Privacy Policy

 INTRODUCTION

Any reference to we or us in this Privacy Notice shall mean Exchange Chambers. This Privacy Notice applies to the services provided by Exchange Chambers and, where we are processing data on their behalf, our members/barristers and to our website at https://www.exchangechambers.co.uk/ which is owned and operated by us.

Please note that unless you are notified separately, our members/barristers adhere to the content of this policy.

Privacy is important to us, and we are committed to protecting personal information from unauthorised use or disclosure.  We will therefore use your personal information, and transfer it to others, in accordance with this Privacy Notice.  Our Privacy Notice applies whenever you visit our website, during the period you receive services from us, and afterwards.

Where we need to collect personal information by law, or under the terms of a contract with you and you fail to provide that information when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract (for example, to provide you with the services you have requested).  We will notify you if this happens.

Our Privacy Notice is regularly reviewed to ensure that we continue to respect your privacy in accordance with legal requirements. We take great care of any information that you give us, and in this Privacy Notice we set out how any personal information you give us is treated. We will never sell personal information or share personal information or data with third parties unrelated to the services we provide unless we are required to do so by law or you have given us your consent to  do this.

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Notice from time to time by publishing the updated version on our website.  We therefore encourage you to review our Privacy Notice periodically for the most up to date information. We will not substantially change the way we use personal information you have already provided to us without your prior agreement.

If you have any questions or complaints regarding how we use your information or you wish to exercise any of your rights set out in the YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS section of our Privacy Notice, please contact our Data Protection Officer, Jonathan I’Anson at ianson@exchangechambers.co.uk. We will do our very best to answer any question and resolve any complaint to your satisfaction.  If, for whatever reason, you feel we do not meet the high standards we expect of ourselves, you have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Where you have indicated preferences, we will keep a record. You have the right to withdraw your consent or object to us using your information to send you marketing information at any time. Please see the MANAGING YOUR INFORMATION section below.

INTERNATIONAL TRANSFER OF YOUR INFORMATION

Although we are based in the UK, we occasionally need to transfer data outside of the EU.  We will only do this where instructed.

WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT AND HOW DO WE USE IT?

Please note that we may process your information for more than one lawful ground, depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data.  Please contact us if more than one ground has been set out in the table below and you require details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your information.

THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT

• Your name and contact details, including your email address, telephone number(s) and (where applicable) delivery address;
• All details relevant to your matter where you instruct us or our members/barristers to represent you. This may include special category data, such as racial or ethnic origin, health information, religious beliefs or sexual orientation;
• All data applicable to job, pupillage and tenancy applications.

HOW WE COLLECT THE INFORMATION

• On the telephone, by email or post or during face to face meetings with you and/or your solicitors or representatives, including where you provide information directly to our members/barristers;
• Via applications, our website, and via external referees.

HOW WE USE THE INFORMATION

• To register your contact details and your instructions, whether for your own purposes or where you are representing a client;
• To contact you from time to time about our services and our training and social events;
• To communicate with you about operational changes e.g. changes to our website or to this Privacy Notice;
• To enable us to assess the matter and for us or our members/barristers to represent and advise you or, as applicable, your solicitor or representative acting on your behalf;
• To process applications.

LEGAL BASIS FOR THIS USE OF THE INFORMATION

• This is necessary to perform a contract between us or, as applicable, between us and your solicitor/representative on your behalf;
• This is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests: marketing and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests;
• This is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

WHO WE MAY SHARE THE INFORMATION WITH AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE

• Suppliers and sub-contractors for the performance of any contract we enter into with them for the supply of goods and/or services to you. For example, we need to share your name and delivery address with postal and courier services to arrange transfer of papers;
• With members/barristers and our staff where this is necessary to provide the services requested;
• Where applicable to the relevant matter, with the police, regulators, and/or the courts;
• Where applicable to the relevant matter, with the other party to your matter and their representatives;
• With members/barristers and our staff where this is necessary.

YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS

YOUR RIGHT TO WITHDRAW YOUR CONSENT

Where you have given your consent you have the right to withdraw this consent at any time by contacting us using the contact details set out at the top of this section.  This will not affect the lawfulness of any use of your information that we make before you withdraw your consent.

YOUR RIGHT TO OBJECT

Where we are using your information on the basis of public interest or legitimate interests (see the What information do we collect and how do we use it? section) you have the right to object to this at any time by contacting us using the contact details set out at the top of this Privacy Notice.

YOUR RIGHT TO AMEND YOUR PREFERENCES OR WITHDRAW YOUR CONSENT

Where you have given your consent to us using your information for marketing purposes (e.g. through our website), you have the right to alter your preferences or withdraw this consent at any time by contacting us using the contact details set out below.  This will not affect the lawfulness of any use of your information that we make before you amend your preferences or withdraw your consent.

SECURITY

Information provided through our website is stored on our secure servers or those of any third party we engage to provide our IT platform, and is encrypted using standard technology, adhering to UK legislation.

We limit access to personal information to employees and members/barristers who need access to enable us to process your information for the purposes set out in the What information do we collect and how do we use it? section. They are only permitted to process your information on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach, which means a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed.  We will notify you and any applicable regulator (for example the Information Commissioner’s Office) where we are legally required to do so.

HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION FOR?

Details of the period for which we keep the different types of information are available in our retention policy which you can request by contacting us.

MANAGING YOUR INFORMATION

You can contact us (by contacting Jonathan I’Anson) to discuss your information at any time.

It is very important to us that all the information we hold about you remains accurate and up to date to reduce the risk of a misunderstanding.

We need your help in doing so. Please ensure that the information (for example, contact information) you provide to us remains accurate and up to date.

You have a number of rights which we respect and aim to uphold in everything we do. These rights are set out below.

We reserve the right not to comply with any requests we receive where we may lawfully do so, for example if we reasonably believe a request to be malicious, technically very onerous, to involve disproportionate effort or harmful to the rights of others.

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month of receiving them.  Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests.  In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

When you ask to exercise one of these rights, we may need to ask you for specific information to confirm your identity.  This is a security measure to ensure that your personal information is not disclosed to any person who does not have the right to receive it.  We may also contact you to ask for more information about your request to speed up our response.

This is a list of your rights.

Asking us about your information

You have the right to ask us whether we hold information about you and, if so, for us to give you certain details about that information and/or the information itself.  This right is commonly known as a subject access request. If you would like to make a subject access request, please do so in writing to the address above.  In the case of information which you have provided to us, you have the right to that information. This right is commonly known as the right to data portability.

You do not have to pay a fee to ask us about your information.  However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive.  Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

Correcting inaccurate information

If you have reason to believe any of the information we collect on you may be inaccurate or incomplete, and you cannot correct such inaccuracy or omission yourself through your registered account with us, please contact us.

Erasing information

You have the right to require us to erase your information without undue delay if one of the following applies:

1. the information is no longer necessary for the purposes for which we collected it;
2. we need your consent to use the information and you withdraw your consent;
3. you object to us using your information: for the purposes of our legitimate interests in marketing to you or for fraud prevention and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for the processing;
4. you unsubscribe from our marketing communications;
5. we have used your information unlawfully; or
6. the information must be erased for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject;

unless it is necessary to use your information to comply with a legal obligation or to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim

Stopping our marketing

We provide the means for you to stop all email communications you receive from us – please see the “unsubscribe” link we include in each email.  You can also contact us at any time using the details above and let us know what you would like us to change.

Restricting processing

You have the right to require us to restrict our use of your information where one of the following applies:

1. you contest the accuracy of the information that we hold about you, while we verify its accuracy;
2. we have used your information unlawfully, but you request us to restrict its use instead of erasing it;
3. we no long need the information for the purpose for which we collected it, but you need it to deal with a legal claim; or
4. you have objected to us using your information, while we verify whether our legitimate grounds override your right to object.

Withdrawing consent

This is covered in use of your information for marketing.

THIRD PARTY LINKS

Our website may contain links to third party websites, plug-ins and applications.  Clicking on those links may allow third parties to collect or share information about you.  If you follow a link to a third party website, please note that these websites will have their own privacy policies and we do not accept any responsibility or liability in respect of the same.

COOKIES

Cookies are small text files which are transferred from our website and stored on your computer’s hard drive. They are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide general usage information to website owners. We use cookies for these reasons only.

You can set your browser to refuse some or all browser cookies, or to alert you when a website sets or accesses cookies.  If you disable or refuse cookies, some parts of our website may become inaccessible or not function properly.  For information, please see our cookie policy.