Privacy Policy

James Ware Stephenson Data Protection Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy (the Policy) describes how James Ware Stephenson collects, uses and shares the information you provide to us and the information we collect in the course of operating our business and our website.
In this Policy when we refer to James Ware Stephenson or “we”/“us”/“our” we mean JWSS Law LLP trading as James Ware Stephenson. Our registered office is at Somerset House, T126 New Wing, Strand, London WC2R 1LA and we are authorised and regulated in the UK by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (www.sra.org.uk).
 
We may revise this Policy at any time by amending this page. You are expected to check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes we make, as they are binding on you.

The information that we collect and where we get it from

"Personal information" is any information that can be used to identify you or that we can link to you and which we have in our possession or control.
We will collect and process the following personal information about you:

Information that you provide to us

We will process personal information that you give to us including when you email us or contact us through various channels as follows:
  • Signing up for our services on our website or via a website operated by a third party: when you sign up for newsletters, webinars, events or obtain legal services from us or when you contact us with queries or respond to our communications the personal information you provide may include your full name, title, telephone number, email address and content, date and time of your email correspondence and information about your employer or your business.  
  • In connection with our provision of legal services: if you are a client of James Ware Stephenson you will provide us with personal information when you or the company you represent becomes a client. If you are not a client we may collect or receive your personal information because you are involved in one of our client’s matters.  
  • Recruitment application: when you apply for a role with us, whether as a permanent or temporary member of staff or as an intern you may provide us with your full name, date of birth, nationality, education and qualification details, your gender, your CV, photograph, passport details, marital status, home address and home telephone number, mobile telephone number and other details set out in your application  

Information we otherwise collect about you

We will also collect information about when you use our services or when we otherwise interact or correspond with you. We use various technologies to collect and store information when you visit our website. We may, for example, collect information about the type of device you use to access the website, your IP address and your geographic location, the operating system and version, your browser type, the content you view and features you access on our website, the web pages and the search terms you enter on our website. For information about how we use Cookies and the choices you may have, please see our Cookies Policy 

Information we obtain from other sources

  • If we collect or receive your personal information in the context of our provision of legal services we might receive information from third parties such as your employer, other parties relevant to the services we are providing (e.g. counterparties in transactions) and others such as regulators and authorities. That information could include your name, contact details, employment details and other information relevant to the legal services that we are providing to our client.  
  • If you apply for a position with us we may collect personal information relating to past employment, qualifications and education, opinions from third parties about you, past employment history and other details about you. 

How we use the information we collect

We may do the following with your personal information:
  • use it to provide legal services to the relevant client  
  • use it to engage in marketing and business development activity in relation to our legal services. This may include sending you newsletters, legal updates, marketing communications and other information that may be of interest to you  
  • where you have applied for a position with us, to review and process your job application  
  • to comply with legal and regulatory obligations that we have to discharge  
  • use it to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights or for the purpose of legal proceedings  
  • record and monitor your use of our website for our business purposes which may include analysis of usage 
  • use it for our legitimate business interests such as managing the operation of our business and our website 
  • use it to look into any complaints or queries you may have, and  
  • use it to prevent and respond to actual or potential fraud or illegal activities. 

Grounds for using your personal information

We rely on the following legal grounds to process your personal information, namely:
  • Consent - we may (but usually do not) need your consent to use your personal information. You can withdraw your consent by contacting us (see below).  
  • Performance of a contract - we may need to collect and use your personal information to enter into a contract with you or to perform our obligations under a contract with you.  
  • Legitimate interest - we may use your personal information for our legitimate interests, some examples of which are given above.  
  • Compliance with law or regulation - we may use your personal information as necessary to comply with applicable laws and regulations. 

How we share information with third parties

We may share your personal information with certain third parties outside James Ware Stephenson. These may include:
  • Third party agents/suppliers or contractors, bound by obligations of confidentiality, in connection with the processing of your personal information for the purposes described in this Policy. This may include, but is not limited to, our outsourced bookkeepers and IT and communications service providers. 
  • Third parties relevant to the legal services that we provide. This may include, but is not limited to, counterparties to transactions or litigation, other professional service providers, regulators, authorities and governmental institutions. 
  • To the extent required by law, regulation or court order, for example, if we are under a duty to disclose your personal information in order to comply with any legal obligation.  
  • Transfer of information outside the European Economic Area (Europe)
We use cloud computing to store and process data. Therefore, some of your personal information may be held outside the EEA. Also, we sometimes need to transfer your personal information outside Europe where for example, we are instructed on a transaction or litigation where one of the parties is based outside Europe or where our client is based outside Europe. Where we transfer your personal information outside Europe, we will ensure that it is protected and transferred in a manner consistent with legal requirements applicable to the information. This can be done in a number of different ways, for instance:
  • the country to which we send the personal information may be approved by the European Commission , or 
  • where the recipient is located in the US, it may be a certified member of the EU-US Privacy Shield scheme.  
In other circumstances, the law may permit us otherwise to transfer your personal information outside Europe. In all cases, however, any transfer of your personal information will be subject to applicable data protection law.

Keeping your information and information security

How long we hold your personal information for will vary and will depend principally on:
  • the purpose for which we are using your personal information - we will need to keep the information for as long as is necessary for the relevant purpose, and  
  • legal obligations - laws or regulation may set a minimum period for which we have to keep your personal information. 
We will ensure that we do not hold personal longer than we need or are required to for the purposes for which it has been collected and that the personal information that we hold is subject to appropriate security measures.

Your choices and rights

You have a number of legal rights in relation to the personal information that we hold about you and you can exercise your rights by contacting us using the details set out below.

These rights include:
  • Obtaining information regarding the processing of your personal information and access to the personal information, which we hold about you.  
  • Please note that there may be circumstances in which we are entitled to refuse requests for access to copies of personal information. In particular, information that is subject to legal professional privilege will not be disclosed other than to our client and as authorised by our client.  
  • Requesting that we correct your personal information if it is inaccurate or incomplete.  
  • Requesting that we erase your personal information in certain circumstances. Please note that there may be circumstances where you ask us to erase your personal information but we are legally entitled or required to retain it.  
  • Objecting to, and requesting that we restrict, our processing of your personal information in certain circumstances. Again, there may be circumstances where you object to, or ask us to restrict, our processing of your personal information but we are legally entitled or required to refuse that request.  
  • In some circumstances, receiving some personal information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and/or requesting that we transmit that information to a third party where this is technically feasible. Please note that this right only applies to personal information, which you have provided to us.  
  • Withdrawing your consent to our processing of your personal information, although in certain circumstances it may be lawful for us to continue processing without your consent if we have another legitimate reason (other than consent) for doing so.  
  • Lodging a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office if you think we have infringed any of your rights.  

How to contact us and other important information

If you would like further information on the collection, use, disclosure, transfer or processing of your personal information or the exercise of any of the rights listed above, please contact us. You can do this by writing to us at:
Joanna.stephenson@jwssllp.com