Harper Grey LLP Privacy Policy

Harper Grey LLP is committed to protecting the privacy of personal information it collects, uses, and discloses in compliance with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and B.C.’s Personal Information Protection Act. This policy is to inform you of the privacy principles and practices we follow to meet our obligations under those Acts.

In this policy, the terms "employee personal information", "investigation", "personal information", and "proceeding" are as defined in the applicable privacy legislation. "Consent" includes consent that is implied or is deemed to be given.

As a firm of legal professionals, Harper Grey LLP is already bound by duties of confidentiality and solicitor-client privilege. The Personal Information Protection Act: does not apply to personal information in certain documents, such as a court document; does not affect solicitor-client privilege; and does not limit the information available by law to a party to a proceeding.

Collection, Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

We collect, use and disclose personal information only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances and that fulfill the purposes disclosed or are otherwise permitted under the applicable privacy legislation. In the case of personal information collected prior to the applicable privacy legislation coming into force, we use and disclose personal information only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances and that fulfill the purposes for which it was collected.

The purposes for which we collect, use and disclose personal information include but are not limited to:

• Representation of and the giving of legal advice to clients. This includes collection, use and disclosure of all relevant information, including personal information of clients, other parties to the lawsuit or legal matter, witnesses, experts, and other contractors.
• Marketing to clients and prospective clients.
• Administrative matters such as the billing of clients and contractual relationships with third party product or service providers.
• Management of employment or prospective employment relationships.

Disclosing Purposes

Subject to certain exceptions, on or before the time of collecting personal information from an individual, we disclose to the individual the purposes for which we are collecting the information. If we want to use personal information that has been previously collected for a new purpose, the new purpose will be disclosed to the individual. Exceptions to disclosing the purpose include:

• The consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of the personal information is implied or deemed to have been given under the applicable privacy legislation (for example, the purpose would be obvious to a reasonable person and the individual voluntarily provides the personal information for that purpose), or
• The collection, use, or disclosure is authorized without the consent of the individual.

Consent

We do not collect, use, or disclose personal information about an individual without the individual’s consent unless such collection, use or disclosure is authorized without consent under the applicable privacy legislation. By retaining our firm for legal advice or representation, you consent to our collection, use or disclosure of personal information in order to properly advise and represent you. If you provide us with personal information of another individual, you represent that you have all necessary authority and consent of that individual to enable us to collect, use and disclose the personal information for the purposes for which it is provided.

Examples of situations where personal information may be collected, used, or disclosed without consent include but are not limited to:

• The collection, use or disclosure is clearly in the interests of the individual and consent cannot be obtained in timely way;
• It is reasonable to expect that the collection with the consent of the individual would compromise the availability or the accuracy of the personal information, or the use and disclosure without the consent of the individual would compromise an investigation or proceeding; and the collection, use or disclosure is reasonable for purposes related to an investigation or a proceeding;
• The personal information is available to the public from a source prescribed under the applicable privacy legislation;
• The collection, use, or disclosure is required or authorized by law or the disclosure is for the purpose of complying with a subpoena, warrant or order;
• The personal information is needed to facilitate the collection of a debt owed to us, or payment of a debt owed by us;
• The collection and use of the personal information is done by us to carry out work on behalf of another organization who has previously obtained the consent of the individual to the collection and use of the information;
• The disclosure is to another organization to carry out work on our behalf; or
• In connection with the prospective or actual sale, lease, merger or amalgamation or any other type of acquisition, disposal, or financing of the whole or part of an organization or its business or assets provided certain circumstances are met.

We do not, as a condition of supplying a product or service, require an individual to consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information beyond what is necessary to provide the product or service. We obtain consent through fair practices.

On giving reasonable notice, an individual may withdraw his or her consent to our collection, use, or disclosure of personal information of that individual. An individual may not withdraw consent if the withdrawal would frustrate the performance of a legal obligation. On receipt of notice of withdrawal of consent, we will inform the individual of the likely consequences to the individual of withdrawing his or her consent.

Safeguarding and Retention of Personal Information

We are responsible for personal information in our custody or under our control. We protect this by making reasonable security arrangements to prevent unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification or disposal or similar risks. We caution you about e-mail communications with us. Messages sent by e-mail are not secure. We strongly recommend that you do not send confidential or sensitive information to us by e-mail.

We retain personal information only as long as required for the fulfillment of those purposes for which it was collected, used or disclosed, and when it is no longer necessary for legal or business purposes. If we use personal information to make a decision that directly affects an individual, we will retain that information for at least one year after using it. Personal information which is no longer required is destroyed, erased or made anonymous.

Accuracy and Individual Access

We make reasonable efforts to ensure that personal information collected by or on our behalf is accurate and complete.

Upon written request to our privacy officer, and subject to certain exceptions, we will provide an individual with that individual’s personal information under our control, and information concerning the use and disclosure of that personal information. Examples of exceptions where personal information of an individual may not be disclosed include:

• The personal information is protected by solicitor-client privilege;
• The personal information was collected without consent as allowed under the applicable privacy legislation, for the purposes of an investigation or proceedings.

We will not disclose personal information in certain circumstances, examples of which include:

• The disclosure would reveal personal information about another individual;
• The disclosure would reveal the identity of an individual who has provided personal information about another individual and the individual providing the personal information does not consent to disclosure of his or her identity.

The above exceptions do not apply if the information referred to can be and is removed from a document that contains personal information about the individual who requested it.

Upon written request to our privacy officer, an individual may ask us to correct an error or omission in the personal information that is about the individual and under our control. If satisfied on reasonable grounds that the request should be implemented, we will correct the personal information as soon as reasonably possible and send the corrected personal information to each organization to which the personal information was disclosed in the year before the date the correction was made. If no correction is made, we will annotate the personal information under our control with the correction that was requested but not made.

We will respond to a written request for access to or correction of personal information within 30 days after receiving the written request or such extension as is permitted under the applicable privacy legislation. All requests may be subject to any fees and disbursements the applicable privacy legislation permits us to charge.

Employee Personal Information

We may collect, use, and disclose employee personal information without consent if:

• The applicable privacy legislation allows collection, use, and disclosure without consent, or
• The collection, use or disclosure is reasonable for the purposes of establishing, managing or terminating the employment relationship. In this situation, we will notify the individual that we will be collecting, using or disclosing the employee personal information and the purposes for the collection, use or disclosure before we collect, use or disclose the employee personal information.

Further Information

If you have any questions or would like to request further information regarding our privacy policy and practices, please contact our privacy officer:

Barbara Norell - Partner
Harper Grey LLP
3200 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 4P7

Ph: 604-895-2832
E-mail: bnorell@harpergrey.com
Fax: 604-669-9385

Alternately, you may contact:

John Brown - Managing Partner
Harper Grey LLP
3200 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 4P7

Ph: 604-895-2803
E-mail: jbrown@harpergrey.com
Fax: 604-669-9385

Challenging Compliance

Any complaints regarding our compliance with the applicable privacy legislation should be made in writing to our privacy officer.