Scope

In this Policy, we describe what kind of information we collect, when and how we might use that information, how we protect the information, and the choices you have with respect to the personal information you submit to this site. Controlling the collection, use and disclosure of personal information is an ongoing process. We will continue to review our personal information management practices and improve them as necessary to better protect the privacy of users of this site.

What is personal information?

Personal information means any information about you as an individual, or that can be used to identify you as an individual, such as a person’s date of birth, address, financial records and health records. In most circumstances, personal information does not include information that might appear on a business card or information that is available in public records, nor does it include corporate information such as your business address or telephone number in your capacity as an employee of an organization.

What personal information is collected through this website?

It is not our intention to collect personal information indiscriminately on this website. We will limit the amount and the type of information we collect to that necessary to fulfill the purposes we have identified to you, or as otherwise permitted or required by law.

We collect information about our users in three ways: directly from the user, from our Web server logs, and through cookies. We use the information to provide you with a personalized Internet experience that delivers the information, resources, and services that are most relevant and helpful to you.

User-supplied information

Contact forms

If you fill out the contact form, submit a request for free materials, or submit a request for information from our ‘Join our Experts’ page on this website, we will ask you to provide only information needed to better respond to your enquiry and/or ship Free materials to your organization. Under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) this information is not considered to be personal; rather, it is the type of information that would be found on a business card.

“Ask an Expert” form

Forms submitted by the User to “Ask an Expert” are forwarded to independent experts, including lawyers, paralegals, or, where applicable, to other experts and referral services, such as chartered accountants, mediators, appraisers and so forth. Legal Line is providing this service to our Users in order to help them resolve their issue.

By completing and submitting the “Ask an Expert” form, the User:

• authorizes Legal Line to forward your completed form to an independent expert who may be able to help you,
• consents to receiving electronic messages, including emails and text messages from Legal Line and/or the independent expert, and
• consents to receiving telephone communications (where applicable) from the independent expert.

Users are responsible to do their own due diligence before relying on the advice of the experts and hiring them. Legal Line is not responsible for the answers, advice, assistance or outside services provided by these expert.

Sensitive Information:  Please do not submit any confidential, proprietary or sensitive personally identifiable information (e.g. Social Insurance Number; date of birth; drivers license number; bank account or other financial information) (collectively, “Sensitive Information”). If you submit any Sensitive Information, you do so at your own risk and we will not be liable to you or responsible for consequences of your submission. If you establish a solicitor-client relationship with a particular lawyer found through this Website, or if you establish a client relationship with another type of professional or government office found on this Website, you may be required, in the context of that relationship, to provide Sensitive Information for the purpose of conducting legal or other services. Information supplied to an advisor is outside the scope of this Website and the Legal Line organization, such information is outside the scope of this policy and should never be submitted through this Site. Information that you provide to us through the contact form, submit a request for free materials, or submit a request for information from our ‘Join our Experts’ page will be used so that we may respond to your inquiry. We may also use information you provide to us to communicate with you in the future. If you do not wish to receive such communications, you may opt out (unsubscribe).

Web server logs

Our Website is hosted on servers shared with an Internet service provider (ISP). Any personal information collected on our behalf by the ISP, such as server log data (see below), is managed in accordance with this Policy and is protected by applicable law. Certain information about Internet users’ traffic patterns is passively and automatically collected and linked to users’ Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses. These unique IP addresses are assigned to all Web users by their ISPs, and are automatically logged by Internet servers.

While the IP address itself does not identify an individual, it may, in appropriate circumstances such as an investigation of a security breach, be used with the cooperation of the ISP to locate and identify an individual using this Site.
 In the normal course of establishing and maintaining Internet connections, our servers automatically log information about visits to our Site. Server logs record statistical information, such as a visitor’s IP address and type of operating system, the time and duration of visit and Web pages requested. The server logs also identify categories of visitors by items such as domain and browser type. These statistics are reported in aggregate form to us and are used to improve our Site and ensure that it provides the optimal online experience for visitors. We do not link server log information to any other data in a way that would enable us to identify individual visitors, except for security purposes, as discussed above.

Cookies

Like many other websites, our Site makes use of “per session” cookie technology. The use of cookie technology is common on the Internet, and many Internet browsers are initially set to accept cookies automatically. This information helps us determine the total number of visitors to the Site on an ongoing basis and the types of Internet browsers and operating systems that our visitors use. We use this information to facilitate and enhance our Users experience of this Site.

Retention of personal information

We will retain information, including personal information, for as long as it is needed for the purposes for which it was collected. The length of time we retain information varies, depending on the service and the nature of the information. This period may extend beyond the end of a person’s relationship with us but it will be only for so long as it is necessary for us to have sufficient information to respond to any issues that may arise at a later date. When your personal information is no longer required, we have procedures to delete, erase or convert it into an anonymous form.

Protection of personal information

We use the standard safeguards to protect the security of personal information in our possession, including physical, organizational and technological measures. In terms of communicating personal information to us, please note that there is no method of transmitting or storing data that is completely secure. Transmissions over the Internet are susceptible to possible loss, misrouting, interception and misuse of the information being communicated or transmitted.

Links to other websites

This Site contains links to other websites. While we try to link only to websites that share our standards and respect for privacy, we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of other websites. We strongly encourage all site visitors to review the privacy statements and policies of all external websites.