About Us
Here at Nicholsons Solicitors, we respect your privacy and we are committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy notice aims to give you information about how we collect and process your personal data through your use of our services. This privacy notice should be read alongside our Privacy Policy relating to personal information we may collect via our website (www.nicholsonslaw.com).
Nicholsons Solicitors LLP’ is the controller responsible for your personal data. If you have any questions about this privacy notice, including any requests to exercise you legal rights, please contact us using the details at the end of this notice.
Categories of Personal Data We May Collect From You
“Personal data” or “personal information” means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (“anonymous data”).
The categories of personal data we will typically collect are:
- Identity Data: includes first name, maiden name, last name, or similar identifier, marital status, title, date of birth and gender;
- Contact Data: includes home address, other property addresses, email addresses and telephone and fax numbers.
- Financial Data: includes bank account and payment card details.
- Transaction Data: includes details about payments to and from you and to and from third parties.
- Marketing and Communications Data: includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our chosen third parties, and your communication preferences.
How We Use Your Personal Data
We may use your personal data for the purpose of client identity verification, the provision of any of our services, the administration of files and records, legal and regulatory compliance and the marketing and promotion of our services, as well as informing you of relevant news and legal developments. The information will be held in hard copy and electronic form.
We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, this is where one or more of the following applies:
- where we need to perform the contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you;
- where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests;
- where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.
Generally we do not rely on consent as the legal basis for processing your personal data in connection with the provision of our services but if we do rely on consent, for example in relation to the marketing and promotion of our services, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us using the contact details below.
In specific matters, it may be necessary to collect and process special categories of personal data. This could include information about race or ethnicity, religious beliefs, trade union membership, heath, sex life and sexual orientation. Processing of such special categories of data is permitted to establish or exercise or defend legal claims and we will normally be relying on this lawful ground when processing special categories of personal data. However, if this ground does not apply we will seek your explicit consent to such processing where applicable.
Transfer of Personal Data
Our work for you may necessarily require us to provide information to third parties such as expert witnesses and other professional advisers, such as accountants or agents. Any third party to whom we disclose information about you will also be under an obligation to keep your information secure and not to use it for any purpose other than that for which it was disclosed. We may also disclose your personal data to third parties from whom we are buying a business/assets or to whom we are selling some or all of our business/assets as part of any due diligence process. Your personal data may subsequently be transferred to such third parties.
We may also be under a duty to disclose your personal data as part of our legal or regulatory obligations. We may need to disclose data to third parties in order to comply with those requirements or to prevent fraud or money laundering.
We will not transfer your personal data outside of the European Economic Area (EEA)
Electronic Verification Provisions
We may obtain information about you from third parties in order to verify your identity. In performing these checks, personal information provided by you may be disclosed to that third party, which may keep a record of that information. This will be done to confirm your identity; a credit check is not performed and your credit rating will be unaffected.
Data Security
We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.
Data Retention
We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.
Further information about data retention can be found in clause 10 of our Standard Terms of Business, or you can request further information by contacting us using the details below.
Your rights
You have certain rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data.
You have the right to request access to your personal data and the right to require us to correct any inaccuracies free of charge. In certain circumstances, you have the right to request erasure of your personal data. If you wish to exercise these rights you should contact our Data Privacy Manager using the contact details below.
Whilst you will not usually be charged a fee to exercise your rights (such as your right to access your personal data) we may charge you a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, in such circumstances we may refuse to comply with your request.
We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to help speed up our response.
Contact Information
Our full details are:
Data Controller: Nicholsons Solicitors LLP
Postal Address: 23 Alexandra Road
Lowestoft
Suffolk
NR32 1PP
Telephone number: 01502 532300
Data Privacy Manager: Joseph Long
Email address: jlong@nicholsonslaw.com
You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.