Privacy Policy
Privacy Practices
Michaels & Michaels, Barristers & Solicitors ("Michaels" or "we") are committed to protecting the personal information that we collect, use and disclose in the course of providing legal services and operating our law firm, in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements, including applicable privacy legislation, and consistent with our professional obligations. As practicing lawyers we have professional and ethical obligations to maintain information we have received within our client relationships in confidence. This Privacy Policy supplements our professional obligations of client confidentiality and sets out in general terms how we collect, use, disclose and protect the personal information of our clients, other individuals and our web site users ("you").
Personal Information Collected by Michaels
Privacy legislation in Canada defines "personal information" broadly as any information about an identifiable individual. In general, personal information does not include business contact information, including your name, title or position, business, telephone or facsimile number. Michaels generally collects personal information that you voluntarily provide, but we may collect information from third parties and as agents on behalf of our clients where we or they have obtained the requisite consent, or as otherwise permitted or required by law. We may also collect information through our website, although that information is typically restricted to your name and email address.
Consent
We will obtain your consent prior to collecting, using or disclosing personal information for any purpose, except where otherwise permitted or required by law. Consent may be provided orally or in writing or may be implied, such as where you continue to provide personal information to us in the context of our ongoing relationship, or where you provide members of Michaels with non-business contact information in connection with our service offerings. By providing personal information to Michaels, you consent to our collection, use and disclosure of such personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and as permitted or required by law. To the extent that you provide personal information of another individual to Michaels, you represent that you have the necessary consent or authority to permit us to collect, use and disclose such personal information for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.
Use of Your Personal Information
Michaels collects, uses and discloses personal information primarily to provide advice and legal and other services to clients and prospective clients, for administrative and relationship management purposes (including to develop and manage our knowledge management systems, and to market and deliver Michaels services) and as otherwise permitted or required by law. We may from time to time use third party service providers to perform certain functions for us, such as office services and data processing. In these circumstances, such third party service providers are contractually bound to safeguard the personal information transferred to them with measures comparable to that provided by us and described in this Privacy Policy and not to retain, use or disclose personal information transferred to them for any purpose other than the provision of services to Michaels. Personal information supplied to Michaels is confidential and we do not distribute such information to any third party except with your consent or as permitted or required by law. Michaels does not sell personal information.
Disclosure of Your Personal Information
We do not collect, use or disclose personal information without consent unless authorized or required by law to do so, such as in the following circumstances:
if a client provides personal information about third parties to us for purposes of our legal representation or advice to the client;
where a court order or subpoena is issued, or under applicable rules of production, a regulatory or other body with jurisdiction to compel production so requires;
when the information is publicly available within the meaning of applicable privacy legislation, such as in professional or other directories, in public registries, publicly-filed court records or information appearing in published form;
if we are investigating the breach of an agreement, a legal duty or contravention of a law and obtaining consent would compromise the investigation or the accuracy of the information;
if we are required to disclose personal information to a lawful authority;
as otherwise authorized by law.
Retention
Michaels only keeps personal information as long as it is required for the reasons it was collected or to comply with law or professional standards. We have procedures dealing with the destruction or deletion of personal information no longer required for the purposes for which it was collected.
Accuracy
It is important that your personal information be accurate and up-to-date. During the course of our retainer, we ask that you provide us with any changes to your personal information..
Security
Your personal information is treated as private, confidential information by Michaels and we strive to ensure that your personal information, regardless of format, is protected and kept secure at all times. Most methods of communication are not fully secure and security measures may create challenges to the efficient exchange of information. Email is often our preferred method of communication and unless you object we usually use unencrypted plain text emails when communicating with you
Access to Your Personal Information
You may request access to any personal information we have about you. We can help you identify what information we may have about you. In some cases, we may deny access to your personal information. If we deny your request for access, or refuse a request to correct information, we shall explain why.
Inquiries
If you have any questions or concerns about your personal information, please feel free to contact us at: info@michaelslaw.ca.
Amendements
Michaels reserves the right to modify or amend this Privacy Policy from time to time and we encourage you to refer back to this Policy regularly.