INTRODUCTION

The Board of Directors, lawyers and staff of Guarnes Law Office (“Guarnes Law Office”), recognize and respect their clients’ personal information and endeavour to safeguard that information from unauthorized use, retention, or disclosure to third parties. It is upon this fundamental principle that our firm adheres to the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Rules of Professional Conduct regarding the security of our clients’ personal information, common law principles of solicitor-client privilege and, where applicable, litigation-privilege. In addition, the protection of our clients’ personal information is governed by Guarnes Law Office privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”), as follows:

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Guarnes Law Office’s Privacy Policy assures you as an existing or future client, that in retaining our services to represent you or your business, the entire Guarnes Law Office team will handle your file in accordance with this policy pursuant to all applicable Federal and Provincial legislation including, but not limited to, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”).

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SCOPE

This Privacy Policy governs personal information collected from the client, other lawyers in the course of representing the client or providing legal services to the client, as well as organizations that have information relevant and necessary to fulfilling the purpose for which our firm’s services have been retained.

 

Personal information is defined under PIPEDA as any information that is identifiable or directly attributable to an individual. It does not cover information about an individual that is available from a public source, such as a telephone directory, court record, or land registry office. It also does not cover aggregated data, used for statistical and reporting purposes, from which data the client’s identity cannot be determined.

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This Privacy Policy applies to Guarnes Law Office’ Board of Directors, partners, associates, staff and contracted employees. As well, Guarnes Law Office ensures that all third party service providers sign confidentiality agreements prior to any transfer of a client’s personal information in the course of providing the services for which Guarnes Law Office was retained.

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COLLECTION PERSONAL INFORMATION

Guarnes Law Office collects personal information for the following limited purposes:

1. to represent the client as set out in the retainer agreement;

2. to establish and maintain client lists for collection of legal fees, record keeping and statistical purposes; and

3. to establish and maintain mailing lists for newsletters, notification of workshops and seminars, or legal updates that Guarnes Law Office believes might be informative or of benefit to the client

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CONSENT TO THE COLLECTION, USE, AND DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

When a client retains the services of Guarnes Law Office, he or she will be asked to sign a retainer agreement that sets out the purpose for which Guarnes Law Office has been retained. Upon signing this retainer, the client consents to Guarnes Law Office collecting, using and disclosing personal information obtained for the limited purpose for which Guarnes Law Office was retained, as well as those purposes listed above in this Privacy Policy.

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Guarnes Law Office will not use client personal information for any purposes other than that consented to by the client, either by express or implied consent. Guarnes Law Office does not sell, barter, or lease personal information it obtains from its client to third parties (i.e. Guarnes Law Office would not provide our client mailing list to another law firm or business).

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If the client requests additional services of Guarnes Law Office beyond that of the original retainer, the client is giving implied consent to Guarnes Law Office using the personal information already held for the original purpose, as well as any new personal information collected for the new purpose and no signature will be required on a new or amending retainer agreement.

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Under PIPEDA and other Federal and Provincial Legislation, Guarnes Law Office may disclose personal information without client consent to:

• government or legal enforcement agencies if Guarnes Law Office determines that the client has provided incorrect information for fraudulent or illegal purposes;

• government or legal enforcement agencies if the information is collected in the midst of a criminal investigation;

• legal enforcement agency if Guarnes Law Office determines that there is imminent risk of death or serious bodily harm, including psychological harm, to an identifiable person or group of persons;

• disclosure to a third party individual or organization if so ordered by a Court or Tribunal of competent jurisdiction; and

• defend against allegations of criminal or civil liability, or professional malpractice or misconduct, by the client or former client.

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ACCURACY

Guarnes Law Office endeavours to ensure that all personal information provided by the client and in its possession, is accurate, current and as complete as is necessary for the purposes for which the personal information was collected, used and maintained in an active file. Upon notification by a client that the personal information requires correction or updating, Guarnes Law Office will make the necessary amendments to the client’s active file where applicable.

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Personal information contained in files that have been closed, or pertaining to matters of the client that have been resolved, will not be actively updated or maintained. Guarnes Law Office will retain personal information until the matter is closed or the retainer is terminated by either the client or Guarnes Law Office. All personal information will be returned to the client and only information pertaining to the services or litigation for which Guarnes Law Office was retained will be maintained in the file once it is closed. Closed files are retained for the period prescribed by relevant Federal and Provincial legislation.

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WEBSITE

Our website contains links to other sites, which are not governed by this privacy policy. On our website, like other commercial websites, we may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information in order to optimize our web service. We may provide aggregated information to third parties, but these statistics do not include any identifiable personal information

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OPENESS

Guarnes Law Office makes available its privacy policies and procedures regarding the handling of personal information that it collects for the duration of the retainer on the Internet website at www.guarneslawoffice.com. As well, any inquiries regarding personal information management practises may be directed to the Chief Privacy Officer.

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INDIVIDUAL ACCESS

Under PIPEDA, an individual is entitled to access to the personal information held about them with the following exceptions as permitted under the Federal Privacy Legislation:

• No access will be granted if the information is protected by solicitor-client privilege or litigation privilege;

• Guarnes Law Office will deny access if the individual seeking access fails to produce sufficient identification to verify that they are the individual about whose personal information access is being sought;

• No access will be granted to personal information that is not about the individual seeking access;

• No access will be granted to information that is part of a criminal investigation;

• No access will be granted where such access would harm or interfere with law enforcement activities and other investigative functions of a body authorized by statute to perform such functions;

• No access will be granted to information where such access might threaten the life, safety and security, including psychological safety, of the individual seeking access;

• No access will be granted to the individual who is a minor or mentally incompetent;

• Guarnes Law Office reserves the right to refuse access that it believes is repetitious, frivolous, or vexatious.

 

Upon receiving a request for access in writing, Guarnes Law Office will endeavour to have the information available to the individual seeking access within 60 days of verification of the individual’s identity.

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Where possible, Guarnes Law Office will provide the requested information at nominal cost to the individual. Where the information requested is stored off-site, Guarnes Law Office reserves the right to charge the individual seeking access, the cost to have such information retrieved from the off-site storage facility.

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The individual entitled to access may challenge the completeness of their personal information under Guarnes Law Office’ care and control. Upon successful demonstration that there is an error in the personal information held by Guarnes Law Office, Guarnes Law Office will amend the information where  appropriate.

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COMPLAINTS

The Chief Privacy Officer will investigate all concerns or complaints respecting the handling of personal information under the control of Guarnes Law Office that are received in writing. As promptly as possible, the Chief Privacy Officer will report to the individual the results of the investigation and, where the complaint is found to be justified, steps will be taken to resolve the matter.

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If the individual is dissatisfied with the report provided by the Chief Privacy Officer, or feels that the corrective action taken by Guarnes Law Office is insufficient, the individual may direct a complaint to the Federal Privacy Commissioner in writing. The address of the Federal Privacy Commissioner is provided below under “Helpful Privacy Links”.

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CONTACT INFORMATION

If a question arises regarding access to your personal information held by Guarnes Law Office, or there is a concern about the manner in which Guarnes Law Office collects, uses, retains and discloses your personal information as a client of Guarnes Law Office, please contact:

 

Chief Privacy Officer
Guarnes Law Office

306 - 1585 Markham Road, Scarborough, ON, M1B 2W

Tel: 416-963-2444

Fax: 416-963-3444