Sherif R. Ashamalla, LL.B. Barrister & Solicitor (“we”, “us”, “our”) are committed to preserving and safeguarding your right to privacy. We have a legal obligation to keep confidential all information we receive within a lawyer-client relationship. Accordingly, this Privacy Policy sets out the manner in which we will collect, use, disclose and otherwise manage your personal information.
Your Privacy Rights
Since January 1, 2004, all businesses engaged in commercial activities must comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms, including Sherif R. Ashamalla, LL.B. Barrister & Solicitor. This legislation gives you rights concerning the privacy of your personal information.
Our firm is responsible for the personal information we collect and hold. To ensure this accountability, we have developed this Privacy Policy, and have trained our staff regarding our privacy policies and practices.
Consent
By submitting your personal information to Sherif R. Ashamalla, LL.B. Barrister & Solicitor or its service providers or agents, you consent to our collection, use and disclosure of such personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy, and as permitted or required by law. All communication with government agencies requires your written consent.
Collection of Personal Information
Sherif R. Ashamalla, LL.B. Barrister & Solicitor provides legal services to a wide range of clients. In doing so, we require personal information that is collected by lawful and fair means, and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. Wherever possible, we collect that information directly from you, both 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 consent. In our practices, this is most often from government agencies.
We use your personal information to provide legal advice and services to you.
You may ask for access to any personal information that we hold about you. Summary information is available on request. More detailed requests which require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to our normal professional fees. However, your rights to access your personal information are not absolute. We are legally obligated to deny access when:
- it is required or authorized by law (for example, when a record containing personal information about you is protected by solicitor-client privilege);
- to do so would reveal confidential commercial information, and the personal information cannot be severed from the record; or
- to do so could reasonably be expected to threaten the life or security of another individual and the personal information cannot be severed from the record.
If we deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct information, we shall explain why. Our firm does not use your Social Insurance Number as a way of identifying or organizing the information we hold regarding you.
Disclosure of Personal Information
Under certain circumstances, our firm may disclose your personal information:
- when you have consented to the disclosure;
- when we are required or authorized by law to do so;
- when our legal services require us to give your information to third parties (such as Citizenship and Immigration Canada or the Immigration and Refugee Board), your consent will be implied, unless you inform us otherwise;
- where it is necessary to establish or collect fees;
- if we engage translators, interpreters, or expert witnesses on your behalf; and
- if the information is Publicly Available Personal Information, as it is defined under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
Updating or Correcting Your Information
Since we use your personal information to provide you with legal services, it is important that the information be accurate and current. If any of your information changes during the course of your retainer, please inform us so that we can make the necessary changes.
If our firm holds information about you and you inform us that it is not accurate, complete, or current, we will take reasonable steps to correct it.
Securing Your Personal Information
Sherif R. Ashamalla, LL.B. Barrister & Solicitor takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. These precautions include the following:
- premises security;
- restricted file access; and
- internal passwords and security policies
Links to Other Websites
Our website may contain links to other websites which are provided as a convenience only. Visitors are advised that other third party websites may have different privacy policies and practices. Sherif R. Ashamalla, LL.B. Barrister & Solicitor has no responsibility for such third party websites.
Changes to the Privacy Policy
Our firm reserves the right to modify or supplement this Privacy Policy at any time. If we make changes to this Policy, the revised Policy will appear on this webpage.
For any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:
82 Richmond Street East
Toronto, Ontario – M5C 1P1
Phone: 416.548.9082
Fax: 416.548.9086
Email: info@ashamalla.ca