Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Walter Baden Pty Ltd ABN 68 633 947 403 (WB) collects, holds, uses, and discloses your personal information, and your rights in relation to that information.
WB will only collect, use, or disclose personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Types of personal information we collect
The nature of our dealings with you will influence the types of personal information we collect and hold. We will always endeavour to only collect information that we require for the function or activity we are carrying out. The personal information we collect will usually include your full name and contact details. Depending on the nature of our dealings, we may also collect any or all of the following:
- your date and place of birth
- identity document details, such as your driver’s licence, passport or Medicare number
- your bank account details or credit card number
- your financial or taxation records
- your education and work history
- your IP address, and
- sensitive information about you, such as your family composition, criminal record, or court attendance records.
We will only collect sensitive information about you with your consent or when permissible under Australian law and will only use this information for a legitimate purpose where it is reasonably necessary to do so.
If you do not provide us with the personal information we request, we will generally be unable to provide you with the legal services and assistance you require.
How we collect your personal information
WB may collect personal information about you directly from you or during our dealings with you, including:
- when you use our legal services
- when you apply or register an interest in a position of employment with WB
- when you make an enquiry or contact WB
- when you submit a form on our website at www.walterbaden.law
- when you provide or offer to provide products or services to WB
- when you communicate with WB through social networking services, such as Twitter or LinkedIn, and
- when you attend an event we host or sponsor or subscribe to a WB newsletter.
WB may also collect personal information about you from another source, for example, from a government agency, a credit reporting agency, a professional adviser, a regulatory authority, or a previous employer.
Use and disclosure
WB will only collect, hold, and use your personal information for the purpose and any related purpose for which we collect the information.
The purposes for which WB may collect, use, or disclose your personal information may include:
- verifying your identity
- providing you with legal services or information
- conducting conflict searches to determine if we can represent a client
- complying with our legal and professional obligations
- managing and administering your business relationship with WB, such as billing and collection, accounting, auditing, and processing payments
- monitoring or improving the legal services we provide to you, or
- any other purpose for which you provide your personal information to WB.
Other instances where WB may use and disclose your personal information include:
- in confidence, to our advisers and insurers
- to counsel or other specialists we retain on your behalf
- to other professional advisers, regulatory bodies, or external service providers
- to companies that provide services for money laundering checks, credit-risk reduction, and other fraud and crime prevention purposes
- where Australian law, a court, or tribunal order authorises or requires the use or disclosure, or
- to other third parties, including service providers we use in conducting our business, subject to any confidentiality provisions we consider necessary.
In certain circumstances, we may disclose your personal information to third parties who may be located outside of Australia, including to overseas law firms or to legal service providers that provide data processing and back-up services. The countries in which these third parties are located will depend on the individual circumstances, although we commonly disclose personal information to third parties in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, and New Zealand. We will only disclose your personal information to another person where the law permits us to do so or with your consent. We will not sell or trade personal information about you to or with third parties.
Access, corrections, and updates to the information we keep
You may request access to correct and update the personal information we hold about you. Should you wish to do so, please contact us. We may refuse to provide access where the law allows us to do so and may charge you for providing access.
Marketing communications
We may use your personal information to send you promotional material in relation to our services from time to time. If we do so, we will provide you with the option to opt-out of receiving this material.
Security
WB will take reasonable steps to keep your personal information secure and confidential, including:
- restricting access to our offices and systems
- requiring our staff and contractors to sign confidentiality agreements
- implementing two-factor authentication and other security measures for accessing our IT systems, and
- periodically evaluating our information protection practices.
To the extent liability cannot be excluded due to law, WB excludes all liability (including negligence) for any unauthorised access to your personal information. Please contact us immediately if you become aware of any breach of security.
Storage
WB stores your files electronically, including on Australian-based cloud servers.
Retention of your personal information
We will retain your personal information for so long as we require it for our business functions and for any other lawful purpose. For example, retain records of client names and the names of opposing parties indefinitely in order avoid any conflicts of interest.
We will destroy or de-identify your personal information when we no longer reasonably require it or when the law requires us to do so.
Data breach
In the event of an eligible data breach, we will notify you and any person the law requires us to notify as soon as reasonably practicable.
Notification of changes
This Privacy Policy may be updated at our discretion. By continuing to deal with us or by using our website, you accept this Privacy Policy as it applies from time to time. In the case of any updates, we will publish the updated Privacy Policy on our website. Such updates will take effect as soon as soon as they are posted on our website.
Making a complaint
If you have any issues, questions, or complaints about our collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information or if you believe there has been a breach of this Privacy Policy, please contact us by sending your concerns to our Privacy Officer. We take privacy complaints seriously and will endeavour to provide you with a response within 30 days of receipt of notification.
Contact us
Please direct any queries, issues, or comments you may have to our Privacy Officer. You can reach our Privacy Officer by any of the following means:
Telephone: +61 2 8328 1888
Email: privacy@walterbaden.law
Post: Suite 904, Level 9, 25 Bligh Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000