We take your privacy seriously. Here's the straight talk on how we handle your information – no legal jargon overload, just the facts you need to know.
Look, we get it – privacy policies can be a slog. But this stuff matters, especially when you're trusting us with sensitive legal matters.
At Celesthorwyn Forge Legal, we've been handling corporate litigation and intellectual property cases since 2008, and we've learned that trust starts with transparency. This policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you interact with our firm.
We're bound by Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and various provincial privacy laws. But beyond legal obligations, it's just good practice – we treat your data the way we'd want ours treated.
Depending on how you engage with us, we might collect different types of information. Here's the breakdown:
When you reach out or become a client, we'll collect basics like:
We don't ask for this stuff to be nosy – it's essential for client intake, conflict checks, and providing competent legal representation.
Once we're working together, we'll gather information specific to your legal matter:
This information is protected by solicitor-client privilege and kept strictly confidential.
Like most websites, we automatically collect some technical information:
We use this to improve our website and understand how potential clients find us. Nothing creepy, just practical analytics.
When you communicate with us, we keep records of:
These records help us provide consistent service and maintain accurate client files as required by our professional obligations.
We're not collecting data just to have it sit in a database somewhere. Here's what we actually do with your information:
The big one – we use your information to provide legal services, represent your interests, communicate about your matter, and fulfill our duties as your counsel. This includes everything from drafting contracts to arguing your case in court.
Before we can take on your matter, we need to check whether representing you would create any conflicts of interest. It's a professional requirement that protects everyone involved.
We use your information to invoice for services, process payments, maintain financial records, and handle trust accounting as required by our Law Society obligations.
Pretty straightforward – we use your contact info to stay in touch about your case, send updates, respond to inquiries, and occasionally share relevant legal developments that might affect you.
We analyze aggregated, anonymized data to understand our practice better – what types of matters we're handling, how long cases typically take, and where we can improve our services.
Sometimes we're legally required to collect and maintain certain information – think trust accounting rules, anti-money laundering regulations, and Law Society reporting requirements.
Security isn't just about technology – it's about culture, training, and constant vigilance. Here's what we do:
Our offices at Bay Street have controlled access, surveillance systems, locked filing cabinets for physical documents, and secure disposal procedures for sensitive materials.
Encrypted email and file transfers, secure cloud storage with Canadian data residency, multi-factor authentication, regular security audits, and up-to-date firewalls and antivirus protection.
Regular staff training on privacy and security, strict access controls (need-to-know basis), confidentiality agreements with all employees and contractors, and a culture that takes data protection seriously.
Our website uses SSL/TLS encryption (that's the padlock in your browser), secure hosting with regular backups, and we don't store sensitive information on web forms – we use secure client portals for document sharing instead.
Under Canadian privacy laws, you've got some solid rights when it comes to your personal information. Here's what you can do:
You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. We'll provide it within 30 days, subject to any legal restrictions or solicitor-client privilege considerations.