CHARLES EYTON-JONES LAW OFFICE

PRIVACY POLICY

______________________________________________________________________

Charles Eyton-Jones Law Office is committed to maintaining the accuracy, security and privacy of personal information in accordance with the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Rules of Professional Conduct. As a law office we have a professional obligation to keep all information we receive within a lawyer-client relationship confidential. This Privacy Policy outlines the procedures we use to manage your personal information and safeguard your privacy rights.

Charles Eyton-Jones Law Office is responsible for the personal information we collect, use, maintain and disclose. To ensure this accountability, we have developed this policy, and trained our lawyers and support staff about our policies and practices.

Your Privacy Rights

From January 1, 2004, all organizations engaged in commercial activities have been required to comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (the "Act"), these obligations extend to lawyers and law firms. Although, as a law office, we have always been obligated by to maintain the confidentiality of client information, the Act gives you additional rights concerning the privacy of your personal information.

What is "Personal Information?"

Personal information is any information that identifies you, or by which your identity could be deduced. This includes your name, home address, telephone number, personal email address, billing and account information and any information about any legal issue. Personal information does not include the name or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization.

Why Do We Collect Personal Information from You?

Charles Eyton-Jones Office collects personal information from our clients to:

establish and manage client relationships,

provide legal services to you, in accordance with your instructions,

avoid conflicts of interest

bill you for legal services rendered,

provide information to you about developments in the law

for any other purpose to which you consent

How Do We Collect Your Personal Information?

Charles Eyton-Jones Office endeavours to collect information by lawful and fair means only and not indiscriminately. We may collect personal information directly from you at the start of a retainer and in the course of our representation of you.

Sometimes we may also obtain information about you from other sources, for example:

your insurance company;

your real estate agent in a property transaction;

a government agency or registry;

your employer, if we are acting for you at your employer’s request;

your accountant; and

other consultants obtained by you to assist with your legal concerns.

Consent

 

Your provision of Personal Information to Charles Eyton-Jones Law Office means that you agree and consent that Charles Eyton-Jones Law Office can collect, use and disclose your Personal Information in compliance with this Privacy Policy. Charles Eyton-Jones Law Office will not collect, use or disclose a client’s Personal Information without the client’s consent, except in certain extraordinary circumstances. Such extraordinary circumstances can include without limitation, when legal, medical or security reasons make it impossible or impractical to obtain consent or where it is otherwise in the best interests of the client.

The most common method we use to obtain a client’s consent is by way of the client’s oral consent as confirmed by a retainer letter or, where applicable, by client intake questionnaire. Where practicable, we may also obtain a client’s consent through oral communications. You may also consent by implied means such as when you have previously provided Personal Information to us and continue to use our services on other matters or where you provide us with your personal telephone number so that we can contact you at home or place of work.

Our clients may withdraw their consent by written notice to us at any time, subject to any legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. A client’s refusal to provide, or subsequent withdrawal of, his or her consent may affect Charles Eyton-Jones Law Office’s ability to provide the client with professional services. A member of Charles Eyton-Jones Law Office will inform the client of the implications of such withdrawal. To withdraw consent, a client should contact the office in writing at:

    Charles Eyton-Jones Law Office
    1238 Kingston Road
    Toronto, Ontario, M1N 1P3

Use of Your Information

When we use your personal information to provide legal advice and services to you, including for billing purposes and when we use your personal information to include you in any direct marketing activities, we will assume that you have consented to such use unless you specifically advise otherwise. If you tell us that you no longer wish to receive information about our services, or about new developments in the law, we will not send any further material.

Charles Eyton-Jones Law Office does not disclose your personal information to any third party to enable them to market their products and services without first obtaining express consent from you.

Disclosure of Your Personal Information

Under certain circumstances, we may disclose your personal information:

when we are required our authorized by law to do so, for example if a court issues a subpoena;

when you have consented to the disclosure;

when the legal services we are providing to you require us to give your information to a third party (for example, to a lender in a real estate mortgage transaction) your consent will be implied, unless you tell us otherwise;

where it is necessary to establish or collect fees;

if we engage a third party to provide administrative services to us (like computer back-up services or archival file storage) and the third party is bound by our privacy policy;

if we engage expert witnesses on your behalf;

if we retain other law firms in other jurisdictions, on your behalf; or

if the information is already publicly known.

Updating Your Information

Since we use your personal information to provide legal services to you, it is important that the information be accurate and up-to-date.

If, during the course of the retainer, any of your information changes, please inform us so that we can make any necessary changes.

Is My Personal Information Secure?

Charles Eyton-Jones Law Office takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Among the steps taken to protect your information are:

 

premises security;

restricted access to personal information stored electronically;

deploying technological safeguards like security software and firewalls to prevent hacking or unauthorized computer access;

internal password and security policies;

obligation of each lawyer to maintain client confidentiality under the Rules of Professional Conduct of the Law Society of Upper Canada;

Access to Your Personal Information

You may ask for access to any personal information we hold about you. Access requests should be sent to our Office Manager at jean@eyton-jones.ca.

 

Can I be Denied Access to My Personal Information?

Your rights to access your personal information are not absolute.

We may deny access when:

 

denial of access is required or authorized by law (for example, when a record containing personal information about you is subject to a claim of legal professional privilege by one of our clients);

information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings against you;

when granting you access would have an unreasonable impact on other people’s privacy;

when to do so would prejudice negotiations with you;

to protect our firm’s rights and property;

where the request is frivolous or vexatious.

If we deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct information, we shall explain why.

Can I Request Anonymity?

Whenever it is legal and practical, we may elect to deal with general inquiries on an anonymous basis (for example, by accessing general information on our website).

How Long Do You Keep My Personal Information?

We keep your personal information as long as is reasonably necessary for us to complete our dealings with you, or as may be required by law, whichever is longer.

Web Site

We may also collect personal information on our website (www.eyton-jones.ca). We only collect the information you provide to us voluntarily by sending us an e-mail message, completing forms or using the links contained on the website. Charles Eyton-Jones Law Office collects and uses your name, address, telephone number, email address and other information you submit on or through the website for the purposes for which you provided the personal information, to respond to your inquiries (and applications for positions), and to provide you with updates and information that we think may be of interest to you. In providing Charles Eyton-Jones Law Office with any personal information on or through this website, you consent to the collection and use of that information for these stated purposes. We currently do not use cookies on this website. "Cookies" are small text files that recognize repeat visitors and track their visits to a website.

Communicating with Us

You should be aware that email is not a 100% secure medium, and you should be aware of this when contacting us to send personal or confidential information. If you do not wish us to communicate with you by email, please contact the office to make alternative arrangements.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

Since Charles Eyton-Jones Law Office regularly reviews all of its policies and procedures, we may change our Privacy Policy at any time. Please review our website regularly for updates.

Request for Access

If you have any questions, or wish to access your personal information, please write to Charles Eyton-Jones Barrister and Solicitor.

Inquiries /Complaints

If you have any questions or concerns about how your personal information has, is or will be handled by Charles Eyton-Jones Law Office or if you would like to register a complaint, please contact our Office Manager, Jean Eyton-Jones.