Privacy Policy

Zaidi Legal PC (“Zaidi Legal PC” or “we”) recognizes the significance of privacy and the sensitive nature of personal information. As lawyers, we have a strict ethical duty to maintain the confidentiality of information received from clients as part of the lawyer-client relationship, which is regulated by the Law Society of Ontario (LSO). You can learn more about the LSO by visiting their website at www.lso.ca. Our commitment is to uphold the law and safeguard personal information. This Privacy Policy sets out our approach to managing personal information and protecting privacy.

Definitions

Personal Information – The term “personal information” refers to information that pertains to a particular individual and allows them to be identified, but it does not include an employee’s name, title, business address, or phone number. PIPEDA mandates that all Canadian organizations involved in commercial activities must adhere to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information, which is included in PIPEDA by reference. This legal requirement applies to lawyers and law firms, including Zaidi Legal PC. 

Collecting Personal Information

Zaidi Legal PC offers legal services to a diverse clientele, which may require us to obtain and utilize personal information. Additionally, we may distribute information and promotional materials related to changes in the law and our services to individuals.

On occasion, we may gather information about you from alternative sources, such as:

• government agencies or registries;

• publicly available information found on your website or other sources;

• other professionals who work with you;

• other involved parties or witnesses in a legal proceeding;

• other involved parties or participants in a business transaction.

Consent

Typically, we will seek your permission before collecting, using, or disclosing your personal information. While we may request written consent, we may also accept oral consent in certain circumstances. Your actions or the nature of our arrangement may imply your consent. If you choose to revoke your consent for us to gather, use, or disclose your personal information, it may affect our capacity to serve you and maintain our association.

Use of Personal Information

Your personal information is employed for the purpose of delivering legal counsel and services to you, managing our client databases (including time and billing), advancing and retaining our expertise and knowledge, and incorporating you into our information distribution and marketing initiatives. If you no longer desire to receive communications about changes in the law or our services, you may request that we discontinue any further correspondence.

Disclosure of Personal Information

Zaidi Legal PC refrains from divulging your personal information to third parties for the purpose of marketing their products and services.

There are certain circumstances in which we may disclose your personal information, including:

when you have provided your consent for us to do so;

• when obligated or authorized by law, such as when a court-issued warrant or subpoena is present;

• when required to comply with the LSO’s guidelines regulating the practice of law in Ontario;

• when providing legal services necessitates disclosing your information to third parties (unless otherwise stated at the outset of our agreement);

• when collecting fees or disbursements;

• when engaging a third party to provide administrative services, subject to privacy obligations aligned with this policy;

• in the event of a merger or expansion of Zaidi Legal PC, in which case the third party is bound by privacy obligations consistent with this policy;

• when expert witnesses are retained on your behalf; or

• when enlisting the services of another law firm, such as those located in other jurisdictions, on your behalf.

Updating Your Information

As we utilize your personal information to furnish legal services to you, it is imperative that the data be precise and current. In the event that any of your information changes during the course of our engagement, kindly notify us to ensure the necessary modifications are made. We may also intermittently inquire as to the accuracy and currency of your personal information.

Securing Personal Information

Zaidi Legal PC employs preventive measures to ensure that your personal information is secure from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or loss. Some of the measures we take to protect your personal information include:

• enhanced premises security;

• confidentiality protocols that align with our professional responsibilities;

• training our employees;

• employing technological safeguards like firewalls and security software to prevent unauthorized computer access or hacking attempts; and

• having internal security policies and password protections.

E-mail

Please note that email is not a completely secure method of communication, and it is important for you to keep this in mind if you intend to send us personal or confidential information through email.

Accessing Personal Information

If you wish to access the personal information we have about you, you may request it. However, if your request requires us to retrieve information from archives or other sources, you may be subject to our standard professional and disbursement fees. Keep in mind that your right to access your personal information is not unconditional and there may be instances where we are unable to grant your request. In such cases, we will provide you with the reasons for our decision.

Credit Bureaus

Occasionally, we may request information about you from consumer reporting agencies to assist us in making credit decisions about clients, preventing fraud, and verifying the identity of new clients.

Website

This policy does not apply to other sites that may be linked to our website. We may analyze traffic patterns, site usage, and related information to improve our website. However, we do not use cookies or other electronic methods to automatically collect personal information. We may provide aggregate information to third parties, but this information does not include any identifiable personal details. Our web servers may automatically collect IP addresses, and we may occasionally review our web server IP log to prevent fraudulent activities and potential network attacks.

Requests for Access

If you have inquiries regarding your personal information or if you wish to access it, please feel free to contact the lawyer that you typically correspond with. Alternatively, you can send an email to info@zaidilegal.com.