We are Mason Bullock Solicitors, a law firm registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The owner and principal solicitor is Andrew Crisp. He is the data protection representative.
You can view our contact details at the foot of this page.
We are the data controller of the personal data that we collect about you. As the data controller, we are responsible for how your data is processed.
This privacy policy explains our cookie policy, how we use any personal data we collect about you and your rights in respect of that data.
Our website uses cookies, small text files that are placed on your machine to improve the user experience.
In general, cookies are used to retain user preferences and provide anonymised tracking data to third-party applications like Google Analytics.
As a rule, cookies will make your browsing experience better. However, you may prefer to disable cookies on this site and on others. The most effective way to do this is to disable cookies in your browser. We suggest consulting the Help section of your browser or taking a look at the About Cookies website which offers guidance for all modern browsers
Our website contains links to other websites. This privacy policy only applies to this website so when you link to other websites you should read their own privacy policies.
Personal data is any information that relates to a living, identifiable person. This can include your name, contact details and other information that you provide to us.
We collect information about you in the following ways:
The initial information we collect is therefore based on the information given in those forms or during the telephone conversation.
We also collect data about you when you voluntarily complete a review of our services. Website usage information is collected using cookies.
Sometimes we will receive personal data from other sources, such as:
In these circumstances, we will notify you as soon as practicable but in any event within 30 days.
We need to process your data for the purpose of providing you with the legal advice, services and information you request from us.
The legal basis for processing your data is that the processing is necessary in order to fulfil our contractual obligations to you or in order to provide you with preliminary advice or a costs estimate prior to entering into a contract.
The provision of your personal data is therefore necessary to enter into the contract for the provision of legal services.
By agreeing to use our services, you are under a contractual obligation to provide us with relevant personal data. If you do not provide the personal data requested, we may not be able to act for you because we will have insufficient information.
If you sign up to receive legal updates, newsletters, links to blog articles or marketing communications from us, we process data on the basis of that consent. We ensure that the consent is freely given by including an opt-in check box that you need to tick in order to be added to our mailing list. Consent to receiving such communications from us is not a precondition of using any service. You have the right to withdraw your consent.
Your data is also used for the following purposes, which are in our legitimate interests:
We are under a legal obligation imposed by Part 7 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to process personal data in order to submit a Suspicious Activity Report to the National Crime Agency if we know or suspect that a person is engaged in, or attempting, money laundering.
The nature of some of our work dictates that we will hold special category data that relates to you. This may include your race or ethnic origin, religious, political or other beliefs, physical or mental health, trade union membership, genetic or biometric data, sex life or sexual orientation.
Additional grounds under which we may process special category data are:
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
Mason Bullock Solicitors will not share your information for marketing purposes with other organisations.
We have an agreement with other law firms, including a law firm Limited (“CCJRS”), under which we refer prospective clients to them. As part of this referral process:
You retain the right to object to the sharing of your data with CCJRS at any time or to withdraw your consent if you have provided it.
We may store your file and associated data, usually in electronic form but sometimes in paper form for at least 6 years or such longer period as recommended by the Law Society, the Solicitors Regulation Authority or our insurers.
We may outsource the storage of your file to an off-site storage company.
When you complete a form on our website, the data is stored on our web server for between one and two days. This is to ensure that all entry processing is complete before deleting. The deleting occurs automatically as a daily task.
We may rely on third-party service providers to perform various functions on our behalf. To do so, it may be necessary to share your personal information with them. These service providers are subject to confidentiality agreements and legal restrictions on their use of the information we provide.
Our calls are usually answered by an external telephone answering service who communicate to us the information you provide. This is usually done by telephone or email.
Your data is processed using third-party software and online platforms, some of which are stored on remote servers. Examples include Microsoft 365, Adobe, Hubspot and LEAP Case Management Software.
We may share your data with the court, other legal professionals, costs drafting and other technical experts, such as barristers, when that is appropriate to fulfil the requirements of the service we are providing for you.
We collect reviews using third-party review websites, such as Trustpilot, and, if you choose to provide your name, that will be publicly displayed.
An outside file storage company securely stores and manages our paper archive records and manages controlled destruction of the records when they reach the end of their retention period.
If we undergo a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, or other transaction in which a third party assumes control of the firm’s operations, we may include your personal information among the assets transferred to the assuming entity, ensuring that the privacy policy remains in effect.
As a data subject, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data processed by us:
You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner if you believe we have breached your data protection rights. You can make a complaint on the ICO’s website https://ico.org.uk.
The data that we collect from you may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”). By submitting your personal data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
All information you provide to us is stored on remote servers that are managed 24/7.
Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet can never be completely secure. Although we will use reasonable endeavours 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.
We utilise certain artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, to assist with various tasks such as legal research, checking legal documents, and drafting documents and communications.
Additionally, we may use secure AI tools provided by RingCentral to transcribe and summarise telephone calls with clients. This aids in maintaining accurate records and enhancing the efficiency and quality of our legal services. These transcripts are used solely for internal purposes and are not shared with third parties. RingCentral does not use this data to train its AI models. If you would prefer your calls not to be transcribed, please let us know, and we will respect your wishes.
The integration of AI into our services is guided by our commitment to uphold client confidentiality and adhere to the highest standards of data protection.
We keep our privacy policy under review and we will place any updates on this web page.
Please contact us using the contact forms on our website if you have any questions about our privacy policy or information we hold about you.
