Privacy policy
We keep your private details private
We do everything we can to keep your private details genuinely private. When you work with us, the last thing you want is someone prying into your personal data. We do all we can to prevent that.
We do ask you for certain details, so we can help you as well as possible. Below you can read which details we ask for and what we use them for. You will also find what your rights are, who has access to your data and how long we keep it.
This privacy policy was last updated on 1 June 2021.
Privacy statement LEAN LAWYERS LLP
Expertise, transparency and trust are the foundations of everything LEAN LAWYERS does. Whether you are doing business with us or simply having a look around one of our websites, you do not want anyone peering over your shoulder. No odd third parties watching where you go online. Or worse: parties making off with your personal data. We do not want that either. So we do everything we can to keep your private details genuinely private, exactly as the law requires. We also think it matters that you know how we handle your personal data. This privacy statement explains how.
1. Contact details
LEAN LAWYERS LLP (LEAN LAWYERS) is the data controller, based at Varrolaan 120, (3584 BW) Utrecht. You can call us on 085 303 64 29 or email [email protected]. Our website is https://leanlawyers.nl and is secured with an SSL certificate.
2. Who does this privacy statement apply to?
This privacy statement applies to everyone whose personal data LEAN LAWYERS processes, except for people working at LEAN LAWYERS.
This privacy statement applies to:
- clients of LEAN LAWYERS
- potential clients LEAN LAWYERS has approached or wants to approach
- visitors to the LEAN LAWYERS website
- recipients of newsletters and commercial emails from LEAN LAWYERS
- anyone else who contacts LEAN LAWYERS or whose personal data LEAN LAWYERS processes.
This Privacy Statement does not apply to partners, employees, agency workers, contracted staff, student interns or job applicants.
3. Which personal data do we process?
We process personal data you have given us yourself, data generated when you visit our websites and read our newsletters, and data we have obtained from other sources, such as business social media platforms.
Personal data you give us
- contact details and any other personal data our solicitors, legal advisers or tax advisers need to handle your case
- contact details and other personal data you enter on our contact forms or other web forms
- contact details you give us at introductory meetings, events, seminars and so on, such as the details on a business card
Personal data obtained through or generated by our website, e-newsletters, marketing emails or related technologies
- IP address
- how you browse the website: your first visit, your previous visit and your current visit, the pages you view and the route you take through the site
- whether you open a newsletter or marketing email, and which parts of it you click
Personal data from other sources
- personal data publicly available on professional social media platforms such as LinkedIn
- personal data from the Chamber of Commerce Trade Register and the Land Registry (Kadaster)
- personal data publicly available on business websites
Our website contains links to other parties' websites, as well as social media buttons. We are not responsible for the content of those websites or for the services of the social media platforms concerned. Nor is LEAN LAWYERS responsible for the privacy policies or the use of cookies on those websites and platforms.
4. What do we use your personal data for?
We use your personal data for a number of purposes. Here they are:
Carrying out an agreement under which you have instructed our solicitors, legal advisers or tax advisers to provide legal and/or tax services
If you ask a solicitor, civil-law notary or tax adviser to take on your case, we will always ask for your contact details. Depending on the nature of the case, other personal data may be needed to handle it. We also use your details to invoice the services provided.
The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act (Wwft) requires solicitors, civil-law notaries and tax advisers to obtain and record certain information. This includes a copy of your proof of identity (passport).
Keeping in touch with you
We keep your contact details in our client system and may use them to send you newsletters, updates, invitations to events and seminars, and any information you have asked us for.
Improving our product and service information and running targeted marketing campaigns
We think it matters that the information you get from us is relevant to you. To make that possible, we combine and analyse the personal data available to us. On that basis we decide which information and which channels are relevant, and when is the best moment to send you something or get in touch. Our marketing campaigns never use special categories of personal data, or confidential information protected by solicitors' professional privilege. If we wanted to build a personal, individual client profile, we would ask your permission first. And you can withdraw that permission later at any time.
We analyse the following data:
- Interaction data: personal data arising from contact between you and LEAN LAWYERS. For example, how you use our website or supported applications. It also covers offline contact, such as how often you and LEAN LAWYERS are in touch.
- Behavioural data: personal data LEAN LAWYERS processes about your behaviour, such as your preferences, views, wishes and needs. We may infer this from the way you browse our website, from your reading of our newsletters or from information you have requested, and also from inbound phone calls and email contact with our staff. We only collect and use information from tracking cookies with your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.
Running and analysing client satisfaction surveys
We sometimes ask clients to take part in a client satisfaction survey, using an online questionnaire. Taking part is voluntary. Before each survey you will receive more information about how it works and how we handle the information we receive.
Improving and securing our websites
This covers our websites, such as www.LEAN-lawyers.nl, and other websites we have set up and maintain.
Compiling user statistics
User statistics give us a picture of things like visitor numbers, how long people stay, which parts of the website they look at and what they click on. These are generic reports, with no information about individuals. We use what we learn to improve the website.
5. Legal basis for processing
We process personal data on one of the following legal bases:
- Consent
- To perform an agreement, or in the run-up to entering into one
- Legal obligation
- On the basis of a legitimate interest
A controller may only process personal data where this can be based on one of the grounds exhaustively listed in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). LEAN LAWYERS relies on four of them:
Consent
If we have asked for your consent to process your personal data and you have given it, you are always free to withdraw that consent again.
An agreement, or the run-up to entering into one
If you instruct us to provide legal services, we process personal data where and to the extent that this is necessary to carry out the instruction.
Legal obligation
The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act (Wwft) requires solicitors, civil-law notaries and tax advisers to obtain and record certain information. This includes a copy of your proof of identity (passport).
Legitimate interest
We may also process personal data where we have a legitimate interest and doing so does not disproportionately infringe your privacy. For example, we use your contact details to invite you to seminars and events.
6. Processors
We may engage service providers (processors) to process your personal data solely on our instructions. With each of them we enter into a processing agreement that meets the requirements set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
For example, we work with providers of SaaS (software as a service) solutions and with hosting providers. We also use IT providers who help us keep our systems secure and stable, as well as third-party services for sending newsletters and commercial emails. All of these count as processors within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
7. Sharing personal data with third parties
Sometimes we need to share your personal data with third parties. Depending on the circumstances, this may be necessary to handle your case. There are also legal obligations that require personal data to be passed on.
Personal data is shared with third parties in cases including the following:
Handling a case may make it necessary to share your personal data with third parties: for example, when litigating against an opposing party, when concluding an agreement, or with a notarial deed involving several parties.
If a court order requires us to disclose personal data to third parties, we must comply.
We do not share your personal data with third parties for commercial purposes. There is one exception: we sometimes run a joint activity with another organisation, such as an event or a seminar. In that case only the necessary contact details are exchanged.
Personal data may also be passed on to third parties in the event of a reorganisation or merger of our firm, or the sale of (part of) our business.
8. Transfers outside the European Economic Area (EEA)
Sometimes we need to transfer your personal data to parties based outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Depending on the circumstances, this may be necessary when an advocate, legal adviser or tax specialist handles your case. To send online newsletters and mailings, and to process the data you enter in the web forms on our website, we may also use service providers (processors) based outside the EEA.
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), personal data may only be transferred to parties outside the EEA if an adequate level of protection for that data is guaranteed, or if a specific derogation applies.
We may transfer personal data to a party outside the EEA where this is necessary to perform the engagement to provide legal or tax services, or where it is necessary in connection with a legal claim on which we are supporting you.
The processor outside the EEA that helps us send online newsletters and mailings and process the data entered in the web forms on our website is based in the United States and holds a registration for the EU-US Privacy Shield.
9. If you have questions about your personal data
The law gives you certain rights over your personal data. You can ask to see, correct or delete it. You can also object to how we use it or ask us to restrict its use. In some cases, you can request a copy of your data to take to another organisation. For any of these requests, call 085 303 64 29 or email [email protected].
10. Complaints?
If you have a complaint about how we handle your personal data, please email [email protected] or call 085 303 64 29. We’ll be happy to help find a solution. If we cannot resolve it, you can contact the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens).
11. Changes
Things move quickly, so the personal data we ask of you and the way we use it may change from time to time, and so may the rules. If that happens, we will update this Privacy Statement. Do check it now and again so you stay informed. If we make significant changes, we will also point them out on our website.
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