Neill Clerk & Murray Solicitors Client Privacy Notice

What we need

Neill Clerk & Murray is a "controller" of the personal information that you provide to us when you instruct us to act on your behalf.

When you become a client of Neill Clerk & Murray Solicitors, we will collect, store and use the personal information that you provide to us in your instructions and during the course of our solicitor / client relationship.  We may ask you for additional personal information during the course of our client / solicitor relationship, which shall be collected, stored and used in accordance with this privacy notice.

Why we need your personal information – contractual purposes

We need to collect our clients' personal information so that we can provide you with legal services and carry out our obligations in terms of our contract with you and the services you have instructed us to provide.  We will use our clients' personal information to:

• provide you with legal advice, including by communicating with you by email, letter and/or telephone;
• represent you as your solicitors in connection with the work you have instructed us to do on your behalf;
• respond to and communicate with our clients regarding your questions, comments, support needs or complaints, concerns or allegations in relation to complaints and disciplinary procedures, for example, we will use your personal information to investigate your complaint, take disciplinary action, etc; and

If you do not provide us with all of the personal information that we need to collect then this may affect our ability to provide you with legal advice and / or represent you as your solicitors.

Why we need your personal information – legitimate purposes

We also process personal personal information in pursuit of our legitimate interests to:

• promote our services by sending clients communications with information for upcoming events and legal updates;
• providing those who have registered an interest in our property matching service with details of properties they might be interested in.
• Defend any complaints which might be raised against us or to defend any court actions which might be raised against us or deal with any enquiries we may receive from the Police, the courts, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service or the Serious Crime Office.

Where we process your personal information in pursuit of our legitimate interests, you have the right to object to us using your personal information for the above purposes.  If you wish to object to any of the above processing, please contact the Solicitor who is responsible for the work you have instructed.  His or her details can be found on the terms of business letter which we are required to issue in all cases.  If we comply with your objection, this may affect our ability to undertake the tasks above for the benefit of you.

Why we need your personal information – legal obligations

We are under a legal obligation to process and or retain certain personal information, relating to our clients for the purposes of complying with our obligations under:

• the Law Society of Scotland requirements for solicitors;
• Our obligations in respect of Anti Money Laundering Laws; and
• For the purpose of verifying your identification where we have witnessed any document on your behalf or notarised any document on your behalf.

Who we share your personal information with

We may be required to share personal information with statutory or regulatory authorities and organisations to comply with statutory obligations.  Such organisations include: The Law Society, HMRC, Revenue Scotland for the purposes of meeting our obligations under law society regulations; paying taxes on your behalf and making reports in respect of money laundering if same is suspected. 

We may also share personal data with our professional advisors for the purposes of taking advice.

Neill Clerk & Murray Solicitors employs third party suppliers to provide services for us.  These include things like file scanning services (for the purpose of storing your file once it is concluded) IT support, surveyors, search companies etc.  These suppliers may process personal data on our behalf as data controllers or as data processors.  Where they are controllers they have their own obligations regarding privacy notices like this and where they are processors they are subject to written contractual conditions to only process that personal data under our instructions and protect it.

Neill Clerk & Murray Solicitors also employs third party suppliers, where appropriate to provide services on your behalf.  These include things like experts such as Medical professionals, Local Authorities (where appropriate), financial institutions, The office of the Public Guardian, property factors, Insurance Companies, Surveyors, Search companies etc.  These suppliers may process personal data on our behalf as data controllers or as data processors.  Where they are controllers they have their own obligations regarding privacy notices like this and where they are processors they are subject to written contractual conditions to only process that personal data under our instructions and protect it.

In the course of performing our obligations under our contract with you, depending on what type of work you have instructed we may share your data with third parties such as other Solicitors, Medical professionals, Local Authorities (where appropriate), Financial Institutions, The office of the Public Guardian, The auditor of court, Tracing agents, Property factors, Insurance Companies, Surveyors, Search companies, the NHBC, the dvla, the DWP, HMRC, Revenue Scotland, valuers, auctioneers, house clearance specialists, estate agents, charities or other legatees/beneficiaries, accountants, structural engineers, timber specialists, tradesmen, Landlord registration, safe deposit scheme, courts and tribunals, a tenancy referencing agency, utility providers.

In the event that we do share personal data with external third parties, we will only share such personal data strictly required for the specific purposes and take reasonable steps to ensure that recipients shall only process the disclosed personal data in accordance with those purposes.  This is a general privacy notice covering all work we do.  If you wish to check specifically who we are sharing your information with, for your particular case, please ask us.

How we protect your personal information

Your personal information, whilst your file is current, is stored in your paper file and on our electronic filing system.  We also keep back data storage tapes to ensure we can back up our systems in the event of a catastrophe in our offices (such as fire).  These back up tapes are kept off site but still within the UK.  Our servers are based in the UK, and are accessed by our staff for the purposes set out above.  After your file is concluded, we arrange for it to be either stored here on our premises or for it to be scanned and stored by file scanning and storing company.

If we are required to transfer your personal information outwith the EU for any purpose, we will provide you with information regarding the safeguards that we have put in place with the recipient country to protect your personal information.

How long we keep your personal information

We keep our clients' personal data for different periods depending on what kind of work you have instructed.  We have in place a system to regularly go through our files and destroy same at the appropriate time.

Divorce and consistorial matters 

Five years after final completion, e.g. after maintenance, residence and contact orders, etc., have ceased to have effect, or children have reached majority.

Civil court cases

Ten years after completion.

Executries 

Ten years after completion which may be up to 20 years after prior and legal rights have prescribed, a combined total maximum of 30 years.

Continuing trusts 

Ten years after the termination of the Trust.

Conveyancing transactions 

Purchase: Ten years after completion.  Please note where we have taken source of funds evidence for the purpose of purchases, we will keep such evidence for the same period of time as we have a legitimate interest to do so.

Sale: One year later after completion (i.e. after implementing Letter of Obligation; dealing with any funds retained; and after Missives have ceased to have effect).

Company work 

Ten years after completion.

Other correspondence files which do not have documents witnessed or notarised within them

Five years after completion of the business.

Other correspondence files which do have documents witnessed or notarised within them

Five years however we will retain such papers from the file required to verify the clients identity and any associated documents needed to verify circumstances surrounding the witnessing/notarising until the need for such verification expires.

Your rights

You can exercise any of the following rights by writing to us at Neill Clerk & Murray Solicitors, 3 Ardgowan Square, Greenock, PA16 8NW

Your rights in relation to your personal information are:

• you have a right to request access to the personal information that we hold about you by making a "subject access request";
• if you believe that any of your personal information is inaccurate or incomplete, you have a right to request that we correct or complete your personal information;
• you have a right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information for specific purposes; and
• if you wish us to delete your personal information, you may request that we do so

Any requests received by Neill Clerk & Murray Solicitors will be considered under applicable data protection legislation.  If you remain dissatisfied, you have a right to raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office at www.ico.org.uk