Privacy Policy

Our Commitment to Your Privacy

At Hartwick, we take your privacy seriously and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and safeguard your data when you visit our website or engage with our legal services. We believe in transparency and want you to understand exactly how your information is handled.

This policy applies to all personal data we collect through our website, email communications, telephone conversations, and any other interactions you have with our practice. By using our services or website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this policy.

Information We Collect

Personal Information You Provide

When you contact us or use our services, you may choose to provide us with personal information including your name, email address, telephone number, postal address, details about your legal matter, and any other information you include in your communications with us. This information is essential for us to understand your needs and provide appropriate legal guidance.

Information Collected Automatically

Our website automatically collects certain technical information when you visit. This includes your IP address, browser type and version, operating system, referring website addresses, pages you view, time and date of your visit, and how long you spend on each page. We collect this data through cookies and similar technologies to help us understand how visitors use our site and improve their experience.

Information from Third Parties

In some circumstances, we may receive information about you from third parties. This might include information from credit reference agencies when assessing financial aspects of your matter, information from other legal professionals involved in your case with your consent, or publicly available information relevant to your legal matter such as property registers or court records.

How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for specific, legitimate purposes that support the delivery of our legal services and the operation of our practice.

Providing Legal Services

We use your information to deliver the legal services you have requested, which includes assessing your legal matter, conducting necessary research and investigations, preparing legal documents, communicating with you and other parties involved, and keeping records of our work on your behalf.

Communication and Correspondence

Your contact information allows us to respond to your enquiries, provide updates on your matter, send important notifications about our services, and maintain professional communication throughout our engagement.

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

We are required by law and professional regulations to collect and retain certain information. This includes client identification for anti-money laundering purposes, maintaining accurate records for regulatory audits, and fulfilling our obligations under data protection and other applicable laws.

Website Improvement and Analytics

We analyse website usage data to understand how visitors interact with our site, identify areas for improvement, ensure our website functions properly across different devices and browsers, and enhance the user experience for all visitors.

Marketing Communications

With your consent, we may use your contact information to send you updates about our services, legal news that might interest you, and information about changes to our practice. You can opt out of marketing communications at any time whilst still receiving essential service-related messages.

Legal Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a legal basis for processing your personal information. We rely on several different bases depending on the nature of the processing:

Contract: Processing is necessary to fulfil our contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.
Legal obligation: Processing is necessary to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations as a law practice.
Legitimate interests: Processing is necessary for our legitimate interests in operating our practice effectively, provided this does not override your rights and freedoms.
Consent: You have given clear consent for us to process your personal data for specific purposes, such as marketing communications.

How We Protect Your Information

We take data security seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

Technical Security Measures

Our security measures include encrypted data transmission and storage, secure servers with restricted access, regular security assessments and updates, firewall protection and malware detection, and secure backup systems to prevent data loss.

Organisational Safeguards

We maintain strict internal policies and procedures, limit access to personal data to authorised staff members only, provide regular training on data protection and security, maintain confidentiality agreements with all staff and contractors, and conduct regular reviews of our security practices.

Physical Security

Our office premises have controlled access systems, secure storage for physical files, shredding procedures for documents containing personal data, and visitor management protocols to ensure only authorised persons access sensitive areas.

Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. However, we may need to share your information in certain circumstances to provide our services or fulfil our legal obligations:

Service Providers

We work with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our practice, such as IT support companies, cloud storage providers, professional advisers including accountants and insurers, and document management services. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and use it only for the purposes we specify.

Legal and Professional Requirements

We may share your information when required by law, including with courts and tribunals, regulatory bodies and professional organisations, law enforcement agencies, and other parties involved in legal proceedings with your matter.

With Your Consent

In some cases, we may seek your explicit consent before sharing your information with third parties, such as referring you to specialist legal counsel or sharing information with other professionals involved in your matter.

How Long We Keep Your Information

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy and to meet our legal and regulatory obligations. Different types of information are retained for different periods:

Client matter files are typically retained for at least seven years after the conclusion of your matter, as required by professional regulations
Financial records and invoices are kept for at least six years to comply with tax and accounting requirements
Website analytics data is typically retained for up to two years
Marketing consent records are kept until you withdraw your consent or we determine the data is no longer needed

When we no longer need your information, we securely delete or destroy it in accordance with our data retention policy and applicable legal requirements.

Your Rights and Data Management

Under data protection law, you have important rights regarding your personal information. We are committed to honouring these rights and making it easy for you to exercise them.

Right to Access

You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, along with information about how we use it.

Right to Rectification

If your personal data is inaccurate or incomplete, you can ask us to correct or complete it.

Right to Erasure

In certain circumstances, you can request that we delete your personal data. This right is not absolute and may be limited by legal or regulatory requirements.

Right to Data Portability

You can request a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format for transfer to another service provider.

Right to Object

You can object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes. We will stop such processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds to continue.

Right to Restrict Processing

In certain situations, you can ask us to temporarily restrict how we use your personal data.

Right to Withdraw Consent

Where we process your data based on consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details at the end of this policy. We will respond to your request within one month, though this may be extended by up to two months for complex requests.

Your Rights and Opt-Out Instructions

You are not required to provide any personal information when using this website. If you prefer not to share your data, you may:

Avoid filling out contact forms, account registrations, or any data-submitting features
Disable cookies through your browser settings (see our Cookie Policy for more details)
Contact us directly to request the deletion of any previously shared personal data

We respect your privacy choices. If you would like us to delete your data, please reach out to us using the contact details below. We will process your request promptly.

International Data Transfers

Your personal information is primarily stored and processed within the United Kingdom. However, some of our service providers may process data outside the UK or European Economic Area. When we transfer data internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses approved by relevant authorities, adequacy decisions confirming the destination country provides adequate protection, or other legally approved mechanisms.

We carefully vet all international data processors to ensure they meet our high standards for data protection and security.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make significant changes, we will update the date at the bottom of this page and may provide additional notice through our website or direct communication with you.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information. Your continued use of our services after changes to this policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms.

Complaints and Regulatory Authority

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, please contact us first so we can address your concerns. If you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK's data protection regulator.

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Website: ico.org.uk