Privacy Statement

LAWELLMCMILLER (hereafter “we”, “our”) considers the protection of privacy to be of the utmost importance and wishes to inform, respect and give the client and any data subject as much control as possible over what happens to his Personal Data and Privacy.

LAWELLMCMILLER protects Personal Data and Privacy in accordance with Belgian and European regulations on the protection of privacy, in particular Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of personal data (hereinafter referred to as the “GDPR”).

1. Who processes your personal data and how to contact us

LAWELLMCMILLER is responsible for the processing of the personal data that you provide us with when using our services or otherwise enter into a relationship with the firm.

LAWELLMCMILLER has appointed an internal Data Protection Officer, whom you can always contact with questions about your privacy and the processing of your personal data. The Data Protection Officer can be reached by mail or e-mail at the following address:

2. What is the purpose and basis of the processing of personal data and what personal data are collected?

LAWELLMCMILLER receives your personal data when the file is opened and executed. The legal basis of the processing of your personal data depends mainly on the processing’s purpose.

Below is an overview of the purpose, legal basis and method for the collection of the various personal data we process.

Processing Purpose Legal basis Data collected Data collection method

Management of our clients’ interests and requests

We collect and process your personal data in order to process the cases and requests of our clients.

1. Fulfilment of our legal obligations under the Belgian Code of Civil Procedure (art. 6.1.c) GDPR).
2. Fulfilment of the contractual obligations we have towards our clients (art. 6.1.b) GDPR)
3. We may process special categories of data when establishing, exercising or defending legal claims in accordance with art. 9.2.f) GDPR.

Personal identification data, family details, personal characteristics, professional characteristics, financial data, photographs, special categories of personal data as defined by art. 9.1 GDPR.

1.Directly from you.
2.From a third party such as:
Insurance company, opposing party, technical advisor, public authority (police, etc.).
3.Because you or a public authority made it publicly available.

Administrative management of our clients’ cases

We collect and process your personal data to fulfil our contractual obligations.

1.Fulfilment of our legal obligations under, in particular, the Act of 18 September 2017 regarding financing of terrorism and under the Lawyer’s Code of Ethics (art. 6.1.c) GDPR).
2. Fulfilment of our contractual obligations (art. 6.1.b) GDPR).

Personal identification data, photograph (ID card).

1.Directly from you.
2.From a third party such as:
Insurance company, opposing party, technical advisor, public authority (police, etc.).
3.Because you or a public authority made it publicly available.

Accounting

We collect and process your personal data for accounting purposes.

Fulfilment of our legal obligations under the Code of Economic Law, and the VAT Code with regards to tax and accounting matters (art. 6.1. b) GDPR).

Personal identification data, financial data.

1.Directly from you.
2.Because you or a public authority made it publicly available.

Management of the communication about our activities and news that may be of interest to you

We collect and process your personal data to keep you informed about LawellMcMiller, events, press articles, etc., and to use your contact data for marketing purposes.

Pursuit of our legitimate interest (art. 6.1. f) GDPR).
When entering into relationship with LawellMcMiller, you consent to this processing. However, you can opt out at any time by contacting us in one of the manners set out in points 1 and 7 hereof.

Personal identification data.

1.Directly from you.
2.Because you or a public authority made it publicly available.

 

Management of precontractual relations

We collect and process your personal data to answer requests or questions submitted by to us.

Fulfilment of precontractual measures in order to ensure or facilitate a future contractual relation (art. 6.1. b) GDPR).

Personal identification data, personal characteristics, professional characteristics, special categories of personal data as defined by art. 9.1 GDPR.

Directly from you.

Management of our suppliers

We collect and process your personal data in order to fulfil the contractual obligations we have towards our clients.

Fulfilment of our legal obligations under the Code of Economic Law, and the VAT Code with regards to tax and accounting matters (art. 6.1. b) GDPR.
Performance of the contracts with our clients (art. 6.1. b) GDPR.

Personal identification data, financial data.

1.Directly from you.
2.Because you or a public authority made it publicly available.

Management of our potential litigation

We may collect and process your personal data in order to defend our interests at law in case of litigation.

Pursuit of our legitimate interest (art. 6.1.f) GDPR).
We may process special categories of data when establishing, exercising or defending legal claims in accordance with art. 9.2.f) GDPR.

Personal identification data, personal characteristics, professional characteristics, financial data, photographs, special categories of personal data as defined by art. 9.1 GDPR.

1.Directly from you.
2. From an insurance company.
3. Because you of a public authority made it publicly available.

The consent you give is permanently free and you are entitled to withdraw such consent at any time. However, withdrawal of consent shall not affect the processing of personal data (i) prior to such withdrawal, (ii) based on any legitimate reason for processing the personal data, and (iii) in the case of a legitimate interest in processing.

The above-mentioned reasons may not be exhaustive and LAWELLMCMILLER remains entitled to process your personal data for any other legitimate reason at any time. In such a case, LAWELLMCMILLER will inform you of such reason as soon as possible. An update to this statement may constitute a warning.

3. Sharing of Personal Data

In the context of the execution of a case, it is sometimes necessary for LawellMcMiller to share your personal data with third parties (such as bailiffs, notaries, translators, opposing parties, insurance companies, public authorities, etc.).
LawellMcMiller may also share your personal data with subcontractors as defined by the GDPR. In such case, LawellMcMiller ensures the protection of your data by implementing agreements protecting the confidentiality of your data.
We may also share your data with our service providers. 
The sharing of your data with some of our subcontractors or service providers is essential for the proper performance of our services and will always be done in a minimal way and within the limits of professional secrecy, as well as our ethical and legal obligations.
Apart from these situations, we do not share personal data with third parties. We therefore never transfer personal data to business partners for marketing purposes.

The categories of service providers with whom we may share your data are as follows:

Category of service provider  Location

E-mail solution providers

Europe

Mailing providers

Europe

IT solution providers and infrastructure and systems maintenance providers

Europe

Social networks

Europe

Hosting/cloud service providers

Europe

Social Secretariat

Europe

Accountants and financial service providers

Europe

Banks/insurance companies

Europe

Lawyers - employees – trainee lawyers

Europe

Printing/copying services

Europe

Ordre des barreaux francophones et germanophones (avocats.be)

Europe

For security reasons, the list of our service providers is only available on reasoned request.

4. Transfer of personal data to countries outside the EEA

In principle, LAWELLMCMILLER does not transfer your Personal Data to countries outside the EEA. However, it is possible that LAWELLMCMILLER - via its (sub)processors - does transfer your Personal Data to countries outside the EEA. If, in a specific country, there is less strict protection for Personal Data than in the EEA, LAWELLMCMILLER shall ensure the same level of protection (e.g. by concluding an agreement to this effect with the processor located in a country outside the EEA).

5. How is my personal information retained?

LAWELLMCMILLER applies the following retention periods:

Processing Duration

Management of our clients’ interests and requests

At least 5 years following the end of the contractual relationship in order to fulfil our professional responsibilities and as long as the data is necessary for the continuity of our activities.

Administrative management of our clients’ cases

At least 10 years following the closure of the case and as long as the data is necessary for the continuity of our activities.

Accounting

At least 7 years following the year in which the data was recorded for accounting purpose.

Management of the communication about our activities and news that may be of interest to you

The retention period is 2 years following our last exchange.

Management of precontractual relations

The retention period is one year after our last exchange.

Management of our suppliers

 At least 7 years following the year in which the data was recorded for accounting purpose.

Management of our potential litigation

We retain the data as long as it is necessary for the exercise of our defense in court.

LAWELLMCMILLER keeps your personal data in its own databases.

6. How is my personal data protected?

LawellMcMiller has implemented appropriate technical and organizational measures, safeguards and guarantees to process your Personal Data in accordance with applicable Belgian and European regulations, and in particular, without limitation, to protect your Personal Data against loss, misuse or unauthorized alteration.
LawellMcMiller makes all reasonable efforts to protect the confidentiality of your Personal Data.
Despite the aforementioned measures taken by LawellMcMiller, there are always risks associated with sending Personal Data via e-mail. Therefore, the security and protection of your Personal Data can never be fully guaranteed.
Under no circumstances can LawellMcMiller be held liable for any direct or indirect damage resulting from the wrongful or improper use of Personal Data by a third party.

7. What are your rights?

In accordance with the provisions of Articles 15 to 22 of the GDPR, and any other applicable legal provisions, you have the right as a data subject to:

  1. a confirmation as to whether or not LawellMcMiller processes your Personal Data and, where appropriate, to access the Personal Data that LawellMcMiller processes;
  2. the correction by LawellMcMiller, without undue delay, of inaccurate or incomplete Personal Data;
  3. have your Personal Data erased by LawellMcMiller;
  4. obtain your Personal Data and transfer it to another Data Controller or Processor;
  5. obtain from LawellMcMiller restrictions on the processing of your Personal Data, insofar as this is possible;
  6. receive your Personal Data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format;
  7. object to the processing of your Personal Data and to the use of your Personal Data for direct marketing purposes.

You can exercise these rights by contacting the Data Protection Officer at LAWELLMCMILLER by post or by e-mail at the following address

We will respond to your request within the legal timeframe and after authenticating your identity.
LawellMcMiller will respond to your request within one month of receiving it. Depending on the difficulty or the number or requests, we may respond within two months of receiving the request. In the latter case, we will notify you within one month of receiving the request.
LawellMcMiller may refuse to process your request or request the payment of administrative fees if it appears manifestly unfounded of excessive.

To the extent provided for by applicable Belgian and European regulations, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Authority (www.dataprotectionauthority.be/citizen) if the processing of your personal data violates the applicable regulations:

8. Amendments to this Privacy Policy

LawellMcMiller reserved the right to make amendments to this Privacy Policy at any time. The date of the last modified version is shown at the end of the of the Privacy Policy. Any changes will be published on the Website so that you are always aware of the information that LawellMcMiller collects, how LawellMcMiller uses and retain this information and how LawellMcMiller shares this information.

Modified versions of this Privacy Policy shall enter into force ten (10) days after their publication on the Website and shall, if necessary, always be submitted for approval.

Last updated on 10 December 2021