Privacy Policy

At Cohen LLP, Barristers & Solicitors (“Cohen LLP”), we are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the personal information of our clients (individually, the “Client” and collectively, the “Clients”).

We offer and provide legal services and information to a wide range of Clients. We collect, use and disclose personal information as necessary to offer and provide Clients and potential clients with these legal services and information and generally to undertake our professional legal responsibilities and manage our business. In providing legal advice to Clients, we have a professional obligation to maintain the confidentiality of information that we receive within a lawyer-client relationship. The purpose of this privacy statement is to advise you as to why we ask for personal information, how we use it, what safeguards we employ, and how to contact us with privacy-related questions.

Controlling the collection, use and disclosure of personal information is an ongoing process. We will continue to review our personal information management practices and improve them as necessary to better protect the privacy of individuals. This statement was last amended on the date shown at the end of the Policy.

This privacy statement does not apply to personal information about employees, partners or other temporary or permanent staff, consultants, volunteers or other individuals assigned to Cohen LLP (collectively, ” Cohen LLP Members”), or to any information which is not personal information as defined in or interpreted under applicable law.

What Is Personal Information?

In this Privacy Policy, “Personal Information” means information that specifically identifies a Client as an individual and is provided to, or collected by, Cohen LLP and its staff or by Cohen LLP’s agents, associates, and affiliates on Cohen LLP’s behalf (collectively, the “Cohen LLP Group”). Personal Information however, does not include your name, business title or business contact information in your capacity as an employee.

What We Collect.

We collect information in relation to Clients, potential clients and others, generated in the course of our practice, and depends upon the information and services requested. However, subject to applicable law, it may include:

  • Name, address, e-mail address, contact details, nature of the Client or potential client’s legal issue, financial, credit, billing and account information, and other incidental information relating to the services we provide;
  • Information material to your legal issue, for example financial, property ownership, family, employment, disciplinary, benefit or tax information, and any other information you give to us when you ask or instruct us to act for you;
  • Information about individuals we collect in the course of acting for Clients, including personal information about employees of Clients, referrals and consultants;
  • Information about you contained in communications within Cohen LLP and between us and you, whether online or offline; and
  • Information we may collect with your consent or as permitted or required by law.

Why We Collect Personal Information.

Cohen LLP collects and uses Personal Information for the following purposes:

  • To offer and provide legal services and products to you;
  • To communicate with you regarding the services you request and to respond to your requests and inquiries;
  • To advise Clients of the ongoing developments of the law and invite you to Cohen LLP functions;
  • To administrate, bill, perform accounting and collection functions related to your account;
  • To develop and use our knowledge management and precedent systems and permit Cohen LLP Members to consult, for precedent purposes, documents that we have created on your behalf and that contain Personal Information;
  • To fulfill our legal and professional obligations;
  • To comply with all municipal, provincial, federal and other applicable laws; and
  • To undertake such other specific purposes which are communicated to the Client by a member of the Cohen LLP Group before collection of such Personal Information.

Except when otherwise permitted by law, we will only use a Client’s Personal Information for the purposes identified to the Client. When Personal Information is to be used for a purpose not identified, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that new purpose is identified prior to use. How We Collect Information About You We typically collect personal information directly from you or through our interaction with you. However, sometimes we may obtain personal information about you from other sources, such as a real estate agent or insurance company in a property transaction, a government agency or registry, a Client’s employer, accountant, banker, financial advisor or other professional.

How We Disclose and Share Your Information

We may disclose the personal information we collect about Clients or other individuals we deal with to third parties, including:

    • Where the legal services we are providing to you require us to give your personal information to third parties, such as a lender in a real estate mortgage transaction;
    • Where we are required or authorized by law to do so, for example where the rules of court require us to provide Personal Information pursuant to a court subpoena or order;
    • Where we retain another law firm or agent to act or assist us in acting on your behalf;
    • Where it is necessary to collect fees, for instance to a financial institution or collection agent;
    • To regulatory (including self-regulatory) or governmental authorities, for example, disclosure of Personal Information reasonably requested or required by governing bodies of the legal profession in the course of its oversight of our practice;
    • Where you have instructed us to disclose your Personal Information to a third party for a designated purpose;
    • Where we reasonably believe a third party requesting your information is your agent; and

 

Our Web Site

The only Personal Information which we collect about you when you use our website is what you tell us about yourself, for example, information you provide to us through the “Contact Us” section or when you send us an e-mail. Our server does not currently attach cookies to your computer’s memory when you visit our website.

As most Web sites do, however, we do track usage patterns on our Web site on an anonymous basis. Your identity cannot reasonably be ascertained from this information. Each time you visit our website, our server records your Internet Service Provider, the date and time of your visit, the pages you visit and the documents downloaded, the searches you performed, and the referring URL’s you came from. We use this non-personal information to optimize our website service.

For your convenience, we may offer links from our website to other websites. However, Cohen LLP is not responsible for, nor do we accept any liability for, the Personal Information collection, use and disclosure practices of other entities to which our website may link. You should consult the privacy policies of these other entities before providing any Personal Information on their websites.

Your Consent

We collect, use and disclose your Personal Information with your consent or as permitted or required by law. Your consent may be express or implied, depending on the circumstances and the sensitivity of the personal information in question. If you provide personal information about another person to us, we assume you have the consent of that individual to enable us to collect, use or disclose their information as described in this policy. If you choose to provide personal information to Cohen LLP, we assume that you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as outlined in this privacy statement.

If you do not consent, please do not provide your personal information or, where applicable, exercise the opt-in or opt-out options offered. Subject to legal and contractual requirements and reasonable notice, you may refuse to consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information or you may withdraw your consent to our further collection, use and disclosure of information about you, by contacting our Privacy Officer via email or telephone at 416-380-7550. Note that if you withdraw your consent to certain uses of your personal information, we may no longer be able to provide certain of our services.

There are instances where Cohen LLP may collect, use or disclose your personal information without your consent, for example to collect a debt you owe to us, to comply with a subpoena or court order, or to comply with the rules of court regarding the production of records.

Accuracy

Cohen LLP strives to ensure that a Client’s Personal Information is as accurate, complete, and up-to-date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is used.

Security

Cohen LLP has implemented reasonable physical, organizational and technological security measures to safeguard the personal information in our custody or control. These include safeguards to protect personal information against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.

You can generally visit the Cohen LLP website without providing any Personal Information. However, given that electronically submitted data is not 100% secure, we make no warranties as to the security of any such Personal Information that you submit, which you do at your own risk.

Access, Correction, Inquiries and Complaints

We maintain a file of your personal information for the above-mentioned purposes. This file is accessible at Cohen LLP, Barristers & Solicitors, 41 Wynford Drive, Toronto, Ontario, M3C 1K1. If you wish to request access to, or correction of, your personal information in Cohen LLP’s custody, please make your request in writing to our Privacy Officer at the address above. We may need to verify your identity before searching for or providing you with Personal Information. In some circumstances, we may not provide access to your personal information, for example if it contains the Personal Information of other persons, if it constitutes confidential commercial information, if it is protected by solicitor-client privilege, or if it is otherwise not properly the subject of an access request.

If you have any questions, requests or complaints about our personal information practices, please contact our Privacy Officer at Cohen LLP, Barristers & Solicitors, 41 Wynford Drive, Toronto, Ontario, M3C 1K1 or via e-mail or telephone at 416-380-7550.

Changes to this Statement

Cohen LLP reserves the right to change this privacy statement at any time. You should review this privacy statement from time to time to ensure that you are aware of and accept any changes made. You may contact us at the address, e-mail address or telephone number above to obtain a current copy of this privacy statement.