WHO WE ARE

We at Sweeney McGann Solicitors LLP are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. This statement (together with our General Terms of Business) sets out the basis on which any personal data will be processed by us. This notice is being provided to you in line with our obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Our contact details are as follows:

By Post: 67 O’Connell Street, Limerick

By Email: [email protected]

Our data protection representative is Deirdre Kerrigan and may be contacted at [email protected]

WHY WE PROCESS YOUR DATA, THE LAWFUL BASIS FOR PROCESSING YOUR DATA AND WHO WE SHARE IT WITH

For people who view and interact with our website, we will only process your personal data where you provide it to us for a particular reason, being:

  • To respond to your query when sent through our “Contact”/ “Request a Callback” forms; and

The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interest in the administration and operation of our legal services and on the basis that you have voluntarily provided your personal data to us for a particular reason.

You may browse our website without providing us with any personal data and this will not affect your ability to view our website. However, non-personal information that may identify you such as location, IP address, browser type, operating system, and other details about the device you are using may be collected.

If you do not provide us with your information for the purposes described above, we cannot respond to your queries sent through our Contact/Request a Callback form, and therefore cannot provide you with legal advice, liaise with you on client matters, represent you in legal proceedings or assess your suitability for a role within our firm.

For our clients and potential clients, we process data in accordance with our Terms of Business and for the following reasons:

  • For the performance of a contract with the client or to enter into such a contract;
  • In order to comply with legal obligations, we are subject to (such as anti-money laundering);
  • In order to provide you with legal advice;
  • To assist you with legal claims or legal proceedings;
  • To assist you with your legal rights

Only when you become a client of the office, will your data be retained and only until the expiration of Law Society time limits. Otherwise, your data is not retained.
Where we process special categories of data relating to you, e.g. health data that we may process in connection with a legal claim where we are acting on your behalf, our legal basis for processing will be that the processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

There may also be limited circumstances where our legal basis for processing is your consent (where we have sought it and you have provided it to us), in which case you can withdraw your consent at any time.

We may share certain aspects of your data with agents or contractors such as counterpart solicitors, barristers, engineers, medical professionals, expert witnesses, accountants that we liaise with on client matters in connection with services that they perform for Sweeney McGann LLP.

The legal basis for the processing of this data is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by our firm in representing our clients.

We use third party processors to provide our services; these companies will process or store your information on our behalf. When we use third parties, we will ensure that they align with this privacy policy and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Our agents or contractors are restricted from using your data in any way other than to provide services for Sweeney McGann LLP, or services for the collaboration in which they and Sweeney McGann LLP are engaged.

For job applicants to the firm, we process data:

  • to recruit new employees
  • to ascertain your suitability for a specific role

The legal basis for this processing is necessary for the purpose of the legitimate interests of our firm in recruiting new staff. Please see the privacy notice in the job advertisement for further information about how we process applicant data. We may also send you emails about your application through our email service provider.

We do not use any personal data for the purpose of automated decision-making or profiling.

DATA RETENTION

It is our aim to only hold your data for as long as this is necessary. Where you are a client of Sweeney McGann LLP, unless otherwise required under applicable law, we store your data for as long as we provide services to you and for a period of no less than six years beginning on the date we archive your file.

DATA SECURITY

We take our data security responsibilities seriously, employing the most appropriate physical and technical measures, including staff training and awareness. We have Q9000 certification and review our data security measures and procedures regularly.

TRANSFERS OF DATA OUTSIDE THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA

Sweeney McGann LLP will generally not process your personal data outside the European Economic Area. In the unlikely circumstances where such transfers are required, we will ensure that those transfers are lawful in accordance with Chapter 5 of the GDPR.

YOUR RIGHTS

You have the following rights under the GDPR, in certain circumstances and subject to certain exemptions, in relation to your personal data:

  • Right to access the data – you have the right to request a copy of the personal data that we hold about you, together with other information about our processing of that personal data.
  • Right to rectification- you have the right to request that any inaccurate data that is held about you is corrected, or if we have incomplete information, you may request that we update the information such that it is complete.
  • Right to erasure – you have the right to request us to delete personal data that we hold about you. This is sometimes referred to as the right to be forgotten.
  • Right to restriction of processing or to object to processing – you have the right to request that we no longer process your personal data for particular purposes, or to object to our processing of your personal data for particular purposes.
  • Right to data portability – you have the right to request us to provide you, or a third party, with a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used machine-readable format.

In order to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us at the contact details at the start of this privacy notice.

If we are processing personal data based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing which took place prior to its withdrawal.

If you are unhappy with how we process personal data, we ask you to contact us so that we can rectify the situation. You may lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The Irish supervisory authority is the Data Protection Commission.

CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY

Any changes we may make to this policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to this policy.

Date: 15th February 2024