Privacy Notice

Purpose
This privacy notice sets out the standards you can expect from Ennon & Co Solicitors when we request and hold personal information about you, how you can got access to a copy of your personal data and what you can do if you believe the standards required are not being met.

As you will be aware from our firm’s advice to you under the General Data Protection Rules, we believe that we hold your personal Data under the legitimate interest heading being the most appropriate in terms of how we communicate with you in order to represent you in relation to the services we provide of representation in criminal proceedings.

What is this Document for?
Ennon & Co Solicitors is a Data Controller of your personal information. That means we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use the personal information about you. We take the privacy and security of your Data seriously and ensure you are fully informed about the ways in which we collect and handle information about you together with your rights in respect of that information.

Personal information
This is about you as an individual. it can be your name, address, telephone number and can also include further information such as your financial circumstances and personal circumstances relating to legal proceedings against you.

We will safeguard your personal Data and only disclose it where it is lawful to do so, or with your consent.

Types of Personal Data we Process
We only process personal data that is relevant for the legal services we provide to you.

Purpose of Processing on a Lawful Basis for the Process
The purpose is that we have a legitimate interest in obtaining your information as at your request you use our firm to represent you in the services we provide as criminal defence specialists. Specifically, we will use your personal Data in a number of ways including the following.

In processing your application for legal aid and determining whether you are eligible for legal aid or not.

Who the Information May be Shared With
We sometimes need to share your information to ensure proper representation of you. For example, we may be required to pass your information on initially to the Legal Aid Agency, the Law Society, barrister’s chambers, accountants etc all of which we will ensure those organisations have stringent conditions of compliance in the same way as Ennon & Co Solicitors.

Retention Period

Your personal information will not be retained for any longer than is necessary for our firm’s lawful purpose to represent you. This is so as to ensure your personal information does not become inaccurate, out of date or irrelevant.

We are obliged to hold your personal information for a period of 7 years under Law Society Guidelines.

Whilst we retain your personal Data, we will ensure it is kept secure and protect it form loss, misuse unauthorised disclosure or access and once the retention period has been reached our personal Data will be securely deleted and destroyed.

Your Rights
Data Protection Laws provides certain rights to individuals and they include the right ot be informed about the collection and use of your personal information. Likewise, you have a right to request access to your personal information and information about how we process it, you can make such request to a director of the firm at any time.

You have the right to have inaccurate personal information rectified likewise you have the right to your personal information being raised subject to the retention period, you have the right to restrict processing of your personal information and you also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioners Office which enforces Data protection and they can be contacted at ico.org.uk.

Access to personal information
You can find out if we hold your personal Data by making a subject access request to any director of Ennon & Co Solicitors.

GDPR Information

In May 2018, the EU introduced the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), bringing into line the previous UK law from The Data Protection Act.

As a client of Ennon & Co Solicitors Ltd, we will collect and hold information on you which will be kept confidential, however we also want to make sure the data we hold for your is correct, focussed and relevant to our firm’s needs in representing you. The GDPR protects the personal information we hold for you, for your benefit in the way we process that personal data.

We have assessed the 6 legal grounds available to us under GDPR for processing personal data and we have concluded that we hold and retain your data under the provision of our firm having “a legitimate interest” in your data, namely to represent you at your request in criminal proceedings.

Ennon & Co Solicitors Ltd have policies in place to demonstrate compliance with GDPR, so as to ensure your personal data is processed fairly and in a transparent manner in order to allow us to properly represent you in criminal proceedings. That data collected on you, will be relevant and limited to our firms work on your behalf. It will be both accurate and kept up to date and will not be kept for any longer than is necessary under the rules of the Law Society and Solicitors Code of Conduct.

The GDPR gives you rights as an individual regarding your personal data. This includes but is not limited, to your right to obtain information from us about how your data is processed, what exact data we hold for you and the right to have an inaccurate data rectified. If you believe there has been a problem with the processing of your data, you must notify one of the directors of our firm as a matter of urgency. Our being complaint with these Regulations will then consider breaches of data on your behalf and report the matters to the authorities accordingly.

Our firm comply with general data protection, including our firm’s obligation of confidentiality and privacy in respect of the data we hold on you which should you require a copy of our policies please do not hesitate to contact our office immediately.

Our firm’s obligations also extend to having rigid policies in place to ensure the data we hold on you is both relevant and appropriate to our firm’s ability in acting for you. Systems are in place to ensure all data we hold is actually needed by us to carry out professional duties for you. Such data will be held securely by Ennon & Co Solicitors Ltd in accordance with our firm’s policies in applying for technical measures to ensure unauthorised access to your data.

There may be times when we have to share the information, we hold on you, the sole purpose being to advance your case. For example, passing information onto Expert Witnesses, Probation, Medical Report Request, Barrister’s Chambers, Accountants, Law Society, Legal Aid Agency, and any other agencies deemed appropriate. Ennon & Co Solicitors Ltd have policies in place with such other agencies to ensure their compliance with GDPR is the same as ours.

To remain fully compliant with GDPR, as a client of the firm, we are required to request you firstly read, then understand the above, which you have the right to withdrawing your consent at any time in the future.

On the reverse of this document is our firm’s Privacy Notice of which you should be made aware. Likewise, as we will now or in the future approach the Legal Aid Agency our firm has read and made you aware of the Legal Aid Agency Privacy Notice.