Privacy
Policy

David Ake & Co. Solicitors (“we”, “us” or “our”) is a firm of solicitors authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. We are the data controller for the personal data we process about you.

Our office is at Falk House, Westgate, Leeds LS1 2RA. You can contact us by telephone on 0113 244 8808 or by email at lisa@davidake.co.uk.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect and use personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. It applies to clients, prospective clients, visitors to our website, and other people whose information we process in the course of our work.

Depending on our relationship with you and the matter we are dealing with, we may collect and process:

• Identity and contact details, such as your name, address, telephone number, email address, date of birth and other identifiers
• Information you provide when instructing us, making an enquiry, or corresponding with us
• Financial information, such as bank details, payment records and information needed for legal aid or private funding arrangements
• Information about your matter, including documents, correspondence, court or tribunal papers, and notes of advice or meetings
• Special category data where necessary for your matter, such as information about your health (including mental health), race or ethnic origin, or other sensitive personal data
• Personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences, or related security measures, where we act for you in criminal or related proceedings
• Technical information when you use our website, such as IP address, browser type and pages visited (see Cookies below)

We may also receive information about you from third parties, including courts, tribunals, the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, other solicitors, barristers, medical or mental health professionals, the Legal Aid Agency, insurers, and publicly available sources, where this is necessary for your matter or required by law.

Cookies we use:

We use personal data only where we have a lawful basis under UK GDPR. In most cases this will be one or more of the following:

• Contract: to enter into or perform a contract for legal services with you, or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract
• Legal obligation: to comply with our legal and regulatory duties, including Solicitors Regulation Authority rules, anti-money laundering and conflict checks, court orders, and record-keeping requirements
• Legitimate interests: to run and improve our practice, respond to enquiries, manage our website, keep our systems secure, and establish, exercise or defend legal claims, where those interests are not overridden by your rights
• Consent: where we specifically ask for your consent (for example for certain marketing), which you may withdraw at any time
• Vital interests: in rare cases, where processing is needed to protect someone’s life

Where we process special category data (such as health information) or data relating to criminal convictions and offences, we do so only where additional conditions in the Data Protection Act 2018 apply. For legal services, this is typically because the processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, or for the provision of legal advice, or because you have given explicit consent where that is required.

We may share your personal data with others where this is necessary for your matter or required by law, including:

• Barristers, experts, medical professionals and other advisers instructed on your behalf
• Courts, tribunals, the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and other public authorities
• The Legal Aid Agency, Legal Ombudsman, Solicitors Regulation Authority or other regulators where required
• Our professional insurers, auditors and professional advisers
• IT, hosting, email and other service providers who process data on our instructions under appropriate contracts
• Third parties where you ask us to, or where we are legally obliged to disclose information

We do not sell your personal data. Where we use service providers, they are required to keep your information secure and to process it only for the purposes we specify.

We generally store and process personal data within the United Kingdom. If we ever need to transfer personal data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place as required by UK GDPR, such as an adequacy decision or standard contractual clauses, unless a specific exemption applies.

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, regulatory, accounting and insurance requirements, and to deal with complaints or claims.

Client files are typically retained for a period consistent with Solicitors Regulation Authority guidance and our professional indemnity insurance requirements after a matter has concluded. Exact retention periods may vary depending on the type of matter. Enquiry and website data that does not lead to an instruction is kept for a shorter period unless we need to retain it for another lawful reason.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete or anonymise it.

Under UK data protection law, you have rights in relation to your personal data, including the right to:

• Be informed about how we use your data (this Privacy Policy)
• Access a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Ask us to erase your data in certain circumstances
• Ask us to restrict processing in certain circumstances
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Receive your data in a portable format in certain circumstances
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• Not be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing that produces legal or similarly significant effects (we do not use such automated decision-making)

These rights are not absolute and may be limited where, for example, we must retain information for legal or regulatory reasons, or where disclosure would adversely affect the rights of others, legal privilege, or ongoing proceedings. To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details above. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies that are necessary for the site to function, or that help us understand how the site is used. Where cookies are not strictly necessary, we will seek your consent where required by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

You can control cookies through your browser settings. If you disable cookies, some parts of the website may not work as intended. If we use third-party analytics or embedded content (such as maps), those providers may set their own cookies subject to their privacy policies.

When you use our contact form or email us, we will use the information you provide to respond to your enquiry and, if you instruct us, to open and manage your matter.

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, destruction or alteration. Access to client information is limited to those who need it for their work. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to keep your information safe in line with our professional obligations.

If you have a concern about how we handle your personal data, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection:

• Website: ico.org.uk
• Telephone: 0303 123 1113

If your concern is about our legal service more generally, please see our Complaints Procedure.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page will change when we do. Please check this page periodically for the latest version. Where changes are significant, we will take reasonable steps to bring them to your attention.

For questions about this Privacy Policy or our use of personal data, please contact: