Avōkka Professional Corporation is a legal firm that acts as virtual in-house counsel for corporate clients. Avōkka has offices as set out from time to time on the firm’s website at www.avokka.com. The lawyers and staff at Avōkka (referred to in this policy as “we” or “Avōkka”) are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy outlines how we handle your personal information to protect your privacy.
As a professional legal services firm, Avōkka has professional and ethical duties and obligations to its clients under the Rules of Professional Conduct. One of these is the duty to keep confidential any information we receive where we are retained by a client in the context of a lawyer-client relationship.
In addition to professional obligations, other legislation sets out additional obligations that may apply. Among other things, in Canada, organizations engaged in commercial activities are required to 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. In Quebec, an Act respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector also sets out rules regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information within that province. These obligations extend to lawyers and firms of lawyers in practice together, including Avōkka.
Additional legal requirements may apply in other countries for information pertaining to individuals located there or information collected within those jurisdictions.
While the definition of personal information may vary depending on the applicable legislation, it is generally defined as information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title, business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization. In other words, it does not include the information that one expects to find on a business card.
In most cases, we obtain your consent to collect, use and disclose your personal information. Usually, if you retain our firm, we assume that we have your implied consent to our collection and use of your personal information. However, at times we may ask for your express consent, either orally or in writing. Generally, we collect your personal information directly from you at the start of or during the course of your retainer with our firm. Sometimes we may obtain information about you from other sources such as a government registry or other professionals who serve you.
We use your personal information to provide legal advice and services to you, to issue invoices and to maintain our database of clients. In addition, if you apply for a position with Avōkka, we will use your personal information to assess your candidacy. Lastly, we may use your contact information (name, e-mail and postal address) so that we may communicate with you about recent developments in the law, keep you abreast of Avōkka news and invite you to events. By providing us with your personal information, you consent to the use of your information for the above purposes.
You may withdraw your consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information at any time, upon reasonable notice, and subject to legal and/or contractual restrictions. Your withdrawal of consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information may impact our ability to represent you and provide you with legal advice.
You may ask us not to send you marketing communications by following the opt-out instructions in each communication or you may let us know by contacting us at unsubscribe@avokka.com.
Generally, we do not disclose your personal information to third parties without your consent unless permitted or required by applicable laws or court orders. The following are some examples where we may disclose your personal information:
In such cases, we will use contractual or other means to ensure the third party service provider is bound by obligations regarding privacy which are consistent with this policy.
It is important that the information we have on file be accurate and up-to-date. If any of your information changes, please inform us so that we can make any necessary changes. We may also ask you from time to time to confirm that your personal information is accurate and up-to-date.
Avōkka uses various safeguards to ensure that your personal information is protected against loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying or alteration. These include: security of our physical premises, our professional obligations, security software and firewalls to prevent unauthorized computer access or “hacking”, and internal passwords that restrict access to our electronic files.
You have a right to challenge the accuracy and completeness of your personal information and to have it amended, as appropriate. You also have a right to request access to your personal information and receive an accounting of how that information has been used and disclosed, subject to certain exceptions prescribed by law. For example, if the requested information would reveal personal information about another individual, your request for access may be limited or denied. If your request for access is denied, Avōkka will notify you in writing of the reason for the denial.
To request access or to amend your personal information, please contact the personnel at Avōkka with whom you normally correspond or write to our Privacy Contact at the address below. Avōkka will respond within thirty (30) days of receipt of your written request.
Avōkka will respond to inquiries about its policies and practices relating to its handling of your personal information. Inquiries should be directed to Avōkka’s Privacy Contact using the contact information below. We will investigate all complaints and will respond within 30 days of receipt of a written inquiry. If the complaint is found to be justified, we will take appropriate measures to resolve it, including, if necessary, amending this Policy and its procedures.
Like most other commercial websites, we may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information to optimize your visit to our website.
We do not use cookies or any electronic means to collect personal information from you or your computer. However, our website server will automatically collect IP addresses. We may view the IP log from time to time, for example, to maintain the security of our website. We do not link the IP addresses to other personally identifiable information.
If you have any questions or complaints about this Policy or the handling of your personal information, if you wish to withdraw your consent to our use of your personal information, or to request access to or update any information we have on file, please contact the Avōkka personnel with whom you are dealing, or write to our Privacy Contact at the address below.
If any complaint or inquiry is not handled to your complete satisfaction, you may contact:
Privacy Commissioner of Canada 112 Kent Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1H3 Telephone: 613-995-8210 Toll free: 1 800-282-1376
Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec 480 St. Laurent Suite 501 Montreal, Quebec H2Y 3Y7 Telephone: 514-873-4196 Toll Free: 1 888-528-7741
We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on our website at www.avokka.com and will be made available upon request through your contact at Avōkka. Please check from time to time to ensure you are aware of our current policy. This Privacy Policy is effective October 1, 2013.
You may contact Avōkka’s Privacy Contact by mail at any of the addresses listed on our website at www.avokka.com or by email at privacy@avokka.com.
