Privacy notice
Who we are↑ Back to top
Arkas Law Ltd, trading as Arkas Law, is responsible for deciding how personal information is used for the purposes described in this notice. We are a controller under UK data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended.
You can contact us at info@arkaslaw.co.uk, telephone 020 7269 7949, or write to Arkas Law, 20 Garrett Street, London, EC1Y 0TW.
Our privacy contact is Pranavan Shantikumar. Our registered office is at the address above. Our Information Commissioner’s Office registration reference is ZA248413.
Information we use↑ Back to top
We may receive information about prospective and current clients, people involved in legal matters, representatives, job applicants and people who contact us.
Depending on the matter, this may include:
- Names, contact details and information you provide in enquiries and correspondence.
- Property, tenancy, repairs, financial, employment and immigration information relevant to the advice requested.
- Identification and verification information when needed to accept instructions or meet legal obligations.
- Case documents, evidence and correspondence, which may contain information about other people.
- Sensitive information, such as health information, where relevant to a matter and legally permitted.
- Technical information about website visits and form submissions, as explained in our Website privacy and cookies notice.
We receive information directly from you and, where relevant, from representatives, other parties, professional advisers, public records and organisations involved in a matter. Please provide only information relevant to your enquiry or case, and make sure you are entitled to share information about other people.
Why we use information and our lawful bases↑ Back to top
We use personal information for the following purposes:
| Purpose | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Assessing and responding to a request for legal services from an individual | Steps at your request before entering into a contract, where applicable |
| Providing agreed legal services to an individual client | Performance of our contract with you |
| Communicating with representatives, organisations and other people involved in a matter | Our legitimate interests in providing legal services and managing matters, where these are not overridden by your rights |
| Identity, regulatory and other checks required by law | Compliance with the applicable legal obligation |
| Protecting the website, preventing abuse and maintaining service security | Our legitimate interests in keeping our services secure |
| Managing complaints, establishing or defending claims, and maintaining necessary business records | Applicable legal obligations and/or our legitimate interests in resolving disputes and protecting legal rights |
Where we rely on consent for a particular use, we will explain that use and how you can withdraw consent. Acknowledging this notice on a form is not consent to marketing.
If information is required by law or necessary for us to act, we will explain this. Without it, we may be unable to accept instructions or provide the requested service.
Who receives information↑ Back to top
Information is available to authorised staff and service providers who need it for the relevant purpose. Depending on your matter, recipients may also include counsel, experts, other solicitors, courts, tribunals, other parties, insurers, regulators and organisations involved in providing the requested legal services. We consider our confidentiality obligations before disclosure.
For website enquiries, Cloudflare provides hosting, security checks and outgoing email delivery. Microsoft 365 provides our business email service. Immigration enquiries are directed to our immigration inbox; other website enquiries are directed to our housing inbox. The website does not automatically send marketing messages to enquirers.
We use a case-management service and Microsoft 365 for business email. Access to those systems is limited to authorised staff.
Website enquiry emails are not automatically forwarded from our housing, immigration or general inboxes to external email accounts.
How long we keep information↑ Back to top
We keep information for the period necessary for its purpose, taking account of legal, regulatory, insurance and dispute-related requirements. Records subject to an active complaint, claim or preservation requirement may need to be kept longer.
For enquiries that do not lead to us acting for you, we normally keep the enquiry record for 12 months after our last meaningful contact with you. For matters where we act for you, we normally keep the client file for six years after the matter is closed. The exceptions described above may require us to retain particular records for longer.
The new website does not maintain a separate submissions database. Enquiries are processed for email delivery and held in the firm’s mailboxes.
Your rights↑ Back to top
Depending on the circumstances, you can ask to access or correct your information, have it erased, restrict its use, or receive and transfer certain information in a portable form. You may object to processing based on legitimate interests and to direct marketing. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it without affecting processing already carried out lawfully.
These rights are subject to conditions and exemptions, including those relevant to legal privilege and other people’s rights. Contact us using the details above. We may need to verify your identity before responding.
Our team reviews enquiries individually. We do not use solely automated decision-making to decide whether to act for you. The website’s spam checks help protect the forms; they do not assess your eligibility for legal representation.
Concerns and complaints↑ Back to top
Please contact us first if you have a concern about how we handle your information. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK’s data protection regulator.
Changes to this notice↑ Back to top
We will update this notice when our processing arrangements change. You can request an accessible copy using the contact details above.