Privacy Notice

Kronis, Rotsztain, Margles, Cappel LLP (“KRMC” or “the Firm”) is a mid-sized Toronto law firm offering services to businesses and individuals in a wide spectrum of practice areas.  As a trusted legal advisor, KRMC recognizes the importance of client privacy and the sensitivity of the personal information we may have. KRMC has a professional and ethical obligation to keep confidential all information we receive within the lawyer-client relationship subject to the client’s instructions to provide legal services. Further, we are committed to safeguarding the personal information we have or control. We have designated individuals who are responsible for compliance with our Privacy Notice. This Privacy Notice was developed both to ensure compliance with the principles set out in the Personal Information Protection and Electronics Documents Act (“PIPEDA”), the Law Society of Ontario’s Rules of Professional Conduct, and our clients’ operating guidelines.

Personal Information

Personal information means any information about or that can be used to identify you as an individual directly or by inference.

Accountability

KRMC takes the protection of its clients’ personal Information seriously. Our obligations as legal professionals are governed, in part, by the Rules of Professional Conduct which impose duties and obligations regarding the confidentiality of the information provided to KRMC by its clients. We require all professionals, staff, other employees, contractors, and agents who provide services in connection with our delivery of legal services to comply with these obligations.

Consent

Consent for the collection, use and/or disclosure of personal information may be obtained orally or in writing and may be expressly given or implied.  Usually if you retain KRMC, we assume that we have your implied consent to our collection and use of your personal information.  Generally, we collect your personal information directly from you at the start of your retainer with KRMC. Should you withdraw your consent, that may impact on our ability to serve you and to maintain our relationship.

Collection, Use and Disclosure

KRMC collects personal information in order to provide legal services to you.  The personal information KRMC collects may include your full name, address, telephone number, email address, information to help establish your identity, information regarding your legal needs, your payment information, your health records, and any other personal information that you voluntarily choose to provide to us.

KRMC collects personal information for various purposes associated with the services we provide.  KRMC requires information to:

1. understand, access, and assist you with your ongoing legal needs;
2. establishing your identity;
3. ensure information is accurate and up to date;
4. detect and protect against error, negligence, fraud, theft, and other illegal activity, and where necessary to meet our insurance requirements;
5. for billing reasons which will require the collection of names, addresses, banking, and financial information;
6. ensure regulatory compliance;
7. obtain and maintain certifications and accreditations which may involve audits;
8. consider the employment of individuals as employees and members of the firm;
9. develop and manage KRMC’s business and operations.

In addition to personal information we obtain from you, sometimes we may obtain information about you from other sources including a government agency or registry, other professionals who serve you (such as your accountant), insurance companies, consumer reporting agencies, parties in the context of litigation and other parties in commercial or real estate transactions.

KRMC will only disclose your personal information in the following circumstances:

1. if you have provided your consent;
2. to conduct conflict searches to determine whether KRMC can act for you;
3. to comply with professional obligations of the Law Society of Ontario;
4. when we are required by law to do so;
5. in the collection of fees and disbursements owed to KRMC;
6. if we have retained another law firm on your behalf (law firms in other jurisdictions);
7. to comply with audits.

As well, KRMC may share personal information to third parties that perform services for us.  Personal information will only be disclosed to those third parties on a need to know basis if they agree by way of contract to provide appropriate protections for such information.

KRMC collects personal information in many forms including electronically, facsimile, telephone conversations, email, etc. but will only do so by lawful means and only for the necessary purpose that has been disclosed to you, are described in this Privacy Notice, or are permitted or required by applicable law. KRMC does not use cookies or other tracking technologies.

Security of Personal Information

KRMC takes measures to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification, or disclosure.  Such measures include premise security, confidentiality policies, technological safeguards and internal password and security policies.

Retention of Personal Information

KRMC will only retain personal information for as long as it is required for the purpose for which it was collected, as required by law or to address any issues that may arise at a later date. When the personal information is no longer required, KRMC will destroy, delete, erase, or convert personal information to an anonymous form in such a way that prevents potential privacy breaches.

Accuracy

Personal information will be maintained in as accurate, complete, and up to date form as is necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it is to be used. From time-to-time, KRMC may ask you to update your personal information to ensure our records are accurate. If your personal information changes during the course of your retainer with KRMC, we ask you to contact us.

Access

You have the right to review, and if applicable, correct your personal information in our possession. You make such a request by writing to our Chief Privacy Officer at the address provided below. The right to access personal information is not absolute.  Access may be denied if the information sought is subject to a legal privilege or subject to a lien to protect our firm’s property and rights. Upon proof of entitlement and proper identification, a summary of such personal information will be provided. More detailed requests which require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to reasonable fees and charges.

Website

Our website contains links to other sites, which are provided for your convenience and are not governed by this Privacy Notice. KRMC does not assume responsibility for the content or the privacy of the sites we link to. Users should carefully review the Privacy Notices of each of the linked sites prior to providing any personal information to those sites.

On our website, like most other commercial websites, we may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information in order to optimize our web service. We do not provide any identifiable personal information to any third party.

Unfortunately, electronic data transmission by email, by completing forms on our website, etc. is not 100% secure. KRMC will not be liable for personal information that you or third parties send electronically to KRMC that becomes lost, misused, or altered.

Compliance

KRMC periodically reviews its Privacy Notice and Privacy practices and commits to ongoing improvements to ensure compliance with legislation.  Any questions, concerns, or complaints with respect to this Privacy Notice or about KRMC’s Privacy practices may be directed to KRMC’s Privacy Officer at [email protected] or by mail at:

Kronis, Rotsztain, Margles, Cappel LLP
25 Sheppard Avenue West, 11^th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6S6
Attention: Chief Privacy Officer

KRMC will investigate and respond to your concerns about any aspect of our handling of your information.

Changes to the Privacy Notice

KRMC will, from time to time, revise its Privacy practices and this Privacy Notice. An appropriate notice will be posted on our website if any amendments are made. The most up-to-date version of KRMC’s Privacy Notice is available at www.krmc-law.com.