At MCK Solicitors Ltd we consider maintaining your confidentiality and protecting your privacy
to be of the utmost importance. We observe recommended good practice identified by the
Information Commissioner and abide by the Data Protection Act 1998 and the
General Data Protection Regulation 2018.

We therefore use our best endeavours to ensure that the information you give us is:

• Held only with your express consent

• Fairly and lawfully processed

• Only used for your case in fulfilment of the agreed objectives;

• Adequate, relevant and not excessive;

• Accurate;

• Not kept for longer than necessary – in most cases your file will be retained 
  for 6 years from the date of closure;

• Held in (or transferred into) an appropriate portable electronic format;

• Processed in accordance with the your statutory rights;

• Held securely;

• Not transferred abroad without adequate protection;

• Capable of being destroyed upon your request;

• nNot given or communicated directly or indirectly to any third party outside of the firm without your express written consent, other than when necessary to fulfil our legal obligations (e.g. to HMRC).

We will endeavour to ensure that you are always offered a private consultation when you meet with us and will decline to discuss sensitive or privileged information with you about your case, unless we can meet in private. You can, of course, waive your right to privacy in this context, should you wish.

   Your consent will therefore be sought to permit us to release or otherwise share your information through the course of your case. You will need to provide consent by signing an authority and ticking the appropriate options you consent to on the authority.

   Throughout your case, we may from time to time seek your consent if

circumstances require it or further information is sought or must be disclosed

relating to a development.

A copy of your signed authority will be kept on your file.

Our Terms & Conditions of Service

OUR STANDARDS

MCK Solicitors Ltd will provide you with high quality, fairly priced, personal legal services. We will not discriminate against you and will conduct your matter with discretion and professionalism, doing our best to ensure that your experience is positive and that your voice is heard.

• During the conduct of your case we will:  

• Regularly update you on the progress of your case.

• Explain what legal work we need to do on your matter.

• Explain what things you need to do or give to us to take your matter forward.

• Advise you on the law that affects your case and any changes to it.

• Regularly update you on the cost of your case and the risk-benefit issues.

• Use plain English to communicate with you and explain any technical legal terms that we have to use. Where you need an interpreter, we will take steps to arrange that.

• Give you a general idea of how long your matter will take and update you about other time scales relevant to your case.

• Keep under review alternative methods of funding your case.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

In return we ask that you:

• Give clear, timely and accurate instructions.

• Provide us with relevant documents.

• Respond promptly to our requests for information and documents

• Tell us as soon as possible if you change your instructions.

• Tell us as soon as possible if your financial circumstances or contact details change.

• Tell us at once of any other court proceedings you become aware of and forward copies of any documents you may have received straight away.

• Safeguard any documents you have that are likely to be needed in your case.

• Safeguard any documents we send to you (e.g. copies of reports).

REFERRALS

We do not pay claims management companies, hospitals or anyone else for case referrals. We do not receive commission for any work we do.

FINANCIAL ADVICE & MEDIATION

MCK Solicitors Ltd is not authorised by the Financial Services Authority and we do not give tax advice.

HOURS OF BUSINESS

Our office is open between 9:00am and 5:00pm Monday to Friday. Outside of these hours there is a message service. Sometimes during the day when the office is very busy the message service will be on. If you leave a message please give as much detail as possible – your name, your legal representative’s name, the reason you are calling and your phone number if you want to be called back.

   Due to the nature of our practice, a lot of our work is conducted outside the main office. You will therefore be given a direct telephone contact number for your legal representative.

PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY COVER

The firm’s professional indemnity insurance cover is provided by China Re. The policy number is PI17CRE1184. Our cover is arranged through Hera Indemnity, 68 Lombard Street, London EC3V 9LJ. The geographical limits of the policy are worldwide but the applicable courts are England and Wales.

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

We have an Equal Opportunities Policy which applies to clients, experts we instruct and those who work for us. Please contact Mavis Campbell if you would like a copy
of our Policy.

YOUR PRIVACY

We comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018 and Data Protection Act 1998 and are registered with the Information Commissioner. In order to assist you with your case, we will need to obtain personal information about you and your circumstances from you and other sources, as may be appropriate. Your information is private to you and details of our assistance and communications between us are subject to legal privilege. Any personal data that we obtain about you will be handled very carefully, and stored in a confidential and secure manner. Any information we obtain, hold or otherwise process about you will be used only to carry out your instructions. We will not share your data with any person or body without your express consent, other than where we are required to by law (e.g. for statutory returns, legal and regulatory compliance).

   Your personal information will be stored within our computerised Case Management System and on your hard copy file. We will retain your personal information for the duration of your matter, returning your original documentation to you upon the closure of your file. We will retain your paperwork and computerised records for a period of 6 years beyond the closure of your matter, after which it will be permanently destroyed.

   You will be given the option to consent to our use of your information at the outset of your case and we will remind you about our Privacy Statement if there is a significant change to your circumstances that may affect your consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time and will be advised about the impact on your case should this happen.

CONFIDENTIALITY

We take our duty of confidentiality towards you very seriously and treat any personal information you give to us as confidential. We have a duty not disclose information about you or your case unless required to do so under court or tribunal rules. We may also have to disclose certain information to third parties in order to progress your case, for example to obtain an expert report. We will only disclose such information having discussed the matter with you and after obtaining your consent.

   We will not discuss your case with friends, family or anyone else unless you give us express permission to speak to specific named people.

   As part of the process of maintaining standards we are subject to periodic checks by outside organisations such as the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Legal Aid Agency and Recognising Excellence, who administer the Specialist Quality Mark. These organisations are required to maintain confidentiality in relation to your file. We will seek your specific consent to us liaising with these organisations.

   We may also use outside services for example typing or billing services. We will always seek to ensure that confidentiality is maintained in these circumstances and will seek your specific consent to regarding your consent to us sharing your information with colleagues and across administrative support within the firm.

​TERMINATION OF INSTRUCTIONS

Our work for you is subject to the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

   You have the right to cancel your contract with us within 14 days of first entering into it. (This does not apply if you first instructed us during a visit to our office.) If you decide to cancel, please let us know immediately, preferably in writing.

   Unless you tell us otherwise, we will take your signed acceptance of these terms and conditions as your agreement that you would like us to start work on your matter within the cancellation period, where necessary. You will lose your right to cancel the contract if our work is completed before you notify us of your wish to cancel the contract.

   Otherwise, you may terminate your instructions to us at any time. If at any stage you do not want us to do any further work on your case or incur further expense you must tell us immediately, preferably in writing.

STORAGE OF DOCUMENTS

Once your case is concluded and all payments have been made your file will be archived. We keep paper files for up to six years after which they will be destroyed. We may archive files in electronic form which means that the original documents may be destroyed much sooner. We will write to you at the end of the case to remind you of this arrangement and give you the opportunity to request that the paper documents are returned to you rather than destroyed. We have no facilities for storing documents that need long term preservation.