PRIVACY POLICY STATEMENT
- Who we are
With this statement we would like to inform you about why and how your personal data are collected and processed by VAN LANDUYT & VENNOTEN bvba, a law firm having its registered office at 20 Eikelenbergstraat, 1700 Dilbeek, company number 0440.489.668 (hereinafter referred to as “we“).
We are responsible for the processing of the personal data that are requested and used by us. As the controller, we take measures to ensure that you:
– keep informed of our processing of your personal data;
– retain control over the personal data we process;
– can exercise your rights to your personal data.
We have also appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO). This person is an expert in personal data protection who provides an additional guarantee that your data will be processed correctly by us. You can contact the DPO through the channels mentioned in this Statement.
By “personal data” we mean all information that pertains to a certain living natural person. We process different types of personal data, depending on the purpose of the processing. These are mainly contact details (including name, address, e-mail address, telephone number), financial data (your bank account number if you act as a provider), and, if we represent your legal interests, all personal data relating to the assignment.
The personal data of our clients will of course be processed only for the assignments entrusted to us. Furthermore, all data are covered by professional secrecy and do not leave the firm.
If you are a legal entity and we receive personal data concerning your representatives, staff, self-employed persons and/or directors, you must inform them of the existence and content of this statement including our duties and their rights and how they can exercise those rights.
We use your personal data to be able to create you as a client in our systems and to carry out the assignment you have entrusted us with.
A lawyer acts as a legal adviser, representative in court or for other purposes, and will require various forms of information, documentation and also personal data in order to perform his or her tasks properly. Personal data may have to be transferred when dealing with authorities, bailiffs, officials of the justice system, etc.
For the processing of your personal data, we base ourselves on their necessity for the execution of our agreement with you, on our legal obligations and our legitimate interests.
- Policy on relations and providers
We use your personal data to be able to create you as a relation or provider in our systems and to fulfil our commitments and/or agreement with you.
For these processing operations we base ourselves on their necessity for the execution of our agreement with you, on our legal obligations and our legitimate interests.
We want to keep you informed about our activities, events, services or relevant newsletters, either at your request or if we think that such information may be of interest or benefit to you. This can be done at your express request, or if we suspect that such information might be of interest or benefit to you.
If you are already a client, you need not give any consent in order to receive direct marketing communications. We rely on our legitimate interests to that end. If you are not a client already, you will receive our direct marketing communications only if you have given us your express consent for that purpose.
If you do not wish to receive any communication at all, please exercise your right to object to direct marketing as stated below in this statement.
We will also only collect and process personal data when required in order to comply with our legal obligations.
Our website, www.vlv-law.be, uses certain cookies. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device and suchlike technologies. For more information, please refer to our cookie statement which is posted on the aforementioned website.
The personal data of our clients are processed only for the assignments entrusted to us. Furthermore, all data are covered by professional secrecy and do not leave the firm.
Your personal data will not be passed on to other persons, with the exception of the following;
- We will give access to your personal data only to those of our employees and associates who need access to your data in order to perform their duties. These persons act under our supervision and responsibility.
- As lawyers, in practising the legal profession, we interact with courts and tribunals, bailiffs, the police and investigative services and other officials of the justice system, such as opposing counsels, notaries and court experts, and personal data may have to be transferred in the process.
- In addition, we also avail ourselves of specialised external providers such as IT services to carry out certain processing operations for us. Since these third parties have access to personal data for the services we request, we have taken technical, organizational and contractual measures to protect your personal data as much as possible against privacy risks.
Your data will not be taken outside the EU and, in any event, we make sure that the legal minimum requirements and safety standards are met at all times.
If we foresee that your data will be stored and processed outside the EU, we will state so explicitly and ensure that the same level of protection is applied as within the EU.
We will retain your data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which they are used as set out in point 3 of this statement.
As the need to retain data may vary depending on the type of data and the purpose of processing, the actual retention periods may vary considerably. We would hereby like to inform you that the following criteria will be taken into account in particular when determining the retention periods:
- How long are the personal data needed to provide the requested service?
- Have we set and announced a specific retention period?
- Have we received permission for a longer retention period?
- Do we have a legal, contractual or similar obligation to retain the data?
The personal data of the various parties in our client files are kept at least for the duration of the assignments entrusted to us. Legal files are subject to various obligations and protection requirements such as professional secrecy, professional safekeeping, and so on. Personal data can be retained after cases are closed on the grounds of legitimate interests.
Your personal information is considered to be strictly confidential. We take the appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data that have been provided and collected against destruction, loss, unintentional alteration, damage, accidental or unlawful access or any other unauthorized processing.
In particular, we have opted for a professional software for law firms which ensures that all office data are password-protected. Together with our IT partner, we have taken various technical measures for the set-up and infrastructure of our systems.
You always have the right to access and peruse your personal data that are processed by us. We will provide you with a free copy of said personal data upon request.
You always have the right to have incorrect, incomplete, inappropriate or outdated personal data removed or rectified.
If the processing is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw said consent at any time.
When your personal data are processed on the basis of legitimate interests, you have the right to object to the processing thereof for reasons relating to your specific situation.
- Right to object to direct marketing
You have the right to object to the processing of your data for direct marketing purposes if you do not or no longer wish to receive such communications from us. In such a case we will no longer process your data for direct marketing purposes. Your request will be complied with as promptly as possible.
We would like to draw your attention to the fact that your exercise of the right to object does not prevent us from contacting you for any other purpose, including the performance of the contract, in accordance with this statement.
You have the right to ask that your personal data be deleted. If you do not wish to maintain a relationship with us any longer, you can ask us to stop using your personal data. We may nonetheless retain personal data if we are required to do so on legal or ethical grounds, and/or if such personal data are required for evidence purposes.
Under this right of erasure, you are also entitled to ask us at any time to stop using your personal data that have been processed on the basis of your consent or our legitimate interests. Due to legitimate interests, we may continue to process your personal data for legitimate interests after weighing up your interests with ours, unless you decide to terminate the relationship with us.
As regards the processing of your personal data based on your consent or because this is necessary in order to provide requested products or services, you may ask us to forward your personal data to you in a structured, common and digital form so that you can store them for personal (re)use, or to forward them directly to another data controller, insofar as this is technically feasible for us.
In order to exercise the aforementioned rights, or if you have a question or complaint about our processing of personal data, you can contact us through the following channels:
- By e-mail: info@vlv-law.be imroder@imroder.be;
- By post at the following address: 20 Eikelenbergstraat, 1700 Dilbeek.
When exercising your right, we ask you to indicate clearly which right you wish to invoke and which processing operation(s) you wish to oppose or withdraw your consent for.
If you are not satisfied with our response, if you have any comments about the exercise of your rights, or if you believe that our processing of your personal data would not be in accordance with the law, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Authority. All relevant information can be found at https://www.dataprotectionauthority.be/.
We may amend or supplement this statement if we should deem it necessary.
If significant changes are made to this statement, the date it is updated will be adapted and we will also notify you through the normal information channels.
Last update: 9 December 2019