Privacy Statement
Scope of This Policy
The Personal Injury Alliance™ is an alliance of three separate law firms—Thomson, Rogers, McLeish Orlando LLP, and Oatley, Vigmond Personal Injury Lawyers LLP—established to better serve our clients through a centralized website. This website is designed to provide to the public information concerning our services, to collect information from persons interested in contacting us to obtain those services, and to enable our lawyers to contact potential clients. This privacy policy (“Policy”) applies only to the online collection of information from users of this website. If you contact a lawyer through the use of this website and establish a professional relationship with that lawyer (known as a “solicitor-client” relationship), any personal information you share with that lawyer will be subject to the professional obligation to maintain confidentiality as established by the Rules of Professional Conduct and the law and not by this Policy. Please note that submitting information through this website does not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and any of our lawyers. Only a direct contact between you and an individual lawyer creates such a relationship.
In this Policy, we describe what kind of information we collect, when and how we might use that information, how we protect the information, and the choices you have with respect to the personal information you submit to this site.
Controlling the collection, use and disclosure of personal information is an ongoing process. We will continue to review our personal information management practices and improve them as necessary to better protect the privacy of users of this site.
What is Personal Information?
Personal information means any information about or that can be used to identify you as an individual, including details such as the matter about which you contacted this website and any other information that you choose to provide. In most circumstances, personal information does not include most information that might appear on a business card or information that is available in public records, nor does it include corporate information such as your business address or telephone number in your capacity as an employee of an organization.
Under the applicable Canadian legislation, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, we follow ten principles when collecting, using or disclosing your personal information:
1. We are accountable for personal information under our control.
2. The purpose for collecting personal information is identified at or before the time it is collected.
3. We obtain your consent before collecting, using or disclosing your personal information, except where otherwise permitted or required by law.
4. We limit the personal information we collect to that which is necessary for us to conduct business.
5. The personal information we collect is only used, disclosed or retained for its original intended purpose (unless you provide your consent to a different use or disclosure) and we retain it only as long as necessary for those purposes.
6. We take care to ensure that the information we have is accurate,
7. We safeguard the privacy of your personal information through security measures.
8. We are open with you about our policies and practices related to managing your personal information.
9. Upon request, we provide you with access to your personal information, subject to any limitations imposed by law.
10. We address your concerns. If you have questions or concerns regarding your privacy or this Policy please contact us as described below.
Your Consent
By providing us with your personal information, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of that information as described in this Policy.
We will not, as a condition of supplying our services, require you to consent to the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information beyond that required to enable us to provide the requested services.
You may refuse to give personal information and may, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice, withdraw consent at any time to the continued use and disclosure of personal information previously collected. The period of reasonable notice will vary depending on the nature of the information and its purpose. We will inform you of the implications of refusing or withdrawing consent, which may have legal consequences or preclude us from providing our services.
What personal information is collected through this website?
We will not collect personal information indiscriminately. We will limit the amount and the type of information we collect to that necessary to fulfill the purposes we have identified to you, or as otherwise permitted or required by law. We may also collect information about your business and business interests or your personal interests to better serve you.
We collect information about our users in three ways: directly from the user, from our Web server logs and through cookies. We use the information primarily to provide you with a personalized Internet experience that delivers the information, resources, and services that are most relevant and helpful to you. We don't share any of the information you provide with others outside the alliance, unless we say so in this Policy, or when we believe in good faith that the law requires it.
User-supplied information
If you fill out the contact form on this website, we will ask you to provide some personal information (such as e-mail address, name, phone number and province). We only require that you provide an e-mail address on the contact form. Further, if chat is available through this site, you may be asked to provide information if you participate in an online chat. Please do not submit any confidential, proprietary or sensitive personally identifiable information (e.g. Social Insurance Number; date of birth; drivers license number; or credit card, bank account or other financial information) (collectively, “Sensitive Information”). If you submit any Sensitive Information, you do so at your own risk and we will not be liable to you or responsible for consequences of your submission.
If you establish a solicitor-client relationship with a particular lawyer, you may be required, in the context of that relationship, to provide Sensitive Information for the purpose of conducting legal services. As noted above, such information is outside the scope of this policy and should never be submitted through this website.
Information that you provide to us through the contact form or an online chat will be used so that we may respond to your inquiry. We may also use information you provide to us to communicate with you in the future. If you do not wish to receive such communications, you may opt out (unsubscribe) as described below.
Web Server Logs
Our website is hosted on servers shared with an Internet service provider (ISP). Any personal information collected on our behalf by the ISP, such as server log data (see below), is managed in accordance with this Policy and is protected by applicable law.
Certain information about Internet users’ traffic patterns is passively and automatically collected and linked to users’ Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses. These unique IP addresses are assigned to all Web users by their ISPs, and are automatically logged by Internet servers. While the IP address itself does not identify an individual, it may, in appropriate circumstances such as an investigation of a security breach, be used with the cooperation of the ISP to locate and identify an individual using the website.
In the normal course of establishing and maintaining Internet connections, our servers automatically log information about visits to our website. Server logs record statistical information, such as a visitor’s IP address and type of operating system, the time and duration of visit and Web pages requested. The server logs also identify categories of visitors by items such as domain and browser type. These statistics are reported in aggregate form to us and are used to improve our website and ensure that it provides the optimal online experience for visitors.
We do not link server log information to any other data in a way that would enable us to identify individual visitors, except for security purposes, as discussed above.
Cookies
Like many other websites, our Site makes use of “per session" cookie technology. Per session cookies are small text files that contain a unique identification number that is automatically deposited on a visitor’s computer. These cookies track information during an open session and are stored only temporarily in your computer’s memory. This information helps us determine the total number of visitors to the Site on an ongoing basis and the types of Internet browsers and operating systems (e.g., Windows or Macintosh) that our visitors use. We use this information to facilitate and enhance your online visits. We do not cross-reference this information with any type of personal information that is voluntarily offered through the Site.
The use of cookie technology is common on the Internet, and many Internet browsers are initially set to accept cookies automatically. If you would prefer not to accept cookies, you can set your Internet browser to notify you when your computer is receiving a cookie or to refuse cookies automatically. To readjust your Internet browser’s cookie options, please refer to the instruction documentation of your particular browser or seek online assistance. You should understand that some features of many sites may not function properly if you don't accept cookies.
Use of Your Personal Information
We use personal information only as described in this Policy or as otherwise permitted or required by law. Before your personal information is used or disclosed for a new purpose, we will ask for your consent unless use or disclosure without your consent in the circumstances is otherwise permitted or required by law.
The primary purpose of collection of your personal information on this website is to mutually determine if the legal services of our member lawyers are right for you. To that end, we will share any information you submit with our member lawyers and persons working with them.
We may also use your personal information to send you newsletters about our services or about legal developments that we think would interest you. We regularly distribute practice group bulletins, articles and other legal updates and publications to people on our mailing lists, who can elect to receive materials on one or more subject matters. At any time, you may change your preferences or unsubscribe from our mailing lists.
If you send personal information through our site, we will use it to assess website use and traffic, and to respond to your feedback, questions and comments.
Disclosure of Your Personal Information
We disclose personal information only as described in this Policy or as otherwise permitted or required by law.
Generally, we will not disclose your information to anyone other than our member lawyers.
However, we may disclose your information to service providers inside or outside Canada retained by us to assist us with marketing or other services, including technical support and mailing. We limit the service provider’s right to use the personal information only for the services it provides to us, and we require the service provider to maintain the confidentiality of the personal information and to take steps to protect the security of the personal information we provide.
If we are unable to assist with your matter, but know an unaffiliated attorney or firm that may be able to help you, we may refer you and share information you provided us with that party.
Your personal information may be accessed or stored in Canada or another jurisdiction, and if it is accessed and stored in another jurisdiction it will be subject to the laws of that jurisdiction. For example, we may allow certain authorized third party providers to track and store certain information about visitors to the web site (namely domain names, IP addresses and page views) and such information will be stored outside of Canada if the third party provider is located outside of Canada. Individuals that use and access this website hereby acknowledge and agree that such information obtained by such third party providers located in countries other than Canada may be accessed by the courts, law enforcement or national security authorities of such country.
Retention of Personal Information
We will retain information, including personal information, for as long as it is needed for the purposes for which it was collected. The length of time we retain information varies, depending on the service and the nature of the information. This period may extend beyond the end of a person's relationship with us but it will be only for so long as it is necessary for us to have sufficient information to respond to any issues that may arise at a later date. When your Personal Information is no longer required, we have procedures to delete, erase or convert it into an anonymous form.
Protection of Personal Information
We use the standard safeguards to protect the security of personal information in our possession, including physical, organizational and technological measures.
In terms of communicating Personal Information to us, please note that there is no method of transmitting or storing data that is completely secure. Transmissions over the Internet are susceptible to possible loss, misrouting, interception and misuse of the information being communicated or transmitted.
Your Access to Your Personal Information
You can ask to view your personal information by writing to the Privacy Compliance Officer(s), whose address and link are provided at the end of this Policy. You can request that corrections be made where you can show that the information we possess is inaccurate. Please note that under certain circumstances, you may not be permitted to view your records for example, where the disclosure of your records would cause security, legal or confidentiality concerns.
Links to Other Websites
The site may contain links to other websites. While we try to link only to websites that share our standards and respect for privacy, we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of other websites. We strongly encourage all site visitors to review the privacy statements and policies of all external websites.
Changes to This Policy
We may amend this Policy at any time. We will post the Policy as amended on our website. We will obtain the necessary consents required under applicable privacy laws if we seek to collect, use or disclose your personal information for purposes other than those to which consent has been obtained unless otherwise required or permitted by law.
How can I correct, amend or delete my personal information and/or opt out of future communications?
You may opt out of any future contacts from us at any time, subject to the conditions described in detail above. Contact us via the phone number, contact form or mailing address on our website at any time to:
- see what data we have about you, if any;
- change/correct any data we have about you;
- ask us to delete any data we have about you; and/or
- opt out of future communications from us.
If you have any additional questions or concerns about this Policy, please contact our Compliance Officer(s) via the phone number, contact form or mailing address below.
Privacy Compliance Officer(s)
Alan A Farrer
Managing Partner
Thomson, Rogers
3100-390 Bay Street, Toronto, M5H 1W2
416-868-3217 (Direct line)
