Burt & Davies views the protection of your privacy as paramount. It is an integral part of our commitment towards complete accountability and integrity. It is vital to the representation of our clients and the provision of advice to prospective clients. This dictates how we deal with personal information that we receive about you. How it is stored or received by Burt & Davies. Consequently we will:
- Only use personal information provided by you for the purposes for which it was collected. It will not be used for any other unauthorised use.
- Not disclose your personal information to a third party. We will take all necessary measures to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure.
- Ensure that your personal information is not disclosed to other institutes and authorities except if required or authorised by law.
Your consent
By proceeding with an enquiry if you are a prospective client, or by continuing to instruct us in your matter if you are a client, you are taken by us to have provided your consent to us obtaining your information for the purposes of advising you and representing you and to disclose your information to third party service providers for the purposes of providing you with our services.
How we handle your personal and confidential information
Personal information is information that allows others to identify you. Confidential information is information that is not publicly available. As a client we will receive both personal and confidential information in the course of our acting on your behalf. Together, these are referred to as ‘information’ in this policy.
We are required by law to protect your information. We also value your trust and aim to build a relationship with you to service your legal needs. The protection of your information is an important part of this relationship. Your information will be kept confidential. We will not disclose your information to a third party without your consent, or unless compelled by law.
It may be necessary to collect information prior to acting for you. This will allow us to assess whether we are able to act on your behalf. We will retain this information to keep a record of your contact with us and the nature of your enquiry. Often we need to know of your earlier contact in the event that you call us again. It makes our dealings with you more efficient. The information collected is governed by this privacy policy.
You become a client when we offer you a retainer and you commence instructing us to act in your matter. As a client, we collect all information necessary to conduct your legal matter. We are required to keep client matter files for a period of 7 years from the closure/conclusion of your file. This will occur unless you contact us to make an alternative arrangement. You will be provided with further information about this at the conclusion of your matter.
Website
You can visit our website without providing us with any personal information. For statistical purposes we collect information on website activity (eg. number of users who visit our website, date and time of visits, number of pages viewed, etc.). This information does not identify an individual. It merely provides us with statistics that can be used to analyse and improve our website.
We do have online enquiry form on the website. Completion of this form requires input of your name and contact details and the nature of your enquiry. The purpose of this is to submit an online enquiry for legal services. Our privacy policy also applies to information you submit online through our website.
Disclosure within Burt & Davies and to Third Parties
Your information may be accessed by employees of Burt & Davies when that is necessary to provide you with our services. All employees of Burt & Davies are bound by the privacy and confidentiality laws and standards.
We also disclose information to third parties when we outsource certain functions. For example, data storage, document production, information technology support, etc. We also seek expert help from external consultants from time to time to improve our services. We conduct due diligence on any third party provider to ensure that they take the protection of our client’s information as seriously as we do.
Compulsory disclosure by law
We may be compelled to disclose information by law, for example, under court orders or statutory notices to produce documents under laws relating to social security, taxation, bankruptcy, anti-money laundering, counterterrorism and the management of incorporated entities.
Information quality
We aim to keep the information we hold accurate, complete and current. Please contact us if any details you have provided change or you suspect there is an error in the information we hold.
Information security
We are committed to keeping your personal information secure. We take all reasonable precautions to protect the personal information we hold about you.
Disclaimer
The information and other material on the Burt & Davies website is provided for your assistance. It should not be relied on as legal advice or as a substitute for legal advice. The communication of information from this site does not and should not be taken by you to give rise to a Lawyer-Client relationship between you and us or any other party.
Every effort is made to keep the information and other material on our website up-to-date. However, there may be delays, errors or omissions from time to time. This may occur as a result of rapid changes which can occur in many practice areas.
Information and material we have provided on our website may contain links to other sites. Burt & Davies makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information or material on those sites.
Burt & Davies owns the copyright in information and material contained on this site unless expressly stated to the contrary. No information or material on our website can be reproduced, adapted, distributed, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted without our prior written consent other than for the purposes set out in the Copyright Act 1986 (Commonwealth). Subject to the above, you may;
- Print copies of any material provided it is for non-commercial use;
- Store a copy of the material on a computer solely for viewing it; or
- Copy and distribute any one or more complete pages of material so long as it is attributed to Burt & Davies and a copy of this disclaimer appears in each copy made.