Privacy Policy

LEGAL NOTICE

TERMS OF – USE AND DISCLAIMERS

Your use of this Internet web site (the “Site”) is subject to the following Terms of Use. Please read them carefully, as they may have changed since your last visit. Your use of this Site indicates your acceptance of these terms. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THESE TERMS, THEN DO NOT — USE THIS SITE.

This Site and all the information it contains, or may in the future contain, including, but not limited to, articles, memoranda, bulletins, reports, press releases, opinions, text, directories, guides, photographs, illustrations, trademarks, trade names, service marks and logos (collectively, the “Content”), are the property of Clarity Law Group (the “Firm”).

The Content of this Site does not convey legal, accounting, tax, career or other professional advice of any kind. Your use of this Site does not create a lawyer-client relationship between you and the Firm, nor will any information you submit to us via this Site or by electronic mail be considered a lawyer-client communication or otherwise be treated as confidential or privileged in the absence of a pre-existing express agreement by us to the contrary.

The Content of this Site may be considered advertising for legal services under the laws and rules of professional conduct of the jurisdictions in which we practice.

The Content of this Site concerns topics selected by the Firm for dissemination to the general public, and is offered on a blind basis, without any knowledge as to your industry, identity or specific circumstances. The application and impact of relevant laws will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. There may be delays, omissions, or inaccuracies in information contained on this Site. The Content of this Site should not be relied upon or used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors.

The lawyers and staff at Clarity Law Group (“Clarity Law Group” or “we”) recognize the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information. As lawyers we have professional obligations regarding the confidentiality of information we receive from our clients within a lawyer-client relationship. We are committed to protecting personal information we hold in accordance with law. This Privacy Policy outlines how we manage personal information and safeguard privacy.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Personal information means information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization.

PIPEDA

As of January 1, 2004, all Canadian organizations engaged in commercial activities must comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information incorporated by reference into PIPEDA. These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms, including Clarity law Group.

PERSONAL INFORMATION AT Clarity Law Group

COLLECTING PERSONAL INFORMATION

We collect personal information fairly and in accordance with the law. Generally, we collect your personal information directly from you. Such collection may be done at the start of our relationship or during the course of our representation or retainer.

Sometimes we may obtain information about you from other sources including, for example:

from a government agency or registry;
other professionals who serve you, such as your accountant;
other parties or witnesses in the context of litigation;
and other parties or participants in a commercial transaction.

CONSENT

In most cases, if we collect, use, or disclose your personal information, we will obtain your consent. Sometimes we will ask for your consent in writing, but in some cases, we may accept your oral consent. Sometimes your consent may be implied through your conduct with us or the nature of our retainer. Should you withdraw your consent, that may impact on our ability to serve you and to maintain our relationship.

— USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We use your personal information to provide legal advice and services to you, to administer our client (time and billing) databases, to build and to maintain the firm’s expertise and knowledge, and to include you in our information distribution and marketing activities. If you tell us that you no longer wish to receive information about developments in the law or our services, you can ask us not to send any further material.

DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Clarity Law Group does not disclose your personal information to third parties to enable them to market their products and services.

Under certain circumstances Clarity Law Group may disclose your personal information. Some examples are:

when you have consented to the disclosure;
when we are required or authorized by law to do so, including, for example, if a court issues a warrant or a subpoena;
in order to comply with the requirements of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the regulatory body that governs the practice of law in Ontario;
when the legal services we are providing to you requires us to give your information to third parties (for example a lender in a real estate mortgage transaction) your consent will be implied, unless you tell us otherwise;
where it is necessary to collect fees or disbursements;
if we engage a third party to provide administrative services to us (like computer back-up services, archival file storage, or insurance) and the third party is bound by obligations regarding privacy which are consistent with this policy;
in the event of a merger by or growth of Clarity Law Group;
if we engage expert witnesses on your behalf;
or if we retain another law firm (such as, for example, law firms in other jurisdictions) on your behalf.

UPDATING YOUR INFORMATION

Since we use your personal information to provide legal services to you, it is important that the information be accurate and up-to-date. If during the course of the retainer, any of your information changes, please inform us so that we can make any necessary changes.

SECURING PERSONAL INFORMATION

Clarity Law Group takes precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Among the steps taken to protect your personal information are:

confidentiality policies as part of our professional obligations;
deploying technological safeguards like security software and firewalls to prevent unauthorized computer access or “hacking”;
and internal password and security policies.
E-MAIL

You should be aware that e-mail is not an entirely secure medium, and you should be aware of this when contacting us to send personal or confidential information.

Our Firm does not accept retainers via e-mail; and sending an e-mail to our Firm does not constitute a retainer.

You will not be considered a client of the Firm unless and until we have agreed to act for you according to our usual procedures for accepting clients which includes a signed written retainer agreement.

Do not include any confidential information in your e-mail. Any confidential information will be deleted immediately by our Firm.

ACCESSING PERSONAL INFORMATION

You may ask for access to personal information we hold about you.

Detailed requests which require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to our normal professional and disbursement fees.

Your rights to access your personal information are not absolute. There are a number of situations where we may deny access. If we deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct personal information, we will provide a reason or reasons for doing so.

REQUESTS FOR ACCESS

If you have any questions, or wish to access your personal information, please contact Clarity Law Group

If you are not satisfied with our response, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada can be reached at:

112 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1H3
1 (800) 282-1376

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

Clarity Law Group reviews all of its policies and procedures and we may change this Privacy Policy from time to time.

Thank you for your interest in Clarity Law Group.