1. INTRODUCTION

At Schreuder Attorneys (The Firm) we are committed to protecting your privacy and to ensure that your personal information is collected and used properly, lawfully and transparently.

This privacy policy explains how The Firm obtains, use and discloses your personal information, in accordance with the requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act. It also contains information regarding the rights of natural and juristic persons to whom personal information relates (data subjects).

The Firm reserves the right to amend this Privacy Policy or add provisions to it at any time by publishing an updated version on its website.

2. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

The Firm collects various personal information this includes but is not limited to:

General identification & contact information, e.g. contact numbers, ID numbers, addresses, names etc.
Financial records, e.g. bank statements, company tax numbers etc.
Telephonic recordings, e.g. video recordings, messages etc.

The Firm collects personal information in various instances, including when:

data subjects contacts The Firm or request advise or other services;
The Firm provides services to data subjects;
persons apply for employment at The Firm;
when persons use Schreuder Attorneys’ websites or engage with The Firm through social media.

The Firm may collect the information directly from a data subject or from third parties (such as regulators, government authorities and registries, or attorneys representing our clients’ counterparties).

The interaction with the firm on the Schreuder Attorneys website will result in the collection of information regarding the person’s activities on the website, similarly when anyone engages with the firm via The Firm’s social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram etc.) This information includes, but is not limited to, the person’s name, contact details and information regarding the matter with which they need assistance.

In the course of engaging with clients on matters, The Firm will naturally be exposed to and collect personal information which includes but is not limited to the data subject’s name, contact details, financial information as well as information regarding the matters that the firm assists them with.

As part of its recruitment processes, The Firm collects information from graduates and employment applicants. This information includes but is not limited to educational information as well as employment history. By enquiring regarding employment opportunities at Schreuder Attorneys or applying for employment, applicants are deemed to provide their consent to The Firm processing and storing of their personal information for recruitment purposes, which may include but is not limited to screening as well as background and reference checks.

3. BASIS AND PURPOSE FOR PROCESSING PERSONAL INFORMATION

Schreuder Attorneys may process personal information:

to provide services to clients;
to comply with legal or regulatory obligations;
if a data subject has provided their consent; or
if the processing is allowed by law.

The purposes for which Schreuder Attorneys processes personal information include, but are not limited to:

marketing and promotion of The Firm’s services;
providing and improving services to clients;
improving users’ experience when using Schreuder Attorneys websites;
communicating with persons for The Firm’s internal purposes;
enabling The Firm‘s internal operations;
exercising and defending legal rights.

4. DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

The Firm may need to release personal information or disclose it to third parties in certain circumstances. These include, but are not limited to:

if The Firm is required or authorised to do so by law or a court order;
in order for The Firm to enforce its rights;
in order for The Firm to provide services to its clients.

The third parties to whom we disclose personal information include, but are not limited to:

advocates and other parties involved in legal services;
third party service providers to The Firm or its clients;
third parties who provide research services to The Firm or its clients;
government authorities and registries, organs of state, regulators, courts, tribunals and law enforcement agencies.

If a data subject discloses personal information of a third party to Schreuder Attorneys, the data subject agrees to:

Disclose to the third party about the content of this Privacy Policy; and
Obtain any legally required consent for the collection, use, disclosure, and transfer of personal information about the third party as in accordance with this Privacy Policy, the POPIA & the PAIA.

5. TRANSFER OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Personal information collected by The Firm may need to be transferred to persons in other countries. Those countries’ laws might not protect personal information in the same way or on the same level as the law in the data subject’s country. However, The Firm is committed to protecting the data subject’s personal information and will take reasonable steps to ensure that recipients in other countries have appropriate privacy measures in place.

6. RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Schreuder Attorneys retains personal information for as long as may be reasonably necessary, a contract or business deal requires The Firm to retain it, data subjects have continuously given consent for The Firm to retain it, The Firm requires it for research purposes and the applicable law(s) require us to do so, please note this does mean that Schreuder Attorneys can retain information even if there is no longer a relationship with the data subject if other applicable law(s) require us to do so.

7. COOKIES

The Schreuder Attorneys website makes use of cookies. Cookies store information regarding website visitors. Cookies have various purposes, such as improving the visitor’s experience on the website and facilitating their use of the website.

A website visitor may disable or decline cookies. However, if the visitor does so, their user experience on the site may be diminished.

8. DIRECT MARKETING

The Firm may send marketing and promotional communications and material to persons. Recipients may opt out from receiving such communications by contacting The Firm at the details provided below or by informing us via the consent form sent out to all clients on a regular basis.

9. SECURITY

The Firm takes all reasonable steps to protect and avoid unauthorised access to personal information. It has implemented various policies, procedures and software to safeguard personal information and routinely reviews the above mentioned security measures in order to ensure that personal information is adequately protected, however no exchange over the internet can be guaranteed to be secure, if you do suspect that our security has been compromised please do not hesitate to contact us, using the contact details provided below.

10. DATA SUBJECT RIGHTS

The law provides data subjects with the rights to access amend or delete personal information that is in the possession of The Firm. However, The Firm may, in certain instances, legally refuse or decline such requests. If applicable, a data subject may also have the right to object to The Firm’s processing of their personal information or to file a complaint with a regulator. If a data subject wishes to exercise their rights, they can contact The Firm at the details provided below. Schreuder Attorneys may charge data subjects a fee for accessing, amending or deleting their personal information when applicable.

Data subjects are encouraged to contact The Firm in order to update their personal information as and when needed.

Please note The Firm will need proof of identity for a data subject to enforce any of the above mentioned rights.

11. INFORMATION OFFICER

As required by the POPIA & the PAIA, Schreuder Attorneys has an Information Officer; the Information Officer is appointed according to the legal requirements as stipulated in the above mentioned Acts, the Information Officer’s responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Encouraging compliance with the needed law(s);
Attending to requests and complaints made by data subjects in terms of POPIA and PAIA;
Assisting the regulator with any investigation;
if any of the provisions of POPIA is breached the Information Officer will be held liable;
Ensuring that all processes pertaining to data subjects personal information is user friendly and easy to understand;
Working alongside the Information Regulator in regards to ongoing investigations, arising issues, reporting etc.

12. CONTACT DETAILS

In order to contact Schreuder Attorneys for purposes relating to this privacy policy, please contact our Information Officer (as explained above) using these contact details:

Kim Schreuder – Horn

Schreuder Attorneys

Coral House

20 Peter Place,

Lyme Park

Sandton

Johannesburg

Telephone: (010) 592 2321

E-mail:

ad***@sc****************.za