Non-Client Privacy Notice

This privacy notice sets out:

what data we collect from you
how we use it
why we need it
who we share it with
how long we keep it for

We are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. All personal identifiable information about you that either you provide to us, or is given to us by a third party, will only be used in accordance with this privacy notice.

We may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes.

Who does this notice apply to?

This notice applies to individuals who are not our clients but are involved in the work that we do for our clients.

This notice also includes the Directors, Partners, Owners and other personnel of businesses who are involved in the work we do for our clients.

What data do we collect?

Information about you, given to us from our clients or other third parties, limited to contact information, details relevant to the work we are doing and how you are involved
Case related information, letters, documents, photographs, and other information that someone supplies to our staff relating to the work we are doing
In cases that involve your physical or mental health, we may receive your medical records and reports
We may take financial information, like bank details or credit and debit card details from you if required
Telephone calls to or from our offices are recorded and may be saved to our client's file
When visiting our offices your image your image may be recorded on security cameras in and around our buildings
All forms of communication you use to contact us, including letters, emails, faxes, SMS messages, and instant messaging
We may ask for, and keep copies of, identification documents you can provide

What do we do with the information and why do we need it?

Your contact details and details about your involvement in the case will be passed on to the relevant members of staff, so we can carry out the work we are doing for our clients
Information you give us relating to the work we are doing for our clients is used for the purposes of providing our service to them and fulfilling our legal obligations and our contract with our client
Medical and health information is used solely for the purposes of defending or pursuing legal claims
Financial information is used solely to process any financial transactions necessary to complete the work we are doing
We may use and store a copy of your identification documentation to verify your identity, protect ourselves and our clients from fraud, and to meet our legal obligations under anti-money laundering regulations and other laws
Your telephone calls may be saved to our clients electronic file to provide a record of the conversation
We may refer to our security camera footage in the event that there is any cause for concern or disturbance involving our staff

Who has access to the data?

All documents and correspondence that we produce while acting as an agent for our clients belongs to them and can be withdrawn by them or transferred to another firm of solicitors at any time
All the data we hold relating to the matter is available to our staff
Some details may be disclosed to third parties where necessary in order to provide our service to our clients
We may share your data with other organisation where necessary to fulfil our legal obligations to confirm your identity and to abide by anti-money laundering regulations
In property transactions, we may share your information with search providers, lenders, estate agents and other parties where necessary to fulfil our contract with our client
In litigation matters, including personal injury and medical negligence claims and defences, we may share your information with expert witnesses, the other side’s solicitor or other parties for the purposes of pursuing or defending a legal claim
At the end of the work, we may store all relevant physical documents and data with an Archive Storage Provider
All electronic communications may be sent to, and monitored by, third-party security providers to protect us and people we communicate with from viruses and malware

How long do we keep it for?

During the course of the work we carry out for our clients, we will retain all documents and communications involved. This includes, but is not limited to, letters, emails, forms, images, videos, audio files, optical discs, and memory sticks. They will be held in either a hard copy file (paper file) or on our Case Management System (electronic file), or both, as appropriate. These two files are collectively known as the file and will be held for the duration of the work.
Following the completion of the work, both the paper file and electronic file will usually be retained for 6 years. This retention period may be longer or shorter in the following circumstances:
- Where our client is a child, the file is retained until the child reaches the age of 24
- For commercial leases, the file is retained until the expiry of the commercial lease
- Where the matter involves the formation of a trust the file is retained until the expiry of the trust
- For abortive work we will not retain the file
- Where we have a separate agreement with our client concerning the retention or destruction of their files
- Where the destruction of the file may pose a risk to Battens Solicitors and the contents are needed to protect us from a legal claim. We may retain the file until that risk diminishes
Once a file reaches the end of its retention period:
- the paper file will be destroyed and shredded within 12 months
- We will make reasonable endeavour to destroy the electronic file within 12 months of the end of the retention period by deleting data concerning the matter from our Case Management System. Where this is not possible (e.g. the data cannot be deleted without affecting the integrity of the entire system or without affecting other data) your data will either be put out of use, so no one can or will attempt to access it again, or it will be pseudonymised (e.g. we remove your name, address and contact information but keep the matter number as reference)
Where saved to a file, recordings of telephone communications will remain on the file until the file as a whole is destroyed, as above
Call recordings that do not relate to the work we do for our clients are stored for 30 days
Where your image is captured on CCTV when visiting our offices, it is only retained for approximately 30 days following your visit
We will not use your personal data for marketing purposes unless you opt in separately

Further information

Please email David Polson, our Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@battens.co.uk

Last Updated: 20/09/2023