Privacy Policy
Privacy Practices
KFG Law respects the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information. As lawyers we have a professional obligation to keep confidential all information we obtain within a lawyer-client relationship. We are committed to protecting any personal information we possess. Our Privacy Policy outlines our practices with respect to the management of your personal information and the safeguards in place to protect your privacy.
Your Privacy Rights
As of January 1, 2004, all organizations covered by the Personal Information and Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) must obtain an individual's consent when they collect, use or disclose the individual's personal information in the course of commercial activities. These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms, including KFG Law. The Act gives you rights concerning the privacy of your personal information.
Personal Information Collected by KFG Law
For purposes of this Policy, "personal information" is any information that identifies you, or by which your identity could be deduced.
How KFG Law Collects Your Information
Wherever possible, we collect your personal information directly from you at the start of a retainer and throughout the course of our representation of you.
Sometimes we may obtain information about you from other sources, for example:
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your insurance company;
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a government agency or registry;
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your accountant; and
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other consultants obtained by you to assist with your legal concerns.
Consent
Providing personal information to KFG Law means that you agree and consent that we may use your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with these terms, you are requested not to provide personal information to us. We only collect personal information as required for us to provide legal services to you. From time to time, under certain circumstances, KFG Law may disclose or provide personal information to third parties such as expert witnesses retained on your behalf, process servers, auditors, off-site records facilities and couriers. This Privacy Policy will bind all such third parties.
Use of Your Information
KFG Law collects, uses and discloses your personal information in order to provide you with legal services, to bill you for legal services rendered and for mailings such as newsletters and announcements relating to our firm. We will not collect personal information indiscriminately and we will not provide your personal information to any third party to allow them to market their products or services.
Disclosure of Your Personal Information
Under certain circumstances, KFG Law may disclose your personal information:
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when we are required or authorized by law to do so, for example, if a court issues a subpoena;
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when you have consented to the disclosure;
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when the legal services we are providing to you requires us to give your information to third parties (such as expert witnesses) your consent will be implied, unless you tell us otherwise;
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where it is necessary to establish or collect fees;
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if we engage a third party to provide administrative services to us (such as computer back-up services or archival file storage) and the third party is bound by our privacy policy;
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if we retain other law firms on your behalf; and
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if the information is already publicly known.
Retention
We will retain your personal information only as long as needed by us to provide our services. In some circumstances, personal information may be stored in an off-site storage facility until we determine it is no longer required. At that time, our firm has procedures in place to destroy and erase personal information.
Accuracy
It is important that your personal information be accurate and up-to-date. During the course of our retainer, we ask that you provide us with any changes to your personal information.
Security
KFG Law takes all reasonable measures to ensure your personal information is kept safe. Our lawyers are governed by the Rules of Professional Conduct of the Law Society of Upper Canada to maintain client confidentiality. Some of the ways your personal information is kept secure include the physical security of our premises, password protection of our computers and the deployment of a firewall to prevent unauthorized access to electronic information.
It should be noted that there is a balance between security and convenience. For example, sending encrypted e-mails to you would not make sense if you could not read them. When determining the level of security, we will take into account the type and sensitivity of the information collected.
Access to Your Personal Information
You may request access to any personal information we have about you. We can help you identify what information we may have about you. In some cases, we may deny access to your personal information. For example, you may be denied access if it would have an unreasonable impact on other people's privacy. If we deny your request for access, or refuse a request to correct information, we shall explain why.
Inquiries
If you have any questions or concerns about your personal information, please feel free to contact us at: