PRIVACY NOTICE FOR ALEXANDER CHAMBERS:-

Our Head of Chambers Lee Gledhill is the Data Officer for Chambers, which is run in his name, as well as Data Officer for his own practice. Note that each barrister in Chambers is also a Data Officer for their own practice. To speak to a Data Officer, contact out clerks: clerks@alexanderchambers.co.uk

Our website address is: https://alexanderchambers.co.uk.

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1. Alexander Barristers Chambers and Alexander Chambers (hereinafter ‘Chambers’) are the corporate names used by a collective of independent barristers who provide legal and other services. Please read the following information carefully. This privacy notice contains information about the information collected, stored and otherwise processed about you and the reasons for the processing. It also tells you who we share this information with, the security mechanisms we have put in place to protect your data and how to contact us in the event you need further information.
2. Who Are We?
3. Members, pupils, mini pupils and staff at Chambers collect, use and are responsible for personal information about our staff and our clients and website visitors. When we do this we are the ‘controller’ of this information for the purposes of the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 1998.
4. This document sets out how any individual lawyer (and their staff) at Chambers will use and retain such data.
5. If you need to contact Chambers about your data or the processing carried out you can use the contact form or call us.
6. What do we do with your information?
7. Information collected when carrying on our business and practices (legal services), processing applications or providing references we may collect and process all some of the following personal information that you provide:
8. a. personal details
9. b. family details
10. c. lifestyle and social circumstances
11. d. goods and services
12. e. financial details
13. f. education, training and employment details
14. g. physical or mental health details
15. h. racial or ethnic origin
16. i. political opinions
17. j. religious, philosophical or other beliefs
18. k. trade union membership
19. l. sex life or sexual orientation
20. m. genetic data
21. n. biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person
22. o. criminal proceedings, outcomes and sentences, and related security measures
23. p. other personal data relevant to instructions to provide legal services, including data specific to the instructions in question.
24. Information collected from other sources The same categories of information may also be obtained from third parties, such as other legal professionals or experts, members of the public, your family and friends, witnesses, courts and other tribunals, investigators, government departments, regulators, and public records and registers.
25. How we use your personal information: Purposes We may use your personal information for the following purposes:
26. i. to provide legal services, including the provision of legal advice and representation in courts, tribunals, arbitrations, and mediations;
27. ii. to keep accounting records and carry out office administration;
28. iii. to take or defend legal or regulatory proceedings or to exercise a lien;
29. iv. to respond to potential complaints or make complaints;
30. v. to check for potential conflicts of interest in relation to future potential cases;
31. vi. to promote and market our services, but where this is done you will be anonymised where appropriate;
32. vii. to carry out anti-money laundering and terrorist financing checks;
33. viii. to train other barristers and when providing work-shadowing opportunities;
34. ix. to respond to requests for references;
35. x. to publish legal judgments and decisions of courts and tribunals;
36. xi. as required or permitted by law.
37. Whether information has to be provided by you, and why
38. If we have been instructed by you or on your behalf on a case, your personal information has to be provided, to enable us to provide you with advice or representation, and to enable us to comply with our professional obligations, and to keep accounting records.
39. The legal basis for processing your personal information
40. If you have consented to the processing of your personal information, then we may process your information for the purposes set out above to the extent to which you have consented to us doing so.
41. If you are a client, processing is necessary for the performance of a contract for legal services or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract. It is implied by your using our services that you agree to processing and retention of data.
42. In relation to information which is in categories (g) to (o) above (these being categories which are considered to include particularly sensitive information and which include information about criminal convictions or proceedings) we rely on your consent for any processing for the purposes set out in purposes (ii), (iv), (vi), (viii) and (ix) above. We need your consent to carry out processing of this data for these purposes. However, if you do not consent to processing for purposes (iv) and (ix) (responding to potential complaints and providing a reference) we will be unable to take your case. This is because we need to be able to retain all the material about your case until there is no prospect of a complaint and to provide an informed and complete reference. In relation to information in categories (g) to (o) above (these being categories which are considered to be particularly sensitive information and include information about criminal convictions or proceedings), we are entitled by law to process the information where the processing is necessary for legal proceedings, legal advice, or otherwise for establishing, exercising or defending legal rights.In relation to information which is not in categories (g) to (o) above, we rely on our legitimate interest and/or the legitimate interests of a third party in carrying out the processing for the Purposes set out above.
43. In certain circumstances processing may be necessary in order that we can comply with a legal obligation to which we are subject (including carrying out anti-money laundering or terrorist financing checks). The processing is necessary to publish judgments or other decisions of courts or tribunals.
44. Who will I share your personal information with? If you are a client, some of the information you provide will be protected by Legal Professional Privilege unless and until the information becomes public in the course of any proceedings or otherwise. As barristers, we have an obligation to keep your information confidential, except where it otherwise becomes public or is disclosed as part of the case or proceedings.
45. It may be necessary to share your information with the following:
46. data processors, such as IT support staff, email providers, data storage providers; other legal professionals; experts and other witnesses; prosecution authorities; courts and tribunals; the staff in chambers; trainee barristers including pupils and mini-pupils; lay clients; family and associates of the person whose personal information we are processing; other members of chambers in order to discuss your case or ensure cover of hearings where the barrister managing your case is not available; barristers and staff at other chamber or law firms, where a lawyer is not available to cover your case and a lawyer at another chambers/firm needs to be instructed; in the event of complaints, the Head of Chambers, other members of Chambers who deal with complaints, the Bar Standards Board, and the Legal Ombudsman; other regulatory authorities; current, past or prospective employers; education and examining bodies; business associates, professional advisers and trade bodies, e.g. the Bar Council; the intended recipient, where you have asked Chambers to provide a reference. the general public in relation to the publication of legal judgments and decisions of courts and tribunals. We may be required to provide your information to regulators, such as the Bar Standards Board, the Financial Conduct Authority or the Information Commissioner’s Office. In the case of the Information Commissioner’s Office, there is a risk that your information may lawfully be disclosed by them for the purpose of any other civil or criminal proceedings, without our consent or yours, which includes privileged information.
47. We may also be required to disclose your information to the police or intelligence services, where required or permitted by law.
48. The personal information we obtain may include information which has been obtained from:
49. other legal professionals experts and other witnesses prosecution authorities courts and tribunals trainee barristers lay clients family and associates of the person whose personal information I am processing in the event of complaints, the Head of Chambers, other members of Chambers who deal with complaints, the Bar Standards Board, and the Legal Ombudsman other regulatory authorities current, past or prospective employers education and examining bodies business associates, professional advisers and trade bodies, e.g. the Bar Council the intended recipient, where you have asked me to provide a reference. the general public in relation to the publication of legal judgments and decisions of courts and tribunals data processors, such as IT support staff, email providers, data storage providers public sources, such as the press, public registers and law reports.
50. Cloud data storage services based in the USA who have agreed to comply with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, in order to enable storage of your data and/or backup copies of your data so that it can be accessed when required. The USA does not have the same data protection laws as the EU but the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield has been recognised by the European Commission as providing adequate protection. To obtain further details of that protection see https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/data-transfers-outside-eu/eu-us-privacy-shield_en.
51. Cloud data storage services based in Switzerland, in order to enable storage of your data and/or backup copies of your data so that it can be accessed when required. Switzerland does not have the same data protection laws as the EU but has been recognised by the European Commission as providing adequate protection; see https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/data-transfers-outside-eu/adequacy-protection-personal-data-non-eu-countries_en
52. If you would like any further information please use the contact details at the end of this document.
53. How long will Chambers store your personal data?
54. We will normally store all your information as follows:
55. Until at least 1 year after the expiry of any relevant limitation period (which will usually be 6 years, but may be 12 years, or longer where the case includes information relating to a minor), from the date of the last item of work carried out, the date of the last payment received or the date on which all outstanding payments are written off, whichever is the latest. At this point any further retention will be reviewed and the data will be marked for deletion or marked for retention for a further period. The latter retention period is likely to occur only where the information is likely to be needed for legal proceedings, regulatory matters or active complaints. Deletion will be carried out (without further notice to you) as soon as reasonably practicable after the data is marked for deletion.
56. Circumstances in which data is likely to be retained beyond 1 year after the expiry of the relevant limitation period include where a lengthy sentence has been imposed and an appeal against sentence or conviction, or a complaint, remain possible. In such a case your information will be retained until such an appeal or complaint is no longer a realistic possibility.
57. We will store some of your information for which we need to carry out conflict checks for the rest of a barrister’s career. However, this is likely to be limited to your name and contact details or the name of the case. This will not include any information within categories (g) to (o) above.
58. Information related to anti-money laundering checks will be retained until five years after the completion of the transaction or the end of the business relationship, whichever is the later; Names and contact details held for marketing purposes will be stored indefinitely or until we become aware or are informed that the individual has ceased to be a potential client.
59. Consent As explained above, we are relying on your explicit consent to process your information in categories (g) to (o) above. You provided this consent when you agreed that a barrister at Chambers would provide legal services.
60. You have the right to withdraw this consent at any time, but this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing activity we have carried out prior to you withdrawing your consent. However, where we also rely on other bases for processing your information, you may not be able to prevent processing of your data. For example, if you have asked a barrister to work for you and the barrister has spent time on your case, we may owe you money which you will be entitled to claim. The withdrawal of your consent will also not affect the lawful retention of your information for the purposes of a potential complaint or appeal, in accordance with our retention policy.
61. If there is an issue with the processing of your information, please contact Chambers using the contact details below.
62. Your Rights Under the GDPR, you have a number of rights that you can exercise in certain circumstances. These are free of charge. In summary, you may have the right to:
63. Ask for access to your personal information and other supplementary information; Ask for correction of mistakes in your data or to complete missing information held on you; Ask for your personal information to be erased, in certain circumstances; Receive a copy of the personal information you have provided to us or have this information sent to a third party. This will be provided to you or the third party in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format, e.g. a Word file; Object at any time to processing of your personal information for direct marketing; Object in certain other situations to the continued processing of your personal information; Restrict processing of your personal information in certain circumstances; Request not to be the subject to automated decision-making which produces legal effects that concern you or affects you in a significant way. If you want more information about your rights under the GDPR please see the Guidance from the Information Commissioners Office on Individual’s rights under the GDPR.
64. If you want to exercise any of these rights, please:
65. Use the contact details at the end of this document; Provide sufficient information so that you can be identified; Provide a contact address so that you can be contacted to request further information to verify your identity; Provide proof of your identity and address; State the right or rights that you wish to exercise. We will respond to you within one month from when we receive your request.
66. Marketing Emails Please note if you wish to unsubscribe from any marketing emails that you have signed up for, you can do so by emailing us. It may take 5 working days for this to become effective. We generally do not send marketing emails.
67. How to make a complaint? The GDPR also gives you the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners’ Office if you are in the UK, or with the supervisory authority of the Member State where you work, normally live or where the alleged infringement of data protection laws occurred. The Information Commissioner’s Office can be contacted at http://ico.org.uk/concerns/.
68. Future Processing
69. Chambers does not intend to process your personal information except for the reasons stated within this privacy notice. If this changes, this privacy notice will be amended and placed on the website.
70. Changes to this privacy notice
71. This privacy notice was published on 25/1/21 and last updated on that date.
72. What personal data we collect and why we collect it
73. Comments
74. When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
75. An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
76. Media
77. If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
78. Contact forms
79. Any information you send us via our contact form will be processed in accordance with this policy.
80. Cookies
81. If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
82. If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
83. When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
84. If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
85. Embedded content from other websites
86. Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
87. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
88. Analytics
89. We use Google Analytics and they have their own published policies on such data.
90. For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
91. What rights you have over your data
92. If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
93. Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
94. How we protect your data
95. We keep data secure on cloud or our systems.
96. What data breach procedures we have in place. We act in accordance with the policies and protocols set down in law, and set out by the Information Data Commissioner.

ALEXANDER CHAMBERS