Privacy Policy

Introduction

AM Skinner Solicitors is committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all clients. AM Skinner Solicitors is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

The personal data that AM Skinner Solicitors processes to provide these services relates to its clients and all other applicable individuals and entities.

This policy sets out AM Skinner Solicitors commitment to ensuring that any personal data, which AM Skinner Solicitors processes, is carried out in compliance with data protection law. AM Skinner Solicitors ensures that good data protection practice is embedded into the culture of this law firm.

AM Skinner Solicitors uses cloud-based providers who operate within the EU and US under suitable data protection arrangements and security controls in place in accordance with GDPR requirements. ‘Data Protection Law’ includes the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679; the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and all relevant EU and UK data protection legislation.

Our cloud-based providers may transfer Personal Data to jurisdictions as necessary, including to jurisdictions that may not provide the same level of data protection as your home country. If you are located in a non-US jurisdiction, the transfer of Personal Data is necessary to provide you with the requested information and/or to perform any requested transaction. When you submit personal information to us you are transferring your data across borders.

With respect to transfers originating from the European Economic Area ("EEA") to other non-EEA jurisdictions, we will implement standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission, and other appropriate solutions to address cross-border transfers as required or permitted by Articles 46 and 49 of the General Data Protection Regulation. Where required by such laws, you may request a copy of the suitable mechanisms we have in place by contacting us as detailed below.

Scope

This policy applies to all personal data processed by AM Skinner Solicitors and is part of our approach to compliance with data protection law.

Data protection principles

AM Skinner Solicitors complies with the data protection principles set out below. When processing personal data, it ensures that:

it is processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject (‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency’)
it is collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes (‘purpose limitation’)
it is all adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed (‘data minimization’)
it is all accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date and that reasonable steps will be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay (‘accuracy’)
it is kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed (‘storage limitation’)
it is processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures (‘integrity and confidentiality’)

AM Skinner Solicitors will facilitate any request from a data subject who wishes to exercise their rights under data protection law as appropriate, always communicating in a concise, transparent, intelligible and easily accessible form and without undue delay.

Process/procedures/guidance

AM Skinner Solicitors will:

ensure that the legal basis for processing personal data is identified in advance and that all processing complies with the law.
not do anything with your data that you would not expect given the content of this policy and the fair processing or privacy notice.
ensure that appropriate privacy notices are in place advising data subjects how and why their data is being processed, and, in particular, advising data subjects of their rights.
only collect and process the personal data that it needs for purposes it has identified in advance
ensure that, as far as possible, the personal data it holds is accurate, or a system is in place for ensuring that it is kept up to date as far as possible.
only hold onto your personal data for as long as it is needed, after which time AM Skinner Solicitors will securely erase or delete the personal data. AM Skinner Solicitors data retention policy sets out the appropriate period of time.
ensure that appropriate security measures are in place to ensure that personal data can only be accessed by those who need to access it and that it is held and transferred securely.

Sharing of personal information

AM Skinner Solicitors may share personal information with a variety of the following categories of third parties as necessary:

Our professional advisers such as lawyers and accountants.
Government or regulatory authorities.
Professional indemnity or other relevant insurers.
Regulators/tax authorities/corporate registries.
Third parties to whom we outsource certain services such as, without limitation, document processing and translation services, confidential waste disposal, IT systems or software providers, IT Support service providers, document and information storage providers.
Third parties engaged in the course of the services we provide to clients such as counsel, arbitrators, mediators, witnesses, court, opposing party and their lawyers, document review platforms and experts such as technical advisers.
Third party service providers to assist us with client insight analytics, such as Google Analytics.
Third party postal or courier providers who assist us in delivering our postal marketing campaigns to you, or delivering documents related to a matter.
Please note this list is non-exhaustive and there may be other examples where we need to share with other parties in order to provide the Services as effectively as we can.

Data subject rights

AM Skinner Solicitors has processes in place to ensure that it can facilitate any request made by an individual to exercise their rights under data protection law. All requests will be considered without undue delay and within one month of receipt as far as possible.

Subject access

The right to request information about how personal data is being processed, including whether personal data is being processed and the right to be allowed access to that data and to be provided with a copy of that data along with the right to obtain the following information:

the purpose of the processing
the categories of personal data
the recipients to whom data has been disclosed or which will be disclosed
the retention period
the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office
the source of the information if not collected direct from the subject, and
the existence of any automated decision making

Rectification

The right to allow a data subject to rectify inaccurate personal data concerning them and the right to erasure:

the right to have data erased and to have confirmation of erasure, but only where:
the data is no longer necessary in relation to the purpose for which it was collected, or
where consent is withdrawn, or
where there is no legal basis for the processing, or
there is a legal obligation to delete data

Restriction of processing

The right to ask for certain processing to be restricted in the following circumstances:

if the accuracy of the personal data is being contested, or
if our processing is unlawful but the data subject does not want it erased, or
if the data is no longer needed for the purpose of the processing but it is required by the data subject for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, or
if the data subject has objected to the processing, pending verification of that objection

Data portability

The right to receive a copy of personal data which has been provided by the data subject and which is processed by automated means in a format which will allow the individual to transfer the data to another data controller. This would only apply if AM Skinner Solicitors was processing the data using consent or on the basis of a contract.

Object to processing

The right to object to the processing of personal data relying on the legitimate interests processing condition unless AM Skinner Solicitors can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override the interests of the data subject or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Responsibility for the processing of personal data

Andrew Skinner takes ultimate responsibility for data protection. Mr Andrew Michael Skinner is registered with the Information Commissioner under registration number: A8484144.

How to complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to then you can contact Andrew Skinner in using the following contact details:

Andrew Skinner
AM Skinner Solicitors
Crag Cottage
Castley Lane
Castley
North Yorkshire
LS21 2PY

Email: amskinner@amskinnersolicitors.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0) 1423 734019

You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.

The ICO’s address:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk

Monitoring and review

This policy was last updated on 5th January, 2024 and shall be regularly monitored and reviewed, at least every two years.