Ottawa DUI Lawyers
Charitsis Sheikh LLP - Privacy Policy
Your personal privacy is protected and valued by our team of criminal defence lawyers
As a criminal law firm in Ottawa, the lawyers of Charitsis-Sheikh LLP recognizes the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information.
As legal advisors, we have an obligation to use reasonable efforts to keep confidential all information we receive within an advisor-client relationship
Our law office is committed to protecting any personal information we hold. This Privacy Policy outlines how we manage your personal information and safeguard your privacy in regards to our criminal and legal services. If you have any questions or concerns about your privacy, please contact us using the contact information at the end of this policy.
Whenever you provide us with personal information, whether in writing, over the telephone, or online, you will be referred to this Privacy Policy.
If you do not agree with our Policy, please contact us at the address given at the end of this Policy. We would be pleased to address your concerns. Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of and agreement with this Privacy Policy, described below, including your agreement and consent to the use of such information as described in it.
Solicitor-Client Privilege
Solicitor-client privilege is a principle of fundamental justice.
More than just a rule of evidence, it is a substantive right central to the proper functioning of the legal system that allows clients to communicate candidly and in confidence with their criminal lawyers knowing that these communications are protected from disclosure.
Solicitor-client privilege applies to communications:
Between a client and a solicitor, made during the course of seeking or giving of legal advice, and which are intended to be confidential by the client and the solicitor.
The Supreme Court of Canada has held that solicitor-client privilege between a criminal lawyer and their client must be as close to absolute as possible and that there is a reasonably high expectation of privacy regarding solicitor-client privileged communications.
Your Privacy Rights in Regards to Our Legal Services
Why Do We Need Personal Information?
We provide legal services to a wide range of clients facing criminal charges at the Ottawa courts. If we did not collect and use your personal information, we could not provide you with our legal services.
We use your personal information for internal purposes. We do not share this information outside our law firm except with our approved agents, who help us to provide the service(s) you have requested.
All of our approved agents are required to provide a level of privacy protection comparable to that provided in this policy and are not permitted to use your information for any other purpose, such as to market to you. We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information.
What Personal Information Do We Collect?
“Personal information” is any information that identifies you or by which your identity could be deduced. For example, we may collect the names, postal addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, age, credit card numbers, driver’s license numbers, offense-related information, and driving record histories of our clients.
Please note that “personal information” does not include information that does not allow an individual to be identified, information about your visit to our websites which is not linked to you, information about your computer’s operating system and web browser software (this technical information is verified to ensure that our websites are optimized to serve our customers) or, the name, title, or business address or phone telephone number of an employee of an organization.
How Do We Collect Your Personal Information?
We collect information only by lawful and fair means and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. Wherever possible, we collect your personal information in an active fashion directly from you, at the start of a retainer and in the course of our representation.
Sometimes we may obtain information about you from other sources with your permission, for example:
- from a government agency or registry;
- your employer, if we are acting for you, at your request;
- your lawyer or other professional advisor;
- passively by recording data on the history of your acquisition of services from us.
- from the courts in regards to your criminal proceedings or trial.
Consent for Legal Services
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.
Use of Your Information
We use your personal information to provide advice and services to you, to administer our client databases.
We do not disclose your personal information to any third party to enable them to market their products and services. Your consent to our use of your personal information can be withdrawn at any time by following the directions at the end of this policy.
We will retain your personal information for only the period of time which is reasonable under the circumstances, or in compliance with the Law Society of Upper Canada as a criminal lawyer, and once your personal information is no longer required for the purposes discussed above, it will be deleted
Disclosure of Your Personal Information
Under certain circumstances, we 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 services we are providing to you require us to give your information to third parties 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 advisors in other jurisdictions, on your behalf;
- if the information is already publicly known
Updating Your Information
Since we use your personal information to provide services to you, it is important that the information be accurate and up-to-date.
If during the course of the retainer or our legal representation, any of your information changes, please inform us by contacting us as described at the end of this Privacy Policy so that we can make any necessary changes.
Is My Personal Information Secure?
As criminal lawyers, we take 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 to only those with a need to know;
- deploying technological safeguards like security software and firewalls to prevent hacking or unauthorized computer access;
- internal password and security policies;
- secure disposal of personal information no longer needed; and
- screening and training of personnel.
We cannot, however, guarantee that loss, misuse or unauthorized use will never occur (e.g. that someone will overcome our security measures or other criminal means). If you receive any electronic communication which purports to be from us that you have any questions or concerns about, please contact us. Spam, improper use, and pirating of domain names and email addresses is a growing problem, so we appreciate hearing about incidents in order that we may investigate them and provide you the best
Contacting Us
If you have any questions or concerns about our Privacy Policy or the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information, please contact us using the information below:
135 Laurier Ave West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P5J2
Phone: 613-703-5599
Email: Help@CharitsisSheikh.com
We will investigate and respond to your concerns about any aspect of our handling of your personal information. If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may be entitled to make a written submission to the Privacy Commissioner in your jurisdiction.
Conclusion We are committed to protecting your privacy, and we understand that you have entrusted us with your personal information. We will do everything we can to keep that trust.
Our Privacy Policy is designed to ensure that we meet our obligations under applicable privacy legislation. We will review and update our Privacy Policy regularly to ensure that it continues to meet our legal obligations and changing business needs.
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