Data Controller
Giles Powell
Collected Personal Data
When carrying out the provision of legal services I collect some or all of the following personal information that you provide:
- personal details
- family details
- lifestyle and social circumstances
- goods and services
- financial details
- education, training and employment details
- physical or mental health details
- racial or ethnic origin
- political opinions
- religious, philosophical or other beliefs
- trade union membership
- sex life or sexual orientation
- genetic data
- biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person
- criminal proceedings, outcomes and sentences, and related security measures
- other personal data relevant to instructions to provide legal services, including data specific to the instructions in question.
Information collected from other sources.
The same categories of information may also be obtained from third parties, such as other legal professionals or experts, members of the public, your family and friends, witnesses, courts and other tribunals, investigators, government departments, regulators, public records and registers.
Purpose of collecting data
I may use your personal information for the following purposes:
- to provide legal services, including the provision of legal advice and representation in courts, tribunals, arbitrations, and mediations
- to keep accounting records and carry out office administration
- to take or defend legal or regulatory proceedings or to exercise a lien
- to respond to potential complaints or make complaints
- to check for potential conflicts of interest in relation to future potential cases
- to promote and market my services
- to carry out anti-money laundering and terrorist financing checks
- to train other barristers and when providing work-shadowing opportunities
- to respond to requests for references
- when procuring goods and services
- to publish legal judgments and decisions of courts and tribunals
- as required or permitted by law.
Whether information has to be provided by you, and why
If I have been instructed by you or on your behalf on a case your personal information has to be provided, to enable me to provide you with advice or representation, and to enable me to comply with my professional obligations, and to keep accounting records.
The legal basis for processing your personal information
I rely on the following as the lawful basis on which I collect and use your personal information:
- If you have consented to the processing of your personal information, then I may process your information for the Purposes set out above to the extent to which you have consented to me doing so.
- If you are a client, processing is necessary for the performance of a contract for legal services or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract.
- In relation to information which is in categories (g) to (o) above (these being categories which are considered to include particularly sensitive information and which include information about criminal convictions or proceedings) I rely on your consent for any processing for the purposes set out in purposes (ii), (iv), (vi), (viii) and (ix) above. I need your consent to carry out processing of this data for these purposes. However, if you do not consent to processing for purposes (iv) and (ix) (responding to potential complaints and providing a reference) I will be unable to take your case or to provide a reference. This is because I need to be able to retain all the material about your case until there is no prospect of a complaint and to provide an informed and complete reference.
- In relation to information in categories (g) to (o) above (these being categories which are considered to be particularly sensitive information and include information about criminal convictions or proceedings), I am entitled by law to process the information where the processing is necessary for legal proceedings, legal advice, or otherwise for establishing, exercising or defending legal rights.
- In relation to information which is not in categories (g) to (o) above, I rely on my legitimate interest and/or the legitimate interests of a third party in carrying out the processing for the Purposes set out above.
- In certain circumstances processing may be necessary in order that I can comply with a legal obligation to which I am subject (including carrying out anti-money laundering or terrorist financing checks).
- The processing is necessary to publish judgments or other decisions of courts or tribunals.
Who will I share your personal information with?
If you are a client, some of the information you provide will be protected by legal professional privilege unless and until the information becomes public in the course of any proceedings or otherwise. As a barrister I have an obligation to keep your information confidential, except where it otherwise becomes public or is disclosed as part of the case or proceedings.
It may be necessary to share your information with the following:
- data processors, such as support staff, IT support staff, email providers, data storage providers
- other legal professionals
- experts and other witnesses
- prosecution authorities
- courts and tribunals
- trainee barristers
- lay clients
- family and associates of the person whose personal information I am processing
- in the event of complaints, staff who deal with complaints, the Bar Standards Board, and the Legal Ombudsman
- other regulatory authorities
- current, past or prospective employers
- education and examining bodies
- business associates, professional advisers and trade bodies, e.g. the Bar Council or BMIF (Professional Indemnity Insurers)
- the intended recipient, where you have asked me to provide a reference
- the general public in relation to the publication of legal judgments and decisions of courts and tribunals.
I may be required to provide your information to regulators, such as the Bar Standards Board, the Financial Conduct Authority or the Information Commissioner’s Office. In the case of the Information Commissioner’s Office, there is a risk that your information may lawfully be disclosed by them for the purpose of any other civil or criminal proceedings, without my consent or yours, which includes privileged information.
I may also be required to disclose your information to the police or intelligence services, where required or permitted by law.
How long will I store your personal data?
I will normally store all your information:
- until at least 1 year after the expiry of any relevant limitation period (which will usually be 15 years as recommended by my insurers), from the date of the last item of work carried out. This is because it may be needed for potential legal proceedings or subject to a complaint. At this point any further retention will be reviewed and the data will be marked for deletion or marked for retention for a further period. The latter retention period is likely to occur only where the information is needed for legal proceedings, regulatory matters or active complaints. Deletion will be carried out without further notice to you as soon as reasonably practicable after the data is marked for deletion.
- I will store some of your information which I need to carry out conflict checks for the rest of my career. However, this is likely to be limited to your name and contact details/the name of the case/your case reference number. This will not include any information within categories (g) to (o) above.
- Information related to anti-money laundering checks will be retained until five years after the completion of the transaction or the end of the business relationship, whichever is the later;
- Names and contact details held for marketing purposes will be stored indefinitely or until I or my staff become aware that the individual has ceased to be a potential client.
Consent
As explained above, I am relying on your explicit consent to process your information in categories (g) to (o) above. You provided this consent when you agreed that I would provide legal services.
You have the right to withdraw this consent at any time, but this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing activity I have carried out prior to you withdrawing your consent. However, where I also rely on other bases for processing your information, you may not be able to prevent processing of your data. For example, if you have asked me to work for you and I have spent time on your case, you may owe me money which I will be entitled to claim.
If there is an issue with the processing of your information, please contact me using the contact details below.