Privacy Policy

Duthie & Co LLP ("Duthie Law", "we", "us" or "our") is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal information when you visit our website, contact us, make an enquiry or otherwise interact with us.

Duthie & Co LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales under number OC387650. We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority ("SRA") under number 607395.

Our registered office is:

Email: adam.duthie@duthielaw.co.uk

Telephone: +44 1582 460 000

1. Who is responsible for your personal information?

For the purposes of applicable data protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation ("UK GDPR"), the Data Protection Act 2018 and related legislation as amended from time to time, Duthie & Co LLP is generally the data controller of the personal information described in this Privacy Policy.

This means that we determine how and why your personal information is processed.

2. Personal information we may collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with us.

Website and enquiry information

When you contact us through the website, by email, telephone or another method, we may collect:

• your name;
• your email address;
• your telephone number;
• the name of your business or organisation;
• the contents of your enquiry or message;
• information relating to the legal matter about which you contact us; and
• records of our correspondence with you.

Client and legal matter information

If you become a client, or if we are considering whether we can act for you, we may also collect information including:

• identification and contact information;
• business and professional information;
• company ownership and corporate structure information;
• financial information;
• information relating to transactions, investments or commercial arrangements;
• identity verification and anti-money laundering information;
• correspondence, contracts and other documents;
• information relating to counterparties, directors, shareholders, employees, advisers and other individuals involved in a matter; and
• any other information necessary for us to provide legal services or comply with our legal and professional obligations.

Special category and criminal offence information

Depending on the nature of a legal matter, information provided to us may occasionally include special category personal data or information relating to criminal convictions and offences.

Where we process such information, we will only do so where permitted by applicable law, including where processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, to provide legal services, to comply with legal or regulatory obligations, or where another appropriate legal condition applies.

Technical information

When you visit our website, certain technical information may be collected automatically, including:

• IP address;
• browser type and version;
• device type;
• operating system;
• pages visited;
• date and time of access;
• referring website; and
• other technical information required for the operation, security and performance of the website.

Please see our Cookie Policy for further information.

3. How we obtain personal information

We may obtain personal information:

• directly from you;
• from your business, employer or representatives;
• from other parties involved in a legal matter;
• from other solicitors, accountants, financial advisers and professional advisers;
• from Companies House and other public registers;
• from publicly available sources;
• from identity verification and due diligence providers;
• from courts, tribunals, regulators and public authorities; and
• from third parties where this is lawful and relevant to the services we provide.

4. How we use your personal information

We may process personal information for the following purposes.

Responding to enquiries

We use information submitted through our website, email or telephone to:

• respond to your enquiry;
• understand the nature of the assistance you require;
• determine whether we are able to act for you;
• carry out conflict checks; and
• communicate with you about potential legal services.

Our lawful basis will generally be taking steps at your request before entering into a contract and/or our legitimate interests in operating and managing our legal practice.

Providing legal services

Where you become a client, we process information in order to:

• provide legal advice and services;
• communicate with you;
• manage your matter;
• prepare and review legal documentation;
• negotiate with other parties and professional advisers;
• complete transactions;
• manage billing and payments; and
• maintain appropriate records.

Our lawful bases may include performance of a contract, compliance with legal obligations and our legitimate interests in providing and managing professional legal services.

Legal, regulatory and professional obligations

We may process personal information in order to:

• comply with anti-money laundering and identity verification requirements;
• comply with our professional obligations as an SRA-regulated law firm;
• carry out conflict checks;
• prevent and detect fraud or other unlawful activity;
• maintain records required by law or professional rules;
• respond to regulators, courts and public authorities; and
• establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Administration and security

We may process personal information to:

• operate and administer our business;
• maintain the security of our website and IT systems;
• prevent fraud, misuse and cyber security threats;
• maintain backups and business continuity systems; and
• improve the operation and reliability of our services.

We generally rely on our legitimate interests for these activities, together with legal obligations where applicable.

Marketing

Where permitted by law, we may use your contact information to send you information about our services or legal developments that we reasonably believe may be relevant to you.

Where consent is required, we will obtain it before sending such communications.

You can ask us to stop sending marketing communications at any time.

5. Our lawful bases for processing

Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

• Contract – where processing is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you.
• Legal obligation – where processing is necessary to comply with a legal or regulatory requirement.
• Legitimate interests – where processing is necessary for our legitimate business or professional interests and those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
• Consent – where you have specifically consented to a particular use of your information.
• Legal claims and other applicable conditions – where additional conditions are required for special category or criminal offence information.

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.

6. Sharing your personal information

We do not sell your personal information.

Where necessary and lawful, information may be shared with:

• solicitors, barristers, counsel and other legal professionals;
• accountants, tax advisers and other professional advisers;
• counterparties and their advisers;
• banks, financial institutions and transaction parties;
• courts and tribunals;
• the Solicitors Regulation Authority and other regulators;
• law enforcement agencies and public authorities;
• Companies House and other official bodies;
• identity verification and anti-money laundering providers;
• insurers;
• IT, hosting, email, cyber security and software providers;
• document storage and administration providers; and
• other suppliers acting on our behalf.

Any service provider processing personal information on our behalf is required to handle that information appropriately and in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

We may also disclose information where required by law, regulation, court order or our professional obligations.

7. Confidentiality and legal professional privilege

As a law firm, we are subject to professional duties of confidentiality.

Certain communications and information may also be protected by legal professional privilege.

Nothing in this Privacy Policy is intended to waive legal professional privilege or any other duty of confidentiality owed by us.

8. International transfers

Some of the technology or service providers that support our business may process or store information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that it receives an adequate level of protection in accordance with applicable UK data protection law.

This may include relying on UK adequacy regulations or appropriate contractual and organisational safeguards.

9. How long we keep personal information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including to meet legal, regulatory, professional, accounting and reporting requirements.

The appropriate retention period will depend on factors including:

• the nature of the information;
• whether you become a client;
• the nature and duration of the legal matter;
• our professional and regulatory obligations;
• applicable limitation periods;
• the possibility of legal claims; and
• applicable anti-money laundering and record-keeping requirements.

Information relating to an enquiry that does not result in an engagement may be retained for a reasonable period for conflict-checking, regulatory, administrative and legal purposes.

Client files may be retained for longer periods where necessary to satisfy legal and professional obligations or protect the interests of the firm and its clients.

10. Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against:

• unauthorised access;
• accidental loss;
• misuse;
• alteration;
• disclosure; and
• destruction.

Access to personal information is restricted to individuals and service providers who require it for legitimate purposes.

No internet-based system can, however, be guaranteed to be completely secure.

11. Your rights

Subject to applicable law and certain exemptions, you may have the right to:

• request access to personal information we hold about you;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• request deletion of your information;
• request restriction of processing;
• object to certain processing;
• request transfer of your information in certain circumstances;
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and
• raise a complaint about how your information is being processed.

Some of these rights are subject to legal and professional restrictions. For example, we may need to retain information to comply with legal or regulatory obligations or where information is protected by duties owed to another person.

To exercise your rights, please contact us at:

adam.duthie@duthielaw.co.uk

We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request.

12. Right to object

Where we process your personal information on the basis of legitimate interests, you have the right to object to that processing in certain circumstances.

You also have the right to object at any time to the use of your personal information for direct marketing purposes.

13. Complaints about data protection

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal information, please contact us in the first instance so that we can investigate the matter.

You also have the right to complain to the UK data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office ("ICO").

Further information is available at www.ico.org.uk.

14. Third-party websites

Our website may contain links to websites operated by third parties.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of third-party websites. We recommend reviewing the privacy policy of any third-party website you visit.

15. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our services, technology, legal obligations or regulatory requirements.

The latest version will be published on this website and the "Last updated" date will be amended accordingly.

16. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we process personal information, please contact:

Email: adam.duthie@duthielaw.co.uk

Telephone: +44 1582 460 000