Privacy Policy
Last Updated: January 5, 2024
The lawyers and staff at Points of Law by Linda Smith (“Points of Law” or “we“) recognize the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information. As lawyers we have professional obligations regarding the confidentiality of information we receive from our clients within a lawyer-client relationship. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use and safeguard your personal information in accordance with Canadian law, including the Personal information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
Collecting Your Personal Information
We collect personal information fairly and in accordance with the law. Generally, we collect your personal information directly from you. Such collection may be done at the start of our relationship or during the course of our relationship. Sometimes we may obtain information about you from other sources including, for example:
from a government agency or registry;
other professionals who serve you, such as your accountant;
other parties or witnesses in the context of litigation; and
other parties or participants in a commercial transaction.
Consent
In most cases, we will obtain your consent for collecting, using or disclosing your personal information. Consent may be obtained in writing or orally, and can also be implied through your conduct or the nature of our retainer. Withdrawal of your consent may impact our ability to serve you or to continue our relationship.
Use of Personal Information
We use your personal information for the following purposes:
Providing Legal Services: To deliver the legal services you have requested.
Communication: To communicate with you regarding your legal matter.
Billings and Payments: To process payments and issue invoices.
Improving Our Services: To include you in our information distribution and marketing activities. You can opt-out of receiving updates by informing us.
Points of Law does not disclose your personal information to third parties to enable them to market their products and services. Under certain circumstances Points of Law may disclose your personal information. Some examples are:
When you have consented to the disclosure.
When we are required or authorized by law to do so, including, for example, if a court issues a warrant or a subpoena.
In order to comply with the requirements of the Law Society of Ontario.
When the legal services we are providing to you requires us to give your information to third parties your consent will be implied, unless you tell us otherwise.
Where it is necessary to collect fees or disbursements.
If we engage a third party for administrative services (like computer back-up, file storage, or insurance) with privacy obligations consistent with this policy.
Updating Your Information
Since we use your personal information to provide legal services to you, it is important that the information be accurate and up-to-date. If, during the course of the retainer any of your information changes, you must inform us so that we can make any necessary changes. We may also periodically inquire of you whether your personal information is accurate and up-to-date. Failure to update your information may impact our ability to serve you or to continue our relationship.
How We Protect Your Personal Information
Points of Law takes precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Among the steps taken to protect your personal information are:
Office security
Confidentiality policies as part of our professional obligations
Deploying technological safeguards like security software and firewalls to prevent unauthorized computer access or “hacking”
Internal password and security policies.
You should be aware that e-mail is not an entirely secure medium. While we take reasonable measures to ensure the security of electronic communication, the inherent nature of email poses some risks. Please exercise caution when sending us personal or confidential information. If you prefer not to communicate with us via email, it may impact the speed of our services and in some cases we may not be able to continue to represent you.
Your Choices and Rights
You have the right to:
Access Your Information: You may request access to the personal information we hold about you. Detailed requests which require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to professional and disbursement fees.
Correct Your Information: You may update or correct any inaccuracies in your personal information.
Withdraw Your Consent: You may withdraw your consent for the collection of and processing of your information. Please note that a withdrawal of your consent may result in Points of Law being unable to continue to represent you.
This Web Site
Our website may link to external sites, not covered by this policy. We monitor website traffic to enhance our service, sharing overall statistics with third parties, that exclude personally identifiable details. Points of Law does not use cookies for automatic personal information collection. However, our servers automatically collect IP addresses, which may be reviewed periodically for fraud prevention and network security.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, or wish to access your personal information, please contact us at info@pointsoflaw.ca or the lawyer you normally deal with.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
Points of Law reviews all of its policies and procedures and we may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version will be posted on our website with the effective date.
Thank you for trusting Points of Law by Linda Smith with your legal matter.