PRIVACY POLICY

Safeguarding Your Privacy is Important to Us

Protecting the privacy and confidentiality of our client’s personal information is a priority at John Russell Law Offices. Collecting, using and disclosing of client’s personal information in an appropriate and responsible manner is an important part of our day-to-day operations. As lawyers, we have a professional obligation to keep information we receive within a lawyer-client relationship confidential. This Privacy Policy outlines how we manage your personal information and safeguard your privacy.

Applicability of the Policy

Personal information is defined as any identifying information about an individual or group of individuals, including name, date of birth, address, phone number, email address, social insurance number, nationality, gender, health history, financial data, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, debts, liabilities, payment records and personal views.

Business information is defined as business name, address, telephone number, names(s) of owner(s), executive officers(s), and director(s), job titles, business registration numbers, and financial information. Business information is treated and handled with the same level of confidentiality, privacy, and respect as personal information.

Consent occurs and is obtained either expressly or by implication through the act of providing the requested personal information to John Russell Law Offices. Once consent is obtained, John Russell Law Offices is permitted to collect, use, and disclose the individual’s personal information for the purpose stated in this Policy.

Appropriate Use of Personal Information

John Russell Law Offices collect personal information solely for the purpose of conducting business and may include one or more of the following:

• Providing legal services to you.


• Fulfilling legal and professional obligations, including client identification and verification rules and other requirements of the Law Society of Ontario. Avoiding conflicts of interest.


• Personal information may be shared with third parties for the purpose of providing legal services in the context of legal proceedings, including conducting litigation, arbitrations, mediations, hearings at an administrative tribunal or other proceedings. Such third parties may include opposing parties in interest, and other counsel and advisors, witnesses, courts, adjudicators, arbitrators and other decision-makers and experts.


• Maintaining, developing and managing our document management, precedent systems and databases.


• For administrative, management and business purposes, such as issuing invoices, administering accounts and processing payments.


• For any other purpose for which we have your consent.

Our Commitment to You

John Russell Law Offices assumes full responsibility for the personal information within its possession and control. John Russell Law Offices obtains personal information directly from the individual to which the information belongs, or from another individual and/or corporation with that individual’s consent. Individuals are entitled to know how their personal information is used and we will limit the uses of any personal information collected only to what is needed for those stated purposes.

John Russell Law Offices will not sell, distribute, or otherwise disclose personal information or contact lists to third parties. However, limited disclosure may be required as part of fulfilling our stated business duties, or as required to comply with other legal, regulatory and/ or audit requirements. A few examples of when such limited disclosure may be necessary include:

• If we engage expert witnesses on your behalf.


• If we engage a third party to provide administrative services to us (such as computer back-up services, archival file storage or contract employees) and the third party is bound by our Privacy Policy.


• To any person whom John Russell Law Offices reasonably believes is providing or requesting disclosure of personal information as your agent.


• Where it is necessary to establish or collect fees.

John Russell Law Offices will retain personal information only for the duration it is needed for conducting business and as required by mandated rules and regulations of the Law Society of Ontario. Once personal information is no longer required, it will be destroyed in a safe and secure manner.

John Russell Law Offices takes all reasonable precautions, including:

• Our premises are secure with restricted access to our servers.


• Computer and network systems are secured by passwords. Only authorized individuals may access secure systems and databases.


• Routers and servers connected to the Internet are protected by a firewall, and are further protected from virus attacks or hacking with sufficient software solutions.

In addition, lawyers are obligated by the Rules of Professional Conduct to maintain all client information as strictly confidential.

In most instances, John Russell Law Offices will grant individuals access to their personal information upon request. Should your request be denied, we will advise you in writing of the reason. If you discover an error in your personal information, please advise us as soon as possible so that we may correct it.

Please direct any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information to Johanna Douglas-O’Neill at John Russell Law Offices.