including Mahmud Law. This Act gives you rights concerning the privacy of your personal information. As lawyers, we also have confidentiality obligations that arise from the solicitor-client relationship.
Why Does Mahmud Law Need Personal Information?
Mahmud Law provides legal services and products to a wide range of clients. In doing so, I need to collect personal information for various reasons including: understanding clients’ needs, representing clients, meeting legal, regulatory and contractual requirements, maintaining client contact information, and providing materials concerning legal 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. I must collect and use such personal information to provide legal services. This information may be about clients, or may be about individuals who are not clients, but are involved in transactions, matters or disputes with clients.
How do we collect personal information?
I will collect personal information in the normal course of client representation only by lawful and reasonable means, and in a manner that is not unreasonably intrusive. Whenever possible I will collect personal information directly from you, the client, at the start of a retainer and in the course of my representation of you. Where necessary, I may also obtain information from other sources such as insurance companies, real estate agents in a property transaction, government agencies or registries, employers, and accountants.
Consent
In most cases, I will ask you, my client, to specifically consent, if I collect, use, or disclose your personal information. Normally, I will ask for your consent in writing, but in some circumstances consent may be given orally or may be implied through your conduct with me.
Use of Personal Information
Mahmud Law uses personal information to provide legal advice and services to clients, to administer client time and accounting databases and to include clients in any direct marketing activities. If you tell me you no longer wish to receive information about my services, or about new developments in the law, I will not send any further material. Mahmud Law will never disclose personal information to any third parties, including other law firms, to enable them to market their products and services.
Disclosure of your Personal Information
Under certain circumstances, Mahmud Law will disclose your personal information; such as: when required or authorized by law or ethical reasons to do so, for example by court order or pursuant to exemptions to consents provided in applicable privacy legislation; when you have consented to the disclosure; when the legal services being provided requires giving information to third parties (for example a lender in a real estate mortgage transaction, or as necessary for court actions); where it is necessary to establish or collect fees; if a third party is engaged to provide administrative services (like computer back-up services or archival file storage) and the third party is bound by privacy obligations; if expert witnesses are engaged on your behalf; if other law firms in other jurisdictions are retained on your behalf; if the information is already publicly known, or if Mahmud Law was to merge with another or otherwise become part of another firm.
Updating Personal Information
Because your personal information is used in the provision of legal services to you, it is important that the information be accurate and up-to-date. If during the course of the retainer, any personal information changes, please inform me promptly so any necessary changes can be made. If Mahmud Law holds information about you that you can show is not accurate, complete and up-to-date, Mahmud Law will take reasonable steps to correct it.
Is My Personal Information Secure?
Mahmud Law 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 personal information are: premises security; restricted file access; deploying technological safeguards like security software and firewalls; and internal password and security policies.
Access to Personal Information
You may ask for access to any personal information Mahmud Law holds about you. Summary information is available on request. More detailed requests which require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to normal professional and disbursement fees.
Can I be Denied Access to My Personal Information?
Your right to access your personal information is not absolute. Access may be denied when, for example: denial of access is required or authorized by law (for example, when a record containing personal information 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 your request for access to your information is denied, or your request to correct information is refused, you will be told why. Mahmud Law does not use your Social Insurance Number as a way of identifying or organizing your personal information.
Credit bureaus
To assist in making credit decisions about clients, prevent fraud, check the identify of new clients and prevent money-laundering, information about you may be requested, with your consent, from the files of consumer reporting agencies.
Communicating with Mahmud Law
Communication via e-mail over the Internet is generally not considered 100% secure, as compared to other more traditional modes of communication. Please advise in writing if you do not wish to communicate with me via e-mail over the Internet.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
Mahmud Law regularly reviews all of its policies and procedures. The Privacy Policy may change from time to time.
Requests for Access
If you have any privacy questions, or wish to access your personal information, please contact Mahmud Law at admin@najiamahmudlaw.com.
WebSite
This website may contain links to other sites. These sites are not governed by this privacy policy. On Mahmud Law’s website, like most other commercial websites, traffic patterns, site usage and related site information ,may be monitored in order to optimize web service. Aggregated information may be provided to third parties, which will not include any identifiable personal information.