Privacy Policy
This privacy policy explains how I collect, use, and protect your personal data when you use geoffreycaesar.co.uk and when I provide legal services to you.
1. Who I Am
Geoffrey Caesar, Solicitor of England and Wales
Individual SRA ID: 483394
Freelance SRA ID: 666497
The Mill House, Mill Lane, Monks Risborough, HP27 9LG, United Kingdom
Email: geoffrey@geoffreycaesar.co.uk
I am the controller and am responsible for your personal data. If you have any questions about this privacy policy, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact me using the details above.
2. The Personal Data I Collect
I may collect, use and store the following types of personal data about you:
Identity Data — your name, title and any identification documents you provide as part of my know-your-client checks.
Contact Data — your email address, telephone number and postal address.
Transaction Data — details of the services you have purchased from me and related payment information.
Technical Data — information collected automatically when you visit this website, including your IP address, browser type and version, time zone setting, operating system and platform. This data is collected by Squarespace, which hosts this website.
Usage Data — information about how you use this website.
Communications Data — records of correspondence between us by email, telephone, and through Clio’s client portal and messaging platform.
I do not knowingly collect personal data relating to children.
3. How I Collect Your Personal Data
I collect personal data in the following ways:
Directly from you — when you place an order through this website, contact me by email or telephone, provide information as part of identity verification, or correspond with me through Clio’s client portal.
Automated technologies — when you visit this website, Squarespace automatically collects certain Technical Data using cookies and similar technologies. See the Cookies section below for more details.
Payment processors — Squarespace uses third-party payment processors to handle transactions. I receive confirmation of payment but do not have access to your full payment card details.
4. How I Use Your Personal Data
I use your personal data for the following purposes:
To provide legal services to you — including carrying out identity and conflict-of-interest checks, corresponding with you about your matter, and delivering the services you have purchased. The legal basis for this processing is performance of a contract with you and, for identity checks, compliance with my legal and regulatory obligations as a solicitor.
To manage our relationship — including notifying you of changes to my terms or this privacy policy, and dealing with any queries or complaints. The legal basis is performance of a contract with you and compliance with legal obligations.
To process payments — including managing fees and charges. The legal basis is performance of a contract with you.
To administer and protect this website — including troubleshooting, data analysis, and system maintenance. The legal basis is my legitimate interest in running my practice and keeping this website secure.
To comply with legal and regulatory obligations — including record-keeping requirements imposed by the SRA, HM Revenue & Customs, and anti-money laundering legislation. The legal basis is compliance with a legal obligation.
5. Who I Share Your Personal Data With
I may share your personal data with:
Squarespace — which hosts this website and processes transactions on my behalf.
Clio — which provides case management, client portal and messaging services.
Payment processors — used by Squarespace to process your payment.
Professional advisers — including insurers and legal advisers, where necessary.
Regulators and authorities — including the SRA, the Information Commissioner’s Office, HM Revenue & Customs, and law enforcement agencies, where I am required to do so by law or regulation.
I require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. I do not allow third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process it for specified purposes and in accordance with my instructions.
6. International Transfers
Squarespace and some of the third-party services I use may transfer your personal data outside the United Kingdom. Where this happens, I ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses approved for use in the UK, to give your data the same level of protection it has under UK law.
7. Data Security
I have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. I limit access to your personal data to those who have a business need to know.
I have procedures in place to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and the Information Commissioner’s Office where I am legally required to do so.
8. How Long I Keep Your Personal Data
I retain your personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements.
For legal services, I typically retain client files for a minimum of six years after the conclusion of a matter, in line with regulatory guidance and limitation periods. I may retain data for longer if there is an ongoing complaint or if I reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation.
I retain basic contact and transaction data for six years after you cease to be a client for tax purposes.
9. Cookies
This website is built and hosted on Squarespace. Squarespace uses cookies and similar technologies to operate the website, process transactions, and collect analytics data. These include:
Strictly necessary cookies — required for the website to function, including session management and security.
Analytical and performance cookies — used by Squarespace to understand how visitors use the website.
I do not set my own cookies beyond those used by the Squarespace platform. For more information about the cookies Squarespace uses, please see Squarespace’s cookie information at www.squarespace.com/cookie-policy.
You can set your browser to refuse all or some cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, some parts of this website may not function properly.
10. Your Legal Rights
Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data, including the right to:
Request access to your personal data.
Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
Request erasure of your personal data in certain circumstances.
Object to processing of your personal data where I am relying on a legitimate interest.
Request restriction of processing of your personal data.
Request transfer of your personal data to you or a third party in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
Withdraw consent at any time where I am relying on consent to process your data.
You will not usually have to pay a fee to exercise any of these rights. However, I may charge a reasonable fee or refuse to comply if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive.
I may need to request specific information from you to confirm your identity before responding to any request. I aim to respond to all legitimate requests within one month.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact me using the details at the top of this policy.
11. Complaints
If you have a complaint about how I have handled your personal data, please contact me first so that I can try to resolve the matter.
You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection issues. The ICO can be contacted at www.ico.org.uk. The ICO recommends that you raise any concerns with me before contacting them.
12. Changes to This Privacy Policy
I keep this privacy policy under regular review. This version was last updated on the date shown at the top of this page.
It is important that the personal data I hold about you is accurate and current. Please let me know if your personal data changes during our relationship.
13. Third-Party Links
This website may include links to third-party websites. Clicking on those links may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. I do not control those websites and am not responsible for their privacy practices. When you leave this website, I encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.