Privacy Policy

This notice explains when and why we collect personal information about you; how we use it, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others and how we keep it secure. For clients of this firm, you should read this notice alongside our general terms and conditions which provide further information on confidentiality, data privacy etc.

Who we are

Data is collected, processed and stored by  Ali Solicitors; and we are what is known as the ‘data controller’ of the personal information you provide to us. Ali Solicitors is a sole practitioner firm, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under number  Our Data Protection contact is

Cookies

An HTTP cookie is a piece of data sent on behalf of a website (such as this website) and stored on the user's computer by the user's web browser while the user is browsing.

We may use internal resources or third party analysis services which use cookies to collect information on site usage and behaviour patterns. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of our website and improve it. We may also share website usage data with service providers for benchmarking and site rating purposes.

We don’t use cookies in a way which allows us to identify site users.

Currently, the website attempts to set the following cookies:

• Analytical Cookies: Analytical cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on its usage

You may press decline should you not wish to allow these cookies.

Google Analytics may be used to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. This is to establish details such as the number of visitors to various pages of our website. This information is only processed in a way which does not identify any individual. We do not make, or allow Google to make any attempt to identify those individuals visiting our website.

General enquiries 

Any information provided by our online form or telephone call is deleted immediately unless you decide to proceed with your case.

Information collection

The exact information we will request from you will depend on what you have asked us to do or what we are contracted to do for you. There are two types of personal data (personal information) that you may provide to us:

• Personal data: is the general information that you supply about yourself – such as your name, address, gender, date of birth, contact details, financial information etc. 
   
• Sensitive personal data: is, by its nature, more sensitive information and may include your racial or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, political opinions, health data, philosophical views, biometric and genetic data.

Sources of information

Information about you may be obtained from a number of sources; including:

• You may volunteer the information about yourself
• You may provide information relating to someone else – if you have the authority to do so
• Information may be passed to us by third parties in order that we can undertake your legal work on your behalf. These organisations can be organisations that have referred work to us, medical or financial institutions – who provide your personal records / information.

Why we collect information

The primary reason for asking you to provide us with your personal data, is to allow us to carry out your requests – which will ordinarily be to represent you and carry out your legal work.

The following are some examples, although not exhaustive, of what we may use your information for:

• Verifying your identity
• Communicating with you
• To establish funding of your matter
• Seeking advice from third parties; such as legal and non-legal experts
• Responding to any complaint or allegation of negligence against us

Who has access

We have a data protection regime in place to oversee the effective and secure processing of your personal data. We will not sell or rent your information to third parties. We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes. Generally, we will only use your information within Ali Solicitors . However there may be circumstances, in carrying out your legal work, where we may need to disclose some information to third parties; for example:

• Court or Tribunal
• Home Office
• Asking an independent Barrister or Counsel for advice; or to represent you
• Translation Agencies
• Any disclosure required by law or regulation; such as the prevention of financial crime and terrorism
• If there is an emergency and we think you or others are at risk
• It may also be disclosed to companies we work with who support us in providing those services (where applicable), such as IT hosting companies. 

In the event any of your information is shared with the aforementioned third parties, we ensure that they comply, strictly and confidentially, with our instructions and they do not use your personal information for their own purposes unless you have explicitly consented to them doing so. There may be some uses of personal data that may require your specific consent. If this is the case we will contact you separately to ask for your consent which you are free to withdraw at any time.

How it is protected

We recognise that your information is valuable and we take all reasonable measures to protect it whilst it is in our care. We have technology and operational security in order to protect personally identifiable data from loss, misuse, alteration or destruction. Similarly, we adopt a high threshold when it comes to confidentiality obligations and both internal and external parties have agreed to protect confidentiality of all information; to ensure all personal data is handled and processed in line with our stringent confidentiality and data protection policies. We use computer safeguards such as firewalls.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify a Data Subject, the ICO and any other applicable regulator of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.

How long it is stored

Your personal information will be retained, usually in computer or manual files, only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which the information was collected; or as required by law; or as long as is set out in any relevant contract you may hold with us. For example:

• As long as necessary to carry out your legal work
• For a minimum of 6 years from the conclusion or closure of your legal work; in case you, or we, need to re-open your case for the purpose of defending complaints or claims against us.

Your rights

Under GDPR, you are entitled to access your personal data (otherwise known as a 'right to access'). If you wish to make a request, please do so in writing addressed to our Data Protection Officer.

A request for access to your personal data means you are entitled to a copy of the data we hold on you  but it does not mean you are entitled to the documents that contain this data. 

Under certain circumstances, you have the following rights:

1. The right to be informed: which is fulfilled by way of this privacy notice and our transparent explanation as to how we use your personal data

2. The right to rectification: you are entitled to have personal data rectified if it is inaccurate or incomplete

3. The right to erasure / ‘right to be forgotten’: you have the right to request the deletion or removal of your personal data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing. This right only applies in the following specific circumstances:

• Where the personal data is no longer necessary in regards to the purpose for which it was originally collected
• Where consent is relied upon as the lawful basis for holding your data and you withdraw your consent
• Where you object to the processing and there is no overriding legitimate interest for continuing the processing
• The personal data was unlawfully processed
• Where you object to the processing for direct marketing purposes

4.       The right to object: you have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests; and direct marketing. This right only applies in the following circumstances:

• An objection to stop processing personal data for direct marketing purposes is absolute – there are no exemptions or grounds to refuse – we must stop processing in this context
• You must have an objection on grounds relating to your particular situation
• We must stop processing your personal data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms or the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

5. The right to restrict processing: you have the right to request the restriction or suppression of your data. When processing is restricted, we can store the data but not use it. This right only applies in the following circumstances:

• Where you contest the accuracy of the personal data – we should restrict the processing until we have verified the accuracy of that data
• Where you object to the processing (where it was necessary for the performance of a public interest or purpose of legitimate interests), and we are considering whether our organisation’s legitimate grounds override your right
• Where processing is unlawful and you request restriction
• If we no longer need the personal data but you require the data to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim

Complaints

If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact us will investigate further. 

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are not processing your personal data in accordance with the law, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Changes to this Privacy Notice
We may change this privacy notice from time to time. If you use our website regularly, please visit this page from time to time to check this notice.