Karen Keck Professional Corporation, operating under the trade name Legal Sneakers, including its lawyers (“Legal Sneakers” or “we“­), are committed to protecting the personal information that we collect, use and disclose in the course of providing legal services and operating the business, in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements, including applicable privacy legislation, and consistent with our professional obligations.  As lawyers, we have professional and ethical obligations to maintain information we have received within our client relationships in confidence. This Privacy Policy supplements our professional obligations of client confidentiality and sets out in general terms how we collect, use, disclose and protect the personal information of our clients as well as website users and other individuals (“you“).

Accountability

Legal Sneakers is responsible under applicable privacy legislation for the personal information in our possession or control. This includes personal information we receive directly, such as from individual clients or other individuals, and personal information we receive indirectly from clients or others.  Legal Sneakers has established this policy with the objective of protecting personal information and has appointed a Privacy Officer to oversee privacy matters for the Corporation. The Privacy Officer can be reached at karen@legalsneakers.com.

What Personal Information Do We Collect?

Privacy legislation in Canada defines “personal information” broadly as any information about an identifiable individual; however, it generally does not include your business contact information.

The types of personal information we may collect about you include your name and home contact information, billing and account information, information relevant to a client’s legal matters and other information incidental to the provision of legal advice and services.  Examples of these types of personal information include personal information about advisors, directors, officers, employees and service providers of a client, related parties, third parties, adverse parties or parties-in-interest, and information about shareholders, securityholders, debtholders, potential investors, business partners, suppliers, distributors or customers of clients or other parties who are individuals.

Legal Sneakers may collect information contained in your communications via the website, www.legalsneakers.com (the “Website“), and your email communications with Legal Sneakers. It may also collect standard information and data in order to provide the Website and the services, such as device type, device identifier, IP address, browser type, operating system, duration of use, and time of access. Legal Sneakers may collect this information for the purposes of (i) tailoring content that Legal Sneakers may send or show you, (ii) to authenticate you, enable access to information, and otherwise administer the Website, (iii) for analytical purposes to better understand and improve digital interactions with Legal Sneakers, and (iv) to detect, investigate or prevent any actual or potential violation of this privacy policy or our terms of use.

Purposes for Collecting, Using or Disclosing Personal Information

Legal Sneakers primarily collects, uses and discloses personal information for the purpose of providing our clients with professional legal services and representation, including for the following purposes:

• to establish and manage client relationships, provide legal advice and services, fulfill legal duties, and avoid legal conflicts of interest;
• to represent clients in the context of business transactions involving the exchange or disclosure of personal information, including financings, purchase and sale transactions, reorganizations or any other type of acquisition, disposition, investment, financing or other business transaction;
• to establish and maintain commercial relationships with clients, service providers and other third parties, including to issue invoices, administer accounts, collect and process payments and fulfil contractual obligations;
• to contact and communicate with clients and other individuals for the purpose of conducting market research or evaluating client service and satisfaction;
• to distribute publications and invitations to webinars or other events to individuals who subscribe to Legal Sneakers mailing lists;
• to maintain, develop and manage its document management system and databases;
• to consider the engagement of employees or independent contractors of Legal Sneakers;
• to develop and manage Legal Sneaker’s business and operations;
• to detect and protect against error, negligence, breach of contract, fraud, theft and other illegal activity, and where necessary to meet insurance requirements; and
• as permitted by, and to comply with, applicable legal or regulatory requirements or provisions.

Website

Cookies – Cookies are small elements of data placed on your device when you visit a website, which are used to track the use of the website and improve the user experience. Legal Sneakers may, from time to time, collect personal information about you and your use of the Website though the use of cookies as outlined above. You can set your browser to turn off cookies, however, some parts of the Website may not function properly if you do.

Communications via Website – You may voluntarily submit personal information through a form on the Website to request information or services from Legal Sneakers. Legal Sneakers uses the personal information you provide for the purpose for which you have provided it.

E-Mail Communications – With your consent, Legal Sneakers may send e-mail communications to advise you of publications or webinars or other events. If you change your mind and do not wish to receive future e-mails from Legal Sneakers for these purposes, simply respond back via email and request to unsubscribe. Legal Sneakers will not send electronic messages without your consent.

Links – The Website may, from time to time, include links to other websites. You should be aware that operators of linked websites may also collect your personal information and information generated through the use of cookies when you visit their websites. Legal Sneakers is not responsible for how such third parties collect, use or disclose your personal information, so it is important to review their privacy policies before providing them with your personal information.

Service Providers

To the extent that Legal Sneakers enters into arrangements with service providers to store, handle or process personal information on Legal Sneakers’ behalf, such as for data processing, document storage, software support, practice management and accounting services, Legal Sneakers will endeavor to ensure such parties are required by contractual or other means to provide comparable privacy protection while the information is processed or handled by them.

Internet Advertising

Legal Sneakers may also use third parties to post advertisements on the Website and/or on third party websites. These companies may use cookies, tracer tags or web beacons to report information about your interaction with Legal Sneakers’ email communications, the Website and online ads, for the purposes of tailoring content that Legal Sneakers may send or show you, and for analytical purposes to better understand digital interactions with its brand.

Consent

Legal Sneakers will obtain a client’s consent to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information about the client, and the consent of other individuals, where required by applicable privacy legislation. Legal Sneakers assumes that an individual has consented to the reasonable collection and use of personal information consistent with the purposes for which the information was given, when the individual initiates contact with Legal Sneakers or voluntarily provides personal information to Legal Sneakers.  Legal Sneakers also assumes that clients who retain Legal Sneakers, or individuals involved in proceedings or matters opposite or adverse to Legal Sneakers’ clients, consent to the reasonable collection, use and disclosure of their personal information by Legal Sneakers, for the purposes of Legal Sneakers providing legal advice and services to its clients, and the conduct of the legal proceedings and matters involving its clients.

Legal Sneakers does not collect, use or disclose personal information without consent unless authorized or required by law to do so, such as in the following circumstances:

• if a client provides personal information about third parties to Legal Sneakers for purposes of Legal Sneakers providing legal representation or giving advice to its client;
• where a court order is issued, or a regulatory or other body with jurisdiction to compel production requires it according to applicable rules of production;
• when the information is publicly available within the meaning of applicable privacy legislation, such as in professional or other directories, in public registries, publicly-filed court records or information appearing in published form;
• if Legal Sneakers is investigating the breach of an agreement, a legal duty or contravention of a law, and obtaining consent would compromise the investigation or the accuracy of the information;
• if Legal Sneakers is required to disclose personal information to a lawful authority; and
• as otherwise authorized or required by law.

As lawyers, we are subject to professional and ethical obligations and Legal Sneakers does not disclose personal information subject to solicitor-client privilege unless the privilege is lawfully waived or we are required by law to do so.

Retentions of Records

Legal Sneakers keeps records of the work performed and services provided by Legal Sneakers in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements and professional standards. These records may include personal information.

Accuracy of Information

In order to provide clients or subscribers with a professional level of service and to maintain appropriate contact preferences, Legal Sneakers may ask you to update your personal information, contact information or preferences from time to time.  Clients are encouraged to contact Legal Sneakers to update the personal information Legal Sneakers maintains in its client files.

Safeguards

Legal Sneakers protects personal information in its files and document management systems from loss, misuse, unauthorized access and alteration by using a combination of administrative, technical and physical safeguards. These protections include password protection, dual authentication, and other reasonable security practices and tools.

Access to Personal Information

Individual clients may review any personal information concerning themselves that Legal Sneakers has on file by written request via email to karen@legalsneakers.com.

Legal Sneakers will provide access to such personal information, subject to exceptions stipulated or required by applicable privacy legislation. Examples of such exceptions include information protected by solicitor-client privilege; or information about another individual where disclosure would reveal confidential information of others. If you are concerned about the access Legal Sneakers has provided, you may contact the Privacy Officer at the email listed above.

Challenging Compliance with this Privacy Policy

Legal Sneakers will respond to complaints from individuals or questions about its compliance with this policy and with applicable privacy laws. It will investigate and attempt to resolve all complaints. To challenge our compliance with this policy please contact its Privacy Officer at the email listed above.

If you have any questions or concerns about your privacy and Legal Sneakers’ role in protecting it, please contact the Privacy Officer at the email listed above.

Legal Sneakers reserves the right to change its Privacy Policy at any time by posting a new Privacy Policy on the Website.

Dated January 11, 2023.