Privacy and Cookies

Privacy statement

This privacy statement refers to the processing of personal data through the website of European Law Firm (“ELF”), www.european-law-firm.com. ELF collects and uses information for a variety of purposes about the clients of its member firms and other individuals with whom it comes into contact (including through its website). This privacy statement describes how your information is collected, used and shared when you use the services of ELF.

ELF is the controller of your personal data within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). We are therefore responsible for the implementation and compliance with the GDPR.

Our contact details are:
European Law Firm Registered Office
Beukenlaan 46
Postbus 63
5600 AB Eindhoven
e-mail:

Data Protection Officer (“DPO”) Contact details:
Sarah-Louise Green
European Law Firm Central Office
One Redcliff Street,
BRISTOL, BS1 6TP,
United Kingdom
e-mail:

In the rest of this Policy any reference to "we", "our" or "us" means “ELF" (European Law Firm). In the rest of this Policy any reference to "you" means the individual person in relation to whom we hold personal information.

General information
ELF takes the protection of your personal data very seriously. We treat your personal data confidentially and according to the GDPR and this privacy statement. We realize that we process a lot of data and we therefore carefully comply with the relevant legislation in this area. We do this by checking with our legal partner whether our services meet the right requirements, both in terms of data security and compliance with data protection legislation.

Definitions
Various terms are used in this Policy which have specific meanings. These include:

• personal data
• processing
• sensitive personal data
• Data Protection Officer

The meanings of these terms are set out below:
Personal data: this means information about a living individual which can be identified from that information or from that information and other information held by us and can include an opinion about an individual or any indication as to our intentions in respect of an individual.

Processing: this means obtaining, recording, organising, retrieving, using, disclosing and holding information.

Sensitive personal data: this means personal data which relates to:

• racial or ethnic origin
• physical or mental health or condition
• sexual life
• political opinions
• religious beliefs or other beliefs of a similar nature;
• trade union membership
• criminal record or proceedings
• the commission or alleged commission of any offence

Data Protection Officer (“DPO”): this means the person we have appointed to ensure that we comply with the GDPR. The DPO’s role includes assisting and advising our staff with any queries about data protection (including this privacy statement) and dealing with requests from individuals for access to their personal data we hold.

What personal data we process and why
We collect personal data that we need for the provision of our services. We collect and process your personal data to inform you of our services and to improve service standards. NB: It is your responsibility that the personal data provided is accurate and relevant.

Data is collected via the Website contact page, mailing list sign up and using Google Analytics.

Contact page:
What: Name, Job Title, Company, Country, E-mail, Website & Information relevant to the enquiry.
How: To provide agreed services to you and disclose it to third parties (incl. other lawyers who may or may not be part of ELF) where such disclosure is connected with the provision of the agreed services.
Basis: Explicit consent (art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR)

Mailing List Sign up:
What: Name, Job Title, Company, Country & E-mail.
How: To provide agreed services to you and disclose it to third parties (incl. other lawyers who may or may not be part of ELF) where such disclosure is connected with the provision of the agreed services.
Basis: Legitimate interest (art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR)

Website statistics:
What: Visitors, sessions, page views, visitor countries etc. (anonymous)
How: To record and monitor your use of our website for internal purposes, which may include analysis of use, measurement of site performance and generation of marketing reports
Basis: Legitimate interest (art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR)

With whom we share your personal data
We sometimes use third parties to process data on our behalf. These parties are called “processors”. When we do so, we put in place strict obligations to ensure that processors solely process your personal data in accordance with our instructions. Some of our processors are located outside Europe in countries where data protection laws are not as strict as they are in the EU. Where we transfer your personal data to processors outside of Europe we put safeguards in place to ensure that your data is adequately protected.

We will also share your personal data with third parties in the following circumstances:

• Where we are required to do so by law (e.g. pursuant to a court order or where we have a statutory obligation to disclose your personal data).
• Where we have your consent to do so.
• Where disclosure of your personal data is necessary in connection with legal proceedings or to establish, exercise or defend legal rights.

How long we save your personal data
We keep your personal data as long as necessary for the purpose for which we use your data. And for as long as the law obligates us to store your data. The time period that applies depends. We will retain your personal data as follows:
(a) Website analytical data will be retained for 26 months from capture of data.
(b) Enquiry data received via the website, telephone or email will be retained for a maximum of 12 months.

How we secure your personal data
ELF considers your privacy to be of paramount importance. Therefore we process your personal data in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures (‘integrity and confidentiality’). Data is held on a dedicated managed server in a secure data centre located in the UK. Secure Server software (SSL) is used on our website to encrypt any personal information you input before it is collected. Any documents pertaining to ELF are filed in TLT's (the UK member) secure system.

It is also possible to object to the processing of your personal data by ELF if your personal data are used for purposes other than necessary for the execution of an agreement or are necessary for the fulfilment of a legal obligation. For example, you can object to the use of your personal data for marketing and sales activities. You can do this by sending an e-mail to central-office@european-law-firm.com. You also have the so-called right to data portability. This means that you have the right to obtain the personal data that you have provided to ELF in a clear form. You can therefore also send an e-mail to central-office@european-law-firm.com.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files placed on your computer by the website when you visit. Cookies are used to make websites work more efficiently, and to provide useful information to website operators. When you use a website, the cookie will provide certain information about your visit (i.e. data associated with the use of the website, such as which pages have been visited and the duration of a user session etc.)

Cookies may be either “persistent” cookies or “session” cookies. A persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date. A session cookie, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed. Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.

Why cookies are used
Cookies help us provide, protect and improve our services, such as by personalizing content, tailoring and measuring ads, and providing a safer experience. We use cookies for the following purposes:

1. Necessary cookies enable the functionality of a website. These are anonymous cookies that allow users to view the website and use the functions on the website. The information collected by these cookies is not used for marketing purposes. If you do not allow the use of this type of cookie, multiple parts of the website cannot be used. The cookies also do not remember which other websites you have visited.

2. Functionality cookies provide you with the best website experience possible. These are cookies that allow ELF to remember the choices and preferences of visitors. Based on this information ELF can show you more personalised information and you do not have to log in every time you visit our website. Examples of collected data are country and language preferences. If you refuse the usage of this type of cookies ELF can offer less support to you. The information collected by these cookies is anonymous and cannot follow your surfing behaviour on other websites.

3. Performance enhancing cookies are anonymous cookies that are used to improve the website. These cookies collect information about the way visitors use the website, such as information about the most visited pages or the number of displayed error messages. An example of this type of cookies is Google Analytics. Google uses aggregated statistical information to give ELF insight into how users use the websites. Google may only provide this information to third parties if Google is required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on behalf of Google. More information about Google Analytics can be found here.

4. Twitter & LinkedIn buttons Social media buttons are included on our website to promote our social media channels, in particular Twitter and LinkedIn. These buttons work through pieces of code that come from Twitter or LinkedIn itself. Cookies are placed using these codes. ELF has no influence on this. The privacy statements of these social media channels explain what they do with your (personal) data that they process via these cookies.
Twitter
LinkedIn

Which cookies we use
The ELF website itself does not use cookies, however, we do use Google Analytics to analyse the use of our website. Google Analytics gathers information about website use by means of cookies. The information gathered relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of our website. Google's privacy policy is available at: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/

How you can delete cookies
Your browser or device may offer settings that allow you to choose whether browser cookies are set and to delete them. For more information about these controls, visit your browser or device's help material. Certain parts of the website may not work properly if you have disabled browser cookie use. More information about cookies, including details on viewing what cookies have been set and how to delete them is available at:http://www.allaboutcookies.org.

You can opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites at: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

Some tracking cookies are placed by third parties that show advertisements to you through our website. These cookies can be removed centrally via Your Online Choices.

Your rights
Under the GDPR, you have the right to access, rectify, port and erase your data. You also have the right to object to and restrict certain processing of your data.

You can exercise your rights by sending an e-mail to central-office@european-law-firm.com. When you request access to personal data linked to a cookie, you must send a copy of the cookie in question. You can find these in the settings of your browser. In order to verify your identity, ELF requests a copy of your identity with your national security number and photo made invisible. Following this request for access, you can request ELF to correct or delete your personal data. If you believe that we do not handle your personal data carefully, you can contact us via the above contact details. You also have the right to submit a complaint to the Dutch Data Protection Authority (“DDPA”).

Closing
ELF reserves the right to change this privacy statement. Every modification will be announced on this page. ELF advises the users of its website to regularly check this page if adjustments have been made. The current Privacy & Cookie statement has been updated in May 2018.