Privacy Policy

Purpose of this privacy policy

This privacy policy aims to give you information on how Rainer Hughes collects and processes your personal data, including any data you may provide through this website, when you sign up to our newsletter, or contact us via the websites chat facility or forms.

Our Website is not intended for children and we do not knowingly collect data relating to children.

This privacy policy supplements other legal notices and is not intended to override them.

Controller

Rainer Hughes is the controller and responsible for your personal data (collectively referred to as “Rainer  Hughes”, “we”, “us” or “our” in this privacy policy).

We have appointed a data protection officer (DPO) who is responsible for overseeing questions in relation to this privacy policy. If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please contact the DPO using the details set out below.

Contact details

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our privacy practices, please contact our DPO using the details below

Sanjay Panesar
Data Protection Officer
Rainer Hughes
182 Hutton Road
Shenfield
Essex CM15 8NR

Email : dpo@rainerhughes.com

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.

Changes to the privacy policy and your duty to inform us of changes

We keep our privacy policy under regular review. This version was last updated on 01.04.2021

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 policy of every website you visit.

Personal data, or personal information, means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. It does not include data where the identity has been removed.

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:

• Identity Data including name, date of birth, email address, postal address, gender, telephone numbers, passport details and information provided or collected as part of our client adoption or employee recruitment processes and as a result of an individual’s communication and interaction with us in the course of our business.
• Contact Data including billing addresses, service address, email address and telephone numbers.
• Business Information including the information you provide us in relation to the matter on which you have instructed us
• Financial Data including bank account details, payment card details and details of payments from and to individuals
• Transaction Data includes details about payments to and from you and other details of services you have received from us previously.
• Technical Data includes internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, 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 Dataincludes your username and password to allow you access to secure documents shares and information.
• Usage Data includes information about how you use our website
• Physical Access Data including a record of your visits to our premises
• Marketing and Communications Dataincludes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and your communication preferences.

We may 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 individuals accessing articles on our website. 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 privacy policy.

In order to provide services to you, we will collect Special Categories of Personal Data.  This may include criminal convictions and offences.   It may also include 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.

If you fail to provide personal data

Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a business we have with you, and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the legal service you require.

How we obtain personal data from you

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

• Direct interactions. You may give us your personal information by corresponding with us by post, email or telephone or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide, when you complete paper based and electronic forms.
• Clients – clients may give us personal information of individuals (for example a client’s employees) to enable us to provide legal services and act on your behalf. 
• Automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with our website, we will automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies. This information is used to review how people interact with our website which helps us improve the user experience in the future.    The information we gather and how the usage of cookies can be stopped can be found in our Cookie Policy [ link to this cookie policy].
• Third parties or publicly available sources. We will receive personal data about you from various third parties as set out below
  • Contact, Financial and Transaction Data from providers of technical, payment and delivery services such as banks or other organisations responsible for managing financial transactions.
  • Identity and Contact Data from institutions and information providers that we may request information from in connection with the provision of legal services. This includes the Credit Reference Agencies, Police, Courts and the Crown Prosecution Services.
  • Identity and Contact Data from publicly available sources such as Companies House, HM Land Registry and the Electoral Register based inside the UK.

Technical Data from the following parties:

• analytics providers, such as Google
• advertising networks; and
• search information providers

We will use your personal data as follows:

• To fulfil our commitment to provide legal services. This can include:

• Registering you or the organisation you represent as a client of Rainer Hughes
• Providing Legal support, services and solutions as instructed by you or your organisation.
• Adhering to a court order or disclosing information on your behalf in accordance with your instructions.
• Processing Payments and providing financial reporting and Reconciliation of your account.

• We will also use your personal data where necessary for our legitimate interests. This includes:

• Managing our relationship with you, including whilst reporting financial or accounting information to you.
• Running Credit, Identity and background checks with consent.
• Updating you in relation to developments and information about the services and solutions we provide. This includes our events, access to applications and facilities, surveys, marketing campaigns and promotions.
• Identify suitable persons (including counsel), suppliers and service providers for your matter.
• Recruiting new staff, including the processing of applications for employment.
• Providing, improving and promoting the legal services we offer.
• Managing relationships with our clients and businesses.
• Managing and supervising our staff.
• Defending our firms legal position and rights.
• Complying with our legal and regulatory obligations.

• We will also use your personal data where necessary to comply with the both UK and International law. This includes:

• Maintaining the appropriate client Records
• Money Laundering and Financial checks
• Fraud and Crime Prevention
• ID confirmation checks

Marketing

You have the right to withdraw consent to marketing at any time by contacting us. 

We strive to provide you with choices regarding certain personal data uses, particularly around marketing and advertising.   This includes the following personal data control mechanisms

Opting out

You can ask us or third parties to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by following the opt-out links on any marketing message.

Where you opt out of receiving these marketing messages, this will not apply to personal data provided to us as a result of the legal services we are obliged to provide to you as part of the service we offer.

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 [LINK TO YOUR COOKIE POLICY].]

Promotional offers from us

We may use your Identity, Contact, Technical, Usage and Profile Data to form a view on what we think you may want or need, or what may be of interest to you. This is how we decide which products, services and offers may be relevant for you (we call this marketing).

You will receive marketing communications from us if you have requested information from us or previously instructed us and you have not opted out of receiving that marketing.

Third-party marketing

We will get your express opt-in consent before we share your personal data with any third party for marketing purposes.

Change of purpose

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 is permitted by law.

We may share your personal data with

• 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 policy.
• Third Parties with whom we partner to provide the legal services you require. This may include Barristers, consultants, mediators, expert witnesses and other legal specialists, evaluation services, couriers, Process servers and translators.
• Our clients where the legal services we provide allow us to collate your personal data and share it.
• Organisations that assist us in obtaining feedback to help us review the service we provide and monitor service performance.
• Companies providing verification and compliance checks, including Crime prevention checks, Money Laundering checks and credit card payment handlers.
• Services Providers that work with Rainer Hughes to assist is in delivering a legal service to you.
• When we buy or sell an asset on your behalf. We may be required to provide your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of the asset.

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.

We may share your personal data within the firm if this is  This may involve transferring your data outside the UK.

Many of our external third parties are based outside the UK so their processing of your personal data will involve a transfer of data outside the UK.  

Whenever we transfer your personal data out of the UK, 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.

Where we use certain service providers, we may use specific contracts approved for use in the UK which give personal data the same protection it has in the UK.

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

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.

How long will you use my personal data for?

We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to provide you with legal services or a specific purpose for which we have collected this data, 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 your matter warrants a longer retention period, as it is likely that the data may be required further into the future.

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.

By law we have to keep personal data about our customers (including Contact, Identity, Financial and Transaction Data) for 6-12 years, depending on the specific matters.   In some circumstances you can ask us to delete your data.  In some circumstances we may anonymise your personal data (so that it an no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data. Please click on the links below to find out more about these rights:

Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a “data subject access request”). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.  If you wish to request the personal data held about you, please contact us using the contact details provided below.  Please note in certain circumstances Rainer Hughes may be exempt from providing this information to you.

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 the law. Please note however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal and regulatory 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 this ground as you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are 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 processing of your personal data in the following scenarios:

• If you want us to establish the data’s accuracy.
• Where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it.
• Where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
• You have objected to our use of your 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 legal services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us

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 could 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 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.

Rainer Hughes reserve the right to update and change this Notice from time to time in order to reflect any changes to the way in which we process your personal data or changing legal requirements.

Legitimate Interest means the interest of our business in conducting and managing our business to enable us to give you the best service/product 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 specific activities 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 obligation means processing your personal data where it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation that we are subject to.