Privacy Policy

We are Mason Bullock Solicitors, a law firm registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The owner and principal solicitor is Andrew Crisp. He is the data protection representative.

You can view our contact details by clicking here.

We are the data controller of the personal data that we collect about you. As the data controller, we are responsible for how your data is processed.

This privacy policy explains how we use any personal data we collect about you and your rights in respect of that data.

Your Personal Data

Personal data is any information that relates to a living, identifiable person. This can include your name, contact details and other information that you provide to us.

We collect information about you in the following ways:

  • you complete a contact form on our website
  • you register as a client
  • you provide details verbally by telephone or face to face

The initial information we collect is therefore based on the information given in those forms or during the telephone conversation.

We also collect data about you when you voluntarily complete a review of our services. Website usage information is collected using cookies.

Sometimes we will receive personal data from other sources, such as:

  • claim details from the court
  • claim details from another party to litigation, such as the claimant or defendant
  • address or employment information from your employer.

In these circumstances, we will notify you as soon as practicable but in any event within 30 days.

Purpose and Legal Basis of Processing

Contract

We need to process your data for the purpose of providing you with the legal advice, services and information you request from us.

The legal basis for processing your data is that  the processing is necessary in order to fulfil our contractual obligations to you or in order to provide you with preliminary advice or a costs estimate prior to entering into a contract.

The provision of your personal data is therefore necessary to enter into the contract for the provision of legal services.

By agreeing to use our services, you are under a contractual obligation to provide us with relevant personal data. If you do not provide the personal data requested, we may not be able to act for you because we will have insufficient information.

Consent

If you sign up to receive legal updates, newsletters, links to blog articles or marketing communications from us, we process data on the basis of that consent. We ensure that the consent is freely given by including an opt-in check box that you need to tick in order to be added to our mailing list. Consent to receiving such communications from us is not a precondition of using any service. You have the right to withdraw your consent.

Legitimate Interests

Your data is also used for the following purposes, which are in our legitimate interests:

  1. Monthly reporting on relevant financial information necessary to manage the business
  2. Storing a hard copy and/or an electronic copy of your file for a reasonable period so that we can refer to it easily if you or we need information
  3. Notifying our insurers or the Solicitors Regulation Authority if something goes wrong with your matter.
  4. If you are referred to us by a business with whom we have a referral arrangement, we may need to let them know what stage your matter has reached so that they know when a referral fee is due. If we refer you to a business with whom we have a referral arrangement, they may need to let us know limited information about your matter so that we know when a referral fee is due. Please be assured that in these instances, the only data shared is necessary and anonymised information related to the legal matter, without disclosing any personal or sensitive information that could identify you. Our referral partners are carefully selected and are committed to upholding the same high standards of data protection and client confidentiality.

Legal Obligation

We are under a legal obligation imposed by Part 7 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to process personal data in order to submit a Suspicious Activity Report to the National Crime Agency if we know or suspect that a person is engaged in, or attempting, money laundering.

Special Category Data

The nature of some of our work dictates that we will hold special category data that relates to you. This may include your race or ethnic origin, religious, political or other beliefs, physical or mental health, trade union membership, genetic or biometric data, sex life or sexual orientation.

Additional grounds under which we may process special category data are:

  • establishing, exercising or defending a legal claim
  • when protecting your interests if you are physically or legally incapable of giving consent
  • where you have provided us with explicit consent to process your data
  • where the data we are processing has already been made public by you

How will we use the information about you?

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

  1. Contacting You: Using your name, contact details, and other information to reach out to you regarding the legal services you requested.
  2. Legal Services: Processing data to provide legal advice and services, including preliminary advice or a cost estimate before entering into a contract for the services.
  3. Legal Checks: Before beginning work, we are legally required to check whether you are a designated person under the UK Sanctions regime by carrying out a search of the consolidated list of sanctions targets on the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation website (https://sanctionssearchapp.ofsi.hmtreasury.gov.uk/.
  4. Compliance with Legal Obligations: Processing personal data as required by law, for instance, under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to report suspicious activities related to money laundering.
  5. Online Reviews – we publish reviews that you voluntarily provide, using online review platforms, such as Trustpilot, Google and Review Solicitors
  6. Service Improvement: Analyzing service reviews voluntarily completed by clients to improve the quality and delivery of legal services.
  7. Retention for Reference: Storing hard copies or electronic copies of your file for a period recommended by legal authorities or insurers to easily refer to your information when needed.
  8. Data Sharing for Legal Work: Sharing data with courts, counter-parties (such as  your employer or the opposing party in litigation), other legal professionals, and technical experts like barristers to fulfil the service requirements for your legal matters

Mason Bullock Solicitors will not share your information for marketing purposes with other organisations.

Retention periods

We may store your file and associated data, usually in electronic form but sometimes in paper form for at least 6 years or such longer period as recommended by the Law Society, the Solicitors Regulation Authority or our insurers.

We may outsource the storage of your file to an off-site storage company.

When you complete a form on our website, the data is stored on our web server for between one and two days. This is to ensure that all entry processing is complete before deleting. The deleting occurs automatically as a daily task.

Data Sharing and Transfer

We may rely on third-party service providers to perform various functions on our behalf. To do so, it may be necessary to share your personal information with them. These service providers are subject to confidentiality agreements and legal restrictions on their use of the information we provide.

Our calls are usually answered by an external telephone answering service who communicate to us the information you provide. This is usually done by telephone or email.

Your data is processed using third-party software and online platforms, some of which are stored on remote servers. Examples include Microsoft 365, Adobe, Hubspot and LEAP Case Management Software.

We may share your data with the court, other legal professionals, costs drafting and other technical experts, such as barristers, when that is appropriate to fulfil the requirements of the service we are providing for you.

We collect reviews using third-party review websites, such as Trustpilot, and, if you choose to provide your name, that will be publicly displayed.

An outside file storage company securely stores and manages our paper archive records and manages controlled destruction of the records when they reach the end of their retention period.

If we undergo a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, or other transaction in which a third party assumes control of the firm’s operations, we may include your personal information among the assets transferred to the assuming entity, ensuring that the privacy policy remains in effect.

Your Rights as Data Subject

As a data subject, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data processed by us:

  • To be informed about how your data is handled;
  • To gain access to your personal data –  If you would like a copy of some or all of your personal information, please write to us at Mason Bullock Solicitors, Friars House, Manor House Drive, Coventry CV1 2TE or fill in a contact form on our website.
  • To have errors or inaccuracies in your data changed;
  • To have your personal data erased, in limited circumstances;
  • To object to the processing of your personal data for marketing purposes or when the processing is based on the public interest or other legitimate interests;
  • To restrict the processing of your personal data, in limited circumstances;
  • To obtain a copy of some of your data in a commonly used electronic form, in limited circumstances;
  • Rights around how you are affected by any profiling or automated decisions.
  • Where the processing of your data is on the basis of consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner if you believe we have breached your data protection rights. You can make a complaint on the ICO’s website https://ico.org.uk.

Where we store your personal data

The data that we collect from you may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”). By submitting your personal data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

All information you provide to us is stored on remote servers that are managed 24/7.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet can never be completely secure. Although we will use reasonable endeavours to protect your personal data, We cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies. For more information click here.

Other websites

Our website contains links to other websites. This privacy policy only applies to this website so when you link to other websites you should read their own privacy policies.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

We use certain artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including OpenAI’s Chat GPT, to assist with various tasks, such as legal research, checking legal documents, and drafting documents and communications. The integration of AI into our services is guided by our commitment to uphold client confidentiality and adhere to the highest standards of data protection.

Changes to our privacy policy

We keep our privacy policy under review and we will place any updates on this web page.

How to contact us

Please contact us using the contact forms on our website if you have any questions about our privacy policy or information we hold about you.