Privacy Policy

The lawyers and staff at Wilsons, The Law Practice (“Wilsons” or “we“) recognize the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information. This Privacy Policy outlines how we manage personal information and protect privacy. As lawyers, we have professional obligations regarding the confidentiality of information we receive from our clients within a lawyer-client relationship. We are dedicated to protecting personal information we hold in accordance with law. 

Personal Information

Personal information means information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization. As of January 1, 2004, all Canadian organizations engaged in commercial activities, including Wilsons, must comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, as amended  (“PIPEDA“).

Collecting Personal Information

In connection with providing legal services, Wilsons often collects and uses personal information. Generally, we collect your personal information directly from you. Such collection may be done at the start of our relationship or during the course of our representation or retainer. We may obtain information about you from other sources including, for example: from a government agency or registry; from other professionals who serve you, such as your accountant, realtor or mortgage advisor; or other parties or participants in a transaction.

Consent

In most cases, if we collect, use, or disclose your personal information, we will obtain your consent. Sometimes we will ask for your consent in writing, but in some cases, we may accept your oral consent. Sometimes your consent may be implied through your conduct with us or the nature of our retainer. Should you withdraw your consent, that may impact on our ability to serve you and to maintain our relationship.

Use of Personal Information

We use your personal information to provide legal advice and services to you, to administer our client (time and billing) databases and to build and to maintain the firm’s knowhow and expertise. 

Disclosure of Personal Information

Wilsons does not disclose your personal information to third parties to enable them to market their products and services. Under certain circumstances Wilsons may disclose your personal information. Some examples are:

• when you have consented to the disclosure;
• when we are required or authorized by law to do so, including, for example, if a court issues a warrant or a subpoena;
• in order to comply with the requirements of the Law Society of Ontario, the      regulatory body that governs the practice of law in Ontario;
• when the legal services we are providing to you requires us to give your      information to third parties (for example a lender in a real estate      mortgage transaction) your consent will be implied, unless you tell us      otherwise;
• where it is necessary to collect fees or disbursements;
• if we engage a third party to provide administrative services to us (including      but not limited to computer back-up services, suppliers, service providers, including an organization or individual retained by Wilsons to perform      functions on its behalf, such as data processing, document management and office services, archival file storage, insurance) and the third party is      bound by privacy obligations; 
• in the event of a merger by, sale or growth of Wilsons; or
• if we retain another law firm (such as, for example, law firms who practice in      areas that we do not practice or who practice outside our jurisdiction) on      your behalf.

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. We may also periodically inquire of you whether your personal information is accurate and up-to-date.

Securing Personal Information

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

• premises security;
• deploying technological safeguards like security software and firewalls to prevent unauthorized computer access or “hacking”; and
• internal password and security practices.

E-mail

You should be aware that e-mail, as an internet-based form of communication, is not a secure medium, and you should be aware of this when contacting us to send personal or confidential information.

Accessing Personal Information

You may ask for access to personal information we hold about you.

Detailed requests which require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to our normal professional and disbursement fees.

Your rights to access your personal information are not absolute, in that there are a number of situations where we may deny access. If we deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct personal information, we will provide a reason or reasons for doing so.

Web Site

Wilsons does not enable cookies nor does Wilsons use any electronic means to automatically collect personal information from you or your computer; however, web servers and software providers used by Wilsons will automatically collect IP addresses and we may view our web server IP log from time to time to prevent fraudulent acts and possible network attacks.

Requests for Access

If you have any questions, or wish to access your personal information, please contact the lawyer with whom you normally deal or write to our Privacy Contact at:

Alexa Wilson, 

Wilsons, The Law Practice

448 Big Bay Point Road, Barrie ON L4N 3Z4

alexa@wilsonslp.com 

If you are not satisfied with our response, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada can be reached at

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
30, Victoria Street
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 1H3 1-800-282-1376

Amendments to this Privacy Policy

Wilsons reviews all of its policies and procedures and we may change this Privacy Policy from time to time.