Privacy Policy

This policy sets out our approach to your personal data and information. We have a commitment to ensuring that all personal information handled by us will be processed according to legally compliant standards of data protection and data security.

Who are we?

Leigh Duncan Solicitors is a trading name of Leigh Duncan LLP, a limited liability partnership registered in England & Wales, and we are a ‘controller’ under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Whose data do we hold?

We may hold data about customers and clients, suppliers and service providers, advisers, consultants and other professional experts, complainants and enquirers, and employees.

What data do we collect?

We will normally collect information from you that is relevant to the matter that we are dealing with. In particular, we may collect the following information from you which is defined as ‘personal data’:

  • Personal details
  • Family, lifestyle and social circumstances
  • Financial details
  • Business activities of the person whose details we are processing
  • Your IP address, which pages you may have visited on our website and when you accessed them

Special categories

We may also collect information that is referred to as being in a ‘special category’. This could include: physical or mental health details; racial or ethnic origin; religious beliefs or other beliefs of a similar nature; criminal convictions; sexual orientation.

Basis for processing

The basis on which we process your personal date is one of more of the following:

  • It is necessary for the performance of our contract with you
  • It is necessary for us to comply with a legal obligation
  • It is in our legitimate interests to do so

How will we use your data?

We may use your information for the following purposes:

  • Provision of legal services including advising and acting on behalf of clients
  • Promotion of our goods and services by contacting you*
  • Provision of education and training to customers and clients*
  • Maintaining accounts and records
  • Supporting and managing staff
  • Preventing and detecting crime such as money laundering

* We may from time to time send you information which we think might be of interest to you (for example about legal developments or our other services). If you do not wish to receive that information, please notify us in writing (post or email) at any time.

Who will we share your information with?

Under our professional code of conduct, there are very strict rules about who we can share your information with and this will normally be limited to the other people who will assist with your matter. This may include:

  • Barristers
  • Medical Experts
  • Private investigators
  • Healthcare professionals, social and welfare organisations
  • Courts and tribunals

Where you authorise us, we may disclose your information to your family, associates or representatives and we may also disclose your information to debt collection agencies if you do not pay our bills.

How long do we keep your information for?

  • We will normally keep your information throughout the period of time that we do work for you and afterwards for no less than a period of 6 years (as we are required to do by law and also by the professional regulations that apply to us).
  • In some cases (for example where we have prepared a Will or power of attorney documents for you) we may retain your information for a longer period.

More information on document and data retention is set out in our standard Terms of Business under section 12.

Where your information might be processed

Whilst generally it would be an exception, we may sometimes need to transfer your information to a country outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Normally this would be for the performance of your contract with us or for the exercise or defence of legal claims on your behalf. Where this is necessary, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place at all times.

Security of information

We shall ensure that all information you provide us is kept secure using appropriate technical and organisational measures. In the event of a personal data breach we have in place procedures to ensure that the effects of such a breach are minimised and we shall liaise with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and with you as appropriate.

What rights do you have?

Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the following rights:

  • Right to be informed
  • Right of access to your information
  • Right to have the information we hold in you corrected if out of date or inaccurate
  • Right to erasure of your information
  • Right to restriction of processing
  • Right to data portability
  • Right to object
  • Rights concerning automated decision-making and profiling

Right of access

You have a right to see the information we hold about you. You may access this by:

  • Providing a request in writing to us marked for the attention of “the data protection officer”, together with proof of your identity

We will usually process your request free of charge and within 30 days. However, we reserve the right to charge a reasonable administration fee and to extend the period of time by a further 2 months if the request is very complex or vexatious or manifestly unfounded.

Right to erasure

You have the right to ask us to erase your personal data in certain cases, details of which can be found in Article 17 of the General Data Protection Regulation. You may exercise your right by contacting us and asking for “the data protection officer”.

We will deal with your request free of charge and within 30 days but we reserve the right to refuse to erase information that we are required to retain by law or regulation, or that is required to exercise or defend legal claims.

Who can you complain to?

If you are unhappy about how we are using your information or how we have responded to a request you have made of us in relation to your information, then you should initially contact either Janine Heil or Ingmar Heil.

If your complaint remains unresolved then you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), for which details are available at www.ico.org.uk