PRIVACY POLICY
1.1. Who we are and who is responsible for the processing
This Privacy Policy explains how Paramount Legal – Sociedade Multidisciplinar de Advogados e Consultores, SP, Lda. (“Paramount Legal”) processes personal data within the scope of its website http://www.paramountlegal.pt/ (“Website”) and its professional activity.
By accessing or using the Website, you fully accept this Privacy Policy.
Paramount Legal is the entity responsible for processing your personal data for the purposes described in this Policy.
1.2. What personal data we process and how we obtain it
We may process, in particular, the following categories of personal data:
- Identification and contact details (name, job title, company, e-mail, telephone);
- Professional data (company, position, practice area, country);
- Data necessary for the provision of legal services (data contained in contracts, case files, communications with authorities, etc., including, where applicable, special categories of data under the law);
- Website usage data (IP address, logs, access date and time, pages visited);
- Data related to newsletters, events and marketing communications (preferences, subscription history, message-open history).
Data may be obtained:
- Directly from you, via e-mail, telephone, the Website contact form or in-person meetings;
- In the context of our contractual relationship with clients;
- From public sources (public records, public databases, court decisions, official orders and regulations);
- Through the use of our Website, including cookies when applicable (see Cookies section).
1.3. For what purposes we use the data and what is the legal basis
We process personal data for the following purposes and corresponding legal bases:
- Provision of legal services and client relationship management (including conflicts of interest, invoicing, collection, file archiving).
Legal basis: performance of a contract or pre-contractual steps; compliance with legal obligations (including tax, accounting and professional ethics obligations).
- Compliance with legal and regulatory obligations (including obligations towards administrative, regulatory, tax and judicial authorities).
Legal basis: compliance with a legal obligation.
- Management of contacts, information requests and complaints received via Website, e-mail or telephone.
Legal basis: legitimate interest in responding to requests and maintaining business activity; or performance of pre-contractual steps, where applicable.
- Sending newsletters, legal alerts, event invitations and other legal marketing communications.
Legal basis: your consent, where required by law; or Paramount Legal’s legitimate interest in promoting its services to clients and professional contacts, always respecting your right to object.
- Management of applications and recruitment.
Legal basis: performance of pre-contractual steps at the request of the data subject; legitimate interest in assessing candidates.
- Website management and security, including fraud prevention, information security and continuous improvement of content and functionalities.
Legal basis: legitimate interest in ensuring network and information security and improving our services.
Whenever processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out up to that point.
1.4. How long we retain data
We retain personal data only for the period strictly necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, respecting applicable legal deadlines, namely:
- Data related to case files and legal services: for the duration of the contractual relationship and, after its termination, for the limitation period of the associated rights, as well as for any legally required archiving periods (e.g., tax and accounting deadlines).
- Invoicing and accounting documentation: for the legally required periods (generally 10 years).
- Newsletter and event data: until withdrawal of consent or exercise of the right to object, or, in the absence of such, while relevant interaction or demonstrable interest exists.
- Recruitment data: generally up to 2 years after the end of the recruitment process, unless there is a legitimate interest in retaining the data or consent for a longer period.
- Website usage data: for periods strictly necessary for security and Website management purposes, aligned with best practices and applicable law.
1.5. Who may have access to your data
We may share personal data, on a need-to-know and proportionality basis, with:
- Public entities and authorities (courts, regulatory authorities, Bar Association, tax or administrative authorities), whenever required by law or necessary for the provision of legal services.
- Suppliers and service providers supporting us (e.g., IT services, data hosting, accounting, physical or digital archiving), bound by contractual confidentiality and security obligations aligned with the GDPR.
- Other representatives, correspondent lawyers or external consultants, when necessary for the provision of legal services and in accordance with professional ethics rules.
If data is transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area, we ensure adequate safeguards under the GDPR (such as European Commission adequacy decisions or standard contractual clauses).
1.6. Security of personal data
We adopt appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against destruction, loss, alteration, disclosure or unauthorised access, namely:
- Access control and restricted access to personal data;
- Information security procedures, backups, network and system protection;
- Professional confidentiality obligations applicable to our lawyers and staff, as well as confidentiality agreements with service providers.
Despite these measures, no system is entirely secure; however, we commit to acting diligently in the event of a personal data breach, including notifying authorities and affected individuals when required.
1.7. Cookies and similar tools
Our Website may use cookies and similar technologies to:
- Ensure basic Website functionality;
- Store your preferences;
- Obtain aggregated usage statistics to improve content.
More detailed information on the types of cookies used, their purposes and retention periods is provided in our Cookies Policy, available on the Website.
You may configure your browser to refuse some or all cookies or to alert you when Websites set or access cookies. Disabling certain cookies may, however, affect Website functionality.
1.8. What are your rights
Under applicable law, you have the following rights:
- Right of access: obtain confirmation of whether we process your personal data and access it.
- Right to rectification: request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Right to erasure: request deletion of your personal data in cases provided by law.
- Right to restriction of processing: request restriction of processing in certain circumstances.
- Right to data portability: receive the personal data you provided us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and transmit it to another controller when processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
- Right to object: object at any time to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
- Right to withdraw consent: when processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority, which in Portugal is the Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados (CNPD) (http://www.cnpd.pt/).
1.9. How to exercise your rights
To exercise any of your rights or ask questions about this Privacy Policy, you may contact us at:
- E-mail: info@paramountlegal.pt
- Mail: Paramount Legal - Sociedade Multidisciplinar de Advogados e Consultores, SP, Lda., Rua Nova da Trindade, n.º 1, 3.º Direito, 1200-301 Lisbon, Portugal
- Telephone: +351 213 224 930
We may request additional information to confirm your identity, when necessary, to ensure that the request is made by the data subject.
1.10. Updates to this Policy
We may amend this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect legislative changes, best practices, or modifications to our Website and services. The updated version will always be available on our Website, indicating the date of the most recent update.