About this Notice

This Data & Privacy Notice has been prepared to provide clear and transparent information about how we collect, use, store and protect personal data in connection with the legal services we provide.
We have structured this Notice with clear headings to help you find the information most relevant to you. You do not need to read this Notice in any particular order; however, we recommend that you review the sections relevant to your relationship with us and the processing of your personal data.

Contents

The following contents are provided for ease of reference and to help you locate the sections that are most relevant to you.

Conditions for Processing Data
Contractual Obligations, Legitimate Interests, Legal Compliance and Consent.
When do we collect your data?
What sort of data do we collect?
Information you provide to us, Client Services, Special Category Personal Data and CCTV.
How do we use your data?
Provision of Services, Regulatory Obligations, Consent, Cookies, Artificial Intelligence and WhatsApp.
How do we protect your data?
How long will we keep your data?
Who do we share your personal data with?
Where is your data processed?
Data Protection Complaints
Making a Subject Access Request
What are your rights?
Contact Details
Links to other websites
The Regulator
Changes to this Notice

This Notice is primarily intended for our clients, prospective clients and third parties whose personal data we process in connection with the provision of legal services. We maintain and will provide separate Data & Privacy Notices in relation to the collection and use of personal information about our staff and employees, including potential employees, during and after their working relationship with us.

This firm processes personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA), the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), and other applicable UK data protection and privacy legislation.

This Data & Privacy Notice explains, in detail, the types of personal data we may collect about you when you interact with us. It also explains how we will store and handle that data and keep it safe. Unless otherwise stated, references in this Data & Privacy Notice to the GDPR mean the UK GDPR.

We appreciate that this notice contains a lot of information, but we want you to be fully informed about your rights, and how our firm uses your data. We hope the following sections will answer any questions you have, but if not, please do get in touch with us.

Conditions for Processing Data

We are only entitled to hold and process your data where permitted by law. UK data protection law (including Article 6 of the UK GDPR) sets out a number of different reasons for which a law firm may collect and process your personal data. These include:

Contractual obligations

The main purpose of holding your data is to provide you with legal services under the agreement we have with you. This agreement is a contract between us, and the law allows us to process your data for the purposes of performing a contract (or for the steps necessary to enter into a contract).

Legitimate Interests

In certain circumstances, we process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing our legal practice, maintaining quality standards, complying with regulatory requirements, protecting our IT systems, preventing fraud, and responding to complaints.

Where applicable, we may also rely on legitimate interests recognised under applicable UK data protection legislation.

Legal compliance

If the law requires us to, we may need to collect and process your data. For example, we can pass on details of people involved in fraud or other criminal activity.

Consent

In some situations, we may rely on your consent as a lawful basis for processing your personal data. For example, when you tick a box to receive email newsletters. When collecting your personal data, we’ll always make clear to you which data is necessary in connection with a particular service.

When do we collect your data?

We normally collect your data when you provide it to us or when it is provided to us by others (your opponent’s solicitors, for example) during your case. You may give us your data by email, through an online web form, over the telephone, face to face, or by post.

What sort of data do we collect?

Information you provide to us

You voluntarily give us your personal information, for instance, when:

• You contact us via our website.
• You provide a comment on our website.
• You write a review.
• You sign up for any newsletters.
• You interact with us on social media platforms; or
• You use our services.

Where we request information from you, we will collect the information set out in the relevant web pages, or as explained to you over the telephone or face to face.

Client services

We may collect personal data as follows:

• name and contact details (including address, email and phone numbers). This may include asking for and keeping a copy of your passport/driving licence and proof of address.
• date of birth.
• personal information that may be included in communications with us.
• payment information and financial information that relates to a contractual relationship, including bank details.

Where we process special category personal data (for example, information relating to health, ethnicity, biometric data, religious beliefs or other sensitive information), we will only do so where a lawful condition under Article 9 of the UK GDPR applies, such as where processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or for the provision of legal services.

We also collect and hold information about your case or legal problem.

CCTV

We have installed CCTV systems in our offices and on the outside of the buildings, and personal data in the form of images or CCTV footage may be recorded.

We operate CCTV in accordance with applicable guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and process CCTV data for our legitimate interests, including:

• promoting a safe working environment and monitoring health and safety at our premises.
• monitoring the safety and security of our premises.
• deterring and assisting in the prevention, investigation and detection of crime and/or serious breaches of policies and procedures.
• assisting with the identification and prosecution of offenders, including use of images as evidence in criminal proceedings.

CCTV is never used for any automated decision-making.

In all locations, signs are displayed notifying individuals that CCTV is in operation. Images captured by CCTV will not be kept for longer than is necessary and ordinarily, will not be retained for more than 30 days. However, on occasions, there may be a need to keep images for longer such as where a crime is being investigated.

We will only disclose CCTV images to other authorised bodies such as the police or other law enforcement agencies for the purposes set out above.

How do we use your data?

Provision of Services

We only use your data for the purposes of providing you with legal advice, assistance and where appropriate, representation and for reasons directly associated with those services (for example, providing information to quality auditors).

In particular:

• to deliver our services.
• to manage our relationship and communicate with you.
• to provide you with advice or guidance about our services.
• to make and manage payments.
• to respond to complaints and seek to resolve them.
• to train our staff and measure the quality of the service we give to clients.

Regulatory

We also use data to communicate with our regulators or legislators and to obey laws, regulations and codes of conduct that apply to us.

For example, we will process your data to enable us to identify and/or verify your identity and conduct fraud prevention, anti-money laundering and, where appropriate, credit-related checks in accordance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

Consent

We may use your data to notify you of our other services but only where we have your consent to do so.

Cookies

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added, and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

We use cookies in accordance with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), as amended. Some cookies that are strictly necessary for the operation of our website do not require consent. Where consent is required, we will obtain it before placing cookies on your device.

Artificial Intelligence

We will only use AI technologies where appropriate safeguards are in place and where their use is consistent with our professional obligations.

In order to provide an optimum service to our clients, under the agreement we have with you to provide legal services, we may utilise technology which uses artificial intelligence (AI). However, we use appropriate governance, human oversight, and technical and organisational measures to support the safe, secure and responsible use of AI. We remain accountable for our processing of personal data and use AI technology in accordance with applicable data protection legislation and the professional rules governing our work.

In addition to adhering to the data processing principles in the UK GDPR, including fairness and accuracy, we also seek to evaluate and improve the ‘statistical accuracy’ of data generated by any AI system. We take steps to assess the reliability and accuracy of any AI systems used and to reduce the risk of inaccurate or misleading outputs. Any AI system we use must be assessed as sufficiently reliable and accurate for the intended purpose to support lawful and fair processing of any personal data generated by it.

In many cases, outputs generated by an AI system are not intended to be treated as factual information about an individual. Instead, they are intended to represent a statistically informed guess as to something which may be true about the individual now or in the future. To reduce the risk of personal data being misinterpreted as factual information, we take appropriate steps to record:

• where AI-generated outputs represent predictions, estimates or inferences rather than verified facts.
• where possible, the provenance of the data and the AI system used to generate the inference.
• where the inference was based on inaccurate data, or the AI system used to generate it is statistically flawed in a way which may have affected the quality of the inference.
• if the processing of the incorrect inference may have an impact on an individual. If this applies, the affected individual would be notified where appropriate and in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.

Where possible, we will ensure any factors that may result in inaccuracies in personal data are corrected and the risk of errors is minimised.

We seek to apply enhanced and comprehensive security whenever AI is implemented. Personal data will only be processed through an AI tool where we have conducted a data protection impact assessment and are assured that we can put in place practical steps to mitigate any risks and adequately maintain and protect confidentiality and privacy.

WhatsApp

Clients should avoid sending urgent instructions solely by WhatsApp unless expressly agreed with us. Where all parties consent, we may use WhatsApp as a convenient way to communicate with clients and provide updates on their case.

While we strive to keep our communications secure and will keep WhatsApp messages confidential and only access them when necessary to provide our services, it is important to understand that WhatsApp messages, like other communications, are stored on client files for record-keeping and may potentially be used in the legal process.

Please be aware that WhatsApp operates its own privacy policy, which we encourage you to read. We also encourage those who may engage with us via this platform to secure access to their devices and use up-to-date versions of the software for secure communication.

You are not required to use WhatsApp and may request alternative methods of communication.

How do we protect your data?

We take protecting your data very seriously. The data you give us may be subject to Legal Professional Privilege and is often extremely sensitive and confidential.

With this in mind, we will treat your data with the utmost care and take all appropriate steps to protect it. We have clear data protection and information security policies and procedures in place (along with regulatory and other legal obligations to keep your data safe) and these are regularly assessed as part of our Quality Standards and compliance processes.

We protect our IT systems from cyber-attack. Access to your personal data is restricted through appropriate authentication controls, and sensitive data is secured by encryption.

We regularly monitor our system for possible vulnerabilities and attacks, and we carry out penetration testing to identify ways to further strengthen security.

How long will we keep your data?

We only keep your data for as long as is necessary for the purpose(s) for which it was provided.

We use the following retention periods and review these periodically to make sure we are only keeping personal data and other data for as long as is needed:

• Information contained in a matter file, or relating to a matter or instructions provided to us (including information held on our case management system), will usually be kept for a period of six years after the case or matter ends unless it is required to be kept for longer (for instance, the information is required for another or related case or matter or where the person is currently under the age of eighteen, in which case data will need to be held for six years after they reach the age of eighteen), or we have another legal basis to process that information. This is because we are required to keep client files for that period by our Regulator and/or by the SRA. This also enables us to address any concerns, complaints or legal claims that may arise after your matter has concluded.
• Data obtained for compliance with crime or fraud prevention has to be retained by us to meet our legal or regulatory obligations for five years from the close of the individual matter or the end of our business relationship with a relevant person, whichever is later.
• Enquiries where we do not take on your case are kept for only 18 months.
• Complaint files are retained for six years after the complaint is concluded (with the associated matter file(s)).
• Financial information and any financial transactions will be kept for a period of 7 years to comply with HMRC requirements, except for cardholder data, which will generally be destroyed immediately after the transaction is processed.
• Enquiries about job opportunities and information relevant to recruitment (where a job offer is not made) are kept for 12 months. Information about retention of personal data collected and processed as part of the recruitment process for successful applicants will be provided as part of that process.

For some data, we may decide that it is proper and appropriate to keep data for longer than the above, but we will notify you if we believe that your case falls into this category or there is another reason your data has to be retained.

Who do we share your personal data with?

We sometimes share your personal data with trusted third parties. We only do this where it is necessary for providing you with legal services or for the effective operation of our legal practice.

For example, we may share your data with barristers, experts, translators, costs draftsmen, process servers, secure file storage and destruction companies, auditors, and the company that securely hosts our off-site cloud storage servers.

We apply a strict policy to those recipients or data processors to keep your data safe and protect your privacy. In particular:

• We provide only the information they need to perform their specific services.
• Where they act as our data processors, they may only process your data in accordance with our documented instructions and the terms of our agreement with them. Where they act independently as separate data controllers, they will process your personal data in accordance with their own legal obligations.
• We work closely with them to ensure that your privacy is respected and protected at all times.
• If we stop using their services, any of your data held by them will either be deleted or rendered anonymous.

Where is your data processed?

Your personal data is primarily stored and processed within the United Kingdom (UK).

Where it is necessary to transfer personal data outside the UK, we will only do so where there is an appropriate lawful transfer mechanism in place in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA). This may include an adequacy decision, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA), the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or another safeguard or exception permitted by law.

Data Protection Complaints

If you have any concerns about how we collect, use or protect your personal data, we encourage you to contact us in the first instance using the contact details provided in this Data & Privacy Notice.

We will acknowledge your complaint, investigate the issues raised, and respond within the applicable statutory timescales. If you remain dissatisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Making a Subject Access Request

The right of access – commonly referred to as a Subject Access Request – enables you to request a copy of your personal data to understand how and why we are using it and to check that we are processing it lawfully. When responding to a request, we will carry out searches that are reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances, in accordance with the UK GDPR as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. If we choose not to comply with your request, we will explain the reasons for our decision.

We will normally respond to a valid request within one month of receipt, subject to any permitted extension under applicable data protection legislation.

What are your rights?

You have the following rights under the UK GDPR, together with amendments and changes introduced by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA).

1. The right to be informed – the provision of clear and concise information about what we do with your personal data, as outlined within this Data & Privacy Notice.
2. The right to rectification – the ability to have inaccurate personal data rectified or, in specific circumstances, dependent on the purposes for our processing of your data, the ability to have incomplete personal data completed.
3. The right to erasure – also known as the right to be forgotten, this permits you to request we erase your personal data. This only applies to data we hold at the time your request is received and does not apply to any data that may be obtained in the future. Please note that this is not an absolute right and only applies in certain circumstances. We may have overriding duties to retain some data which you cannot ask to be erased immediately or at all. For instance, once you become a client of our firm or you are an interested party in a case, we will be required by our regulators and for legal purposes to retain some of your personal data and other information within case files for a certain period (for retention periods, please see above).
4. The right to restrict processing – the ability to request a temporary restriction on the processing of your personal data, where one of the circumstances specified under applicable data protection legislation applies.
5. The right to data portability – in certain circumstances, the ability to receive personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.
6. The right to object – the ability, in certain circumstances, to request we stop processing your personal data. This request may relate to all of your personal data we hold or only certain information, and may only apply to a particular purpose for processing.
7. Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling – rights relating to certain automated decision-making and profiling activities, particularly where they produce legal or similarly significant effects.

For further details on your rights, please visit the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website at https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/.

Contact Details

For information on how your information is used, how we maintain the security of our information, and to exercise your rights to access information we hold on you, please contact us. Similarly, if you believe that the information we hold is wrong or out of date, please let us know and we will update it.

The person in this firm responsible for data protection is our Data Protection Officer, Muzaffar Mansoor, who is also responsible for liaising with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) where appropriate. Enquiries and requests can be sent to him by telephone on 02087675000, by email at data.enquiries@deanmanson.com, or in writing to 243-245 Mitcham Road, London SW17 9JQ.

You may also use these contact details to make a complaint about our processing of your personal data.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this policy. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement or policy applicable to the website in question.

The Regulator

If you are dissatisfied with how we have handled your personal data or our response to your data protection complaint, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

You can contact them by calling 0303 123 1113.

Or go online to https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ (opens in a new window; please note that we are not responsible for the content of external websites).

Changes to this Notice

We do not intend to process a client or related third party’s personal information for any reason other than stated within this Data & Privacy Notice. If this changes, we will update this Data & Privacy Notice on this webpage and in any documentation, we will send to you. However, internet and data privacy best practices and acceptable standards are developing. We therefore reserve the right to revise this Notice at any time. If this Notice changes in any way, we will place an updated version on this webpage. For all other clients with ongoing instructions, we will provide a copy directly. Continued instructions to us after publication of an updated Notice will indicate that you have been made aware of those changes.

We may also update this Data & Privacy Notice to reflect changes in data protection law, regulatory guidance or our data processing activities.

Issue date: 28 July 2026

Version: DMLLP 03