PRIVACY POLICY
MBACB Law is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy in accordance with UK data protection legislation.
1. Introduction
This privacy policy explains how MBACB Law (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, and protects your personal data when you use our services, visit our website, or interact with us in any other way. We are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
By providing your personal data to us, you acknowledge that we will process it in the manner described in this policy. We may update this policy from time to time, so please review it periodically.
2. Data Controller
For the purpose of the UK GDPR, the data controller is Miriam Bailey-Parkyns trading as MBACB Law. Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted at consult@mbacblaw.com.
3. Information We Collect
Personal Data You Provide
We may collect and process the following personal data about you:
- Contact information including name, address, email address, and telephone number
- Identity verification documents and information
- Financial information for billing purposes
- Case-related information and documentation
- Employment details where relevant to your matter
- Any other personal data you choose to provide to us
Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our website, we may automatically collect technical information including:
- Internet protocol (IP) address
- Browser type and version
- Time zone setting and location
- Browser plug-in types and versions
- Operating system and platform
4. How We Use Your Information
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
- To provide legal services and advice in accordance with your instructions
- To manage our relationship with you as a client
- To process payments and maintain financial records
- To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations
- To prevent fraud and money laundering
- To communicate with you about our services
- To improve our website and services
5. Legal Basis for Processing
We process your personal data on the following legal bases:
Contractual Necessity
Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are party or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.
Legal Obligation
Processing is necessary for compliance with our legal obligations, including anti-money laundering regulations and professional conduct rules.
Legitimate Interests
Processing is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests in running our legal practice, except where such interests are overridden by your interests or fundamental rights.
Consent
In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent for specific processing activities, which you may withdraw at any time.
6. Data Sharing and Disclosure
We may share your personal data with:
- Third-party service providers who assist us in delivering our services
- Professional advisers including barristers, experts, and other lawyers
- Courts, tribunals, and other judicial bodies
- Regulatory authorities when required by law
- Law enforcement agencies where necessary
We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
7. International Transfers
We do not routinely transfer your personal data outside the United Kingdom. In the event that international transfer is necessary for your matter, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with UK data protection law.
8. Data Security
We have implemented appropriate technical and organisational security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised way. These measures include:
- Secure storage of physical records
- Encryption of electronic data
- Access controls and authentication procedures
- Regular security assessments
- Staff training on data protection
We have procedures in place to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.
9. Data Retention
We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
In general, we retain client files for a minimum of six years from the conclusion of your matter, in accordance with our professional obligations. Some data may be retained for longer periods where required by specific legal or regulatory requirements.
10. Your Legal Rights
Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data:
- Right of access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Right to rectification: You have the right to correct incomplete or inaccurate personal data we hold about you.
- Right to erasure: You have the right to request deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances.
- Right to restriction: You have the right to request that we suspend processing of your personal data.
- Right to data portability: You have the right to request transfer of your personal data to another party.
- Right to object: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data.
You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive, or excessive.
11. Cookies
Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.
A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will post any changes on this page and, where appropriate, notify you by email.
This version replaces all previous versions of our privacy policy.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us:
By email: consult@mbacblaw.com
You also have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO, so please contact us in the first instance.