At Terrence McCourt Solicitors, we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal information when you visit our website, contact us or use our legal services.
1. Who We Are
Terrence McCourt Solicitors provides professional legal services to individuals and businesses.
For privacy-related enquiries, you can contact us using the following details:
Telephone: 028 9267 8122
Email: info@terencemccourt.com
For the purposes of applicable data protection law, Terrence McCourt Solicitors will generally act as the data controller in relation to personal information collected through this website and in connection with our legal services.
2. Information We May Collect
Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect personal information including:
- Your name
- Postal address
- Email address
- Telephone number
- Information submitted through website enquiry forms
- Details relating to your legal enquiry or matter
- Identification and verification information where required
- Financial or payment information where relevant
- Communications between you and our firm
- Information contained in documents you provide to us
- Technical information relating to your use of our website, such as IP address, browser type, device information and usage data
Where necessary for the provision of legal services, we may also process more sensitive categories of personal information where permitted by law.
3. How We Collect Personal Information
We may collect personal information:
- Directly from you when you contact us by telephone, email, website form or in person
- When you instruct us to provide legal services
- Through correspondence and documentation supplied during a legal matter
- From third parties involved in your matter where appropriate
- From publicly available sources where legally permitted
- Automatically when you use our website, through cookies or similar technologies
4. How We Use Your Personal Information
We may use your personal information to:
- Respond to enquiries and requests for information
- Assess whether we can assist with your legal matter
- Provide legal advice and representation
- Manage our relationship with clients
- Open, administer and maintain client files
- Carry out identification, verification and other regulatory checks
- Process payments and maintain financial records
- Communicate with clients, courts, other solicitors and relevant third parties
- Comply with legal, regulatory and professional obligations
- Establish, exercise or defend legal claims
- Protect our business, systems and clients against fraud or misuse
- Maintain and improve our website and services
- Keep appropriate business and administrative records
We will only use personal information for purposes that are lawful and appropriate to the circumstances.
5. Lawful Bases for Processing
Depending on the circumstances, we may process your personal information on one or more lawful bases, including:
Contract
Processing may be necessary to provide legal services under a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.
Legal Obligation
We may need to process information to comply with legal, regulatory, accounting, professional or other statutory obligations.
Legitimate Interests
We may process personal information where necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. This may include administering our practice, protecting our systems, responding to enquiries and improving our services.
Consent
Where appropriate, we may rely on your consent. Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent where applicable.
Other Lawful Grounds
In limited circumstances, other lawful grounds may apply depending on the nature of the information and the reason it is being processed.
6. Special Category and Sensitive Information
Legal matters can sometimes involve sensitive personal information, including information relating to health, family circumstances, criminal allegations or proceedings, and other private matters.
Where we process this type of information, we will do so only where an appropriate lawful basis and any additional legal condition required for that processing applies.
7. Sharing Your Personal Information
Where necessary and legally permitted, we may share relevant personal information with:
- Courts and tribunals
- Barristers and other legal professionals
- Other solicitors
- Expert witnesses and professional advisers
- Government departments and public authorities
- Law enforcement or regulatory bodies
- Banks and financial institutions
- Accountants, auditors and insurers
- Medical professionals where relevant to a matter
- IT, hosting and other service providers acting on our behalf
- Other parties involved in your legal matter
We will only disclose information where there is a proper legal, professional or business reason for doing so.
We do not sell your personal information.
8. Confidentiality
As a firm of solicitors, we take client confidentiality seriously.
Information provided to us in connection with a legal matter will be handled in accordance with applicable professional duties, legal requirements and our internal security procedures.
There may be limited circumstances where we are legally or professionally required to disclose information to third parties.
9. How Long We Keep Your Information
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including to meet legal, regulatory, professional, insurance, accounting and record-keeping requirements.
The exact retention period may depend on:
- The type of legal matter
- Applicable professional requirements
- Statutory limitation periods
- Regulatory obligations
- The possibility of future legal claims
- The nature and sensitivity of the information
Once information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, destroyed or anonymised where appropriate.
10. How We Protect Your Information
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against:
- Unauthorised access
- Accidental loss
- Misuse
- Disclosure
- Alteration
- Destruction
Access to personal information is restricted to individuals who have a legitimate need to access it.
However, no internet-based system or electronic communication method can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
11. International Transfers
Some service providers used to operate our website or business systems may process information outside the United Kingdom.
Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that an appropriate level of protection is provided in accordance with applicable data protection law.
12. Your Data Protection Rights
Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have rights relating to your personal information, including the right to:
- Request access to personal information we hold about you
- Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
- Request deletion of personal information in certain circumstances
- Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances
- Object to certain types of processing
- Request transfer of certain personal information
- Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
- Raise concerns about how your personal information is being handled
These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal or professional exemptions, particularly where information forms part of an ongoing or completed legal matter.
To exercise a data protection right, please contact us using the details provided in this Privacy Policy.
13. Marketing Communications
Where we send marketing communications, we will do so only where permitted by applicable law.
You may ask us to stop sending marketing communications at any time by contacting us using the details provided above or by following any unsubscribe instructions included in the communication.
Stopping marketing communications will not prevent us from contacting you regarding an existing legal matter or where communication is otherwise necessary.
14. Cookies
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to:
- Enable essential website functions
- Improve website performance
- Understand how visitors use the website
- Remember certain preferences
- Support analytics or other website functionality
Where required, non-essential cookies will only be used in accordance with your cookie choices.
Please refer to our Cookie Policy for more detailed information about the cookies used on this website.
15. Third-Party Websites
Our website may contain links to websites operated by third parties.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of external websites. We recommend reviewing the privacy policy of any third-party website before providing personal information.
16. Children’s Information
Our website is not specifically directed towards children.
Where we process information relating to children as part of a legal matter, we will do so in accordance with applicable legal and professional requirements.
17. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in:
- Our services
- Our data processing practices
- Legal or regulatory requirements
- Website functionality
Any revised Privacy Policy will be published on this page with an updated revision date.
18. Complaints and the Information Commissioner
If you have concerns about how we handle your personal information, we encourage you to contact us first so that we can consider the matter.
You may also have the right to raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority responsible for data protection matters.
Further information about data protection rights and making a complaint is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office.
19. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, how we use personal information or your data protection rights, please contact:
Terrence McCourt Solicitors
Telephone: 028 9267 8122
Email: info@terencemccourt.com