RAMSAY & PARTNERS
CLIENT/THIRD PARTY PRIVACY POLICY
This Privacy Policy explains how Ramsay & Partners, formerly RamsaySmith, or an affiliate or associated entity (collectively referred to herein as the “Firm”) collects, uses, stores, transfers, erases and destroys the Personal Data (as defined below) of its clients and/or third-parties. It also describes the rights which such clients may have in relation to the Personal Data which is collected, used, stored, transferred and/or processed by the Firm.
1. DEFINITIONS
1.1 ‘Personal Data’ means any information (however stored) relating to a living individual or an individual who has been deceased for less than thirty (30) years who can be identified-
a) from the information alone; or
b) from the information and other information in the possession of, or likely to come into the possession of the Firm.
2. PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR COLLECTING AND PROCESSING PERSONAL DATA
The Personal Data of our clients and/or third-parties is collected and controlled by the officers of the Firm on the basis of the business relationship which has been established between a client and the Firm or on the basis of instructions given for the provision of legal or corporate services by the Firm (the “Services”).
3. TYPES OF PERSONAL DATA WHICH MAY BE COLLECTED
3.1. The Firm may collect the following types of Personal Data:
Information which is needed for identifying our clients, which include but is not limited to our clients’ name, D.O.B., postal address, home address, business address, telephone number, mobile number, facsimile number, email address, nationality, social security number and Taxpayer Registration Number.
Other personal information, such as curriculum vitae, job title, source of income, tax information or employment details.
Information we may obtain from our clients about third-parties for the purposes of representing our clients in contentious legal matters which include but is not limited to such third-party’s name, D.O.B., postal address, home address, business address, telephone number, mobile number, facsimile number, email address, nationality, social security number and Taxpayer Registration Number.
Information on business or corporate or legal transactions which shall be provided at the time of our engagement for the purposes of advising our clients or assisting them on the completion of such corporate or legal transactions.
Information on any assets whatsoever which our clients may hold or any investments they have made or are planning to make.
Information on payment transactions and data which is necessary for us to make or process payments on behalf of our clients which may also include the implementation of fraud prevention measures, including credit / debit card numbers, security code numbers and other such relevant billing details.
Any data or information which we are legally bound to collect to comply with Know Your Client (“KYC”) and anti-money laundering regulations as well as to comply with our client intake procedures.
Information collected from publicly available resources or forums, including but not limited to information collected from databases we use to carry out compliance checks.
Information about our clients relating to an interest or office which they may hold or relating to certain relationships our clients may have with a corporate entity, a partnership, trust or other vehicle to which we provide the Services.
Where necessary, we may collect information about our clients which may include sensitive information such as in relation to their health or criminal history. The processing of such data shall be based entirely on our clients providing their consent and in them having the right to request that we do not process such data.
Other information relevant to the provision of the Services to our clients.
3.2 This is a non-exhaustive list which is reflective of the varied nature of the Personal Data processed as part of a law firm providing the Services.
4. HOW THE FIRM COLLECTS PERSONAL DATA
The manner in which the Firm will collect Personal Data of its clients and/or third parties includes but is not limited to the following circumstances:
When any client, (whether a physical person or an entity) seeks our Services.
When any client makes an enquiry through our website, in person, over email or over the telephone.
When a third-party entity, (including professional firms or business entities), engages the Firm to provide the Services to any of their own clients or associates or where such clients or associates either hold an office, or are affiliated or have any other business relationships with such third-party entity.
When our clients request us to file any type of application on their behalf before any government agency in Jamaica.
5. HOW THE FIRM USES PERSONAL DATA
The Firm may use the Personal Data of its clients and/or third parties for the following purposes:
To provide the Services as may be requested by our clients.
To manage and /or administer our clients’ companies or business relationship with our office, including processing payments, invoicing, or providing any ancillary services to our clients.
For the purposes of compliance with our legal obligations such as record keeping obligations, anti-money laundering, fraud and crime prevention and detection purposes.
Our clients may be contacted in order for us to confirm their identity where such action is relevant for compliance purposes.
To provide updates, reminders, requests and directions relevant to the legal duties we have undertaken towards our clients and in compliance with local laws.
To protect the security of communication systems, websites and other systems, and to detect security threats, fraud or other criminal or malicious activities against our office or our clients.
For insurance purposes.
To ensure compliance with our policies and standards.
To identify persons authorized to trade and/or act on behalf of our clients and/or service providers.
Upon receipt of instruction or request from our clients or any third-party authorized by our clients.
For the purposes of communication with our clients through approved channels of communications and where necessary to keep our clients up to date on the latest legal developments, announcements, and other information.
To comply with court orders or orders of other agencies with competent jurisdiction and to exercise and/or defend our legal rights.
For any purpose related and/or ancillary to any of the above or any other purpose for which the Personal Data of our clients is required by our office.
We may further process information of clients and/or third parties for the following purposes:
Where this is necessary for the introduction to a new client or a third- party, at the request of such third- party and with the consent of the new client.
To provide our clients with newsletters, legal updates and other general communications. Our clients have the option to request that we do not send any such communication to them.
6. HOW WILL WE SHARE OUR CLIENTS’ PERSONAL DATA
6.1 We will limit sharing of our clients’ Personal Data as follows:
We may share our clients’ Personal Data with an affiliate or associated entity of the Firm on a confidential basis, who may only use your Personal Data for the purposes listed above and who will be bound by law or contract to protect your Personal Data and only use your Personal Data in accordance with our instructions.
We may share our clients’ Personal Data with any government agency in Jamaica, as required by law, for the purposes of fraud and crime prevention purposes, including financial institutions and regulatory bodies.
We may convey our clients’ Personal Data with any government agency in Jamaica for the purposes of processing an application on behalf of any of our clients.
We may share our clients’ Personal Data with any third- party to whom we assign or novate any of the rights or obligations of the Firm.
We may share our clients’ Personal Data with courts, law enforcement authorities, regulators or attorneys or other parties where it is reasonably necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of a legal or equitable claim, or for the purposes of a confidential alternative dispute resolution process.
Otherwise, we will only disclose our clients’ Personal Data when our client directs us or gives us permission to do so, when we are required by applicable law or regulations or judicial or official request to do so, or as required to investigate actual or suspected fraudulent or criminal activities.
We may also use aggregated Personal Data and statistics for the purpose of monitoring website usage in order to help us develop our website and our Services.
6.2 We may also share our clients’ Personal Data with a variety of the following categories of third parties as necessary:
Our professional advisers such as lawyers and accountants.
Professional indemnity or other relevant insurers.
Regulators/tax authorities/corporate registries.
Third parties to whom we outsource certain services such as, without limitation, document processing and translation services, confidential waste disposal, IT systems or software providers, IT Support service providers, document and information storage providers.
Third parties engaged in the course of the Services we provide to clients such as counsel, arbitrators, mediators, clerks, witnesses, opposing party and their lawyers and experts such as tax advisors or valuers.
Third-party postal or courier providers who assist us in delivering documents related to a matter.
6.3 Please note this list is non-exhaustive and there may be other examples where we need to share
our clients’ Personal Data with other parties in order to provide the Services as effectively as we can.
7. CAN CLIENTS REFUSE TO SHARE PERSONAL DATA WITH THE FIRM
7.1 Personal Data is received by our office on a voluntary basis and as required by us in order to be compliant with the laws of Jamaica.
7.2 Where, however, our clients refuse to provide us with the Personal Data requested by our office, we may not be able to provide the Services as we are legally required to adhere to anti-money laundering and/or compliance regulations or require such data in order for us to process the instructions or otherwise provide the Services.
8. SECURITY
8.1 We take appropriate technical and organizational measures to keep our clients’ and/or third- parties’ Personal Data confidential and secure, in accordance with our internal policies and procedures regarding collection, use, storage of, access to, disclosure, destruction and erasure of Personal Data. Our clients’ and/or third-parties’ Personal Data is kept in the electronic systems of our office, in back storage systems and on paper files.
8.2 All of our partners, employees, consultants, agents, independent contractors and data processors (i.e. those who process our clients’ and/or third-parties’ Personal Data on our behalf, for the purposes listed above), who have access to, and are associated with the processing of our clients’ and/or third-parties’ Personal Data, are obliged to respect the confidentiality of such Personal Data.
8.3 The Firm, however, does not warrant or make any representations that our clients’ and/or third-parties’ Personal Data may not be accessed, used, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of such safeguards. The Firm will immediately notify any client whose Personal Data has been affected by a security breach and will maintain an incident response policy that includes notifications consistent with applicable law.
9. PERSONAL DATA WE RECEIVE FROM OUR CLIENTS ABOUT THIRD-PARTIES
9.1 The Firm requires that where our clients wish to disclose the Personal Data of third-parties, they must first ensure that:
9.1.1 they are entitled to divulge the Personal Data to us as their lawyers and have obtained their consent to such disclosure; and
9.1.2 there are no agreements in place which would prohibit us from disclosing the Personal Data in a manner as contemplated by this Privacy Policy and that no further steps are required by our office to disclose the Personal Data.
9.2 More specifically, it is a requirement that when our clients disclose any Personal Data of third-parties to us, such third-parties should be made aware as to who we are, how their Personal Data will be used, what disclosure practices we have in place and the rights of any such third-party to contact our office and to inquire about the purposes for which we collect data.
9.3 This Clause 9 does not apply to Personal Data of third parties which we receive from our clients in order to represent them in contentious legal matters.
10. TRANSFER OF PERSONAL DATA
10.1 During our engagement with our clients, we may need to transfer Personal Data to third-parties located in a territory outside of Jamaica for further processing in accordance with the purposes for which the Personal Data was originally collected or for purposes to which our clients have subsequently consented.
10.2 By executing our engagement letter and/or by using our Services, our clients hereby consent to the transfer of their Personal Data to a territory outside of Jamaica whenever such need may arise.
10.3 Our clients shall not hold us liable for the manner in which their Personal Data is processed and/or used by any third-parties which are situated outside Jamaica.
11. TRANSFER OF PERSONAL DATA TO ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
Where our clients instruct us to file any application before any government agencies, our clients hereby consent to the transfer of their Personal Data to such government agencies. We shall not however be held liable for the manner in which Personal Data shall be processed and/ or used by any such government agencies.
12. RETENTION OF PERSONAL DATA
12.1 We will generally keep the Personal Data of our clients provided to us during the course of our engagement for a period of ten (10) years or such other period as may be reasonably necessary in the circumstances to protect or preserve our rights or comply with our legal or regulatory obligations. We will ordinarily retain copies of files, either in physical form or electronically, for a period of at least seven (7) years after termination. Thereafter our files may be destroyed, and we are not obliged to provide our clients with any notice of such destruction.
12.2 It is a requirement that when our clients disclose any Personal Data of third-parties to us, our clients shall obtain the consent for us to retain for a similar period the Personal Data of such third-parties and our clients shall wholly indemnify and keep us indemnified against any loss, damage or claim made against or incurred by us resulting from the retention of such Personal Data by us. This Clause 12.2 does not apply to Personal Data of third parties which we receive from our clients in order to represent them in contentious legal matters.
13. WHAT ARE THE RIGHTS OF OUR CLIENTS WITH RESPECT TO DATA PROTECTION
13.1 Our clients will have the following rights with respect to their Personal Data:
Access: Our clients are entitled to ask us if we are processing their Personal Data and, if so, our clients can request access to their Personal Data. This enables our clients to receive a copy of the Personal Data we hold about them and certain other information regarding the Personal Data.
Rectification: Our clients are entitled to request that any incomplete or inaccurate Personal Data we hold about them is rectified. If our clients are entitled to rectification and if we have shared their Personal Data with others, we will notify such other persons about the rectification where possible. If our clients make such a request, where possible and lawful to do so, we will also tell our clients the persons with whom we have shared their Personal Data so that they may contact such persons directly.
Erasure: Our clients are entitled to ask us to delete or remove Personal Data in certain circumstances such as where we no longer need it or if they withdraw their consent (where applicable). There are also certain exceptions where we may refuse a request for erasure, for example, where the Personal Data is required for compliance with local laws or in connection with claims. If our clients are entitled to erasure and if we have shared their Personal Data with others, we will notify such other persons about the erasure where possible.
Restriction: Our clients are entitled to ask us to suspend the processing of their Personal Data, for example, if they would like for us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it.
Transfer: Our clients may request that we transfer certain of their Personal Data to another party.
Objection: Our clients are entitled to ask us to stop processing their Personal Data in certain circumstances, for example, where the processing is likely to cause substantial damage or distress except if we can demonstrate compelling legal grounds for the processing. Our clients also have the right to object where we are processing their Personal Data for direct marketing purposes. Our clients may opt-out of receiving direct marketing from us at any time.
Automated decisions: Our clients may contest any automated decision made about them where this has a legal or similar significant effect and ask for it to be reconsidered.
Consent: If we rely on our clients’ explicit consent as our legal basis for processing their Personal Data, they may withdraw their consent at any time. However, we note that this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before our clients withdraw their consent. If our clients withdraw their consent, we may not be able to provide the Services to them. We will of course advise our clients, if this is the case, at the time they withdraw their consent.
13.2 Please note that some of these rights may be limited where we have an overriding interest or legal obligation to continue to process the Personal Data of our clients or where Personal Data may be exempt from disclosure due to reasons of legal professional privilege.
13.3 If our clients would like to exercise any of the abovementioned rights, they may contact the Data Privacy contact set out in this Policy below.
14. CORRECTING AND UPDATING PERSONAL DATA
14.1 Our clients must inform us immediately where their Personal Data has changed, or where they believe that the Personal Data we hold is inaccurate, incomplete or otherwise deficient.
14.2 It is the obligation of our clients or of any third-party with whom our clients have a contractual or a business relationship, to inform us of the existence of such relationship.
14.3 The Firm will not be held responsible for any loss, damage or claim that may arise due to any inaccurate, incomplete, or otherwise deficient Personal Data which any client or any third-party entity have provided to us.
15. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
This Privacy Policy was last updated on December 22, 2020. We will update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect any changes to our use of our clients’ and/or third-parties’ Personal Data. We may also update this Privacy Policy as required to comply with changes in applicable law or regulatory requirements. Our obligations will be determined having regards to the policy as amended from time to time and not the policy at the time the Personal Data was collected by us. We will post notifications of any changes to this Privacy Policy on our website and we encourage our clients to check our website periodically so as to become aware of any changes to this Privacy Policy.
16. LINKS TO THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES
16.1 Our website, email updates and other communications may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of others. The Personal Data that our clients provide through these websites is not subject to this Privacy Policy and the treatment of our clients’ Personal Data by such websites is not our responsibility.
16.2 If our clients follow a link to any other websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy notices which will set out how their Personal Data is collected and processed when visiting those sites.
17. COOKIES
In order to improve and track website usage and to provide better functionality, we may use temporary cookies (small pieces of data that are stored on a user’s device). Cookies are not used to reveal our clients’ identities. Our clients can use the settings on their browser to manage how they accept or decline cookies.
18. APPLICABLE LAW
This Privacy Policy shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Jamaica.
18. HOW TO CONTACT US
Please contact us if you have any questions or comments about our privacy practices or this Privacy
Policy. Our contact information are as follows:
Contact Person: Marc Ramsay- Managing Partner
Email Address: ramsay@ramsayandpartners.com
Telephone No: (876) 906-2616 (office) (876) 906-3402 (mobile)
Contact Person: Samantha Moore-Partner
Email Address: moore@ramsayandpartners.com
Telephone No: (876) 906-2616 (office) (876) 833-0276 (mobile)