Privacy Policy

LibraKeen Professional Corporation Privacy Policy 


LibraKeen Law Professional Corporation (“LibraKeen Law PC”) recognizes the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information.  As lawyers we have a professional obligation to keep confidential all information we receive within a lawyer/client relationship.  We are committed to protecting any personal information we hold.  


This Privacy Policy outlines how we manage your personal information and safeguard your privacy. 


Contacting LibraKeen Law PC via the Website


Contacting LibraKeen Law PC via the website or e-mail does not constitute a solicitor/client relationship of any kind.  Any correspondence entered into here shall not be construed as legal advice, but merely as providing a vehicle to contact LibraKeen Law PC in a direct and timely fashion.  Confidential documentation or information should not be sent to the law office electronically until a retainer has been confirmed.


Your Privacy Rights 


From January 1, 2004, all businesses engaged in commercial activities must comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, (the “Act”) and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information, which it incorporates.  These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms, including LibraKeen Law PC.  The Act gives you rights concerning the privacy of your personal information. 


LibraKeen Law PC is responsible for the personal information we collect and hold.  To ensure this accountability, we have developed this policy, and trained our lawyers and support staff about our policies and practices.   


Why Does LibraKeen Law PC Need Personal Information 


LibraKeen Law PC provides legal services and products to a wide range of clients.  In doing so, it produces direct marketing materials concerning its services and developments in the law. 


LibraKeen Law PC collects personal information for the following limited purposes:


  • To identify our clients in accordance with the requirements of the Law Society of Ontario


  • To establish and maintain client lists


  • To represent you as our client


  • For internal purposes, including professional development of firm lawyers and law clerks


What Personal Information Do We Collect? 


Personal information is any information that identifies you, or by which your identity could be deduced. We collect and use your personal information, in order to provide you with legal services. We collect your personal information only by fair, open and lawful manner. Wherever possible, we collect your personal information directly from you, both at the start of a retainer and in the course of our representation. 


Consent 


In most cases, we shall ask you to specifically consent, if we collect, use, or disclose your personal information.  Normally, we ask for your consent in writing, but in some circumstances, we may accept your oral consent. Sometimes, your consent may be implied through your conduct with us. 


Use of Your Information 


By retaining LibraKeen Law PC, you have confirmed your trust in us. We use your personal information to provide legal advice and services to you and administer our client (time and billing) databases.  We are obliged for legal purposes to retain our client files after the end of the retainer.  


LibraKeen Law PC does not disclose your personal information to any third party to enable them to market their products and services.  For example, we do not provide our client mailing lists to other law firms. 


Disclosure of Your Personal Information 


Under certain circumstances, LibraKeen Law PC will disclose your personal information: 


  • When we are required or authorized by law to do so, for example if a court issues a subpoena


  • When you have consented to the disclosure


  • When the legal services we are providing to you requires us to give your information to third parties (for example, Legal Aid Ontario) your consent will be implied, unless you tell us otherwise


  • Where it is necessary to establish or collect fees


  • If we engage a third party to provide administrative services to us (like computer back-up services or archival file storage) and the third party is bound by our privacy policy


  • If we engage expert witnesses on your behalf


  • If we retain other law firms at your request, and on your behalf


  • If the information is Publicly Available Personal Information, as it is defined under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. 


Updating Your Information 


Since we use your personal information to provide legal services to you, it is important that the information be accurate and up-to-date. If during the course of the retainer, any of your information changes, please inform us so that we can make any necessary changes. 


Is My Personal Information Secure? 


LibraKeen Law PC takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure.  Among the steps taken to protect your information are: 


  • Premises security


  • Restricted file access to personal information


  • Deploying technological safeguards like security software and firewalls to prevent hacking or unauthorized computer access


  • Internal password and security policies


Access to Your Personal Information

 

We are pleased to answer any questions that you may have regarding the collection and maintenance of your personal information.


You may ask for access to any personal information we hold about you during regular business hours on reasonable notice to any personal information we hold about you.


Summary information is available on request.  More detailed requests which require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to our normal professional and disbursement fees. 


Accuracy


LibraKeen Law PC is committed to maintaining accurate, complete and up-to-date personal information. If you are aware of changes to the personal information you have given to us, simply inform us of the changes and we will update our records accordingly.


Can I Be Denied Access to My Personal Information?  


Your rights to access your personal information are not absolute.  We may deny access when: 


• It is required or authorized by law (for example, when a record containing personal information about you is protected by solicitor-client privilege)


• To do so would reveal confidential commercial information, and the personal information cannot be severed from the record


• To do so could reasonably be expected to threaten the life or security of another individual, and the personal information cannot be severed from the record


• The information was generated in the course of a formal dispute resolution process. 


If we deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct information, we shall explain why.  LibraKeen Law PC does not use your Social Insurance Number as a way of identifying or organizing the information we hold upon you.   


Can I Request Anonymity?


Whenever it is legal and practicable, we may offer the opportunity to deal with general inquiries without providing your name (for example, by accessing general information on our website). 

   


Communicating With us Using E-mail


You should be aware that e-mail is not a 100% secure medium, and you should be aware of this when contacting us to send personal or confidential information, including instructions. Your use of e-mail in communicating with us will be your consent to our using e-mail to communicate with you, unless you instruct us otherwise in writing and to the collection and use of your personal information in accordance with this privacy Policy.  LibraKeen Law PC does not guarantee the security or confidentiality of any e-mail communication set to, or by, LibraKeen Law PC unless prior arrangements have been made.


Changes to this Privacy Policy 


Since LibraKeen Law PC regularly reviews all of its policies and procedures, we may change our Privacy.