Privacy Policy
Last Updated: January 12, 2024
Adair Goldblatt Bieber is committed to providing its clients with exceptional legal services. As part of that commitment, we often need to collect personal information so that we can serve our clients. We obtain, use and disclose personal information responsibly and carefully and our privacy policy helps ensure our clients know how we handle their personal information.
What is Personal Information?
Personal information is information about an individual person’s personal characteristics, such as name, age, ethnic origin, marital status, religion, education, contact information including home address, telephone, fax and e-mail, and health information.
Why Do We Obtain Personal Information?
As a law firm, we obtain, use, and disclose personal information in the course of providing legal services. We require personal information so that we can contact our clients, obtain information about their legal concerns, and develop and implement effective strategies to address those concerns.
If you apply to Adair Goldblatt Bieber for a job, we need to consider your personal information as part of our review process. We normally retain information from candidates after a decision has been made, unless you ask us not to retain the information. If we offer you a job, which you accept, the information will be retained in accordance with our privacy procedures for employee records.
On our website, like most other commercial websites, we may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information in order to optimize our web service. We may provide aggregated information to third parties, but these statistics do not include any identifiable personal information.
How Do We Collect Personal Information?
For the most part, we obtain personal information either directly from our clients or with their consent. Consent can be in writing or oral, and may be implied through conduct. We may obtain information about our clients from other sources, for example: an insurance company; a government agency or registry; an employer, if we are acting for you, at its request; or an accountant or other professional advisor.
We collect information only by lawful and fair means, and not in an unreasonably intrusive way.
There are some limited instances where we obtain personal information without obtaining consent. For example, a number of Adair Goldblatt Bieber lawyers specialize in professional disciplinary proceedings, and may gather personal information in the course of an investigation into an allegation of professional misconduct. In such circumstances, we may not obtain the consent of the subject of the investigation because it could compromise the investigation.
Who Has Access to Personal Information?
Adair Goldblatt Bieber is a law firm in which a variety of people work may work together on a legal concern, including lawyers, articling students or law students, clerks, and administrative assistants, and have access to personal information. We take steps to ensure that personal information is used and disclosed appropriately, including:
- ensuring lawyers and staff understand the importance of maintaining the security and confidentiality of personal information;
- developing and implementing policies for the collection and use of personal information;
- protecting personal information against loss or theft;
- safeguarding personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification by restricting access to the office and files, using technological tools such as passwords to limit access to computer data, and ensuring that third parties who may have access to personal information in the course of services they provide to us follow proper privacy principles.
Disclosure of Your Personal Information
Adair Goldblatt Bieber may disclose our clients’ personal information:
- when they have consented to the disclosure;
- when we are required or authorized by law to do so, for example, pursuant to a court order;
- when the legal services we are providing require us to give personal information to third parties (such as expert witnesses);
- where it is necessary to establish or collect fees;
- if we retain other law firms on our clients’ behalf; or
- if the information is already publicly known.
Can I Access My Personal Information From Adair Goldblatt Bieber?
Yes. For the most part, you have a right to access your personal information and to know how it is or has been used. The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, which governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal information, requires that we refuse to provide personal information in some circumstances, and allows us to protect privileged or confidential information if it falls into certain categories. For example, if personal information was collected in the course of investigating a legal concern for one of our clients, we have a legal duty to maintain the confidentiality of the information, unless our client consents to its release.
As well, if personal information is incorrect, you have a right to correct or amend the information, or to have a statement of your disagreement appended to the file.
The right to access personal information, however, is not absolute. We may deny access to non-clients of the firm, as in most cases that information was collected in the course of advising a client, in which we case we have a legal obligation to preserve privilege and maintain the confidentiality of the information, absent our client’s consent to its release.
If we deny a request for access to information, we will explain why.
How Do I Access Personal Information?
Just ask us. If we need further information to ensure that we are fulfilling our obligations, we may ask that you provide us with a written request or further information. We will respond to any request promptly. There may be a modest cost to cover copying or other expenses, and if that is the case, we will advise you of the cost in advance. There may be some circumstances we are unable to provide the information because of our legal obligations, and if that is the case, we will provide an explanation for the refusal.
Retention
We retain personal information only as long as it is needed by us to provide our services and as required by law. In some circumstances, personal information may be stored in an off-site storage facility until we determine it is no longer required.
Who Should I Contact at Adair Goldblatt Bieber?
If you want to access personal information, or have questions about our personal information policy, please contact Jordan Goldblatt at jgoldblatt@agbllp.com or 416 920 9777
Changes to this Privacy Policy
Adair Goldblatt Bieber regularly reviews all of its policies and procedures, and may change our Privacy Policy from time to time without notice.