Privacy Policy

Hammerco Lawyers LLP is a law firm that provides legal services in British Columbia and Ontario in a variety of practice areas including personal injury, business law, wills, estate and commercial litigation, real estate law, class actions, and wills, estates, and trusts.

The lawyers and staff at Hammerco Lawyers are committed to upholding privacy laws and procedures as outlined in this policy:

Privacy Legislation

Applicable privacy legislation includes the British Columbia Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”). Hammerco Lawyers also have professional and ethical obligations to keep information collected in the context of a solicitor-client relationship confidential.

Personal Information

Personal information means information about an identifiable individual. Examples include, age, name, income, ID, medical records, income, ethnic origin, credit or banking information, employee records, medical records, and any information relevant to the issue for which we have been retained. We collect and use such personal information to provide legal services. This information may be about our clients, or may be about individuals who are not clients, but are involved in transactions, matters or disputes with clients.

Purposes

We collect personal information in the normal course of client representation and only by lawful and reasonable means. We collect personal information directly from our clients and also obtain information from sources other than the individual: for example insurance companies, real estate agents in a property transaction, government agencies or registries, employers, accountants, internally generated work product, dispute and litigation investigations, and other parties to a transaction, matter or dispute.

Consent to Collection of Personal Information

Hammerco Lawyers collects, uses, and/or discloses personal information only where express or implied consent is given, or as provided in this Policy, or as is otherwise allowed by law. Express consent can be given orally, electronically or in writing. Implied consent is consent that can reasonably be inferred from one’s action or inaction. Upon retention, consent to the collection and use of personal information is implied for information reasonably required to provide our services. However, express consent may be requested for certain information and uses. Privacy and other laws allow us to collect, use, and disclose information for matters in dispute or litigation without consent.

Withdrawal of Consent

Consent to the collection, use, storage, and disclosure of personal information may be withdrawn at any time, subject to legal and/or contractual restrictions and upon reasonable notice. To withdraw consent, please reach out to our Privacy Officer as set out below. Withdrawal of consent may impact Hammerco’s ability to provide representation and legal advice as well as other offered services.

Limiting Collection

The collection of personal information is limited to the purposes identified in the client contract, and any amendments to the reason for collection will be clearly detailed in discussions between the client and lawyer. Collection of personal information will always be conducted using fair and lawful means.

Use, Disclosure, and Retention of Personal Information

Use of Personal Information

At Hammerco Lawyers, personal information is used to provide legal advice and services, issue invoices, and maintain an up to date and confidential client database. If an individual applies for a position with Hammerco Lawyers, their personal information will be used to assess their candidacy. We normally retain information from candidates for a limited time after a decision has been made unless the individual asks us not to retain the information. If a job offer is accepted, the information will be retained in accordance with our privacy procedures for employee records.

Contact information (such as name, email, and postal address) is also used to inform clients about recent developments in the law as well as share Hammerco Lawyers news and firm event invitations.

To opt out of marketing communications, follow the opt-out instructions in each communication or email us at [email protected].

Disclosure of Personal Information

Hammerco Lawyers does not disclose personal information to any third parties to enable them to market their products and services without consent. Under certain circumstances, Hammerco Lawyers will disclose personal information; such as: when we are required or authorized by law or ethical reasons to do so, for example by court order or pursuant to exemptions to consents provided in applicable privacy legislation; when an individual has consented to the disclosure; when the legal services we are providing requires us give information to third parties (for example a lender in a real estate mortgage transaction, or as necessary for court actions); where it is necessary to establish or collect fees; if we engage expert witnesses on a client’s behalf; if we retain other law firms in other jurisdictions on a client’s behalf; if the information is already publicly known; or if our law firm was to merge with another or otherwise become part of another firm. We may provide personal information to our consultants, subcontractors,
and professional advisers (which shall be bound by privacy obligations) to assist our uses disclosed herein.

Retention of Personal Information

Personal information may be retained until it fulfills the purposes for which it was collected, in accordance with our documented retention policy or as otherwise permitted by law. The length of time it is retained varies and may extend beyond the end of a contract or retention period.

Accuracy of Information

It is important that the information in Hammerco’s client database be accurate, complete, and up to date. If during the course of the retainer any information changes, please inform your lawyer.

Safeguards

Hammerco uses various physical, organizational, and technological security safeguards to ensure that personal information is protected against loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying or alteration. These include but are not limited to the following: end-to-end encryption for payment, security of our physical premises, security software, and firewalls to prevent unauthorized computer access or “hacking”, privacy training, adherence to applicable laws/regulations, and internal passwords that restrict access to files stored digitally.

Any personal information that has fulfilled its designated purpose will be securely disposed of in accordance with our documented retention and disposal policy or as required by law.

Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed as completely secure. Although security measures are in place to protect such information (including using a third party provider to process and encrypt account payments), Hammerco Lawyers cannot fully guarantee security of any information transmitted through the company site.

Openness

Hammerco Lawyers is committed to updating and maintaining its privacy policy and practices. All policies are updated regularly and can be accessed by anyone through the Hammerco website and will be made available upon request.

Please check back from time to time to ensure you are aware of our current policy.

Individual Access

Access to Personal Information

An individual has the right to request access to their personal information and receive an accounting of how that information has been used and disclosed at any time, subject to certain exceptions prescribed by law. An individual is also able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of their personal information and have it amended, as appropriate.

If the requested information may reveal personal information about another individual, the request for access may be limited or denied, in which case Hammerco Lawyers will respond to the request in writing with the reason for the denial.

To request access or to amend your personal information, please contact the lawyer or agent with whom you correspond or our Privacy Officer at the address below.Hammerco Lawyers will respond within thirty (30) days of receipt of your written request.

Challenging Compliance

Hammerco Lawyers will respond promptly to any inquiries about policies and practices relating to the handling of personal information. Inquiries should be directed to Hammerco Lawyer’s Privacy Officer using the contact information below.

Hammerco Lawyers will investigate all complaints and will respond within thirty (30) days of receipt of a written inquiry. If the complaint is found to be justified, Hammerco
Lawyers will take appropriate measures to resolve it.

Use of Technology and Artificial Intelligence

Hammerco Lawyers recognizes the growing opportunity to use technology to enhance the delivery of legal services and provide greater value to clients. These technologies may include cloud-based platforms, digital tools, and artificial intelligence-enabled services. Such tools may be used in connection with services and processes including, but not limited to, electronic signatures, transaction management, legal entity management, case management, e-discovery, due diligence, collaboration, document analysis and review, and legal research.

Hammerco Lawyers is committed to adopting and using technology in a secure, responsible, and professional manner. Any technology used by Hammerco Lawyers must meet applicable security and privacy requirements. To protect client information and preserve confidentiality, Hammerco Lawyers maintains physical, administrative, and technological safeguards that align with recognized standards and best practices within the Canadian legal profession. Our information technology provider also maintains ISO 27001 certification, demonstrating a commitment to a formal Information Security Management System.

Hammerco Lawyers’ use of technology is guided by applicable professional, ethical, and confidentiality obligations. Any work product prepared with the assistance of these technologies is subject to review and analysis by a legal professional before it is provided to a client or submitted to a court.

Company Website Information

Information Collected through hammerco.ca

This website (hammerco.ca) collects information provided through the contact form. This includes service inquiries and job opportunities at Hammerco Lawyers. This website also tracks website usage statistics such as the number of pages visited, which pages were visited, website search history, and IP addresses.

How Information is Collected

Hammerco Lawyers uses Google Analytics to track general statistics about which pages are visited (or not visited) on the site. This enables personalization and relevancy for different users. No identifiable information about individuals visiting the site is tracked except for contact information provided through the contact form, which is used to respond to the corresponding client inquiry.

Information collected through the website is used for internal purposes only. No information collected via this website is disclosed to any outside source. Google Analytics possesses only confidential and non-identifiable website usage information, which is viewed by Hammerberg Lawyers’ external marketing agency (bound by the provisions of a confidentiality agreement). The website’s IP log may be accessed internally for security purposes.

The website may use CAPTCHA’s to authenticate that users are human. CAPTCHA’s send certain information (such as IP address, browser and device information, and cursor movement) to a service that determines if you are a human or a bot. The service provider promises not to use any personal information collected through the CAPTCHA process for any other purpose.

Storage of Personal Information

Collected information is stored and processed by Hammerco primarily in Canada, regardless of country of residence. Third party service providers, including payment processors and technology partners, supply infrastructure required to provide Hammerco’s legal services. Those third parties may store and process personal information in Canada, the United States, and other jurisdictions. Hammerco Lawyers includes appropriate contractual and other controls with such third parties to protect personal information as required by applicable laws.

Direct Communications

Hammerco Lawyers is complies with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation. Where consent is given or it is lawful to do so, email or other electronic communications about general legal issues which may be of interest may be sent to clients. If you do not wish to receive further materials about services, legal developments, and/or invitations to seminars and functions, you may unsubscribe through email or by one of the other means listed below.

Privacy Contacts

If you have any questions or complaints about this Policy, wish to access/update your personal information, or unsubscribe from promotional electronic messages, please contact your lawyer directly or our Privacy Officer at:

Hammerco Lawyers
Attention: Privacy Officer
#400 – 2233 Columbia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
V5Y 0M6
[email protected]

If any complaint or inquiry is not handled to your complete satisfaction, you may contact:

Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia
PO Box 9038 Stn. Prov. Govt.
Victoria B.C.
V8W 9A4
Telephone: (250) 387-5629

Privacy Commissioner of Canada
112 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
K1A 1H3
Telephone: 1.613.995.8210
Toll free: 1.800.282.1376

*for more information, visit PIPEDA fair information principles – Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada