If you were a client of GWlegal before 24th May 2018 we will have emailed you to notify you about the changes to our privacy and marketing policy. Under new regulations we need to let you know about why we are going to continue to market our legal services to you based on the information we have on file for you. The legal basis for contacting you in this regard is called ‘Legitimate Interests’.
We have completed a Legitimate Interest Assessment (LIA) for why it’s in our interests and yours to market any news, services and offers from GWlegal.
The purpose is to market our client database using email, SMS, telesales and direct mail (post). You have already completed a case with us before and been given the option to object as that case progressed.
The process is necessary to keep you up-to-date on the current legal services we offer and how we may help you with future legal enquiries. We have a history of clients using us again – for the same or different legal services.
If you return to use GWlegal for another legal service we will ask you again if you want to receive marketing materials from us – at this point the legal basis for using your information will change from legitimate interest to consent (as detailed below). Whether we are using a legitimate interest or consent as our legal basis for using your data, in regards to marketing, you always have the option to opt out, details below.
When we send out marketing material we will always advise you on a way to opt out – this means you are always in control. GWlegal has an online preference centre that holds your marketing contact information.
The link to this page to update your preferences will be included in any marketing emails or letters we send to you. If you're contacted by phone for marketing purposes you can update your preferences with the company representative at any time. If you're contacted by SMS you will be given an option to opt-out by replying to the message.
If you want to update your marketing preferences with us now you can do so by contacting the Compliance Team, GWlegal, 20 Chapel Street, Liverpool, L3 9GW. Alternatively you can call us on 0345 373 3737 or email us at hello@gw.legal.
From May 2018 all new GWlegal clients (or past clients who return to us) will be asked on the phone or sent an email near the end of their case to ask to consent for Marketing. If you agree to opt-in to Marketing you will be given the option to choose the types of communication we will use to contact you. If you decide not to opt-in to Marketing then you don't have to do anything - you're automatically opted-out unless you select otherwise.
Emails will be sent via a company called MailChimp which we use to design, send and track the marketing communications we send to you. Every marketing email sent will include an option to opt-out of these emails and our other marketing methods. These emails differ to the transactional emails we may have sent out throughout your case which do not include an option to opt out. The transactional emails are sent through Mandrill (part of MailChimp) to help progress your current case and are not considered to be marketing activity.
Post (Direct Mail) is a letter sent to your address to market our legal services. These letters are always printed and sent in-house so there is no third party activity. These letters will always contain the GWlegal name and our SRA number will be included in the footer. Within these letters we will always give you a link to online preference centre in which you can opt out of receiving letters (or other form of marketing communication in the future). If you cannot use the webpage for any reason a phone number will be supplied for you to call us and opt out of receiving the letters in future or update your marketing preferences in general.
Telesales are phone calls made to the contact numbers we have for you to market the services mentioned above. We use a dialler service by SoHo 66 to help make these calls. We will always introduce ourselves as GWlegal on the phone and our calls are recorded for quality and training purposes. At any point in the call you can let the member of the team know you would no longer like to receive marketing calls (or any additional types of marketing communication) from GWlegal and this will be updated on the system.
SMS (or text messages as they are more commonly known) may be sent as a way to market our legal services. There will be a method to opt out with every text message we send. Please be mindful (as the transactional emails above) we may have sent transactional text messages throughout your case to keep you up-to-date which did not include an opt-out. These text messages are sent by 2SMS through our case management system Proclaim to help progress your current case and are not considered to be marketing activity.
If you’re in our database we keep a record of your data so we can continue to market to you. For past clients (pre-24th May 2018) we will market to you for 5 years from this date before asking again if you want to receive our communications. If you update your preferences before the 5 years is up, we will start the 5 years again based on your new choice. After the 5 years is up we will get in touch to see if you want to continue receiving our marketing communications.
For new clients (from the 24th May 2018 onwards) we will market to you for 5 years from the date in which you opt-in. If you update your preferences before the 5 years is up, we will start the 5 years again based on your new choice. After the 5 years is up we will get in touch to see if you want to continue receiving our marketing communications.
We will not pass your data to third parties for them to market to you. If you’re in our database we will be the only ones to contact you in relation to marketing and your data will not be sold on to third parties.
If we think we have something that may be of interest to you that requires help from a third party then we will always get in touch first and ask for your consent before proceeding any further.
In the main we keep your data within the European Economic Area (EEA) but some information could be transferred out. When we do this we will put certain safeguards in place and vet the companies before using them. For marketing purposes we use a company called MailChimp as detailed above. This company is not based in the EEA but as strict practices and security in place which we have checked.
If you have any questions or concerns about marketing or how we use your data for marketing purposes you can raise this with us by contacting the Compliance Team, GWlegal, 20 Chapel Street, Liverpool, L3 9GW. Alternatively you can call us on 0345 373 3737 or email us at hello@gw.legal.
