Privacy policy

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Introduction

This is the Global Access Lawyers website privacy policy (Privacy Policy).

The website at www.globalaccesslawyers.com ("Website") is provided by Global Access Lawyers, an association between the insurance teams at like-minded, independent law firms. across the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong (RPC), Australia (Colin Biggers & Paisley), USA (Hinshaw & Culbertson), France (HMN), Netherlands (Kennedy van der Laan) and Canada (Miller Thomson).

Your information will be held by Global Access Lawyers, herein referred to as “GAL”, “we”, “us”, “our” which is the data controller responsible for processing the personal data you provide to us through the Website.

We are committed to managing personal data securely and respecting your privacy at all times. We will only keep the personal data required to provide our services and will only share or transfer the personal data you provide to us for the purposes outlined below. We will always provide you with the ability to opt-out of electronic direct marketing and provide options to select which news and information you receive.

What information do we collect and from whom?

We collect and process personal data about you when you use our Website, register an interest in an event or request that we contact you voluntarily. The personal data we process includes:

  • your name;
  • your email address;
  • your IP address and information related to the browser or device you use to access our Website and other analytics data;
  • any other information you may provide.

Additionally, if you choose to contact us or register for an event we may also collect:

  • your phone number, organisation and job title.

How do we use this information and what is our legal basis for this use?

We process the personal data listed in paragraph 2 above for the following purposes:

  • we may use information you provide to personalise:
    • our communications to you;
    • our Website; and
    • services for you, in accordance with our legitimate interests;
  • to monitor use of our Website, communications and online services and we may use your information to help us check, improve, promote and protect our content, services
  • to contact you if we change our services or terms or if we need to give you notice of those terms;
  • to comply with applicable law and regulation and for the prevention of fraud;
  • to manage our risk; and
  • to respond to any enquiries or complaints we may receive from you, and/or in accordance with our legitimate interests including to investigate any complaints received from you or from others, about our Website or our services.

We may also send you direct marketing in relation to our events and services where you have consented to us doing so OR unless you have notified us of your personal data being used in this way. We will always provide the ability to opt-out of electronic direct marketing and to select your preferences for receiving news and information. You will be able to continue to opt-out of electronic direct marketing at any time by following the instructions in the relevant communication or by contacting zara.ismail@rpc.co.uk.

With whom and where will we share your personal data?

We will not share, sell or distribute your personal data to or with third parties unless:

  • the transfer of your personal data to third parties is strictly necessary for the performance of the purposes set out in paragraph 3 above;
  • you have consented to this;
  • required by law or required to enforce or apply our Website terms and conditions or other agreements, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of GAL or others (this includes exchanging information with our professional advisers, for law enforcement purposes or with other companies and organisations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction).

We may disclose, transfer, sell or assign any of the information described above, including personal data, to third parties, as a result of or in preparation for the sale, merger, consolidation, change in control, transfer of substantial assets, re-organisation or liquidation of GAL.

How long will we keep your personal data?

We will not keep your personal data for any purpose(s) for longer than is necessary and we will only retain the relevant personal data that is necessary in relation to the purpose. We are also required to retain certain information by law or if it is reasonably necessary to meet regulatory requirements, resolve disputes, prevent fraud and abuse, or enforce our terms and conditions.

We will retain your personal data until you opt-out of receiving electronic direct marketing or for two years from the date of your last consent to receive electronic marketing (if marketing was based on your consent).

If we share personal data with member firms for the purposes set out in paragraph 4 above, they will continue to hold the personal data in accordance with their own policies.

We may retain your personal data for a short time beyond the specified retention period, to allow for information to be reviewed and any disposal to take place.

Where will we store your personal data?

The personal data that we collect from you may be stored on a mix of GAL and third party cloud provider platforms.

Your personal data may be transferred to, and stored outside the United Kingdom. Where this is the case, we will ensure that either the country that the personal data is being transferred to has been deemed adequate or that appropriate safeguards (such as European Commission or other standard contractual clauses approved by the ICO) are in place. Where such transfers occur, we ensure the confidentiality and protection of all personal data is preserved through compliance with legal requirements and data protection laws. For further information about the safeguards in place, please contact simon.goldring@rpc.co.uk.

How will we protect your personal data?

We endeavour to protect the security of your personal data. We use current industry standard technology to maintain the confidentiality and accuracy of the information you provide to us via the Website. We also have security measures in place in respect of our physical facilities to protect against loss, misuse or unauthorised alteration of the information which you provide to us.

As you may be aware, no data transmission over the internet can be entirely secure. As a result, while we will always use reasonable endeavours to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee that any information you submit to us will be free from unauthorised third party use or intrusion. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal data nor the use of the Website and accordingly we do not accept any responsibility for any damage or loss caused as a result.

We also cannot guarantee that the Website is free from viruses or malicious codes and accordingly we do not accept any responsibility for any damage or loss caused by any such viruses or codes. You agree that it is your responsibility to satisfy yourself that your own information technology/equipment used to access the Website is protected against such viruses and/or codes.

The Website may contain links to other websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the practices of such other websites. When you leave the Website you should ensure that you read the privacy policies of websites you visit.

What are your rights in relation to your personal data?

You have the following rights in relation to our processing of your personal data.

  • The right to access personal data we hold about you. You can contact us to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, as well as why we process that personal data, who has access to it, and where we got it.
  • The right to correct and update the personal data we hold about you. If the personal data we hold about you is out of date, inaccurate or incomplete, you can notify us and we will ensure that it is updated.
  • The right to have your personal data erased. In some circumstances if you no longer wish us to process your personal data, you can request that we erase it. When we receive your request, we will confirm whether the personal data has been deleted, or tell you the reason why it cannot be deleted.
  • The right to object to processing of your personal data: You have the right to request that we stop processing your personal data. Upon receiving the request, we will contact you to tell you if we are able to comply or if we have lawful grounds to continue, for example if the personal data is required to allow us to provide you access to our services. If personal data is no longer processed, we may continue to hold your personal data to comply with your other rights.
  • The right to data portability: You have the right to request that we transfer your personal data to another data controller. Once we have received your request, we will comply where it is feasible to do so.
  • Consent: If you have given us your consent to use your personal data, you can withdraw your consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of our use of your information before you withdrew your consent.

As mentioned above, you have the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes. You can exercise your right to prevent such processing by ticking certain boxes on the forms we use to collect your personal data or by clicking on the "unsubscribe link" in any email. You can also exercise the right at any time by contacting us at zara.ismail@rpc.co.uk.

If you have a complaint about how we have handled your personal data, please contact us using the details at paragraph 10 below. Alternatively, you can contact the data protection supervisory authority. In the UK this is the Information Commissioner's Office and contact details can be found at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

In order to process any of the requests listed above, we may need to verify your identity for your security. In such cases your response will be necessary for you to exercise this right.

Updates to this Privacy Policy

From time to time we may need to make changes to this Privacy Policy and any updates will be clearly posted on this Website. This Privacy Policy was last updated on 9 April 2021.

Contact details

If you have any queries about this Privacy Policy or in relation to our use of your personal data, please contact us by email at simon.goldring@rpc.co.uk.

Does this Website use cookies?

In addition to asking you to submit personal data, we may collect information about you automatically when you visit the Website. We may collect this information through the use of cookies. Please see our Cookie Policy here for further details.