Privacy Policy

1. Who this policy applies to

1. This Privacy Policy applies to Kofman Legal Pty Ltd (ACN 700 384 489) trading as Kofman Legal ('we', 'us' or 'our'), an incorporated legal practice under the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW), of Level 5, 115 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000.
2. It applies to all personal information we handle, whether collected through our website at kofmanlegal.com.au, in the course of providing legal services, in connection with an appointment as arbitrator or otherwise.

2. Our position under the Privacy Act

1. Kofman Legal considers that it is not presently required to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles ('APPs') under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) ('Privacy Act'). We have not opted in under s 6EA of the Act. Notwithstanding that, we have chosen to handle personal information as close as possible to the APPs, having regard to the size and resources of the practice, and this Privacy Policy reflects that approach.
2. If our circumstances change so that the Privacy Act applies to us, we will update this Privacy Policy.

3. What personal information we collect

1. The personal information we collect depends on our relationship with you. It may include:

   1. identity and contact details: addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses;
   2. information required to verify a client's identity and ultimate beneficial ownership as part of our due diligence;
   3. matter information: the facts, documents, correspondence and instructions relating to a legal matter, which may include information about your financial affairs, business dealings, family circumstances, employment and disputes;
   4. information about other people: including opposing parties, witnesses, directors, shareholders, beneficiaries and family members, where that information is relevant to a matter;
   5. billing and payment information: invoices, payment records and bank account details for remittance;
   6. website and enquiry information: the content of enquiries submitted through our website, mailing list subscriptions, and consultation bookings;
   7. recruitment information: curricula vitae, academic transcripts, work history and experience, right to work, memberships of relevant professional bodies and directorships, qualifications, references, regulatory checks, bankruptcy checks and police checks;
   8. employee information: information we need to comply with our legal obligations concerning your employment, including tax file numbers, salary information and hours of work; as well as information about your work history, performance, behaviour or conduct, use of firm software and devices, and any complaints, investigations or disciplinary actions;
   9. technical information: IP addresses and browser information generated when you visit our website, to the extent described in clause 11; and
   10. other personal information you choose to disclose to us in the course of a matter or in the course of communications between us concerning our services.
2. Some of the information described in clause 3.1 may be sensitive information, including information about criminal records, health, or membership of a professional or political association. We collect sensitive information only where it is reasonably necessary for a matter and, ordinarily, only with consent or where the collection is required or authorised by law or is necessary in connection with a legal claim.
3. You may deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym in a preliminary enquiry. However, that will not be practicable once you seek to engage us, because we must be able to identify you, to conduct conflict checks and to comply with our professional and statutory obligations.

4. How we collect personal information

1. Wherever it is reasonable and practicable, we collect personal information directly from you: in person or electronically for example in correspondence, in conference, by telephone, and through client portals, the forms on our website, and other electronic means.

2. We also collect personal information from other sources where it is unreasonable or impracticable to collect it from you directly, or where doing so is necessary for a matter, which may include third parties, government agencies, and publicly available sources. Those may include:

   1. your other advisers, including accountants, financial advisers and previous solicitors;
   2. third party service providers, for example recruiters or agents we engage;
   3. opposing parties and their legal representatives, including through correspondence, discovery, subpoenas and notices to produce;
   4. courts, tribunals, arbitral institutions, regulators and government agencies, including ASIC;
   5. public registers and searches, including ASIC, land title, court and personal property securities registers;
   6. experts, investigators, process servers and counsel engaged in a matter; and
   7. publicly available sources on the internet including search engines.
3. If we receive unsolicited personal information that we could not lawfully or reasonably have collected, we will destroy or return it as soon as practicable, unless we are required or reasonably need to retain it.

5. Why we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information

1. We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for the following purposes:

   1. to provide legal services and to conduct matters, including litigation, regulatory representation, dispute resolution and advisory work;
   2. to discharge appointments as arbitrator;
   3. to identify clients and to conduct conflict of interest checks;
   4. to respond to enquiries and to assess whether we are able to act;
   5. to manage client relationships;
   6. to bill for and recover our fees and disbursements, and to respond to any costs assessment or dispute;
   7. to comply with our professional and regulatory obligations, court and tribunal rules and orders, and other applicable laws;
   8. to obtain and maintain professional indemnity insurance and to respond to claims, complaints and disciplinary or regulatory enquiries;
   9. to send legal updates and information about our services and practice to clients, subscribers and other parties who may be interested;
   10. to consider and assess applications for employment and to discharge our obligations and policies concerning our employees;
   11. to operate, secure, promote and improve our services, our practice, our operations and our website; and
   12. where required or authorised by law.
2. If you do not provide the personal information we request, we may be unable to act for you, to advise you properly, or to respond to your enquiry.

6. Who we disclose personal information to

1. We only disclose personal information for the purpose for which it was collected or in the circumstances covered by clauses 5, 6 and 7 of this Privacy Policy.

2. In the course of a matter, we may disclose personal information, subject to our obligations to clients, to:

   1. counsel, other legal representatives, agents, experts, investigators, translators, costs consultants, process servers engaged for the matter and other persons where it is necessary or desirable to do so in connection with our services;
   2. courts, tribunals, arbitral tribunals and institutions, mediators and registries;
   3. opposing parties and their legal representatives, to the extent required by the conduct of the matter or by rules of court or court order;
   4. regulators and government agencies, including ASIC, where required or authorised by law or where relevant to the matter;
   5. your other advisers, where you have asked us to do so or where it is reasonably necessary for the matter; and
   6. any person to whom you consent, expressly or by implication, to disclosure.

3. We may also disclose personal information to:

   1. our professional indemnity insurers and brokers, and our own legal advisers;
   2. the Law Society of New South Wales, the Legal Services Commissioner and the Legal Services Council, where required in connection with regulation of the practice;
   3. our accountants, bookkeepers and external auditors;
   4. the service providers described in clause 7; and
   5. any person where the disclosure is required or authorised by or under law, including under subpoena, notice to produce, statutory notice or court order.
4. We do not sell, rent or trade personal information, and we do not disclose personal information for the purpose of allowing any other organisation to market to you.

7. Service providers and overseas disclosure

1. We use third party service providers to operate the practice and the website. Personal information may be stored or processed by those providers including outside Australia.
2. Some of these providers are located outside Australia, or store or process information on servers outside Australia, including in the United States and the European Union. Submitting an enquiry, subscribing to our mailing list or booking a consultation through our website will involve the transmission of your information to providers of that kind.
3. We select providers we consider reputable and rely on the privacy and security commitments in their standard published terms. Where a provider offers an Australian data hosting option and it is practicable for us to select it, we will do so.
4. You should not send confidential or privileged material through our website. Use email or telephone, or wait until we have confirmed we are able to act.

8. Security and retention

1. We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Where relevant, staff and contractors with access to personal information have obligations of confidentiality.
2. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. Information sent to us over the internet, including by email and through our website, is sent at your own risk.
3. We take reasonable steps to destroy personal information that we no longer need for any purpose for which it may be used or disclosed, and that we are not required by law or by a court or tribunal order to retain.
4. The Notifiable Data Breaches scheme in Part IIIC of the Privacy Act does not presently apply to us. If we become aware of unauthorised access to, or unauthorised disclosure or loss of, personal information we hold, we will take prompt steps to contain it and assess it. Where we consider the incident is likely to result in serious harm to an affected individual, we will notify that individual and may also notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

9. Direct marketing and electronic messages

1. We send legal updates, articles and information about our services only to people who have subscribed to our mailing list or who are existing or former clients, or others who have indicated an interest in our services, who would reasonably expect to receive them.
2. Commercial electronic messages we send contain a functional unsubscribe facility, as required by the Spam Act 2003 (Cth). You may also unsubscribe at any time by emailing [email protected]. We will action an unsubscribe request within five business days and, in any event, within the period required by that Act.
3. We do not use sensitive information for direct marketing and we do not disclose personal information to any other organisation for that organisation's marketing purposes.

10. Access and correction

1. You may ask for access to the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. Requests should be made in writing to [email protected].
2. We will respond within 30 days, or where a request is complex, we will tell you within 30 days when you can expect our response. There is no charge for making a request. We may charge a reasonable cost-based fee for giving access, but not for making a correction.

3. We may decline access, in whole or in part, on the grounds set out in APP 12.2 and 12.3, which we apply as a matter of policy, including where:

   1. giving access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of another person, which frequently arises in matter files that contain information about opposing parties, witnesses and third parties;
   2. the information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings between us and you and would not be accessible by the process of discovery in those proceedings;
   3. giving access would reveal our evaluative information in connection with a commercially sensitive decision-making process; or
   4. giving access would be unlawful, or would prejudice the confidentiality or privilege of another client.
4. If we decline a request, we will tell you why in writing and explain how you may complain.

11. Website, cookies and analytics and third party links

1. We do not use cookies or similar technologies for advertising or third party analytics. The cookies we set are those necessary to operate the website securely, including to deliver content, to maintain your session and to protect our forms against automated abuse.
2. Our web server and our security providers record limited technical information, including IP address, browser type and the pages requested. That information is used to operate and secure the website and is not used to identify individual visitors.
3. You can configure your browser to refuse cookies. If you do so, parts of the website, including the enquiry form, may not function.
4. Our website contains embedded video content and links to third party websites. Those third parties may set their own cookies and collect information about you. We do not control them and their privacy practices are governed by their own policies.

12. Complaints

1. If you are concerned about how we have handled your personal information, please write to us at Kofman Legal, Level 5, 115 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000, or email [email protected], marked for the attention of the Principal.
2. We will endeavour to acknowledge your complaint within five business days and endeavour to give you a written response within 30 days.
3. Because we are not presently an APP entity, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner may not have jurisdiction to investigate a complaint about our handling of personal information under the Privacy Act generally, although it does have jurisdiction in relation to tax file number information. If you remain dissatisfied, you may nonetheless contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.

13. Changes to this policy

1. We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version is identified by the version date at the top of this document and is available at kofmanlegal.com.au/privacy.
2. Material changes will take effect when the updated policy is published on our website.

14. Contact

1. Privacy enquiries should be directed to the Principal, Kofman Legal, Level 5, 115 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000, [email protected].

1. Website enquiry form

2. Mailing list subscription

3. Careers and applications

4. Arbitration appointments