This policy (together with our terms and conditions) sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us. By visiting www.porterdodson.co.uk (our site) you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy.
By continuing to use our site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies described below.
Any changes we make to our privacy and cookie policy will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail. Please check back frequently to see any changes to our privacy and cookie policy.
For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the Act), the data controller is Porter Dodson LLP of The Close, Church Path, Yeovil, Somerset BA20 1HH.
Information we may collect
You may give us information about you such as name, address and phone number, by filling in forms on our site or by corresponding with us by phone, e-mail or otherwise. We may receive information about you from other sources, such as Google Analytics, or if you use any of the other services we provide, for example commenting on a blog or applying for a job vacancy.
With regard to each of your visits to our site, we may automatically collect the following information:
technical information, including the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform;
information about your visit, including the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL) clickstream to, through and from our site (including date and time); services you viewed or searched for; page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), and methods used to browse away from the page.
Our site uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our site. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive. We use the following cookies:
Strictly necessary cookies are cookies that are required for the operation of our site.
Analytical/performance cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our site when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our site works, for example by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
Functionality cookies are used to recognise you when you return to our site. This enables us to personalise our content for you and remember your preferences.
You can find more information about the individual cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them below:
| catAccCookies | This cookie is set by the UK cookie consent plugin to record that you accept that the site uses cookies. |
Functionality cookie. |
| frm_form[id]_[hash] | This cookie is used by the contact forms. | Functionality cookie. |
| comment_author comment_author_email comment_author_url |
If you comment on the blog, cookies are stored on your computer. These cookies are for your convenience, so you won’t need to re-type your information again when you want to leave another comment. | For more information on WordPress cookies please go to: http://codex.wordpress.org/ WordPress_Cookies All three cookies are set to expire just under a year from when they are first set. |
We use a programme called Google Analytics, which in turn uses cookies to help us find out how many people visit our site, which pages and parts are most popular, how long people spend in each area and what information people are searching for. All this insight helps us to understand how we can improve our site.
You can find out more about Google Analytics here https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/cookie-usage
| _utma | This cookie saves information about total number of visits to the site, the time of the first visit, previous visit and current visit. | Analytical cookie. Lifespan of 2 years. |
| _utmb | This cookie is used to record information about what happened during the current visit or session, including the ability to tell when a session ends. | Analytical cookie. |
| _utmc | This session cookie expires at the end of the current session/visit. | Strictly necessary cookie and performance cookie. |
| _utmz | This performance cookie saves information relating to how a user arrived at a site, the channel though which you came, date/time info and what keywords you used if you arrived via a search engine. | Performance cookie. |
If you don’t want us to use cookies in your web browser, you can remove them from your computer or change your browser settings so that it either blocks cookies altogether or asks you if you’d like to accept them from some websites. Some of our cookies are essential for our site to work properly.
The internet industry body, the Internet Advertising Bureau, has set up a website to provide information and advice on cookies: http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/. Another source which gives information about how to delete and control cookies is http://www.aboutcookies.org/.
Uses made of the information
We will use your information:
to carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us and to provide you with the information and services that you request from us;
to provide you with marketing information about events and services we offer by email or post. If you do not wish to receive marketing material from us, please contact us;
to notify you about changes to our service;
to administer our site and for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes;
to improve our site to ensure that content is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer;
to allow you to participate in interactive features of our service, when you choose to do so;
as part of our efforts to keep our site safe and secure.
Disclosure of your information
All our dealings with you and any information that we have about you is confidential and may be the subject of legal professional privilege.
However, in some circumstances we are legally obliged to pass on information about you which we receive. An example would be anti-money laundering and similar legislation. Also, in some circumstances we need to do so to meet our other obligations as solicitors. Examples of these circumstances are:
In order to carry out your instructions, we may need to work with other organisations, for example:
A bank/building society or other lender providing you with finance;
The Land Registry (usually in property transactions);
HM Revenue and Customs;
Agents (e.g. estate agents) and experts we may instruct on your behalf (including barristers and other legal experts);
Credit reference agencies for electronic verification of identity to comply with anti-money laundering rules.
Regulatory and legal authorities, such as The Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Law Society, and The Financial Conduct Authority;
Other professionals who we need to deal with in order to run our business, e.g.
Our auditors, professional indemnity insurers and our own legal advisors;
Any external assessors we use for quality control purposes (e.g. to audit client files).
Where we store your personal data
The data that we collect from you will be transferred to, and stored at, a destination within the European Economic Area (“EEA”).
Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.
Access to information
If you would like details about the personal information we hold about you, please contact us using the information below. Any access request may be subject to a fee of £10 to meet our costs in providing you with details of the information we hold about you.
Contact
Questions, comments and access requests are welcomed and should be addressed to the Data Protection Officer, Porter Dodson LLP, The Quad, Blackbrook Park Avenue, Taunton, TA1 2PX.
