Privacy Policy.

Privacy Policy

Blackwood Legal (referred to in this privacy policy as “we”, “our” or “us”) is a New Zealand Law firm. This policy outlines the way in which we manage the personal information we hold about our clients, potential clients, contractors and others.

Blackwood Legal is bound by the Privacy Act 2020 (Privacy Act) and we are committed to ensuring we comply with our legal obligation. Our principal address is Professional House, Level 1, 12-18 Seddon Street, Pukekohe.

Scope This Privacy Policy sets out how we will collect, store, use, disclose and protect your personal information.

Why does Blackwood Legal collect personal information?

We collect personal information in order to conduct our business, to provide and market our services and to meet our legal obligations, including (but not limited to) in relation to our anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance obligations.

Who does Blackwood Legal collect personal information about?

We collect and hold personal information about (but not limited to):

clients, business associates and potential clients and their employees, contractors, owners, directors, shareholders and trustees;
individuals we deal with in the course of acting for clients and carrying on our business;
suppliers and their employees and contractors;
prospective employees, employees and contractors; and
other people who come into contact with Blackwood Legal.

What kinds of personal information does Blackwood Legal collect?

In general, and depending upon the nature of the person’s connection with Blackwood Legal, the type of personal information we collect and hold includes (but is not limited to):

names, addresses, contact details, date of birth, occupations, personal preference payment details, employment history and/or details, education and qualifications, testimonials and feedback, nature of relationship to our client, evidence of source of funds (in some cases) and other information which assists us in conducting our business, providing and marketing our services and meeting our legal obligations.

In some cases, if personal information we request is not provided, it might adversely impact our ability to supply the relevant product or service or to perform our obligation.

How does Blackwood Legal collect personal information?

Except as otherwise permitted by law, we will collect personal information:

from you directly when you provide your details to us;
from you indirectly (through emails, forms, subscription applications, face-to-face meetings, interviews, registration and attendance at seminars, business cards, telephone conversations and through the use of the services and facilities available through our websites and social media channels);
from third parties in some instances, for example:
1. we may use third parties to analyse traffic at our websites which may involve the use of cookies;
in some circumstances we might collect personal information about an individual from a third party, such as a report provided by a medical professional or an employment reference from another person;
where a third party provides security-related services; and
from publicly available websites.

Management of personal information

We take reasonable steps to protect the security of personal information. Blackwood Legal staff are required to respect the confidentiality of personal information and the privacy of individuals.

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information held by us from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, for example by use of physical security and restricted access to electronic records.

Where we no longer require your personal information we will comply with our legal obligations in respect of that information.

How might Blackwood Legal collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information?

In general, we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information for the following purposes:

to conduct our business;
to provide and market our services to you;
to provide joint marketing initiatives with other service providers;
to engage third parties on your behalf;
to communicate with you;
to purchase goods or services;
to help us manage and enhance our services;
to check your identity against governmental databases, including:
- the National Register of driver licences;
- one of more of the following databases maintained by the Department of Internal Affairs:
  - birth or death information recorded under the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995;
  - citizenship information recorded under the Citizenship Act 1977; and/or
  - travel document information recorded under the Passports Act 1992; and/or
- the records of the Document Verification Service (and related databases) maintained and provided by the Commonwealth of Australia; and
for health and safety, or security purposes;
to comply with our legal obligations, including (but not limited to) in relation to our anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance obligations.

To whom might Blackwood Montagna disclose your personal information?

We may disclose your personal information to:

other companies or individuals who assist us in providing services or who perform functions on our behalf (such as mailing houses, hosting and data storage providers, specialist consultants and barristers);
other companies or individuals who perform checks that are necessary or desirable under law on our behalf;
other companies, agencies or individuals that maintain databases against which your identity may be verified, which may include (but is not limited to) the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs, New Zealand Transport Agency, and the Commonwealth of Australia Document Verification Service;
social media sites on which we have a presence;
courts, tribunals and regulatory authorities;
anyone else to whom you authorise us to disclose it; and
where we are required to do so by law.

How can you access and correct your personal information?

We endeavour to ensure that the personal information we hold is accurate, complete and up to date. We encourage you to contact us in order to update any personal information we hold about you. Contact details are set out below. You have the right to correct any personal information we hold about you in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Subject to the exceptions set out in the Privacy Act, you may seek access to the personal information which we hold about you by contacting our offices on 09 283 8432.

We will require you to verify your identity and to specify what information you require. A fee may be charged for providing access. If a fee is to be charged, we will advise you of the likely cost in advance.

How can you make a privacy complaint?

If you have any questions about privacy related issues or wish to complain about the handling of your personal information by us, please contact our Director Peter Montagna. We may ask you to lodge your complaint in writing. Any complaint will be investigated by the Director/s and you will be notified of the decision in relation to your complaint as soon as practicable after it is made, usually within 20 working days.

If we are unable to satisfactorily resolve your concerns about our handling of your personal information, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at: PO Box 10-094, The Terrace, Wellington 6143, phone 0800 803 909, http://privacy.org.nz/.

Updates to this Policy

This Policy will be reviewed from time to time to take account of new laws and technology, changes to our operations and practices and the changing business environment. The most current version of this Policy is located at www.blackwoodlegal.co.nz and can be obtained by contacting our offices on 09 283 8432.