At Gilton Valeo Lawyers, we are committed to preserving your privacy.  This Privacy Statement sets out how we collect and manage personal information, and the steps we take to protect it.

This Privacy Statement does not affect our obligation of confidentiality to you as our client, nor is it intended to take away any legal professional privilege to which you may be entitled, as our client.

How and why we collect information

In the course of providing legal services, we collect personal information in a variety of ways.  For example, we collect information when you:

  • Ask to be placed on one of our mailing lists,
  • Apply for a job with us,
  • Make an enquiry about our services,
  • Visit our web site,
  • Become a client or debtor of this firm, or
  • Supply goods or services to us.
  • Information provided by you

You provide most of the personal information directly to us and for a specific purpose.

For example, when you request to be placed on a mailing list or make an enquiry about our services, we collect your contact details so that we can provide you with the information or advice you need.

When you apply for a job with us, we collect information about your qualifications and we may ask you to undertake certain tests as part of our recruitment process.  Similarly, if you are a client of the firm, we collect personal and financial information so that we can collect payment from you for our services.

Information provided by third parties

We sometimes collect personal information from our staff or other third parties about potential clients or suppliers.  This information may be used to send you invitations to our functions or to ask you if you wish to be placed on one of our mailing lists.

If you are a client of the firm, you may be the subject of a credit check conducted by a credit agency to protect our ability to recover our fees.

Information provided by “cookies” technology

When you visit our web site, “cookies” technology allows us to identify your movements around our site. This information provides us with constructive feedback about our site so that we can identify the most effective areas and improve the less popular ones. Cookies cannot determine the identity of individual users. It is a feature of your Internet browser which you can disable at any time. The only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply yourself.

Sensitive information

We do not collect sensitive information such as your race, religion, beliefs or sexual preference, except where you have consented or where we are permitted or required by law to do so.

How we use the information we collect

We use personal information primarily for the purpose for which it was collected.  Because most of our information is collected from you directly, you will normally be aware of the purpose of the collection.

Use of the information for a secondary purpose

We may sometimes use the personal information we collect for a secondary purpose, that is, for use in a way different from the original reason for collection.  We will only do this in the following circumstances:

  • Where you have consented,
  • Where the secondary purpose is directly related to the primary purpose, and you would reasonably expect us to use or disclose the information in such a way, or
  • Where we are permitted or required by law, or it is in the interests of public safety to do so.

For example, if you are a client from whom we collect financial information and contact details, we may use this information to conduct a credit check.  We may also use your contact details to send you bulletins and information about similar services that we provide, or to invite you to our functions.  You are always provided with the opportunity to notify us that you do not wish to receive this material.

Disclosure of the information we collect

We will not disclose information we collect about you to any third parties without your prior consent.  Similarly, we will not sell any information we collect about you.  Depending on the reason for which personal information was provided, some information collected by one part of the firm may not be disclosed to other parts of the firm.

How we protect our information collection

We will take all reasonable steps to ensure the security of all personal information we collect.  This involves protecting it from misuse and loss, as well as from modification and disclosure.  All of our staff are bound by a confidentiality agreement which is consistent with our privacy statement.  The electronic databases that hold information as well as our internal systems are also designed to restrict access to only those people who require specific information.

In addition, your personal information is only kept while it is required for the purpose for which it was collected or for a permitted secondary purpose.

Your ability to access and correct information

We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information which we collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete and up-to-date.  If you wish to access the information we hold about you, you are welcome to contact us and we will respond to your request within 45 days.  A handling fee may be payable so that we can obtain the information you require.

Correcting information

You can also request that information about you be corrected or deleted.  This is part of our commitment to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the information we hold is accurate, complete and up-to-date.

Right to refuse access or correction

We reserve our right to refuse your request for access or correction if, for example, we consider your request to be frivolous or vexatious, or if we are legally entitled to do so.  If we refuse your request, we will give you our reasons.  If we refuse your request to correct information we hold about you, we will give you the opportunity to post a statement of your claim where we hold your personal information.

Updating our privacy statement

As our firm grows and changes, we may revise our privacy statement.  We will keep you updated on these changes by posting new versions of our policy on our web site.  By providing your personal information to us or by using our web site, you are indicating your acceptance of our current policy.

Contacting us

If you have any questions about our privacy statement, please contact our Principal, Troy Andres on (61 2) 9267 2800.

About cookies technology

A cookie file can contain information such as your user ID in order to track the pages you have visited.  A cookie cannot access other information from your hard drive, or from cookies created by other web sites. Cookies, by themselves, cannot be used to find out the identity of any user.  The only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply yourself.