Disclaimer & Privacy Policy

At The Alliance, we are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the personal information of our clients (individually, the “Client” and collectively, the “Clients”.)

As a law firm, the privacy of our clients’ personal information is important to us. We are committed to collecting, using and disclosing personal information responsibly and only to the extent necessary for the services that we provide. We also try to be open and transparent as to how we handle personal information. This document describes our privacy policies.

What Is Personal Information?

In this Privacy Policy, “Personal Information” means information that specifically identifies a Client as an individual and is provided to, or collected by, The Alliance and its staff or by The Alliance’s agents, associates, and affiliates on behalf of the Alliance. In most circumstances, personal information does not include most information that might appear on a business card or information that is available in public records, nor does it include corporate information such as your business address or telephone number in your capacity as an employee of an organization.

Your Consent

By providing us with your personal information, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of that information as described in this Policy. The Alliance will not collect, use or disclose a Client’s Personal Information without the Client’s requisite consent, except in certain extraordinary circumstances. Such extraordinary circumstances shall include, without limitation, when legal, medical or security reasons make it impossible or impractical to obtain consent or where it is otherwise in the best interests of the Client.

We will not, as a condition of supplying a product or service, require you to consent to the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information beyond that required to enable us to provide the products or services requested. The form of the consent that we will seek before collecting, using or disclosing personal information may vary depending upon the circumstances and the type of information, and includes express oral or written consent, implied consent and opt-out consent. You may also consent by implied means such as when you have previously provided Personal Information to us and continue to use our legal services on other matters or where you provide us with your personal telephone number so that we can contact you at home or place of work. We will consider the sensitivity of the information and the individual’s reasonable expectations in determining how consent must be given.

You may refuse to give personal information and may, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice, withdraw consent at any time to the continued use and disclosure of personal information previously collected. The period of reasonable notice will vary depending on the nature of the information and its purpose to The Alliance. The Alliance will inform you of the implications of refusing or withdrawing consent, which may have legal consequences or preclude The Alliance from providing legal or other services.

Collection of Personal Information

We will not collect personal information indiscriminately. We will limit the amount and the type of information we collect to that necessary to fulfill the purposes we have identified to you, or as otherwise permitted or required by law. The Alliance collects and uses Personal Information for the following purposes:

• to determine whether we can act for you, including to identify conflicts of interest;
• to offer and provide legal services to you and to communicate with you about our firm and our services;
• to advise Clients of the legal services provided by The Alliance, as well as, ongoing developments of the law;
• to audit the services provided to our Clients;
• administration, billing, accounting and collection issues related to a Client’s account with The Alliance;
• to comply with all municipal, provincial, federal and other applicable laws; and
• such other specific purposes which are communicated to the Client by a member of The Alliance, its agents, associates, or affiliates, before collection of such Personal Information.

When possible, we will collect personal information from you directly. However, to provide legal services to clients or for legal, administrative, marketing or management purposes, we may also collect personal information through outside sources, for example, from:

• a Client’s insurance company;
• a credit bureau;
• a Client’s real estate agent in a property transaction;
• from a government agency, institution or registry;
• A Client’s employer, at the Client’s request; and
• A Client’s accountant, banker, financial advisor or other professional or service provider.

Except when otherwise permitted by law, we will only use a Client’s Personal Information for the purposes identified to the Client. When Personal Information is to be used for a purpose not identified, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that new purpose is identified prior to use.

Use of Personal Information

We use personal information only as described in this Policy or as otherwise permitted or required by law. Before your personal information is used or disclosed for a new purpose, we will ask for your consent unless use or disclosure without your consent in the circumstances is otherwise permitted or required by law.

The Alliance generally uses personal information about clients for the provision of legal advice, including obtaining and carrying out client instructions, reporting and communicating with clients, billing and accounting, and protecting against fraud, illegal activities or error. The Alliance may also use your personal information to send you newsletters about our services or about legal developments that we think would interest you. To establish or enhance our relationship, we may invite you to client functions, seminars and sporting or cultural events.

If you send personal information through our Site, we will use it to assess website use and traffic, and to respond to your feedback, questions and comments.

Disclosure of Personal Information

We disclose personal information only as described in this Policy or as otherwise permitted or required by law. To provide legal services, and under certain circumstances, we may sometimes disclose our clients’ personal information to The Alliance’s affiliates and to third parties. As such, The Alliance may disclose Personal Information:

• where required or authorized by law to do so: for example, if a court issues a subpoena;
• where a Client has consented to the disclosure;
• where when the legal services The Alliance is providing to a Client requires us to give Personal Information about a Client to a third party (for example, to a lender in a real estate mortgage transaction) the Client’s consent will be implied, unless the Client tells us otherwise;
• where it is necessary to establish or collect fees;
• where The Alliance engages a third party to provide administrative or support services to us (such as computer back-up services, shredding or archival file storage) and the third party is bound by our Privacy Policy;
• where expert witnesses on behalf of a Client require the information;
• where The Alliance retains other law firms on behalf of a Client;
• where the information is already publicly known;
• to anyone who we reasonably believe is your agent;
• to our insurers and to regulatory agencies in connection with regulatory or other activities relating to the obligations of The Alliance and its professional responsibilities in relation to the practice of law; and
• to third party or parties, where you consent or where such disclosure is required or permitted by law.

Limiting collection and retention of Personal Information

The Alliance limits the collection of a Client’s Personal Information to that which is necessary for the purposes identified in this Privacy Policy as same may be amended from time to time, or for any additional purpose identified to the Client before the collection of the Personal Information. As well, Personal Information is not used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was originally collected, except with the consent of the Client or as otherwise permitted by law.

The Alliance will retain Personal Information only for so long as it is needed to fulfill the purposes for which it was obtained and to meet our professional requirements as set out by the Law Society of Upper Canada and/or any other legal requirement, statutory or otherwise, from time to time.

Protection of Personal Information

The Alliance endeavours to maintain adequate safeguards to protect against loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification of Clients’ Personal Information in the care of the The Alliance.

Your Access to Your Personal Information

You can ask to view your personal information by writing to the Privacy Compliance Officer, whose address and link are provided at the end of this Policy. You can request that corrections be made where you can show that the information we possess is inaccurate. Please note that under certain circumstances, you may not be permitted to view your records for example,

• The information is protected by legal privilege;
• Granting access would reveal confidential commercial information;
• Doing so would reasonably be expected to threaten the life or security of another individual;
• The information was collected for purposes related to the detection and prevention of fraud;
• The information was generated in the course of a formal dispute resolution process;
• The information would likely reveal personal information about another individual;
• The request is vexatious or frivolous;
• The information would prejudice negotiation with you; or
• To protect our firm’s rights and property.

Changes To This Privacy Policy

The Alliance will from time to time review and revisit privacy practices and this Privacy Policy. In the event of any material amendment, an appropriate notice will be posted on The Alliance’s Web site. All Clients are encouraged to contact The Alliance to establish if any updates have been made to this Privacy Policy, which can be ascertained by the date listed at the top of this Privacy Policy. All updates and amendments to this Privacy Policy can be found at www.owensoundlawyers.com.

Links to Other Websites

The Site may contain links to other websites. While we try to link only to websites that share our standards and respect for privacy, we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of other websites. We strongly encourage all Site visitors to review the privacy statements and policies of all external websites.

More Information About The Alliance’s Privacy Practices

Clients are encouraged to discuss any privacy issues with the lawyer handling their matter, the Managing Partner, or The Alliance’s Privacy Officer. We will investigate and respond to your concerns. Please visit our Contact page to reach us in person, by phone or online.