McTague Law Firm LLP’s Commitment to Maintaining Your Privacy

McTague Law Firm LLP has always recognized the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information. We see our compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) as not only a federal obligation, but also another way we continue to provide exceptional service.

As lawyers we have a professional obligation to keep confidential all information we receive within a lawyer-client relationship. We are committed to protecting any personal information we hold. This Privacy Policy outlines how we manage your personal information and safeguard your privacy. By retaining us, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information (as defined below) in accordance with the following terms and conditions.

From January 1, 2004, all businesses engaged in commercial activities must comply with PIPEDA. These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms, including McTague Law Firm LLP. The Act gives you rights concerning the privacy of your personal information. McTague Law Firm LLP is responsible for the personal information we collect and hold. To ensure this accountability, we have developed this Privacy Policy, and trained our lawyers and support staff about our policies and practices.

This Privacy Policy also explains how you can contact us if you have a question about, want to make a change to, or delete, any personal information we may be holding about you. We strongly recommend that you take the time to read this Privacy Statement and retain it for your future reference.

Personal Information

McTague Law Firm LLP provides legal services and products to a wide range of clients. Personal Information is any information that identifies you, or by which your identity could be deduced. If we did not collect and use your personal information we could not provide you with legal services.

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, “personal information” means information about the identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title, business address, or telephone number.

What Personal Information We Collect

When you retain us, we will collect personal information from you that we require in order to provide you with the requested service(s). The type of information we collect will depend on the nature of the requested service(s), but may include some of the following:

• Contact Information (such as name, address, e-mail address, telephone number);
  
• Proof of Identity (such as signature or driver’s license number);
  
• Financial Information (such as salary information and insurance coverage); and
  
• Medical information

McTague Law Firm LLP limits the collection of personal information to the amount and type of information necessary for the purposes we identify. All information is collected by fair and lawful means. McTague Law Firm LLP clearly identifies the purposes for which personal information is gathered prior to, or at the time of collection. If you are unclear about the purpose for which we collect information, ask us. As well, if you feel that our purpose for collecting any information is not necessary to your particular case, you do not have to provide us with that information.

How We Use Your Information

• provide legal advice and services to you;
  
• administer our client (time and billing) databases;
  
• communicate with third parties on your behalf; and
  
• develop and maintain our relationship with you.

Disclosure of your personal information

We may share personal information with third parties engaged to assist us in providing services to you or to carry out one or more of the purposes described above. These other service providers are prohibited from using your personal information for any purpose other than to provide this assistance and are required to protect personal information disclosed by us and to comply with the general privacy principles described in this Privacy Policy. We disclose your personal information to such parties on an “as needed” basis only.

We reserve the right to disclose personal information to a third party if a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order legally requires or authorizes us to do so.

Consent

We collect personal information about you only when you voluntarily provide it. Typically, we will seek consent for the use or disclosure of your personal information at the time you retain us. In certain circumstances, consent may be sought after the information has been collected but before use.

Depending on the nature of the services requested it may also be necessary for us to collect personal information about you from a third party (such as governmental agencies, accountants, financial institutions, family member, your employer, or another lawyer). We obtain your consent to this collection at the time you retain us.

You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. If you wish to withdraw your consent at any time, please contact Brian Chillman, our Privacy Officer, in the manner set out below. We will inform you of the implications of withdrawing consent.

How We Protect Your Personal Information

McTague Law Firm LLP takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. This protection applies in relation to information stored in both electronic and hard copy form. Among the steps taken to protect your information are:

• premises security;
  
• restricted file access to personal information;
  
• use of technological safeguards like security software and firewalls to prevent hacking or unauthorized computer access; and
• internal password and security policies.

Unless we need to share your personal information as part of our retainer, all information you give us will be kept strictly confidential. If you provide us with an email address, you authorize us to send to you correspondence, documents and other information related to your matter that may be protected by a solicitor-and-client or other privilege (or otherwise be categorized by you as confidential or private in nature) through the use of the internet (and in particularly, email) which is not a 100% secured medium. As a result, we cannot assure the security of any information transmitted to us and you do so at your own risk.

Retention of Personal Information

McTague Law Firm LLP only retains your personal information as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected and to comply with applicable laws.

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.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

McTague Law Firm LLP regularly reviews all of its policies and procedures, and we may change our Privacy Policy from time to time. You may request a copy of our current Privacy Policy at any time by contacting our Privacy Officer in the manner set out below. As an alternative, our current Privacy Policy is available on our website at www.mctague.net.

Contact Us

In the event that you have any questions about our Privacy Policy, wish to access your personal information, or have any reason to believe that McTague Law Firm LLP may have failed to adhere to this Privacy Policy, please contact our Privacy Officer, Dave Amyot:

If you are not satisfied with our response, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada can be reached at: