Privacy Policy

I am committed to protecting the privacy and security of the personal information I control.  This Privacy Policy explains how I collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information while providing legal services and operating my firm. The term “personal information” means information about an identifiable individual, as defined in applicable privacy legislation. It does not include business contact information or anonymous or de-identified data that is not associated with a particular individual.

These requirements are in addition to any obligations of confidentiality that may be owed to you through a lawyer-client relationship (which exists only after I have agreed to act as your legal counsel and entered into a written agreement with you).

What Personal Information Do I Collect?

I collect personal information that is necessary to provide legal advice and representation to my clients, and to operate my business. The types of personal information I collect, use and disclose will vary depending on the circumstances but may include:

• contact and identification details (e.g., name, address, phone number, email), including background information needed to verify identity in accordance with the requirements imposed by the Law Society of Ontario (e.g., copy of driver’s license)
• demographic and family information (e.g., marital status, dependants), or health information, where relevant to your legal matter;
• education and employment history;
• financial, tax, and investment information;
• billing information;
• marketing, communication preferences and related information such as event feedback and survey responses;
• publicly available information (e.g., social media posts or public records); and
• website usage and other technical information such as details of visits to my website or information collected through cookies.

How Do I Collect Personal Information?

I will generally collect you information through direct interactions with you when you provide it to me, for example, by filling in forms or corresponding with me by phone, email, or otherwise. I may also collect your personal information from third parties (such as witnesses, family members, experts, or adverse parties) or publicly available sources (e.g., social media sites). I may also collect personal information indirectly from my clients or others (e.g., family members, witnesses, adverse parties, investigators, experts, professional advisors, partners, and customers).

How Do I Use Personal Information?

I only use personal information to provide services, operate my business, or where applicable law permits or requires it.

For example, I use personal information to provide legal advice and representation to my clients. This includes running conflict searches, conducting client identity and verification processes, investigating and advising on legal matters, managing client relationships, and working with third parties (such as experts, witnesses, and treatment providers). I also use personal information to manage day-to-day firm operations, including:

• administering client accounts, billing, and payments;
• client relationship management;
• business development (e.g., lead generation);
• marketing, events, and distributing newsletters or other communications;
• maintaining internal systems, precedents, and knowledge management;
• enforcement of my legal rights (e.g., to enforce payment terms)
• protecting against fraud, error, and other illegal activity; and
• complying with legal, regulatory, and professional obligations

I will only use your personal information for the purposes for which I collected it. If I determine that your personal information is needed for a purpose materially different from the original reason it was gathered, I will inform you in advance and obtain your consent where the law requires me to do so.

I may use your personal information without your knowledge or consent where required or permitted by applicable law or regulation.

How Do I Share Personal Information?

I may transfer your personal information to contractors, designated agents, or third-party service providers who require it to assist me with providing services to you. I engage third party providers to assist me with administrative tasks related to my business operations (e.g., website administration and hosting, billing and payment processing, accounting services, etc.).  I may also engage third parties to support the provision of legal advice (e.g., expert witnesses, professional advisors). To the extent I enter into arrangements with service providers, agents and contractors to store, handle or process the personal information on my behalf, I require such parties by contractual or other means to provide comparable privacy protection while the information is processed or handled by them.

I may also disclose your personal information to third parties for their own purposes, either with your consent (e.g., sharing information with other parties involved in the matter, including opposing counsel witnesses, or mediators), or without your knowledge or consent if required or permitted by applicable law or regulation.  For example, this can include disclosures for the following purposes:

• complying with legal or regulatory obligations (e.g., to the Law Society of Ontario).  When I disclose your personal information to comply with a legal obligation or legal process, I will take reasonable steps to ensure that I only disclose the minimum personal information necessary for the specific purpose and circumstances;

• during emergency situations or where necessary to protect the safety of persons;
• to collect a debt (e.g., enforce payment terms); and
• in connection with a transfer of assets or change in ownership.

Consent

Where required under applicable privacy legislation, I will secure the consent of clients and other relevant individuals before collecting, using, or disclosing their personal information.

• Capacity: An individual who lacks legal capacity (for example, a minor or a person whose decision-making ability is seriously impaired) must have consent provided by an authorized representative (e.g. legal guardian).
• Third Party Information: If you give me personal information about another individual, you confirm that you have the authority and consent of that individual to do so.

In some cases, consent will be implied through your conduct with me or the nature of my retainer. When an individual voluntarily reaches out to me or provides personal information of their own accord, I may treat this as implied consent to the reasonable collection and use of that information in a manner consistent with the purposes for which it was shared. Similarly, I may consider that clients who engage my services, as well as individuals involved in matters or proceedings related to my clients, have implicitly agreed to the reasonable collection, use, and disclosure (e.g., to opposing parties and counsel, witnesses, mediators, arbitrators, etc.) of their personal information by my professionals and agents in connection with the representation, legal advice, or transactions undertaken on behalf of my clients.

You may withdraw or limit your consent at any time by informing me in writing. A withdrawal or limitation of consent may affect my ability to continue providing certain legal services, advice, or information.

Safeguards

Once I receive personal information, I use commercially reasonable efforts to protect it.  Despite these safeguards, no method of electronic transmission or storage can be entirely secure. I cannot guarantee absolute security.

Where Do I Store Information?

Personal information under my control is stored in secure facilities or on secure servers located in Canada.  Certain software or cloud-based services may involve limited cross-border transfers of personal information to other jurisdictions, such as the United States, for processing. In such cases, I require, through technical and contractual means, the service provider to protect the personal information in a manner equivalent to that required in Canada. But the measures that I use to protect personal information are subject to the legal requirements of the jurisdictions to which I transfer personal information, including lawful requirements to disclose information to law enforcement and government agencies in those countries.

Retention

I retain personal information for the longer of: (i) the period necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected; (ii) any retention period mandated by law, professional rules, or my insurers; (iii) the expiry of any limitation period for potential claims relating to the matter; or (iv) the duration set by my internal records-management schedule.

Your Rights

Maintaining the accuracy and completeness of your personal information is a priority for me.  Please notify me promptly of any changes to the personal information you have provided. You are entitled under applicable law to request access to the personal information about you that I control and to have any inaccuracies corrected. Under certain circumstances, applicable law may permit or require me to deny you request. If I am unable to fulfill you request, I will provide you with an explanation of the reasons for that decision, to the extent permitted by law or regulation.

My Website

When you visit my website, I may use cookies to collect information such as domain name of the website from which the visitor came, date and duration of the visit, number of visits, average time spent on my website, pages viewed and number of cookies accumulated. I use this information to improve website functionality and measure usage.

My website may contain links to third-party sites. I am not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites.