Legal & Privacy
Members of Lotus Chambers take data privacy obligations seriously, recognise and value the trust that individuals place when providing us with personal data. This privacy notice sets out the approach we take to data protection that may be collected from you or which has been obtained about you from a third party and in relation to the purposes for which we process your personal data in order to assist you in making an informed decision when using the site and/or services. The following also sets out your rights to request that we delete, update, transfer and/or provide you with access to your personal data.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires all organisations that process personal data to have a lawful basis for doing so. We follow the guidance as set out in the Bar Council Guide for Barristers and Chambers found here.
Lotus Chambers is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a data controller for personal data that we hold and process. Our registered office address is Grosvenor House, 11 St Paul’s Square, Birmingham B3 1RB. Registration number
Data Protection Officers are Harleen Masih and Amanpreet Bhachu who can be contacted at clerks@lotuschambers.co.uk or by calling us at 0121 272 9430. The company is incorporated under the laws of England and Wales. It is registered with Companies House under registration number 14193460 and the registered office is Grosvenor House, 11 St Paul’s Square, Birmingham B3 1RB. Individual members of chambers are also registered with the ICO and are themselves data controllers. We follow the guidance set out by the ICO
We are committed to safeguarding the privacy and security of personal data we may collect of everyone who:
i. visits our website;
ii. contacts us via the site;
iii. every person: who uses the services that we make available from the site;
who engages with members of chambers to use the services that we provide;
whose personal data we may process as a result of providing the services to others;
this extends to those who apply to work with us.
The personal information that we may collect includes customer/client data and employee data such as to include; name, email, contact number, email address, demographic information, payment or bank details, family and next of kin details. This is not an exhaustive list and can include any information relevant to the provision of our services. We may also need to process personal information in relation to other third parties instructed either by our members own clients or other persons or companies who we might liaise with in providing services to our clients.
We collect and process both personal data and special categories of personal data as defined in the GDPR which includes our legal advisors in the event of a dispute or other legal matter; law enforcement officials, government authorities, or other third parties to meet our legal obligations; barristers instructed to provide you with legal services, any other party where we ask you and you consent to the sharing.
We retain your personal data during the time you remain a barrister, client, pupil, mini pupil, employee or consultant, unless you ask us to delete it. We will delete or anonymise your information at your request except when:
i. There is an unresolved issue/claim/dispute;
ii. We are legally required to;
iii. There are overriding legitimate business interests including but not limited
to fraud prevention and protecting customers safety and security.
Further information on our retention and disposal policy is available on request.
We may share personal information with a variety of the following categories of third parties as necessary when providing the Services:
Other Controllers may include, other Counsel, the Tribunal/court services, opposing party’s lawyers and experts.
Processors include Lotus Chambers Ltd, clerks, witnesses, translators, IT service providers who host data and IT support services, IT administrative service providers such as diary management. This list is not exhaustive and there may be other examples where we need to share your personal information with other parties in order to provide the Services effectively.
Your Rights
Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have a number of important rights. In summary, these rights are: access to your personal information and other supplementary information; require us to correct any mistakes or complete missing information we hold on you; require us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances; receive a copy of the personal information you have provided to us or have this information be sent to a third party, and in certain circumstances ask us to stop the processing of your personal information. Further information about your rights under the GDPR please see the Guidance from the Information Commissioners Office on Individual’s rights under the GDPR. If you want to exercise any of these rights, you must put your request in writing, with proof of ID and details of which right or rights that you wish to exercise.
Marketing Opt-Outs
You are able to opt out of receiving marketing emails and other messages from our organisation by following the instructions in those messages.
Website, Digital Platforms & Cookies
Please note that our website lotuschambers.co.uk may contain links to third party websites / digital platforms which are provided for your information. We are soley responsible for the privacy practices and security of our own digital platforms. We recommend that you check the privacy and security policies of each and every other website / digital platform that you visit. Please visit the website www.allaboutcookies.org for further information.
We use ‘cookies’ on our website which are pieces of information that are stored by the browser on your computer’s hard drive and are used to record how you navigate websites on each visit.
Our policies are subject to review and we may update this privacy policy notice from time to time in the future.
Should you wish to raise a complaint regarding a concern as to the handling of the privacy practices, you can report this to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Details can be found here or by calling their helpline on 0303 123 1113.