Lette recognizes the importance of and is committed to the respect of the privacy of individuals.
Policy Coverage
"Lette", "us", "we" or similar expressions mean LETTE & ASSOCIÉS s.e.n.c.r.l. and/or LETTE llp.
This policy (the "Policy"), as amended time to time, covers the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information collected by Lette from clients, prospective clients and other persons from whom we may be required to collect Personal Information.
We may change this Policy at any time without notice by posting an updated version of the Policy on our website. Changes to the Policy are effective as of the time of posting. This Policy was last updated on May 1, 2013.
Personal Information
"Personal Information" means any information that permits an individual to be identified, including but not limited to: name, home telephone number, home address, personal email address.
Personal Information does not extend to information provided to Lette for business purposes and that does not on its own permit an individual to be identified, such as a professional or business title. It also does not include any business contact information which has been provided to us for business purposes.
Use of Personal Information
Lette collects, uses and discloses Personal Information for purposes authorized or required by applicable privacy legislation or other law and for the following purposes:
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to provide legal advice, perform legal services, fulfil legal duties and avoid conflicts of interest;
to establish and maintain client relationships;
to share information with third parties for the purpose of providing legal services and maintaining client relationships, which may also include providing information to insurers to detect and protect against error, negligence, fraud and other illegal activity;
to manage and develop our business and operations;
to issue invoices, process payments and collect debts owed to us;
to engage in business transactions, including the sale, transfer, financing or other disposition of assets or liabilities of Lette;
to comply with legal and regulatory requirements.
We may also use Personal Information for the following additional purposes:
If you do not want us to use your Personal Information for these additional purposes, you may at any time provide written notice to a Privacy Officer at one of the contact addresses set out below.
Consent
By providing Lette with Personal Information, you are consenting to the collection, use and disclosure of such Personal Information in accordance with the terms of this Policy and for any other purposes that may be required or permitted by law.
We may collect, use or disclose personal information without your knowledge or consent where the Personal Information is publicly available from a public source or where your consent can be express, implied or given through an authorized representative (such as a lawyer, agent or broker).
Collection of Personal Information from Website
You may visit our website www.lette.ca (the "Website") without providing any Personal Information to us.
The Personal Information collected through the Website is limited to such information that you have voluntarily provided to us by sending an email to either of our offices (by clicking on the general email address for that office on the Offices or Contact pages) or to a person at Lette by clicking the email address contained in that person’s contact information on our Website.
Exchange of Personal Information between Firms
Either of the Lette offices may receive, exchange and disclose Personal Information from and to the other Lette office to verify that no conflicts of interest arise, or where a person in one office may be consulted on a question pertaining to provincial laws in the jurisdiction of the other province, or where we are of the view that your needs will be better served.
Lette may from time to time receive and exchange Personal Information through one of the other allied firms referred to in our Website, where we may be consulted on a question pertaining to Canadian provincial or federal laws and where, in the view of an acting attorney of one of these firms, their client’s or prospective client’s needs are better served by one or both of the offices of Lette. Lette treats such Personal Information in the same manner as the Personal Information which we directly collect ourselves.
Lette is concerned with identity theft. Upon opening of a file, Lette will proceed with verifications of the identity of all new clients. At other times when required by law, Lette will proceed with verification of identity of all clients, including existing clients, to the extent so required. All documents received in the course of these verifications are only used for the purposes of such verification.
Limited Disclosure to Third Parties
Lette does not sell or otherwise communicate Personal Information to other parties, except as specifically described in this Policy or except as may be permitted or required by law, and insofar as may be necessary to protect the rights, including proprietary rights, and interests of Lette.
Where your request for legal advice or services involves an issue that may have to be resolved under the laws of another jurisdiction, or where we are of the view that your interests will be better served, Lette may transfer your email and/or other written communication containing Personal Information to an attorney, qualified to practice in that jurisdiction, of another allied firm identified on our Website. These firms are listed on our Offices and Contact pages, and all their members have confidentiality obligations under the regulations of their respective professional orders.
We may likewise, after notification to you and having received your consent, in such circumstances transfer your Personal Information to other non-affiliated attorneys qualified to practise in such other jurisdiction.
Lette may provide Personal Information on a confidential basis to other professionals and suppliers (e.g. accountants, land surveyors, notaries, registry agents, opposing counsel, experts, etc.) in the scope of providing our legal services where this may be required and/or in your interest.
Retaining of Information
Lette retains Personal Information as long as necessary for the purposes described in the Policy, or for such other period as we may be required to retain the Personal Information by law.
Protection of Information
We have made arrangements to protect all Personal Information that is provided to us and have taken security measures to ensure the confidentiality and safeguarding of same. However, no security procedure can be fully guaranteed. In the event of any unauthorised disclosure of your Personal Information, such as through unauthorised access or theft, we will use our best efforts to inform you as soon as possible after we obtain knowledge of such disclosure.
Furthermore, no transmission of information of any kind over the internet can be guaranteed to be secure. Therefore, Lette cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any information transmitted by way of this Website or by email, and we decline all liability with respect to any loss, misuse or alteration of Personal Information transmitted by way of this Website or by email or internet. Other means of communication should be used if confidentiality is required.
Updating and Accessing your Personal Information
You are solely responsible for providing us with accurate Personal Information on yourself or other persons (e.g. your minor children), where required and to notify us of any changes thereto.
You have the right to examine your Personal Information that we have collected at any time. Should you wish to examine the information, please send us a written request at the address below. Upon authentication of your identity, we will provide you with particulars of your Personal Information under our control. We may charge a reasonable fee for providing information in response to an access request and will provide an estimate of any such fee upon receiving an access to information request. We may require a deposit for all or part of the fee. Should you discover any inaccuracies in the Personal Information we have, please notify us as soon as possible and provide us with the corrected information.
Third Party Websites
Our Website contains links to websites operated by third parties ("Third Party Websites") who may collect Personal Information from their users. Third Party Websites are not under our control and Lette and its member firms cannot be responsible for the content of Third Party Websites. By accessing a Third Party Website from our Website, you release Lette and its member firms of any responsibility for the actions, practices and omissions of third parties who operate these Third Party Websites. You are advised to consult the privacy policies on every Third Party Website you visit before providing any Personal Information to such website.
Contact Information
Should you wish to communicate with us for any of the reasons mentioned in this Policy, or should you have any questions on our Policy, please contact us at:
Lette & Associés S.E.N.C.R.L.
Attn: Luise Bauer, Privacy Officer, Montreal
630 René-Lévesque Blvd. West
Suite 2800
Montreal, Quebec H3B 1S6
Canada
Tel: +1 (514) 788-0996
Fax: +1 (514) 876-4217
email: lbauer@lette.ca
OR:
Lette LLP
Attn: Privacy Officer, Toronto
40 University Avenue, Suite 904
Toronto ON M5J 1T1
Canada
Tel: +1 (416) 971-4848
Fax: +1 (416) 971-4849
email: toronto@lette.ca
Languages
The English and French versions of our Privacy Policy have equal legal value. A German version has been posted for the convenience of the users who have selected to view the German version of our Website. Although we have strived to make this version reflect an accurate translation as much as possible, in the event of any discrepancies, the English and/or French versions shall prevail.