Scarfone Hawkins LLP Privacy Policy

Scarfone Hawkins LLP (“Scarfone Hawkins”) is a full-service law firm with practice areas that include corporate/commercial, real estate and development, intellectual property, wills and estates, personal injury, commercial litigation, bankruptcy and insolvency and class action law with an office in Hamilton, Ontario. The lawyers, trade-mark agents and staff at Scarfone Hawkins are committed to protecting the privacy of clients and Users. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, utilize and manage personal information in order to ensure the protection of privacy.

Scarfone Hawkins reserves the right to alter or modify the Scarfone Hawkins Privacy Policy (the “Privacy Policy” or “Policy”) from time to time, in its sole and absolute discretion. By using the Websites you acknowledge and agree to be bound by the provisions of this Policy.

Privacy Legislation

Since January 1, 2004, all Canadian organizations engaged in commercial activities have been required to comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information, incorporated by reference into PIPEDA. These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms, including Scarfone Hawkins and its agents and affiliates.

As a professional services firm, we are bound by our professional and ethical obligations to keep confidential the information we receive in the context of a solicitor-client relationship, to the extent that such relationships have arisen as a result of the explicit consent of Scarfone Hawkins.

Personal Information

Personal information is defined in PIPEDA as information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization. In other words, it does not include the information that one expects to find on a business card or information that is available in public records.

Consent to Our Collection of Personal Information

Any User that provides Scarfone Hawkins with personal information consents to the use, collection and disclosure of the information in accordance with the terms of this Policy. In most cases, if the User retains our firm, we assume that we have the User’s implied consent to our collection and use of personal information, however, at times we may ask for the User’s express consent, either verbally or in writing. Generally, we collect personal information directly from the User at the start of or during the course of a retainer with our firm. Sometimes we may obtain information about a User from other sources such as a government registry or other professionals who serve our clients. In determining whether consent has been provided, Scarfone Hawkins will further consider the nature of the information, the sensitivity of the same and the User’s reasonable expectation of privacy.

Use of Personal Information at Scarfone Hawkins LLP

Scarfone Hawkins collects and utilizes information regarding its clients, potential clients and others arising in relation to our legal practice. Scarfone Hawkins uses, collects, and discloses personal information for the following purposes and the User acknowledges and consents to the same:

  • assessing a User’s candidacy, determining and establishing client relationships, providing legal services and advice, satisfying ethical and legal duties and identifying conflicts of interest;

  • maintaining up-to-date document, knowledge, and precedent management systems and associated databases and developing and managing the operation of our business services;

  • distributing recent news and developments in our firm and in the law and providing invitations to firm events;

  • administering billing and client time databases, and collecting on client accounts;

  • recruiting suitable employment candidates and assessing the candidacy of any applicant;

  • communicating with clients and others for the purposes of evaluating the services provided by our firm and for conducting and analyzing market research;

  • detecting and defending against illegal activity, including fraud, breach of contract, error, negligence, theft, and intellectual property infringement and communicating with our insurers as required; and

  • responding to client, User and other’s questions and comments submitted through the Websites, email or otherwise.

Any information collected in association with the foregoing purposes will be retained by Scarfone Hawkins for as long as reasonably necessary to achieve the specific purposes for which such information was collected

Withdrawal of Consent

A client or User may withdraw their consent to our collection, use and disclosure of personal information at any time, subject to legal and/or contractual restrictions and upon reasonable notice. Withdrawal of consent to our collection, use and disclosure of personal information may impact our ability to represent clients and provide them with legal advice.

Any person may ask us not to send marketing communications by following the opt-out instructions in each communication or you may let us know by contacting Jeff Teal (jteal@shlaw.ca) or James Mahler (jmahler@shlaw.ca) or by calling 905-523-1333.

Disclosure of Personal Information to Third Parties

Generally, Scarfone Hawkins does not disclose personal information to third parties without consent unless permitted or required by applicable laws or court orders. The following are some examples when we may disclose personal information: such disclosure is necessary to collect fees or disbursements; we contract with a third party to provide certain services such as archival file storage or insurance or we engage expert witnesses or other law firms on your behalf. In any case that personal information is provided to a third party providing services to our firm, we will use contractual or other means to ensure that such third party service providers are bound by obligations of privacy which are consistent with the terms of this Policy.

Accuracy of Client Information

It is important that the information that we maintain on file for our clients is accurate and up-to-date. If you are a client of our firm and any of your information changes, during the course of the retainer, please inform us so that we may make any necessary changes. We may also ask clients from time to time whether their personal information is up-to-date.

Safeguards

Scarfone Hawkins uses various safeguards to ensure that your personal information is protected against loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying or alteration. These include:

  • security of our physical premises;

  • our professional obligations;

  • security software and firewalls to prevent unauthorized computer access or “hacking”; and

  • internal passwords that restrict access to our electronic files.

Users must be aware that the transmission of personal information through the Websites, electronic mail or otherwise is not guaranteed to be fully secure and the possibility of unauthorized electronic interception exists for any form of electronic communication. Scarfone Hawkins disclaims all liability for any such unauthorized interceptions of client or User information that is provided in an electronic format.

Access to your Personal Information

The User has the right to challenge the accuracy and completeness of their personal information and to have it amended, as appropriate. The User also has a right to request access to their personal information and to receive an accounting of how that information has been used and disclosed, subject to certain exceptions prescribed by law. For example, if the requested information would reveal personal information about another individual, the request for access may be limited or denied. If the request for access is denied, Scarfone Hawkins will notify the User in writing of the reason for such denial.

To request access or to amend your personal information, please contact the lawyer or agent with whom you normally correspond if you are a client of the firm. For all other Users and persons, please write to our Privacy Contact at the address below. Scarfone Hawkins will respond within thirty (30) days of receipt of your written request.

Inquiries

Scarfone Hawkins will respond to inquiries about its policies and practices relating to its handling of personal information. Inquiries should be directed to our privacy contact as set out herein, using the information provided below. All inquiries and complaints must be sent to Scarfone Hawkins in writing. Scarfone Hawkins will investigate and respond within thirty (30) days of receipt of a written inquiry. If the complaint is found to be justified, Scarfone Hawkins will take appropriate measures to resolve it, including, if necessary, amending this Policy and its procedures as necessary.

Website Privacy

Scarfone Hawkins reserves the right to monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information to optimize the performance and experience of utilizing our website.

The Websites use cookies to improve the quality of the User’s visit, which enables our system to recognize the User’s computer and collect non-personal information about them. This information may include the type of browser used to access our site and the Internet service provider domain, but does not provide Scarfone Hawkins with any personal identifying information such as a User’s name, e-mail address, phone number or home address. Further, our server automatically collects information about website traffic, including IP addresses, type of operating systems, time and duration of visit, requested web pages, and identifying User’s by items such as domain and browser type. These statistics are reported in aggregate form to our communications and marketing staff and are used to improve our website and ensure that it provides an optimal experience for Users. Scarfone Hawkins does not link any of the foregoing information to personal identifying information nor does it sell, lease, or otherwise convey such information to any third parties other than our web services provider.

Scarfone Hawkins reserves the right to review server logs for security purposes, for example, to detect intrusions into our system. In instances of criminal malfeasance, Scarfone Hawkins may trace and identify the offending individuals through server log data, and such raw data logs may be provided to the appropriate authorities charged with investigating any such security breach.

Privacy Contacts

If you have any questions or complaints about this Policy or the handling of your personal information, if you wish to withdraw your consent to our use of your personal information, or to request access to or update any information we have on file, please contact the lawyer or agent with whom you are dealing, or contact:

Jeffrey C. Teal

 Address:
SCARFONE HAWKINS LLP
Lawyers & Trade-mark Agents 1 James Street South, 14th Floor P.O. Box 926, Depot 1 Hamilton, Ontario L8N 3P9

If any complaint or inquiry is not handled to your complete satisfaction, you may contact:

Privacy Commissioner of Canada

 Address: 112 Kent Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1H3
  • Phone: 613-995-8210
  • Toll Free: 1-800-282-1376

Changes to this Privacy Policy

Scarfone Hawkins reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to change this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on the Websites, including the currency of our most recent Policy, and will be made available upon request through your contact at Scarfone Hawkins or the Privacy Contacts listed above. Please check from time to time to ensure you are fully aware of our most current Policy. This Privacy Policy is effective as of December 3, 2013