Arya & Sher, its principals and its affiliates are committed to the diligent administration of the personal information of our clients and of all visitors to our website (the “Site”) that we collect, use and disclose in the course of business.
We have a professional obligation to maintain the confidentiality of information that we receive within a lawyer–client relationship. This policy (the “Policy”) seeks to balance the individual’s right to the privacy of his or her personal information and our need to collect, use or disclose personal information for legitimate business purposes.
What Is Considered to be Personal Information?
The types of Personal Information that we may collect about you includes your name, home address, telephone number, personal email address, billing and account information, information about a client’s legal issue and other information incidental to providing legal advice and services (including Personal Information about witnesses, family members, beneficiaries, directors, officers, employees, adverse parties, parties-in-interest, investigators, decision makers, experts, other professional advisors, and our clients’ business partners, investors, shareholders, competitors and customers whom are individuals).
By providing us with your personal information, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of that information as described in this Policy.
We will not, as a condition of supplying a product or service, require you to consent to the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information beyond that required to enable us to provide the products or services requested. The form of the consent that we will seek before collecting, using or disclosing personal information may vary depending upon the circumstances and the type of information, and includes express oral or written consent, implied consent and opt-out consent. We will consider the sensitivity of the information and the individual’s reasonable expectations in determining how consent must be given.
You may refuse to give personal information and may, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice, withdraw consent at any time to the continued use and disclosure of personal information previously collected. The period of reasonable notice will vary depending on the nature of the information and its purpose to Arya & Sher. We will inform you of the implications of refusing or withdrawing consent, which may have legal consequences or preclude us from providing legal or other services.
Collection of Personal Information
We will not collect personal information indiscriminately. We will limit the amount and the type of information we collect to that necessary to fulfill the purposes we have identified to you, or as otherwise permitted or required by law. We may also collect information about your business and business interests or your personal interests to better serve you and foster our relationship.
More specifically, we collect, use and disclose your Personal Information for the following purposes:
- to establish and manage client relationships, provide legal advice, perform legal services, fulfill legal duties, and avoid conflicts of interest. This may include the sharing of Personal Information by and between our personnel and affiliated companies and partnerships for such purposes;
- to share Personal Information to and from third parties for the purpose of providing legal services. Such third parties may include opposing parties; parties in interest; opposing, foreign and other counsel and advisors; witnesses; decision-makers; and experts;
- to consider whether we should establish a commercial relationship with clients, suppliers and other third parties, including to evaluate credit standing and to match credit bureau or credit reporting agency information;
- to establish and maintain commercial relationships with clients, suppliers and other third parties, including to issue invoices, administer accounts, collect and process payments, and to fulfill contractual obligations;
- to understand and respond to client, supplier and other third party needs and preferences, including to contact and communicate with such parties and to conduct surveys, research and evaluations;
- to develop, enhance, market, sell or otherwise provide our products and services;
- to market, sell or otherwise provide products and services of third parties with whom we have a commercial relationship;
- to distribute our Legal Update newsletters, conference information and other material to individuals on our mail and e-mail lists, including via third party mailing houses and e-mail service providers;
- to develop and manage our knowledge-management precedent systems and databases; • to develop and manage our business and operations;
- to detect and protect Arya & Sher and other third parties against error, negligence, breach of contract, fraud, theft and other illegal activity, and to audit compliance with our policies and contractual obligations;
- to engage in business transactions, including the purchase, sale, lease, merger, amalgamation or any other type of acquisition, disposal, securitization or financing involving Arya & Sher;
- as permitted by, and to comply with, any legal or regulatory requirements or provisions;
- for any other purpose to which you consent.
When possible, we will collect personal information from you directly. However, to provide legal services to clients or for legal, administrative, marketing or management purposes, we may also collect personal information through outside sources such as credit bureaus, government agencies or institutions or through other third parties such as employment and other references, employers and service providers.
Internet Server Provider
Certain other information may be collected on the Site through various technologies, described below, without your actively providing the information.
Our website is hosted on servers shared with an Internet service provider (“ISP”). Any personal information collected on our behalf by the ISP, such as server log data (see below), is managed in accordance with this Policy and is protected by applicable law.Certain information about Internet users’ traffic patterns is passively and automatically collected and linked to users’ Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses. These unique IP addresses are assigned to all Web users by their ISPs, and are automatically logged by Internet servers. While the IP address itself does not identify an individual, it may, in appropriate circumstances such as an investigation of a security breach, be used with the cooperation of the ISP to locate and identify an individual using the website.
Server Logs
In the normal course of establishing and maintaining Internet connections, our servers automatically log information about visits to our website. Server logs record statistical information, such as a visitor’s IP address and type of operating system, the time and duration of visit and Web pages requested. The server logs also identify categories of visitors by items such as domain and browser type. These statistics are reported in aggregate form to us and are used to improve our website and ensure that it provides the optimal online experience for visitors.
We do not link server log information to any other data in a way that would enable us to identify individual visitors, except for security purposes, as discussed above.
Cookies
When an individual visitor accesses our Site, we may use a browser feature called a ‘cookie’ to collect information such as the type of Internet browser and operating system the visitor uses, the domain name of the website from which the visitor came, date and duration of the visit, number of visits, average time spent on our website, pages viewed and number of cookies accumulated. A cookie is a small text file containing a unique identification number that identifies the visitor’s browser, but not necessarily the visitor, to our computers each time our website is visited. Unless a visitor specifically informs us (e.g. by registering for an event or sending us correspondence from the website), we will not know who the individual visitors are. In addition to the identified purposes described in our Policy, we may use this website information and share it with other organizations with whom we have a commercial relationship to measure the use of our website, to improve the functionality and content of the website and to facilitate usage by a visitor. Visitors can reset their browsers either to notify them when they have received a cookie or refuse to accept cookies. However, if a visitor refuses to accept cookies, he or she may not be able to use some of the features available on our website.
The use of cookie technology is common on the Internet, and many Internet browsers are initially set to accept cookies automatically. If you would prefer not to accept cookies, you can set your Internet browser to notify you when your computer is receiving a cookie or to refuse cookies automatically. To readjust your Internet browser’s cookie options, please refer to the instruction documentation of your particular browser or seek online assistance.
Use of Personal Information
We use personal information only as described in this Policy or as otherwise permitted or required by law. Before your personal information is used or disclosed for a new purpose, we will ask for your consent unless use or disclosure without your consent in the circumstances is otherwise permitted or required by law.
We generally uses personal information about clients for the provision of legal advice, including obtaining and carrying out client instructions, reporting and communicating with clients, billing and accounting, and protecting against fraud, illegal activities or error. We may also use your personal information to send you newsletters about our services or about legal developments that we think would interest you. To establish or enhance our relationship, we may invite you to client functions, seminars and sporting or cultural events.
We regularly distribute client memos, practice group bulletins, articles and other legal updates and publications to people on our mailing lists, who can elect to receive materials on one or more subject matters. At any time, you may change your preferences and mailing option (regular mail or email), or unsubscribe from our mailing lists.
If you send personal information through our Site, we will use it to assess website use and traffic, and to respond to your feedback, questions and comments.
Disclosure of Personal Information
We disclose personal information only as described in this Policy or as otherwise permitted or required by law. To provide legal services, we may sometimes disclose our clients’ personal information to our affiliates, foreign agents and government or regulatory agencies. At times we may also disclose personal information to service providers, inside or outside Canada, that assist us with marketing or other services, including technical support and mailing. We limit the service provider’s right to use the personal information only for the services it provides to us, and we require the service provider to maintain the confidentiality of the personal information and to take steps to protect the security of the personal information we give it.
Your personal information may be accessed or stored in Canada or another jurisdiction, and may be subject to the laws of that jurisdiction.
Retention of Personal Information
We will retain information, including personal information, for as long as it is needed for the purposes for which it was collected. For example, if you send us personal information electronically to apply for employment with us, we will retain your personal information for a reasonable period to permit future consideration for employment. We may also be subject to legislative requirements regarding the retention of certain types of information.
Protection of Personal Information
We use the standard safeguards of the legal profession to protect the security of personal information in our possession, including physical, organizational and technological measures.
Your Access to Your Personal Information
You can ask to view your personal information by writing to the Privacy Compliance Officer, whose address is provided at the end of this Policy. You can request that corrections be made where you can show that the information we possess is incorrect or incomplete. Please note that under certain circumstances, you may not be permitted to view your records, such as where the disclosure of your records would cause security, legal or confidentiality concerns.
Links to Other Websites
The Site may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of other websites. We strongly encourage all Site visitors to review the privacy statements and policies of all external websites.
Privacy Compliance Officer
Please contact our Privacy Compliance Officer with any questions or concerns you have about this Policy or our handling of your personal information. We will investigate and respond to your concerns.
Privacy Compliance Officer
Arya & Sher
Suite 2200
4950 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario M2N 6K1