Client and Third Party Privacy Policy

We take your privacy very seriously. Please read this privacy policy carefully as it contains important information on who we are and how and why we collect, store, use and share your personal data. It also explains your rights in relation to your personal data and how to contact us or supervisory authorities in the event you have a complaint. 

We collect, use and are responsible for certain personal data about you. When we do so we are subject to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).  

Who we are (identity of the data controller): Levi Solicitors LLP. Registered No. OC316402, Registered Office 33 St Paul’s Street, Leeds, LS1 2JJ. Tel. 0113 244 9931.Solicitors Regulation Authority No. 440411.VAT number 169907416 

Contact responsible for data protection: Janet Babington; janet@levisolicitors.co.uk; tel. 0113 244 9931 

Personal data we will collect 

  • Your name, address and telephone number 
  • Information to enable us to check and verify your identity, e.g., your date of birth or passport details 
  • Electronic contact details, e.g., your email address and mobile phone number 
  • Information relating to the matter in which you are seeking our advice or representation 
  • Your financial details so far as relevant to your instructions, e.g., the source of your funds if you are instructing on a purchase transaction 
  • Information about your use of our IT, communication and other systems, and other monitoring information, e.g., if using our secure online client portal 

Personal data we may collect depending on why you have instructed us 

  • Your National Insurance and tax details 
  • Your bank and/or building society details 
  • Details of your spouse/partner and dependants or other family members, e.g., if you instruct us on a family matter or a will 
  • Your employment status and details including salary and benefits, e.g., if you instruct us on matter related to your employment or in which your employment status or income is relevant.  
  • Your employment records including, where relevant, records relating to sickness and attendance, performance, disciplinary, conduct and grievances, e.g., if you instruct us on matter related to your employment or in which your employment records are relevant. 
  • Your nationality and immigration status and information from related documents, such as your passport or other identification, and immigration information, e.g., if you instruct us on an immigration matter.  
  • Your trade union membership, e.g., if you instruct us on a discrimination claim or your matter is funded by a trade union. 
  • Your medical records, e.g., if we are acting for you in a personal injury claim. 

We collect and use this personal data to provide legal services. If you do not provide personal data we ask for, it may delay or prevent us from providing those services.

How your personal data is collected 

We collect most of this information from you direct or via our secure online client portal. However, we may also collect information: 

  • from publicly accessible sources, e.g., Companies House or HM Land Registry. 
  • directly from a third party, e.g.:
    – sanctions screening providers.
    – credit reference agencies.
    – client due diligence providers. 
  • from a third party with your consent, e.g.:
     – your bank or building society, another financial institution or advisor.
     – consultants and other professionals we may engage in relation to your matter.
     – your employer and/or trade union, professional body or pension administrators.
     – your doctors, medical and occupational health professionals. 
  • via our website—we use cookies on our website (for more information on cookies, please see our cookie policy below)
  • via our information technology (IT) systems, e.g.:
    – via our case management, document management and time recording systems.
    – from door entry systems and reception logs.
    – through automated monitoring of our websites and other technical systems, such as our computer networks and connections, CCTV and access control systems, communications systems, telephones, email and instant messaging systems. 

How and why we use personal data 

Under data protection law, we can only use your personal data if we have a proper reason, e.g.: 

  • where you have given consent. 
  • to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations. 
  • for the performance of a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract; or 
  • for our legitimate interests or those of a third party. 

A legitimate interest is when we have a business or commercial reason to use your personal data, so long as this is not overridden by your own rights and interests. We will carry out an assessment when relying on legitimate interests, to balance our interests against your own. 

What we use your personal data for and why. 

We will only use your data if we have a fair and proper reason for doing so. These reasons include but are not limited to: 

  • Providing services to you – To perform our contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract 
  • Preventing and detecting fraud against you or us – For our legitimate interest, i.e., to minimise fraud that could be damaging for you and/or us 
  • Conducting checks to identify our clients and verify their identity – To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations 
  • Screening for financial and other sanctions or embargoes – To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations 
  • Other activities necessary to comply with professional, legal and regulatory obligations that apply to our business, e.g., under health and safety law or rules issued by our professional regulator – To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations 

How and why we use your personal data—Special category personal data 

Certain personal data we collect is treated as a special category to which additional protections apply under data protection law: 

  • Personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, philosophical beliefs or trade union membership. 
  • Data concerning health, sex life or sexual orientation. 

Where we process special category personal data, we will also ensure we are permitted to do so under data protection laws, e.g.: 

  • we have your explicit consent. 
  • the processing is necessary to protect your (or someone else’s) vital interests where you are physically or legally incapable of giving consent; or 
  • the processing is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims. 

How and why, we use your personal data—sharing 

See ‘Who we share your personal data with’ for more information on the steps we will take to protect your personal data where we need to share it with others. 

Marketing 

We will use your personal data to send you updates (by email, text message, telephone or post) about our services, including exclusive offers, promotions or new services. 

We have a legitimate interest in using your personal data for marketing purposes (see above ‘How and why we use your personal data’). This means we do not usually need your consent to send you marketing information. If we change our marketing approach in the future so that consent is needed, we will ask for this separately and clearly. 

You have the right to opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time by: 

We may ask you to confirm or update your marketing preferences if you ask us to provide further services in the future, or if there are changes in the law, regulation, or the structure of our business. 

We will always treat your personal data with the utmost respect and never sell or share it with other organisations for marketing purposes. 

Who we share your personal data with 

We routinely share personal data with: 

  • professional advisers who we instruct on your behalf or refer you to – e.g.: barristers, medical professionals and agencies, accountants, tax advisors or other experts 
  • third parties we use to help deliver our services to you, e.g., payment service providers, conveyancing search providers, costs draftsman, document collation/reproduction, couriers,  

other third parties where necessary to carry out your instructions – e.g.: your mortgage provider, estate agent, HM Land Registry and HMRC in the case of a property transaction, or Companies House, a court, tribunal, third party insurers or defendant solicitor on a litigated matter 

  • other third parties we use to help us run our business, e.g., marketing agencies or website hosts. 
  • third parties approved by you, e.g., social media sites you choose to link your account to or third-party payment providers. 
  • external auditors such as the Law Society to verify the services provided to you under their accreditation schemes. 
  • our insurers and brokers. 
  • our bank. 
  • online ID verification services to enable us to comply with Money Laundering Regulations.  

We or the third parties mentioned above occasionally also share personal data with: 

  • our and their external auditors, e.g., in relation to the audit of our or their accounts, in which case the recipient of the information will be bound by confidentiality obligations 
  • our and their professional advisors (such as lawyers and other advisors), in which case the recipient of the information will be bound by confidentiality obligations 
  • law enforcement agencies, courts, tribunals and regulatory bodies to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations 
  • other parties that have or may acquire control or ownership of our business (and our or their professional advisers) in connection with a significant corporate transaction or restructuring, including a merger, acquisition or asset sale or in the event of our insolvency—usually, information will be anonymised, but this may not always be possible. The recipient of any of your personal data will be bound by confidentiality obligations 

Who we share your personal data with—further information 

If you would like more information about who we share our data with and why, please contact us (see ‘How to contact us’ below). 

Where your personal data is held 

Personal data may be held at our offices and those of third-party agencies, service providers, representatives and agents as described above (see ‘Who we share your personal data with’). 

How long your personal data will be kept 

Client files and data may be destroyed once the potential limitation date for bringing a claim in law has expired. Personal data unrelated to a client file and held for marketing purposes will be deleted as soon as consent is withdrawn OR once there is no legitimate business interest in retaining it, whichever is the sooner. You have a right to know what Personal Information we hold about you. Your ‘Subject access request’ should be made in writing to Janet Babington, Levi Solicitors LLP, 33 St Paul’s Street, Leeds LS1 2JJ or by email at janet@levisolicitors.co.uk. (Reasonable adjustment will be made under the Equality Act 2010 to accept a verbal request in case of unreasonable difficulty in making a written request). 

We are required to verify your identity before providing information, in line with our duty of confidentiality. If there is a large amount of information, we may ask you to specify the information the request relates to. We will provide the information within 1 month unless it is complex. There is normally no charge for the first copy. Please see ico.org.uk for more detail on your rights regarding timescales/costs. 

Your rights 

You have the following rights, which you can exercise free of charge: 

Access  The right to be provided with a copy of your personal data  
Rectification  The right to require us to correct any mistakes in your personal data 
Erasure (also known as the right to be forgotten)  The right to require us to delete your personal data—in certain situations 
Restriction of processing  The right to require us to restrict processing of your personal data—in certain situations, e.g., if you contest the accuracy of the data 
Data portability  The right to receive the personal data you provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and/or transmit that data to a third party—in certain situations 
To object 

The right to object: 

—at any time to your personal data being processed for direct marketing (including profiling). 

—in certain other situations to our continued processing of your personal data, e.g., processing carried out for the purpose of our legitimate interests unless there are compelling legitimate grounds for the processing to continue or the processing is required for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. 

Not to be subject to automated individual decision making  The right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (including profiling) that produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you 
The right to withdraw consent 

If you have provided us with a consent to use your personal data, you have a right to withdraw that consent easily at any time 

Withdrawing a consent will not affect the lawfulness of our use of your personal data in reliance on that consent before it was withdrawn 

 

For more information on each of those rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, please contact us (see ‘How to contact us’ below) or see the Guidance from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on individuals’ rights under the General Data Protection Regulation. 

If you would like to exercise any of those rights, please: 

  • email, call or write to us—see below: ‘How to contact us’; and 
  • provide enough information to identify yourself (e.g., your full name, address and client or matter reference number)] and any additional identity information we may reasonably request from you. 
  • let us know what right you want to exercise and the information to which your request relates. 

Keeping your personal data secure 

We have appropriate security measures to prevent personal data from being accidentally lost or used or accessed unlawfully. We limit access to your personal data to those who have a genuine business need to access it. Those processing your personal data will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.  

We also have procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so. 

If you want detailed information from, Get Safe Online on how to protect your personal data and other information and your computers and devices against fraud, identity theft, viruses and many other online problems, please visit www.getsafeonline.org. Get Safe Online is supported by HM Government and leading businesses. 

Data relating to applications for employment

Data related to employment applications submitted by external candidates (i.e. individuals not currently employed by us) are by default retained for 12 months from the date the external candidate sends the application to us (the ‘Retention Period’).  The data is permanently deleted following expiry of the Retention Period.

How to complain 

Please contact us if you have any queries or concerns about our use of your personal data (see below ‘How to contact us’). We hope we will be able to resolve any issues you may have. 

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner. 

The Information Commissioner may be contacted using the details at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or by telephone: 0303 123 1113. 

How to contact us 

Individuals in the UK 

You can contact Janet Babington at Levi Solicitors LLP, 33 St Paul’s Street, Leeds LS1 2JJ or by email at janet@levisolicitors.co.uk if you have any questions about this privacy policy or the information we hold about you, to exercise a right under data protection law or to make a complaint. 

Cookie Policy  

We would also like to provide you with information about our services. In order to do so we may collect and process information that you provide by completing forms and surveys on our website; giving information to us during telephone calls; and, correspondence with us. We may keep a record of details of your visits to our website Our websites may store “cookies” on your computer, designed to remember your browsing preferences. We may obtain information about your general internet usage by using a cookie file which is stored on the hard drive of your computer. You may refuse to accept cookies by activating the setting on your browser (learn more about how to disable cookies by visiting allaboutcookies.org). If you put personal information on publicly available parts of our websites, this will be accessible to persons in countries outside the EU. We do not undertake automated decision making or profiling. Our lawful basis for processing your personal information when we provide you with information about our services is: Legitimate interest. We may also rely on Consent if your consent has been obtained for a specific purpose. 

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