Privacy Policy
Under data protection legislation and GDPR, we must outline the basis upon which we process your personal data.
Our Data Protection Officer is Harry Price-Smith.
On the basis that we act for you in your matter, we have to process your personal data so we can make a proper record of your case and comply with the regulatory framework that we are governed by. We only process the personal data that we have to in order to represent you. This includes both special category and criminal offence data.
The lawful process of collecting and processing your data is the contract that we have with you as our client and/or our legitimate interest in acting as a criminal defence firm.
We may share your personal data with third parties including, but not limited to, the Courts, the Prosecution, experts, and people we instruct to represent you. Where your case is funded by legal aid, your data will be shared with the Legal Aid Agency and we refer you to the Legal Aid Agency’s own privacy notice.
Your personal data will not be kept for any longer than is necessary. We usually keep your personal data for a period of 6 years from the conclusion of your case because this is the timescale that you can make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. If you were to receive a sentence that is longer than 6 years, we will retain your file until the conclusion of your sentence in case you wish to make any appeal prior to your sentence expiring.
You can make a “subject access request” to find out what data we hold about you. This should be made to our Data Protection Officer on our usual contact details which can be found on the first letter sent to you.
If you believe that your personal data has been handled incorrectly, we encourage you to make a complaint to our Data Protection Officer who can then consider whether any breach should be referred to the Information Commission’s Office. We confirm that you can also make a complaint directly to the Information Commission’s Office and refer you to their website, namely www.ico.co.uk.