Privacy and Cookies Policy
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the privacy notice of Adam Bernard Solicitors.
Adam Bernard Solicitors respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy
notice will inform you as to how we look after your personal data when you visit our website (regardless of
where you visit it from) and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.
Please also use the Glossary to understand the meaning of some of the terms used in this privacy notice.
1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND WHO WE ARE
2. THE DATA WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU
3. HOW IS YOUR PERSONAL DATA COLLECTED
4. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA
5. DISCLOSURES OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA
6. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS
7. DATA SECURITY
8. DATA RETENTION
9. YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS
10. GLOSSARY
1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND WHO WE ARE
PURPOSE OF THIS PRIVACY NOTICE
This privacy notice aims to give you information on how Adam Bernard Solicitors collects and processes your
personal data through your use of this website, including any data you may provide through this website when
youcontact us.
This website is not intended for children and we do not knowingly collect data relating to children .
It is important that you read this privacy notice together with any other privacy notice or fair processing notice
we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal data about you so that
you are fully aware of how and why we are using your data. This privacy notice supplements the other notices
and is not intended to override them.
CONTROLLER
Adam Bernard Solicitors is the controller and is responsible for your personal data (collectively referred to as “Adam
Bernard Solicitors”, “we”, “us” or “our” in this privacy notice).
We have appointed a Data Protection Officer, Mr Rashad Aslam who is responsible for overseeing questions
in relation to this privacy notice. If you have any questions about this privacy notice, including any requests to
exercise your legal rights, please contact the Data Protection Officer using the details set out below.
CONTACT DETAILS
Our full details are:
Full name of legal entity: ADAM BERNARD SOLICITORS
Email address:info@adambernards.co.uk
Postal address: 25 Barking Rd, East Ham, London E6 1PW
Telephone number: 020 7100 2525
You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK
supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance
to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.
CHANGES TO THE PRIVACY NOTICE AND YOUR DUTY TO INFORM US OF CHANGES
It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if
your personal data changes during your relationship with us.
THIRD-PARTY LINKS
This website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling
those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these thirdparty websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website, we
encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit.
2. THE DATA WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU
Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can
be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).
We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped
togetheras follows:
• Identity Data includes first name, maiden name, last name, username or similar identifier, marital status,
title,date of birth and gender.
• Contact Data includes address, email address and telephone numbers.
• Financial Data includes bank account and payment card details.
• Transaction Data includes details about payments to and from you and other details of services you
have purchased from us.
We do not collect any Special Categories of Personal Data about you (this includes details about your race
or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union
membership, information about your health and genetic and biometric data, or any information about criminal
convictions and offences) unless required to enable us to provide our services to you, in which case it will be
used in accordance with this privacy notice.
Information gathered automatically
We may also collect information automatically about your access and usage of our website using
cookies and other analytical technology. Full details of our data collection methods are included in the
‘Cookie’ section below. We will use your IP address, which is a numeric code that identifies a computer
on the internet, to collect internet traffic data and information on your browser type and computer. If
you do not wish to receive cookies, you may reject them by amending your browser settings, unless
they are required for the delivery of our website or services to visitors.
Information gathered from third parties
Additionally, we may obtain information about you from legitimate third parties, including existing
clients, Courts and other Government institutions (the Home Office, Police Station etc) and other
relevant entities that are known to you or related to your enquiry or requirements.
IF YOU FAIL TO PROVIDE PERSONAL DATA
Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you and you fail
to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter
into with you (for example, to provide you with services). In this case, we may have to cancel a service you
have with us, but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.
COOKIES
A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer
if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive.
Cookies we use
Necessary Cookies
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can
only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
First Party Cookies
Analytical cookies are created every time the website is accessed, allowing us to count the number of visitors and
see how they interact with the site. This enables us to ensure that users are finding the information that they are
looking for more effectively.
Third Party Cookies
We also work with suppliers who create cookies to allow us to track customer visits more effectively. For example,
to support our site and the information we are posting, we sometimes embed photos and video content from
websites such as Facebook, YouTube and Flickr. As a result, when you visit a page with content embedded from,
for example, Facebook, YouTube or Flickr, you may be presented with cookies from these websites. Adam
Bernard Solicitors does not control the dissemination of these cookies. You should check the relevant third party
website for more information about these.
Adam Bernard Solicitors takes your privacy and confidentiality very seriously and third party agencies do not hold
any personal identifiable information about you.
Session Cookies
This cookie stores information that has been inputted into the website. It is stored temporally within the browser
memory and is not retained after the browser is closed. These are in use on the enquiry forms and to support any
user authenticated areas such as the Closed Forums when used.
Persistent Cookies
This cookie is stored on your hard drive until it expires or can be deleted. This cookie saves user preferences and
helps the site to remember information and settings for when you visit again.
Marketing Cookies
We use cookies for remarketing purposes. These cookies are written by Google for the purpose of showing
advertisements to users who have previously visited our site as they browse other websites on the internet. More
information on Google Remarketing can be found
here http://www.google.com/ads/innovations/remarketing.html
Secure Cookies
These cookies ensure that your data is kept safe from hackers and theft when using secure areas.
How to delete to control cookies
If you wish to restrict or block the cookies which are set when visiting our website you can do this through your
browser settings. The ‘Help’ function within your browser should tell you how. Alternatively, you may wish to visit
www.aboutcookies.org which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of
browsers. You will also find details on how to delete cookies from your computer as well as more general
information about cookies. For information on how to do this on the browser of your mobile phone you will need to
refer to your handset manual.
Please be aware that restricting cookies may impact on the functionality of the site and also your user experience.
If you do have any problems or require further information please contact us on info@adambernards.co.uk
2. HOW IS YOUR PERSONAL DATA COLLECTED?
We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:
a) Direct interactions. You may give us your Identity, Contact and Financial Data by filling in forms or
bycorresponding with us by post, phone, email, website chat, voice calls, text messages or otherwise.
This includes personal data you provide when you:
apply for and use our services;
request marketing to be sent to you;
give us some feedback.
request information about us, our website, our services or any other interaction involving this website;
b) Third parties or publicly available sources. We may receive personal data about you from various third
parties and public sources, including those set out below:
Experts instructed by us upon your behalf in the course of our dealings with you;
Technical Data from the following parties:
search information providers such as T M Group UK Ltd. based inside the EU.
Identity and Contact Data from publicly availably sources such as Companies House and the
Electoral Register based inside the EU.
3. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA
We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal
data in the following circumstances:
• Where we need to perform the contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you to
providelegal advice and assistance.
• Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and
fundamentalrights do not override those interests.
• Where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.
See the Glossary below to find out more about the types of lawful basis that we will rely on to process your personal
data.
Generally we do not rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your personal data other than in relation
to sending third party direct marketing communications to you via email or text message. You have the right to
withdraw consent to marketing at any time by contacting us.
PURPOSES FOR WHICH WE WILL USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA
We have set out below, in a table format, a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, and
whichof the legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified what our legitimate interests are where
appropriate.
Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific
purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal
ground we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out in the
table below.
Purpose/Activity Type of data Lawful basis for processing including
basis of legitimate interest
To register you as a new client (a) Identity
(b) Contact
Performance of a contract with you
To register you as a new lead /
processing a new inquiry
(a) Identity
(b) Contact
(c) Financial
Transaction
(a) To assist with inquiries, we might need to
collect identity
(b) Necessary to comply with a legal
obligation
Necessary for our legitimate interests (tokeep
our records updated and to study how
customers use our services)
To process and deliver your services
including:
(a) Manage payments, fees and
charges
(b) Collect and recover money owed
to us
(d) Identity
(e) Contact
(f) Financial
(g) Transaction
(a) Performance of a contract with you
(b) Necessary for our legitimate interests (to
recover debts due to us)
To manage our relationship with you
which will include:
(a) Notifying you about changes to
our terms or privacy policy
(b) Asking you to complete a
satisfaction questionnaire
(a) Identity
(b) Contact
(c) Profile
(d) Marketing and
Communications
(c) Performance of a contract with you
(d) Necessary to comply with a legal
obligation
(e) Necessary for our legitimate interests (to
keep our records updated and to study how
customers use our services)
To administer and protect our
business and this website (including
troubleshooting, data analysis,
testing, system maintenance,
support, reporting and hosting of
data)
(a) Identity
(b) Contact
(c) Technical
(a) Necessary for our legitimate interests (for
running our business, provision of
administration and IT services, network
security, to prevent fraud and in the context
of a business reorganisation)
(b) Necessary to comply with a legal
obligation
Other Legitimate grounds for processing your information
We must have a lawful basis for processing your information. This will vary depending on the circumstances for
obtaining your information, but will typically include:
The activities are within our legitimate interests as a Solicitors practice seeking to engage with and
provide services to prospective and current clients
You have given consent for us to process your information in relation to our marketing activities
We are completing necessary steps in relation to you entering into a contract with Adam Bernard
Solicitors, because you wish to engage us to provide legal services to you
The processing is necessary for compliance with legal obligations that we are subject to.
Marketing
If you become a client of Adam Bernard Solicitors, we may use your personal information to send you information
that we think may be of interest to you or your business. This falls within our legitimate interests as a Solicitors
practice to use your information for marketing purposes.
CHANGE OF PURPOSE
We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider
thatwe need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to
get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please
contact us.
If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal
basiswhich allows us to do so.
Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the
above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.
4. DISCLOSURES OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA
We may have to share your personal data with the parties set out below for the purposes set out in the table
in paragraph 4 above.
• External Third Parties as set out in the Glossary.
• Specific third parties such as barristers, Independent Financial advisers, Process Servers, Medical
Experts, other experts etc. to enable us to perform the contract we have entered into with you
• Third parties to whom we may choose to sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or our assets.
Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. If a change happens to our
business, then the new owners may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this privacy
notice.
We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the
law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and
only permitthem to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.
5. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS
In the course of providing legal services, in particular our US visa services, it may be necessary for us to transfer your personal data outside of the UK or the European Economic Area (EEA). This could include sharing your data with authorities, legal professionals, or third parties in the United States to facilitate visa applications, immigration processes, or related services.
When we transfer your personal data outside of the UK or EEA, particularly to the United States, we ensure that an adequate level of protection is provided to safeguard your data by employing at least one of the following safeguards:
We will only transfer your personal data to countries outside the UK and EEA where the European Commission or UK authorities have determined that the country in question provides an adequate level of protection for personal data.
Where appropriate, we may use standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission or UK authorities to ensure your data is protected to the same standard as within the UK and EEA.
For US-based service providers or entities (such as US immigration authorities, legal experts, or visa facilitators), we will ensure that these providers are bound by appropriate legal frameworks such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, binding corporate rules, or other legally recognised mechanisms.
Specific Case of US Visa Services
In the context of US visa services, we may need to transfer your personal data to relevant US authorities (e.g., US Citizenship and Immigration Services, US Department of State, and other relevant entities) in order to process your visa application. By submitting your personal data to us for these services, you acknowledge that it may be necessary to transfer your data to the United States to fulfill the requirements of the visa process.
In these cases, we will take all necessary steps to ensure that your data is handled securely and in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
If you require more detailed information on the specific mechanisms used when transferring your personal data to the United States or other countries, please contact our Data Protection Officer.
6. DATA SECURITY
We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally
lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed.
We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any
applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.
7. DATA RETENTION
HOW LONG WILL YOU USE MY PERSONAL DATA FOR?
We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for,
including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and
sensitivity ofthe personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal
data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes
through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.
Details of retention periods for different aspects of your personal data are available in our retention policy
which you can request from us.
8. YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS
Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data.
Please see the Glossary below to find out more about these rights:
• Request access to your personal data.
• Request correction of your personal data.
• Request erasure of your personal data.
• Object to processing of your personal data.
• Request restriction of processing your personal data.
• Request transfer of your personal data.
• Right to withdraw consent.
If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact our Data Protection Officer.
NO FEE USUALLY REQUIRED
You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However,
we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we
may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.
WHAT WE MAY NEED FROM YOU
We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right
to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that
personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you
forfurther information in relation to your request to speed up our response.
TIME LIMIT TO RESPOND
We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month
if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you
and keep you updated.
GLOSSARY
Legitimate Interest means the interest of our business in conducting and managing our business to enable
us to give you the best service and the best and most secure experience. We make sure we consider and
balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before we process your
personal data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your personal data for activities where our interests are
overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by
law). You can obtain further information about how we assess our legitimate interests against any potential
impact on you in respect of specificactivities by contacting us.
Performance of Contract means processing your data where it is necessary for the performance of a
contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request before entering into such a contract.
Comply with a legal or regulatory obligation means processing your personal data where it is necessary
for compliance with a legal or regulatory obligation that we are subject to.
THIRD PARTIES
EXTERNAL THIRD PARTIES
• Service providers who provide IT and system administration services.
• Professional advisers including lawyers, bankers, auditors and insurers based in the United Kingdom
whoprovide consultancy, banking, legal, insurance and accounting services.
• HM Revenue & Customs, regulators and other authorities based in the United Kingdom who require
reportingof processing activities in certain circumstances.
YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS
You have the right to:
Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a “data subject access request”). This enables
youto receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.
Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or
inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you
provide to us.
Request erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where
there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove
your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below),
where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we are required to erase your personal
data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of
erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.
Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third
party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on
thisground as you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object
where weare processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate
that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and
freedoms.
Request restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the
processingof your personal data in the following scenarios: (a) if you want us to establish the data’s accuracy;
(b) where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it; (c) where you need us to hold the
data even if we nolonger require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; or (d) you have
objected to our use ofyour data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.
Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party
you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this
right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used
the information to perform a contract with you.
Withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. However,
this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you
withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you. We will advise you if
this is the cas e at the time you withdraw your consent.
Date last updated: April 2022
