Your privacy is important to us. At GBC Law, we are dedicated to maintaining the confidentiality of your personal information. This policy will explain how information that we collect from you is handled.

The Personal Information Protection Act (the “Act”) regulates the way private sector organizations (such as a law firm) within British Columbia collect, use, keep, secure, and disclose personal information. “Personal information” means all information about an identifiable individual.

When is Personal Information Collected?

In order for us to properly assist you, we will be required to obtain personal information from you at various points of our relationship. This may include, but is not limited to, the following interactions:

  • Making a submission through our website’s contact form;
  • Contacting our office with an inquiry;
  • Contacting our office to be connected with a lawyer;
  • Registering for an event hosted by GBC Law;
  • During an initial meeting with a lawyer; and
  • Throughout the course of working with a lawyer.

By providing personal information to GBC Law, including submitting personal information through our website’s contact form, you are consenting to our collection, use, and disclosure of that information to contact you or for any other purpose reasonably connected to your provision of that information.

Whenever possible, we will try to collect personal information directly from you. When this is not possible, we may collect personal information from other sources available to us. In doing so, we will make reasonable efforts to ensure that the information collected by us is accurate and complete.

How Do We Handle Personal Information?

Subject to disclosure required by law, all personal information collected by us will remain confidential. In addition to ensuring compliance with the Act and all applicable privacy legislation, our collection, use, and disclosure of the personal information collected from you is governed by solicitor-client privilege, regulatory requirements governing the legal profession in BC, and codes of professional ethics.

In certain instances, the Act permits us to collect, use, or disclose your personal information without your consent. Some instances would include, but are not limited to, when:

  • the collection, use, or disclosure is clearly in your interests and consent cannot be obtained in a timely way;
  • the collection, use, or disclosure is required or authorized by law;
  • the information is required for an investigation or proceeding, and it is reasonable to expect that obtaining consent would compromise the availability or accuracy of the information;
  • it is reasonable to expect that obtaining consent would compromise an investigation or proceeding; and
  • the information is available to the public.

Security of Personal Information

Our office has implemented physical, administrative, and electronic procedures to secure against unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification, disposal or destruction of personal information. However, we would still recommend that you take appropriate precautions, such as encryption, when sending confidential or sensitive information to us by electronic means (i.e. email or attaching documents to an email).

Access to Personal Information

Subject to some restrictions as set out by law, we will provide you with access to any of your personal information that we have collected, used, or disclosed upon written request. We will also advise you to whom that personal information has been disclosed, unless we are otherwise restricted from doing so by law. Such requests may be subject to fees and disbursements which will be charged to you.

Collection of Standard Information

When you access our website, we may collect standard information from you and disclose such information to another organization whom we have a commercial relationship with for the purpose of measuring and improving the effectiveness, functionality, and content of our website. Information that may be collected includes, but is not limited to, the type of internet browser and operating system used, the average time spent on the website, pages viewed, date and time of visit, referring internet sites, search data, and pages visited.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about our privacy policy or wish to request access to or correction of your personal information under our care and control, please contact our Privacy Officer at:

GBC Law
#485 – 6400 Roberts Street
Burnaby, BC V5G 4C9
604-437-0467
hr@gbclaw.ca

Amendments to Privacy Policy

GBC Law reserves the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy at its sole discretion at any time without notice to you.

Last Revised June 29, 2020