Privacy Policy

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PRIVACY POLICY

At Local Legal, we are dedicated to protecting your personal data provided to us by our clients, staff, and third parties. We adhere to the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and all relevant federal, provincial, and other applicable laws and regulations.
By engaging our legal services, clients consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of their personal information as necessary to represent them in their legal matters. The specifics of our Privacy Policy are also detailed in the engagement letter provided to clients before retaining Local Legal.

PERSONAL DATA

We may collect the following information:

Personal Contact Information: This includes your name, date of birth, home address, phone numbers, email address, government-issued identification details, billing and account information, and other necessary data to provide legal services.
Login Information: Credentials for accessing your client file on the UnityC Portal.
Social Media Interactions: Engagements with Local Legal’s social media platforms.
Website and Technology Services Access: Data such as IP address, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-ins, operating system, device type, hardware model, MAC address, unique identifiers, and mobile network information.
Website Visit Details: Information regarding your visit, including URL clickstream data, network details (e.g., devices, nodes, configurations), connection speeds, application performance, pages viewed or searched, page response times, download errors, visit duration, interaction data (e.g., scrolling, clicks, mouse-overs), and email engagement. We do not track your online activities across third-party websites or services.

USE AND DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFO

At Local Legal, we limit the disclosure of personal information but collect, use, and disclose it for purposes that are either identified at the time of collection or as allowed or required by applicable laws. These purposes may include, but are not limited to:

Providing legal services
Sharing with third parties involved in your matter
Complying with professional obligations, including client identification and verification requirements
Establishing, managing, or evaluating client relationships, including determining whether to initiate a client relationship
Administrative, management, and business functions, such as issuing invoices, administering accounts, processing payments, assessing creditworthiness, fulfilling contractual obligations, and safeguarding our business operations through audits
Any other purposes for which you have provided your consent
Complying with legal obligations or court orders

CONSENT

Whenever possible, we will obtain your consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information. If you provide Local Legal with personal information about another person (e.g., opposing parties or individuals involved in legal proceedings), you confirm that you have obtained the necessary consent or possess the legal authority to do so, or that the collection, use, and disclosure are otherwise permitted by law.

Local Legal will not collect, use, or disclose personal information without consent unless permitted or required by law. Typically, we do not seek consent in the following circumstances:

When a client provides personal information about a third party for the purposes of legal representation.
When obtaining consent is impossible or impractical due to legal, medical, or security reasons.
When collecting information for purposes such as fraud detection, prevention, or law enforcement, where seeking consent would undermine the objective.

Local Legal may request your consent to use your personal information for the following secondary purposes:

To enhance our knowledge management systems and databases.
To send you Local Legal publications, event invitations, and other communications that may be of interest to you.
To contact you for market research and to assess client service and satisfaction.

You will be given the opportunity to consent to these secondary uses of your personal information. You may also change or withdraw your consent at any time.

WITHDRAWAL OF CONSENT

You may modify or withdraw your consent to the use and disclosure of your personal information, or opt-out of specific uses and disclosures, subject to any legal and contractual restrictions. To make such changes, please contact one of our Privacy Officers listed below.

SECURITY OF PERSONAL INFO

Local Legal may store and process your personal information at its offices in Canada or other locations. To ensure the confidentiality of your personal information, Local Legal implements security measures that are standard in the legal profession and appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. These safeguards include physical, organizational, and technological protections, such as:

Restricted access to offices
Training for personnel
Limiting access to information on a “need-to-know” basis
Use of passwords
Clearly defined internal policies and practices

RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFO

When our legal services to a client are completed, we close the file. At our discretion, we may destroy materials before closing the file. Personal information will be retained only for as long as necessary to fulfill our obligations as a legal service provider. Typically, retention periods range from 3 to 10 years.

YOUR RIGHTS

You have the right to request information about our data processing practices and access your personal data. All requests must be in writing and should include the details of your request. Please direct them to our Privacy Officer, who will assist you, respond promptly, and explain how access will be provided. If access is denied, we will explain the reasons and inform you of your right to seek a review.
You can also request corrections to any incomplete or inaccurate personal data we hold. If we find an error or omission, we will correct it as soon as possible or annotate the information with the requested correction if a correction cannot be made, subject to legal limitations.
Upon request, we may delete or restrict the processing of your data under certain circumstances, with exceptions for legal compliance. You can also request to suspend the processing of your data while we verify its accuracy or purpose, transfer your data to another party, or object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.

RESPONDING TO PERSONAL DATA BREACHES

If a personal data breach occurs, we may be legally required to report it to the appropriate Information and Privacy Commissioner. Additionally, we will notify any individuals directly affected by the breach, as required by privacy laws and based on the specifics of the situation.

PRIVACY OFFICER

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta oversees the administration and enforcement of Alberta’s privacy legislation. You may visit their website at: http://www.oipc.ab.ca/.