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Vincent Dagenais Gibson Privacy Policy

Vincent Dagenais Gibson LLP/s.r.l. (“VDG”, ”We”, ”Us”, ”Our”) takes the collection, use, retention, and protection of data and Personal Information seriously. Furthermore, as a team of lawyers and other legal service providers, We have additional ethical and professional responsibility obligations pressed upon Us, including maintaining confidentiality where a solicitor-client relationship has developed. This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) is one of the proactive steps We take in meeting Our various legal and ethical obligations under applicable privacy laws and law society requirements.

Definitions

“Personal Information” means information about an identifiable individual, as defined by the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, SC 2000 c 5, and as amended from time to time.

“You” or “Your” means, capitalized or not, any client or potential client of VDG and website visitors, or any representative of a company or other legal entity.

“Website” or “Site” means www.vdg.ca and all pages and content therein.

Consent

The way in which VDG seeks consent, including whether it is express or implied, may vary depending upon the sensitivity of the information, the circumstances, and Your reasonable expectations.  We seek express consent when the information is likely to be considered sensitive. We rely on implied consent when the information is less sensitive. However, as a legal services firm, We assume that clients who retain Us consent to Our reasonable collection, use, retention, and disclosure of Your Personal Information, as necessary, in order to allow Us to provide You with the services for which We have been retained.

By accessing Our Site or retaining VDG to represent You and provide You with legal services, You hereby consent to the collection, storage, use and disclosure of Your Personal Information as outlined in Our Privacy Policy. If You do not agree to the practices in this Privacy Policy, or if You have any concerns about Our handling of Personal Information or about Our Privacy Policy, please contact Us as provided below.

You have the right to withdraw Your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and upon reasonable notice given our ethical and professional responsibilities that may be intertwined as your legal representatives. Where necessary and applicable, we will inform You of any implications of withdrawing consent.

Each time You use this Site, the current version of the Privacy Policy will govern Your use.

Collection

We will limit the amount and type of Personal Information We collect to that which is necessary for identified purposes and, where applicable, to provide You with requested legal services.

We typically collect required Personal Information directly from You in the following ways:

  1. at the start of Your retainer with Us;
  2. throughout the retainer, as may be necessary, to provide you with the highest level of legal services;
  3. when You contact Us to inquire about Our services and a possible retainer; and
  4. when you apply for employment.

Furthermore, we sometimes collect Personal Information about You from other parties in the following ways:

  1. from third parties with whom you have contractual or other legal relationships;
  2. from credit bureau files of you where we need to make credit decisions, prevent fraud, prevent money laundering, and confirm identity;
  3. from government sources, including agencies and registries; and
  4. from other professionals who serve You and with whom we may be required to communicate and exchange Your Personal Information in order to better serve You.

The Personal Information We collect about You may include full legal name, social insurance number, home address, telephone number(s), e-mail address(es), billing and bank account information, and information related to legal matters you are involved in. We may also ask you to provide us with photo identification. From time to time, we may collect Personal Information about other individuals associated with legal matters under our retainer, including directors, officers, employees, shareholders and investors or other third parties with whom you have contractual or other legal relationships.

Use

We collect Personal Information to use in Our normal course of business, as required. This includes using Your Personal Information, when and where required, to:

  1. Verify identity, including to prevent fraud and money-laundering;
  2. Conduct necessary conflict of interest searches;
  3. Provide legal services, and all aspects required in doing so including maintaining appropriate trust accounts, billing, receiving and sending money, and meeting our legal and professional obligations, among others;
  4. Operate our website and collect and analyze the information therefrom;
  5. Send You invitations when We host client appreciation events;
  6. Send You updates concerning new legal developments, new articles posted to Our Site, or new information respecting Our services;
  7. In the case of employment applicants, to evaluate Your potential fit with Our firm; and
  8. Any other purposes as required by You to provide You with Our legal services or with Your consent, as applicable.

Storage & Retention

We store Your electronic Personal Information on secure internal servers. Paper documents are stored in areas that are either locked or under continual supervision.

Personal Information may be retained for as long as necessary and permitted by law to ensure We are able to address any future inquiries or issues with respect to Our having provided legal services to You, including to you and also to governmental and regulatory bodies. If necessary, we can remove your contact information upon written request.

Transfer

We do not sell or otherwise trade your Personal Information for monetary gain.

Protection

We use a variety of methods to protect Your Personal Information. The main methods by which we protect Your Personal Information include:

  1. Password protecting electronic files;
  2. Securing Our physical premises from unauthorized entry;
  3. Using reputable companies to send documents containing Personal Information to You and third parties;
  4. Using service providers that agree to, and meet, Our protection requirements;
  5. Software security such as fire walls and encryption.
  6. Employing appropriate document storage and disposal practices, including secure shredding of sensitive physical documents; and
  7. Training all staff in appropriate privacy protection practices.

Changes and Updates to Our Privacy Policy

We may change Our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post Privacy Policy changes on this web page including the date of the latest change at the very bottom of the Privacy Policy.

Updating Your Personal Information

In order to provide high quality legal services to you, it is important that Our records of Your Personal Information remain accurate and up-to-date. If any of Your Personal Information changes while We are providing You with legal services, please inform Us so that We may update our records accordingly.

Questions & Access to Information

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or an Access to Information Request for your Personal Information, please contact us by mail at:

Vincent Dagenais Gibson LLP/s.r.l.
Attention: Privacy Officer
260 Dalhousie Street, Suite 400
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 7E4

Any requests for access to Personal Information must be in writing and will be addressed within 30 calendar days of receipt, as required by law. VDG may first require proof of identity prior to releasing, updating, or deleting any Personal Information. VDG will use  reasonable efforts to respond to any and all requests for access to Personal Information as quickly and as thoroughly as possible.