Privacy Policy | Fotis Law

The unprecedented use of internet and other electronic mediums has led to an increase in the vulnerability of data that are collected by businesses and entities on employees, clients, contact details, schemes, schedules and other key information. It is pertinent to prevent third parties and unauthorized individuals from accessing and misusing such information for any purpose other than what it was primarily shared for. In line with our efforts to protect data and information that are shared with us, we have adopted an international approach while complying with applicable domestic laws and regulations.

Our teams make a constant joint effort to ensure our compliance and adherence to laws and regulations on data protection, privacy and other applicable aspects. This Privacy Policy is meant to explain you our approach in handling data and should be read along with the Legal Notice, Disclaimer and Copyright Notice. References to terms defined in any of these documents shall have the same meaning in each other, unless stated otherwise. Please use the Website and share any information with us only after you have read and agree to the provisions of this Privacy Policy, Legal Notice, Disclaimer and Copyright Notice. In the event you have any query with regards to the provisions set out herein or on any other document, aspect or procedure followed by Fotis on this subject, please do not hesitate to write to the concerned team by writing to [email protected].

Fotis believe in responsibly handling the custody of in-house and third-party information. We may receive your information (i) that is directly shared by you; (ii) that is available through automated applications; and (iii) from other sources.

i. Information shared by you: You may be required to submit certain information at the time of submitting an enquiry, scheduling a meeting at one of our offices, subscribing to Lawtify and other publications, requesting for consultation calls, entering a survey or feedback or other interactions that are available on the Websites from time to time.

ii. Information available through automated applications: We may receive information about your hardware and equipment, location, IP address, browsing patterns and other data through the applications and technologies that we have in place to monitor the Websites. Please see clause 10 of this Privacy Policy as well to understand how we use cookies to collect information.

iii. Other sources: We may access your information that is publicly available, shared with us or our affiliates in the past, or through other mediums that we have access to.

We may receive and collect the following information in the manner set forth in clause 3:

Name, title, prefix, gender or position (in an organization)
Contact information including telephone number, mobile number, fax, postal address, location, email address, usernames or reference details on different electronic platforms and applications that facilitate communication;
Preferences regarding mode of communication, subscriptions, time frame, venues and other updates;
Information regarding any specific (or general) case or events including details of parties (natural and legal persons), facts, issues, supporting evidence, documents, legal briefings and other data;
Financial information such as payment methods and accompanying details;
Instructions (and supporting information and documents) as to engaging Fotis for any specific assignment, matter, case or transaction
Technical information including details of equipment, browser, time zone, IP address, network details, operating system version and similar information
Online usage information such as number of visits to the Websites, pages visited, pattern for arriving on different pages of the Websites;
Curriculum vitae, educational transcripts, references, recommendations, accomplishments, certificates and other similar documents;
Social media posts, likes, shares, comments, reviews and other interactions; and Other information that is voluntarily shared by you.

Fotis believe in responsibly handling the custody of in-house and third-party information. We may receive your information (i) that is directly shared by you; (ii) that is available through automated applications; and (iii) from other sources.

i. Inherent reasons: We collect and process your information to increase the level, quality and types of services that we provide based on your use and preferences on the Websites. Such information is processed to:

Monitor, evaluate and audit the Websites from time to time;
Improve the content on the Websites and the services provided by Fotis;
Understand your requirements and statistical preferences of the public;
Promote and market our services by sending latest issues of Lawtify, legal newsletters, expansions, events and other updates;
Maintain lines of communication.

ii. Instructed: Certain information shall enable us to assist, advise, represent and service you in an effective manner. It is pertinent for us to understand your requirements, expectations and specifics of an assignment in order to render our services based on your instructions. We generally use your information to:

Review and discuss your requirements;
Respond to enquiries and provide legal advice;
Undertake the scope of work that has been agreed in line with the Terms of Engagement and other documents at the time of engagement;
Represent you in legal matters, negotiations, investigations, disputes and other matters before legislative, executive or judicial authorities including federal governments, state or local governments, ministries, free zone authorities, courts of all types and levels, tribunals, municipalities and local authorities, regulators, police and investigation departments and other authorities as the case may be;
Perform certain obligations under a contract;
Review your information including curriculum vitae and transcripts to evaluate whether you are suitable for a particular position at Fotis;
Fulfill other instructions that we receive from you (or your representative).

iii. Mandated: We may use your information in order to conduct conflict checks, anti- money laundering screening and cross-check with lists of sanctions issued by different authorities. This information also enables us to complete our internal know-your-client policies before or during your engagement with Fotis. We may disclose, process or share your information in circumstances where we are mandated by any decree, law, regulation, statute, treaty, convention, implementing regulations, policies, guidance, judgments and other orders issued by a competent (legislative, executive or judicial) authority.

Fotis does not (at any stage whatsoever) auction, offer, rent or sell your information. Nevertheless, as a professional law firm with a global reach, it is pertinent for us to liaise and co-ordinate with our affiliates, counterparts, management, professional network, and subsidiaries.

Therefore, we may share and transmit your information to the abovementioned parties as and when required. During the course of our business, we may also be required to rely on trusted third parties such as advisors, auditors, counsels and lawyers, delegates, financial and legal experts, LPO (legal process outsourcing) operations, suppliers, technical service providers, your representatives and companies, and others. Your information shall be shared with regulators, governmental authorities, courts, tribunals and online platforms as required or deemed necessary (by us) to meet our obligations in line with sub-clause iii (Mandated) in Clause 5 of this Privacy Policy. We also use social media platforms and blog forums; and we would recommend that you review their privacy policies as well.

The time period to which Fotis stores your information depends on various factors including the status of the assignments, cases or projects that we undertake on your behalf, type and duration of engagement, instructions received (or not received) with regards to retention of information or documents, among others. That stated, we store all information only for such period as permitted under applicable laws and regulations, as amended from time to time.

Your information will be held in a (or any) jurisdiction(s) in which the firm has presence or our service provider has storage centers.

Fotis uses various measures and technical advancements to safeguard your information against piracy, deletion, unauthorized access and any other actions that are inconsistent with this Privacy Policy. We have engaged capable and reliable technical service providers who advise and assist us in ensuring the safety of your information and our networks regularly. They also conduct random checks and diagnostic screening so as to reasonably safeguard our systems from any malicious attacks, hacks and viruses. Nevertheless, the security in transmitting information and data over electronic means of communication cannot be guaranteed.

(HTTP) cookies are fragments of data that are generated and stored on a user’s device while browsing a webpage. Businesses rely on such tools to record and understand user’s tendencies, preferences, online activity on that website, details of fields (such as usernames, password, payment details, among others). We use tools such as cookies to identify and store certain information about how you use the Websites in our effort to better serve you. This information may include details about your browser, device, browsing patterns, pages visited, times visited, and other data. Please write to [email protected] to learn more about the exact types of cookies that we use and their details.

You are the owner of your information that we hold, with the exception of documents and data that is generated by us. We believe in complete transparency with our clients and the users of our Websites. Therefore, you have the following rights and recourses available to you:

You have the option to request us for the details of your information that we hold at any given point.
You know best. Your information that we hold is based on the information that collect, receive as per clause 3 of this Privacy Policy. Therefore, there is always a possibility that such information is not accurate or incomplete. You may request us to complete or amend your information that we store.
Considering sub-clause 2 above, you also have the right to point out any incorrect and unauthenticated information and request us to remove the same.
In the event that you no longer wish to continue with our services and terminate the Terms of Engagement or other documents between us, you are entitled to submit a request to handover, destroy or erase your information that we have stored. Such requests should be in compliance with the Terms of Engagement or other documents. All requests for the purpose of this clause should be sent via email to [email protected] and we reserve the right to reject (wholly or partially) any such requests as we deem fit. Fotis shall not bear any liability for losses incurred (directly or indirectly) due to handover, destruction, misappropriation or erasure of your information pursuant to a request submitted in accordance with this clause or Terms of Engagement and other documents between us.