Privacy Notice

Privacy Policy

3CS Corporate Solicitors respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Notice (“Notice”) will inform you as to the types of personal data we collect, how we collect and process personal data, who we share personal data with and your rights in relation to such personal data.

1. Important information and who we are

Purpose of this Notice

It is important that you read this 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 Notice supplements other notices and is not intended to override them.

Controller

3CS Corporate Solicitors comprises 3CS Corporate Solicitors Limited and 3CS Holdings PLC (our “Group”). This Notice is issued on behalf of the Group so when we mention "we", "us" or "our" in this Notice, we are referring to the relevant company in the Group responsible for processing your data. 3CS Corporate Solicitors Limited is the controller and responsible for this website.

If you have any questions about this Notice, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact us using the details set out below.

Changes to the Notice and your duty to inform us of changes

We keep our Notice under regular review.

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 third-party 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 together as follows:

• Identity and Contact Data includes first name, maiden name, last name, marital status, title, date of birth, gender, passport number, photograph, nationality, educational and employment history, billing address, email address and telephone numbers.
• Financial Data includes bank account details, payment card details and other billing information.
• Transaction Data includes details about payments to and from you and other details of services we provide to you or your organisation.
• Services Data includes information provided to us or otherwise obtained in the course of the provision of services by us to our clients and information relevant to such services.
• Attendance Data includes data we collect about your attendance at our premises.
• Technical Data includes browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access this website.
• Profile Data includes your interests, preferences, feedback and survey responses.
• Usage Data includes information about how you or your organisation use our website and services.
• Marketing and Communications Data includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences.
• Sensitive and Criminal Offences Data includes sensitive data that is relevant to the services or advice we provide to you or to your organisation. This may include (as appropriate) information relating to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, biometric data, health, sex life, sexual orientation and/or criminal offences. We may collect this data, for example, where we are advising you or your organisation in relation to an employment matter and the data is relevant to the advice we are providing.

We also collect, use and share aggregated data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. Aggregated data could be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data will not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your Usage Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific website feature. However, if we combine or connect Aggregated Data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this Notice.

If you fail to provide personal data

Where we need to collect personal data by law, to comply with your instructions 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 comply with your instructions or to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you. In this case, we may have to terminate the contract you have with us or we may be unable to comply with your instructions but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.

3. How is your personal data collected?

We use different methods to collect data from and about you including:

• When you or your organisation correspond with us, make an enquiry or otherwise contact us by post, phone, email or otherwise.
• When you attend an event we hold or are involved with such as a webinar.
• When we take steps prior to entering into a contract with you or your organisation
• When we provide services to you or your organisation.
• Where a third party provides your personal data where it is relevant to advice or services we provide to that third party.
• From publicly available sources such as Companies House or the electoral register.
• From search providers such as SmartSearch or other third parties such as credit reference agencies.
• From cookies on our website - for more information on our use of cookies, please see our cookie policy.
• via our IT systems, e.g.:
  • door entry systems and reception logs; and
  • automated monitoring of our websites and other technical systems, such as our computer networks and connections, email and instant messaging systems.
• When you visit our premises.

4. 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 for the following purposes:

• Where we need to perform the contract we are about to enter into or have entered into. This includes to carry out checks and to register new clients, provide services to you or your organisation, administer our relationship with you or your organisation, and render invoices and receive payments.
• Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This includes to:
  • provide legal advice and services;
  • obtain services from third parties and service providers;
  • manage our business and premises;
  • prevent and minimise fraud or other harmful activities and to maintain the security of our business, information and premises;
  • ensure we follow our internal policies and procedures;
  • improve our services and efficiency;
  • protect confidential and commercially valuable information;
  • keep in touch with our clients and other third parties , and to market our business and services;
  • maintain our accreditations;
  • ensure we operate at the highest standards;
  • to communicate with you and to provide information (including updates, newsletters, or other information and to inform you about events, seminars, and other services);
  • to exercise or defend our legal rights; and
  • for insurance purposes.
• Where we need to comply with our legal or regulatory obligations.

For sensitive personal data, we may use this data to assist our clients with establishing, exercising or defending legal claims, to assist with fulfilling their rights and obligations under employment or social security laws, where we have obtained consent, where the data has been made public by the data subject concerned or for reasons of public interest.

Occasionally we will rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your personal data. We will get your consent before 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 using the contact details set out at the end of this Notice.

Marketing

We may use your personal information to send you updates (by email, text message, telephone or post) about our services, including new services.

We have a legitimate interest in processing your personal information for promotional purposes (see above ‘How we use your personal data’). This means we do not usually need your consent to send you promotional communications. However, where consent is needed, we will ask for this consent separately and clearly.

We will always treat your personal information with the utmost respect and never sell it to other organisations for marketing purposes.

You have the right to opt out of receiving promotional communications at any time by contacting us using the details below.

We may ask you to confirm or update your marketing preferences if you instruct us to provide further services in the future, or if there are changes in the law, regulation, or the structure of our business.

Cookies

You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly. For more information about the cookies we use, please see our cookie policy.

Change of purpose

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you would like 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 basis which 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.

5. Disclosures of your personal data

We may share your personal data with the parties set out below for the purposes set out above.

• Companies within our Group.
• Third parties we engage or otherwise deal with in connection to the services we provide such as consultants, barristers, foreign lawyers, specialists, experts, accountants, tax advisors and translators.
• Other service providers that provide services to us such as IT services, accounting and auditing services, banking services, insurance and search services (such as checks to obtain information about our clients and their officers as required by legal or regulatory requirements to which we are subject).
• Our clients or other third parties for the purpose of or in connection to the provision of services.
• 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 Notice.
• The Solicitors Regulation Authority, other regulatory bodies, courts, law enforcement agencies and governmental bodies.

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 permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

6. International transfers

We may transfer your data outside the UK. Whenever we do so, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:

• We will only transfer your personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data.
• we may use specific contracts approved for use in the UK which give personal data the same protection it has in the UK.
• In certain circumstances, we may rely on an exemption under Article 49 of the UK GDPR. This will usually apply where we have obtained consent for the transfer, the transfer is necessary for the performance of or to take steps prior to entering into a contract with a data subject, or for the purposes of establishing, exercising or defending legal rights.

Please contact us if you want further information on the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your personal data out of the UK.

7. 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. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

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.

8. Data retention

How long will you use my personal data for?

We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect of our relationship with you or your organisation.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the 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, regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.

Please contact us if you would like further information about retention periods for different aspects of your personal data.

9. Your legal rights

Under certain circumstances, by law you have the right to:

• Request access to your personal information (commonly known as a "data subject access request"). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.
• Request correction of the personal information that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate information we hold about you corrected.
• Request erasure of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal information 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 information where you have exercised your right to object to processing (see below).
• Object to processing of your personal information 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 this ground. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal information for direct marketing purposes.
• Request the restriction of processing of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of personal information about you, for example if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it.
• Request the transfer of your personal information to another party.

If you want to review, verify, correct or request erasure of your personal information, object to the processing of your personal data, or request that we transfer a copy of your personal information to another party, please contact us.

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal information (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request for access is clearly unfounded or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with the request in such 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 for further 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 could 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.

Contact details

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our privacy practices, please contact us in the following ways:

Email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Postal address: 3CS Corporate Solicitors Limited,  60 Moorgate, London EC2R 6EJ

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK regulator 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.