Privacy statement
EY Law LLP is committed to respecting personal privacy. We recognize and respect every individual's right to privacy and acknowledge our obligation to preserve the confidentiality of personal information.
This Privacy Policy applies to EY Law LLP in its collection, use and disclosure of personal information in the course of commercial activities. These standards are in addition to our usual professional obligations of confidentiality relating to all client information in accordance with the rules established by the Law Society of Ontario, the Law Society of Alberta, the Law Society of British Columbia, the Barreau du Québec and the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society.
EY Law LLP does not collect, use or disclose personal information except for the purposes of conducting its business of providing legal services to its clients. EY Law LLP reserves the right to modify the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy at any time, and such modifications shall be effective immediately, unless otherwise provided.
The Protection of Personal Information
EY Law LLP collects, uses and discloses personal information in accordance with all applicable laws and the following 10 principles, which reflect the principles articulated in Canadian privacy legislation.
Personal information is information about an identifiable individual, recorded in any form and includes, but is not limited to, such things as race, ethnic origin, age, marital status, religion, education, medical, criminal, employment or financial information, address and telephone number or numerical identifiers such as a Social Insurance Number. It does not include business contact information relating to an employee of an organization.
The 10 Privacy Principles
- Accountability
- Identifying Purposes
- Consent
- Limiting Collection
- Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention
- Accuracy
- Safeguards
- Openness
- Individual Access
- Challenging Compliance
1. Accountability
EY Law LLP is responsible for the personal information under its control and has designated a Privacy Officer who is accountable for ensuring the firm's compliance with this Privacy Policy. The Privacy Officer may, from time to time, designate one or more other individuals within EY Law LLP to act on his or her behalf. The Privacy Officer may be contacted as follows:
Privacy Officer
EY Law LLP
EY Tower
100 Adelaide Street West
P.O. Box 2
Toronto, ON M5H 0B3
EYCanada.Privacy.Officer@ca.ey.com
EY Law LLP is also responsible for personal information that has been transferred to a third party for processing. We may transfer personal information to third parties for reasons such as data warehousing or administrative services, where the third parties do not make any independent use of the personal information. The firm will use contractual or other means to require such parties to commit to protecting personal information to a level comparable to that provided by EY Law LLP.
EY Law LLP's policies and practices that give effect to the principles and procedures in this Privacy Policy, include:
(a) procedures to protect personal information;
(b) procedures to receive and respond to complaints and inquiries; and
(c) training staff and communicating to staff information about EY Law LLP 's policies and practices.
EY Law LLP will monitor compliance with the policies and procedures in this Privacy Policy on an ongoing basis.
2. Identifying Purposes
EY Law LLP will identify the purposes for which personal information is collected at or before the time it is collected. The purposes for which information is collected used or disclosed by EY Law LLP must be those that a reasonable person would consider are appropriate in the circumstances. When EY Law LLP uses personal information that has been collected for a purpose not previously identified, it will identify the new purpose for the individual to whom the personal information relates prior to using the information in that manner except as permitted or required by law.
3. Consent
EY Law LLP will obtain the consent of the individual for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information, except where not required to do so by law. To make the consent meaningful, EY Law LLP will ensure the individual is advised of the purposes for which the personal information is used or disclosed in a reasonably understandable manner.
The form and manner of obtaining consent may vary from express written consent to implied consent, depending upon the circumstances and the type of information. In determining the form and manner of consent, EY Law LLP will take into account the sensitivity of the information and the reasonable expectations of the individual.
We will collect, use or disclose personal information without consent only where permitted or required by law. For example, when information is being collected for the detection and prevention of fraud, seeking the consent of the individual might defeat the purpose of collecting the information.
Individuals may withdraw their consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions, by providing reasonable notice to EY Law LLP. EY Law LLP will inform the individual of the implications, if any, of such withdrawal.
4. Limiting Collection
EY Law LLP will limit the collection of personal information to that which is necessary for the identified purposes. EY Law LLP will only collect personal information by fair and lawful means, and for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances.
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5. Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention
EY Law LLP will not use or disclose personal information for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required or permitted by law. EY Law LLP will only use or disclose personal information for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances. EY Law LLP generally uses personal information about clients for fair and legitimate purposes relating to the provision of professional services, including obtaining and carrying out client instructions, reporting and communicating with clients, billing and accounting and protecting against fraud, illegal activities and error.
EY Law LLP is an independent law firm affiliated with Ernst & Young LLP ("EY") in Canada under the terms of an affiliation agreement filed with the Law Society of Upper Canada. The provision of its legal services may necessitate the exchange of information with Ernst & Young Global Limited member firms and law firms cooperating with Ernst & Young Global Limited member firms. This would be done in order to fulfill its professional duties, to prevent conflicts of interest and to ensure EY’s independence as well as to introduce and implement standardized documentation systems.
EY also provides certain financial and administrative services to EY Law LLP and EY Law LLP may disclose to EY the terms of the engagement to provide services to an individual and financial or administrative matters relating to the performance of that engagement. Information disclosed to Ernst & Young Global Limited member firms may be stored outside of Canada.
EY Law LLP shall retain personal information for the period of time necessary to fulfil the purposes for which the personal information was collected and in accordance with EY Law LLP's document retention policies. These policies take into account the rules of professional conduct which govern the practice of law and any applicable legal or regulatory requirements. Personal information no longer required to fulfil its identified purposes will be destroyed, erased or made anonymous in a secure manner in accordance with EY Law LLP's document retention policies.
6. Accuracy
EY Law LLP will endeavour to ensure that personal information will be as accurate, complete, and up-to-date as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it is to be used. The firm will not routinely update personal information, unless this is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which the information was collected.
7. Safeguards
EY Law LLP will take reasonable measures to protect all personal information against loss or theft as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
Depending on the sensitivity of the information, the methods of protection may include:
(a) physical measures (e.g., locked filing cabinets and restricted access to offices);
(b) organizational measures (e.g., security clearances and policies governing access to information); and
(c) technological measures (e.g., the use of passwords and encryption).
8. Openness
EY Law LLP will make readily available to individuals specific information about its policies and practices relating to the management of personal information. All enquiries about this Privacy Policy or the firm's personal information management practices are to be referred to the Privacy Officer.
9. Individual Access
Upon request, EY Law LLP will inform an individual of the existence, use, and disclosure of his or her personal information and provide access to that information, except where access is not required by law. Individuals can challenge the accuracy and completeness of personal information controlled by EY Law LLP and may have it amended, if appropriate.
10. Challenging Compliance
All enquiries about this Privacy Policy or the personal information management practices of EY Law LLP are to be referred to our Privacy Officer as indicated in paragraph (1). We will inform individuals who make inquiries or lodge complaints about our complaint procedures. EY Law LLP will investigate all complaints. If a complaint is found to be justified, we will take appropriate measures, including, if necessary, amending our policies and practices.