Privacy Policy

PRIVACY POLICY

INTRODUCTION

ZI Attorneys Inc. (“ZI” or “we” or “us” or “our”) conducts its business as a law firm with its offices situated at Unit 2, Block A, Cedar Tree Office Park, Cnr Cedar Road & Stinkwood Close, Fourways, Johannesburg. ZI Attorneys Inc. is a Responsible Party in respect of your Personal Information and Special Personal Information which means that ZI Attorneys Inc. determines the purpose of and means for processing your Personal Information.

ZI Attorneys Inc. is committed to protecting and respecting your right to privacy as enshrined under section  14 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. We strive to ensure that our use of your Personal Information is lawful, reasonable, and relevant to our business activities, with the ultimate goal of improving our services and your experience.

This Privacy Policy must be read together with ZI Attorneys Inc. Website’s Terms of Use (accessible here) and any other documents or agreements between ZI Attorneys Inc. and yourself that describe the manner in which we, in specific circumstances, collect or process Personal Information about you. This Privacy Policy supplements such other documents and/or agreements, but does not supersede them and in the event of any conflict, ambiguity or inconsistency between this Privacy Policy, the Terms and/or the Agreements, such documents shall be construed in the following order of priority:

a. This Privacy Policy
b. The Terms of Use
c. The Agreements
d. Your consent to the processing of your Personal Information.

We may, where permitted or required to do so by applicable law, process your Personal Information without your knowledge or permission, if sufficient grounds of justification are present, and we will do so in accordance with the further provisions of this Privacy Policy.

If you are concerned about any aspect of this Privacy Policy as it relates to your Personal Information, please do not continue to engage with us, use our Website or our products and services.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ THIS POLICY CAREFULLY BEFORE SUBMITTING ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION TO ZI ATTORNEYS INC.

1. DEFINITIONS

“Personal Information” means information relating to an identifiable, living, natural person, and where it is applicable, an identifiable, existing juristic person;

“Special Personal Information” means information concerning the religious, philosophical beliefs, race or ethnic origin, trade union membership, political persuasion, health or sex life or biometric information, together with the criminal behaviour of an individual which relates to the alleged commission of an offence or any proceedings in respect of any offence allegedly committed by an individual;

“Child’ means a natural person under the age of 18 years who is not legally competent, without the assistance of a competent person, to take any action or decision in respect of any matter concerning him/herself;

“Consent” means any voluntary, specific, and informed expression of will in terms of which permission is given for the processing of personal information;

“Data Breach” means a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, Personal Information under the control of or in possession of ZI Attorneys Inc;

“Data Subject’” means the person to whom personal information relates;

“Direct marketing” means to approach a Data Subject, either in person or by email or electronic communication for the direct or indirect purpose of  promoting or offering to supply, in the ordinary course of business, any goods or services to the Data Subject; or requesting the Data Subject to make donation of any kind for any reason;

“Employees” means any employee of ZI Attorneys Inc.

“GDPR” means Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation

“Processing” means any operation or activity or any set of operations, whether or not by automatic means, concerning personal information which includes the following:

• collection, receipt, recording, organisation, collation, storage, updating or modification, retrieval, alteration, consultation, or use;
• dissemination by means of transmission, distribution or making available in any other form; or
• merging, linking, as well as restriction, degradation, erasure, or destruction of information;

“Public record” means a record that is accessible in the public domain, and which is in the possession of or under the control of a public body, whether or not it was created by that public body;

“Operator” means a person or entity who processes Personal Information for a Responsible Party in terms of a contract or mandate, without coming under the direct authority of that Responsible Party;

“POPIA” means the Protection of personal Information Act 4 of 2013;

“Responsible Party” means a public or private body or any other person which, alone or in conjunction with others, determines the purpose of and means for processing personal information.

2. PURPOSE OF THIS POLICY

The purpose of this Policy is to inform Data Subjects/you about how ZI Attorneys Inc. collects, uses, and processes Personal Information provided by you to us, or collected by us through other means when you engage with us, in your ordinary use of our products and services.

3. APPLICATION

This Policy applies to Personal Information collected by ZI Attorneys Inc. in connection with the legal services that we offer and provide. This includes information collected directly from you as a Data Subject, as well as information we collect indirectly through our marketing campaigns and online through our website.

This Privacy Policy applies to the processing of Personal Information relating to you, being a user who accesses and/or uses our Website or our products and services, by us or our Operators.

This Privacy Policy applies regardless of the device which you use to access our Website or to engage with us, which device is not limited to, internet-connected mobile devices, tablets, and desktops/laptops.

4. PRIVACY AND SECURITY

ZI Attorneys Inc. takes your privacy and the protection of your Personal Information very seriously and will only use your Personal Information in accordance with this Policy, its obligations under POPIA, and where relevant, the GDPR as well as any other accepted international standards in respect of data protection principles, practices, and guidelines.

It is important that you take all necessary and appropriate measures to protect your Personal Information yourself (for example, by ensuring that all passwords and access codes are kept secure).

We have implemented reasonable technical and operational measures to keep your Personal Information secure. We review our information collection, storage and processing practices, including physical security measures periodically, to ensure that we keep abreast of good practice.

Despite the above measures being taken when processing Personal Information and Special Personal Information, subject to the provisions of this clause as far as the law allows, we will not be liable for any loss, claim and/or damage arising from any unauthorised access, disclosure, misuse, loss, alteration, or destruction of your Personal Information and/or Special Personal Information.

In this clause, you acknowledge that you know, and you accept that technology is not absolutely secure and there is a risk that your Personal Information and Special Personal Information will not be secure when processed by means of technology. You hereby indemnify and hold ZI Attorneys Inc. harmless from any loss, damages, or injury that you may incur as a result of any Security Compromise of your Personal Information to unauthorised persons.

5. INFORMATION WHICH ZI ATTORNEYS INC. MAY COLLECT ABOUT YOU

ZI Attorneys Inc. may process various types of Personal Information concerning you. This may include the following:

• Identity Information, which includes information concerning your name, username or similar identifier, marital status, title, occupation, interests, date of birth, gender, race, and legal status, as well as copies of your identity documents, photographs, identity number, registration number and your qualifications;
• Contact Information, which includes your billing addresses, delivery addresses, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers;
• Financial Information, which includes bank account details; details of funds which we invest and hold on your behalf for a matter, financial statements, tax clearance certificates and VAT registration numbers;
• Transaction Information, which includes details about payments made to or received from you and company information, which may consist of financial activity;
• Technical Information, which includes your internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access our Website, engage with us, or to use our products and services;
• Usage Information, which includes information as to your access to and use of the Website, products, and services, such as what links you went to, what content you accessed, the amount of content viewed and the order of that content, as well as the amount of time spent on the specific content and what products and services you access and use when engaging with ZI Attorneys Inc.;
• Location Information, which includes geographical information from your device (which is usually based on the GPS or IP location); and
• Marketing and Communications Information, which includes your preferences in respect of receiving marketing information from us and your communication preferences.

Where you provide ZI Attorneys Inc. with the Personal Information of Third Parties you should take steps to inform the Third Party that you need to disclose their details to us, specifying that ZI Attorneys Inc. will process their Personal Information in accordance with this Policy.

6. PROCESS OF COLLECTING PERSONAL INFORMATION

ZI Attorneys Inc. collects your Personal Information in the following ways:

• Through direct or active interactions with you;
• Through automated or passive interactions with you;
• From Third parties and public sources.

7. LAWFUL PROCESSING OF PERSONAL INFORMATION AND SPECIAL INFORMATION

As the Responsible Party, ZI Attorneys Inc. will only process a Data Subject’s Personal Information where:

• Consent of the Data Subject (or competent person where Data Subject is a child) is obtained;
• Processing is necessary to carry out the actions for the conclusion of a contract to which a Data Subject is party;
• Processing complies with an obligation imposed by law on ZI Attorneys Inc.
• Processing is necessary to pursue the legitimate interests of ZI Attorneys Inc. or of a third party to whom the information is supplied; and/or
• Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in ZI Attorneys Inc.

ZI Attorneys Inc. will make the manner and reason for which the Personal Information will be processed clear to the Data Subject.

Where ZI Attorneys is relying on a Data Subject’s consent as the legal basis for processing Personal Information, the Data Subject may withdraw his/her/its consent and may object to ZI Attorneys Inc processing of Personal Information at any time. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out prior to the withdrawal of consent.

If consent is withdrawn or if there is otherwise a justified objection against the use or the processing of such Personal Information, ZI Attorneys Inc. will ensure that the Personal Information is no longer processed.

SPECIAL INFORMATION

Special Personal Information is sensitive Personal Information of a Data Subject and ZI Attorneys Inc. acknowledges that it will generally not Process Special Personal Information unless:

• processing is carried out in accordance with the Data Subject’s explicit consent; or
• information has been deliberately made public by the Data Subject; or
• processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of a right or legal claim or obligation in law; and
• processing is for historical, statistical or research purposes, subject to stipulated safeguards.

8. USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED

ZI Attorneys Inc. will generally use Personal Information for purposes required to operate and manage its normal business operations and these purposes include one or more of the following non-exhaustive purposes:

1. Providing its services to the Data Subject from time to time;
2. To manage ZI Attorneys Inc. relationship with you which may include notifying you about changes to any of ZI Attorneys Inc.’s terms (including this policy); asking you to leave a review or take a survey; assessing and dealing with complaints and requests and managing payments, fees, charges, and accounts;

• Contacting the Data Subject for direct marketing purposes subject to provisions of clause14 below;

1. Other purposes to which the Data Subject may consent from time to time and/or as authorised in terms of the applicable law.
2. ACCESS TO, CORRECTION AND DELETION OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

A Data Subject has certain rights under POPIA and, where applicable, the GDPR, which include the following:

1. The right to request a Responsible Party to confirm whether any Personal Information is held about the Data Subject;
2. The right to request from the Responsible Party, a description of the Personal Information held by the Responsible Party including information about Third Parties who have or have had access to the Personal Information; and

• The right to request correction or deletion of Personal Information.

ZI Attorneys Inc. shall provide a Data Subject. within a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner and format, records and/or descriptions of Personal Information held by it.

On receipt of a request to correct and/or delete Personal Information of a Data Subject, ZI Attorneys Inc. as soon as is reasonably practicable shall attend to:

1. Correct the Personal Information;
2. Delete the Personal Information; and

• Provide proof that such Personal Information has been corrected and/or deleted.

ZI Attorneys Inc. shall require a Data Subject to provide sufficient identification to permit access, correction, and deletion of your Personal information prior to facilitating access to a Data Subject’s Personal Information.

ZI Attorneys Inc. shall respond to all requests in accordance with POPIA, where applicable the GDPR and Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA).

10. ACCURACY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

ZI Attorneys Inc. will take reasonable steps to ensure that all Personal Information is kept accurate, complete, and up to date as reasonably possible depending on the purpose for which Personal Information is collected or further processed.

ZI Attorneys Inc. may not always expressly request the Data subject to verify and update his/her/its Personal Information unless this process is specifically necessary.

ZI Attorneys, however, expects that the Data Subject will notify ZI Attorneys Inc. from time to time in writing of any updates required in respect of his/her/its personal Information.

11. DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION TO THIRD PARTIES

ZI Attorneys Inc. may disclose Personal Information to Third Parties (its Operators) with whom it has entered into written agreements. Such Third Parties shall process any Personal Information in accordance with the provisions of this Policy, POPIA and, where relevant, the GDPR.

Where Personal Information is transferred to a foreign jurisdiction, ZI Attorneys Inc. will obtain the necessary consent to transfer the Personal Information to such foreign jurisdiction or may transfer the Personal Information where ZI Attorneys Inc. is permitted to do so in accordance with the provisions applicable to cross-border flows of Personal Information under POPIA and, where applicable, the GDPR.

The Data Subject should take note that the Processing of Personal Information in a foreign jurisdiction may be subject to the laws of the country in which the Personal Information is held, and may be subject to disclosure to the governments, courts of law, enforcement, or regulatory agencies of such other country, pursuant to the laws of such country.

12. RETENTION OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

ZI Attorneys Inc. may keep records of the Personal Information it has collected, correspondence, or comments in an electronic or hardcopy file format.

ZI Attorneys Inc. will not retain personal information for a period longer than is necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was collected or processed and shall delete, destroy or de-identify the information as soon as reasonably practicable. This prohibition will not apply in the following circumstances –

1. where the retention of the record is required or authorised by law;
2. where ZI Attorneys Inc. requires the record to fulfil its lawful functions or activities;

• retention of the record is required by a contract between the parties thereto;

1. where the data subject (or competent person, where the data subject is a child) has consented to such longer retention; or
2. where the record is retained for historical, research or statistical purposes provided that the necessary safeguards are put in place to prevent use for any other purpose.

To determine the appropriate retention period for Personal Information, ZI Attorneys Inc. will consider, among other things, the nature and sensitivity of the Personal Information, the potential risks or harm that may result from its unauthorised use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process it and whether those purposes may be achieved through other means.

13. BREACH OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

A Data Breach refers to a security violation, in which Personal Information is copied, transmitted, viewed, stolen, or used by an individual unauthorized to do so. A Data Breach can happen for many reasons, which include:

1. loss or theft of data or equipment on which Personal Information is stored;
2. inappropriate access controls allowing unauthorised use;

• equipment failure;

1. human error;
2. unforeseen circumstances, such as a fire or flood;
3. deliberate attacks on systems, such as hacking, viruses, or phishing scams; and/or

• alteration of Personal Information without permission and loss of availability of Personal Information.

ZI Attorneys Inc. will address any Data Breach in accordance with the terms of POPIA and, where relevant, the GDPR. ZI  Attorneys Inc. will notify the Regulator and the affected Data Subject (unless the applicable law requires that we delay notification to the Data Subject) in writing in the event of a Data Breach (or a reasonable belief of a Data Breach) in respect of that Data Subject’s Personal Information.

ZI Attorneys Inc. will provide such notification as soon as reasonably possible and, where feasible, not later than 72 (seventy-two) hours after having become aware of any Data Breach in respect of such Data Subject’s Personal Information.

14. PERSONAL INFORMATION FOR DIRECT MARKETING PURPOSES

ZI Attorneys Inc. acknowledges that it may only use Personal Information to contact the Data Subject for purposes of Direct Marketing from time to time where it is permissible to do so.

ZI Attorneys Inc. will ensure that a reasonable opportunity is given to the Data Subject to object to the use of their Personal Information for ZI Attorneys Inc.’s Direct Marketing purposes when collecting the Personal Information.

ZI Attorneys Inc. will not use your Personal Information to send you marketing materials if you have requested not to receive them. If you request that we stop Processing your Personal Information for marketing purposes, ZI Attorneys Inc. shall do so. We encourage that such requests to opt-out of marketing be made via forms and links provided for that purpose in the marketing materials sent to you.

15. FAILURE TO PROVIDE PERSONAL INFORMATION

Should ZI Attorneys Inc. need to collect Personal Information by law or under the terms of a contract that ZI Attorneys Inc. may have with you, and you fail to provide the Personal Information when requested, we may be unable to perform the contract we have or are attempting to enter into with you. In such a case, ZI Attorneys Inc. may decline to provide the relevant services, and you will be notified where this is the case.

16. AMENDMENT OF THIS POLICY

ZI Attorneys Inc. reserves the right to make amendments to this Policy from time to time and will use reasonable efforts to notify Data Subjects of such amendments.

The current version of this Policy will govern the respective rights and obligations between you and ZI Attorneys Inc. each time you access and make use of our Website.

17. COMPLAINTS

Should you believe that ZI Attorneys Inc. has utilised your Personal Information contrary to the applicable laws, you undertake to first attempt to resolve any concerns with ZI Attorneys Inc. Information Officer whose details are listed below.

If you are still unsatisfied with the manner in which ZI Attorneys Inc. addresses any complaint in respect of how we process your Personal Information, you can contact the office of the relevant Regulator.

18. HOW TO CONTACT US

Name of Body:  ZI Attorneys Inc.

Physical Address:    Unit 2, Block A, Cedar Tree Office Park, Cnr. Cedar Road and Stinkwood Close, Fourways, Sandton, Johannesburg, 2055

Phone:   010 025 6000
Information  Officer: Sharon Kutukwa

Email:  sharon@attorneys-at-law.org.za