Kahane Law Office Privacy Statement
We, at Kahane Law Office, recognize the importance of client privacy and the sensitivity of the personal information that we may have concerning any individual. As practicing lawyers we have a professional and ethical obligation to keep confidential all information we receive within a 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 concerning any individual.
Your Privacy Rights
Our office manages your personal information in compliance with Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and will comply in certain circumstances with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPDEA), as required.
What Personal Information Do We Collect?
Personal information is any information that identifies you. In Alberta, business contact information (i.e. your work address, job title, business phone or fax numbers, email or other business information is not considered personal information. We follow reasonable and prudent business practices to collect use and disclose your personal information for the purpose of providing you with legal services.
How Do We Collect Your Personal Information
We collect information only by lawful and fair means. When we make directed individual requests for your relevant sensitive personal information from a particular organization or business, such as real estate professionals or financial institutions, we will obtain your consent. Wherever possible we collect your personal information directly from you. Due to the nature of the real estate practice area, your, or your agents, confirmation that our firm acts for you is considered deemed consent to collect such personal information. Further, often information is sent to our office without our requesting it. Our privacy statement is your notice of the purposes for which we collect, use or discloses your personal information or business contact information.
- You
- Real Estate Agents
- Public Registries such the Land Titles Offices or the Probate Registry
- Financial Institutions
- Mortgage Brokers
- Insurance Companies or Agents
- When we are required or authorized by law to do so, for example if a court issues a subpoena;
- When necessary to respond to an emergency that threatens the life, health or security of an individual or the public;
- When it is necessary to establish or collect our fees; or
- If the information is already publicly known.
Use of Your Information
We use your personal information to provide legal advice and services to you and to administer our legal business incidental to providing legal services, such as client billing, securing confirmation of insurance, etc. With your permission, we may send you information about our other legal or real estate related services, or about new developments in the law. You may at any time withdraw your consent by notifying us, and we will not send you any such material. We do not disclose or sell your personal information or business contact information to any third party to enable them to market their products and services.
Who do we Release Information to?
When we release information about you, it is done to serve specific needs, in the course of providing legal services. With your consent, we may provide information to:
- Our staff and agents who use the information to for the reasonable business purpose of providing you with legal services
- To a third party we contract to provide administrative services to the law firm (like computer back-up services or archival file storage) and the third party agrees to comply with our privacy policy and privacy laws;
- Professionals working with us such as lawyers, real estate agents, mortgage brokers paralegals and experts
- Institutions such as brokerages, financial institutions and insurance companies and their agents/employees.
Accuracy of Your Information
You have the right to request a correction of the personal information that we hold about you. We rely on you to provide us with accurate and current contact information for the purposes of providing you with legal services and to maintain contact with you. If during the course of our professional relationship, any of your information changes, please inform immediately.
How do we Protect Your Personal Information?
In order to protect your personal information, we will:
- Not collect, use or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than those we identify to you or are reasonably evident.
- Only disclose your personal information to those persons who have a need to know your personal information for the purposes stated in this Privacy Statement.
- Keep your personal information only for as long as needed it to fulfill the stated purpose or as required by law.
- Maintain your personal information in as accurate, complete and up-to-date a form as possible.
- Keep your personal information physically secure.
- Maintain safeguards such as passwords or encryption for your sensitive personal information.
Access to Your Personal Information
You may request access to the personal information we have about you. The request must be in writing and directed to the law firm’s privacy officer identified below. We will charge a reasonable fee for retrieval and copying of your personal information. If the retrieval or copying or your request is extensive, we will notify you of the fee prior to retrieval and copying.
Can I Be Denied Access to My Personal Information?
There are exceptions to your right to access your personal information. By law, we must deny access when:
- Your file contains personal information on a third party and the information cannot be severed to maintain the privacy of the third party information;
- Equired or authorized by law (for example, when a record containing personal information about you is subject to a claim of legal professional privilege by one of our clients);
We have the Right to Deny Access to Your Information and May Deny Access When:
Your information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings against you, including unpaid bills to the law firm;
If we deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct information, we shall explain why. In all cases we will attempt to mediate a resolution if possible.
Communications by Email
E-mail is not a secure, confidential method of communicating your confidential and personal information with us. We will not use e-mail to send personal or confidential information unless you expressly authorize this form of communication and accept all the inherent risks associated with this type of communication. Requesting a reply to an email sent by you is considered such authorization.
Changes to this Privacy Statement
We may review and change our Privacy Statement from time to time in order to update our privacy commitment to you in keeping with current privacy laws.
Contact Information & Resources
Please contact our Privacy Officer at the address below if you:
- Wish to access your personal information
- Wish to change your consent regarding the manner in which we collection, use and disclose your personal information as outlined in our Privacy Statement.
- Have concerns about our privacy policies or how we’ve handled your personal information
For further information on our Privacy Statement contact, Jeffrey V. Kahane by email
If you are not satisfied with our response, the Privacy Commissioner of Alberta can be reached at: www.oipc.ab.ca Ph: 1-888-878-4044