Legal Advice Centre privacy notice

Information you need to know

The Legal Advice Centre is part of Liverpool John Moores University. See further information on the institution.

Liverpool John Moores University is the Data Controller.

Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted at DPO@ljmu.ac.uk.

This privacy notice explains how we use your personal information and your rights regarding that information.

For information about how the wider University uses personal data, please see the Privacy notice section of our website.

Information we are collecting

When you contact the Legal Advice Centre (LAC) for advice, we will collect personal data to allow us to understand your situation and provide appropriate legal advice. This will include your:

  • name
  • address
  • contact details

Depending on the nature of your matter, we may also collect information about you that is classed as special category personal data under data protection law, such as details relating to:

  • your race
  • ethnicity
  • sexual orientation
  • other sensitive matters

We may also collect the names and addresses of any other parties involved in your case, together with information about the circumstances of your matter, where this is necessary for us to provide legal advice.

If you contact us online, in person or by telephone, administrative staff or students working under supervision will record your information in either our secure case management system, where your data is held confidentially and processed in line with this privacy notice, or in the CLOCK system, where your data is also held confidentially and shared in accordance with CLOCK’s own privacy notice.

We will use this information to assist you in relation to the legal issue you have approached the LAC about.

Once you have provided your consent, either online or in hard copy, your information will be shared with the students and supervising solicitors who will meet with you. This allows supervising solicitors to carry out conflict checks and to provide legal advice in connection with your case.

When you attend a clinic remotely (for example by telephone or via Microsoft Teams), we will make notes of the information you provide and any documents you share with us. These notes are either recorded directly into our confidential case management system or, in limited cases, created as hard-copy notes that are stored securely on the LAC premises.

If we speak to you by telephone or Microsoft Teams, we will ask for your permission to record the conversation for education and training purposes, always subject to our duty of confidentiality. You are free to refuse recording, and this will not affect the service you receive.

When you receive your advice letter, you will be invited to complete a short feedback questionnaire about the service provided. This feedback is collected anonymously. Any comments used for reporting or promotional purposes will not identify you.

Approximately three to four months after your appointment, we will contact you using the preferred method you provided to ask how your matter has progressed and whether our advice was helpful. We may also have some other research questions. You are under no obligation to respond. If you choose to do so, your feedback may be shared with the advising team, in accordance with our confidentiality obligations, to help improve our services.

You may withdraw your consent to the use of your personal data at any time, including consent for any audio or Microsoft Teams recording, by contacting the Legal Advice Centre.

Source of the personal data

Personal data is collected directly from you when you contact the Legal Advice Centre, provide information about your case, or attend an appointment with us.

Why we are collecting your data and the legal basis for this

We process personal data in accordance with the principles of the GDPR and only where there is a valid lawful basis to do so.

Your personal data is processed in order to determine whether the Legal Advice Centre has the capacity and expertise to assist you and, where appropriate, to provide you with legal advice. This includes carrying out checks to ensure that neither the Legal Advice Centre nor any of the solicitors working with us have previously advised another party involved in your matter, as this would give rise to a conflict of interest and breach professional obligations.

The lawful basis for processing your personal data is Article 6(1)(a) UK GDPR (consent). By providing your information, you consent to its use for the purposes of assessing your case and delivering legal advice. You may withdraw your consent at any time, including consent for any audio or Microsoft Teams recording of your clinic session, by contacting the Legal Advice Centre. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn but may affect our ability to continue to provide advice.

Where it is necessary to process special category personal data, this will be done on the basis of your explicit consent in accordance with Article 9(2)(a) UK GDPR.

Who has access to this data

Your personal data will be accessed only by relevant LJMU staff and students where this is necessary for them to carry out their role in providing legal advice through the Legal Advice Centre.

Access to your information is limited to authorised staff involved in the operation of the LAC and to solicitors who volunteer with the LAC. Information is shared with volunteer solicitors solely for the purposes of carrying out conflict checks and enabling them to advise you in connection with your legal matter. Only solicitors working with the LAC will have access to your data.

Students who participate in the LAC all sign confidentiality undertakings and work under the supervision of qualified solicitors at all times.

Your personal data is not shared with any other third parties without your consent. Neither the LAC, its staff, volunteer solicitors, nor students will disclose your information to anyone outside the LAC, including any opposing parties or their legal representatives.

Where you apply for funding through the Legal Aid Agency (for example, under the Exceptional Case Funding scheme), we may, with your consent, share relevant personal data with the Legal Aid Agency as part of the application process. If funding is granted, we may also share relevant information with solicitors instructed on your behalf.

How the university protects your data

We are committed to keeping your personal data safe in line with data protection legislation and the university’s information security and data protection policies.

Personal data held by the Legal Advice Centre is stored securely in both paper and electronic formats.

Where paper records are used, these are kept as hard copy case files within the LAC premises and stored in a secure, locked storage room. Paper files may include copies of correspondence, notes taken during appointments, and any hard copy documents you provide to us in connection with your case.

Electronic records are held within the LAC’s secure Clio case management system. This includes electronic correspondence, case notes, and any documents you provide by email or other digital means. For clients applying for Legal Aid Agency funding (including Exceptional Case Funding), relevant records may also be stored securely within the university’s Microsoft Teams environment. Where audio or visual recordings are made with your consent, these are stored securely within the university’s Microsoft Teams environment.

Access to both paper and electronic records is strictly limited to authorised students and solicitors working within the Legal Advice Centre and is restricted to the LAC premises.

How long the university keeps your data

We retain your personal data only for as long as it is necessary for legitimate purposes and in accordance with legal, regulatory and professional requirements.

In practice, information relating to your case is retained to enable us to comply with legal obligations, to deal with any complaints that may arise, to ensure records remain accurate, and for limited research or statistical analysis purposes where appropriate.

Hard copy case files are archived at the end of each academic year. We usually retain case information, whether held in paper or electronic form, for seven years after your matter has concluded, in order to respond to any queries or complaints about the service provided.

Where recordings of clinic sessions are made with your consent, these are retained for up to 18 months or are deleted sooner if you request this.

Once it is no longer necessary to retain your personal data, it will be securely deleted or anonymised so that you can no longer be identified.

Your rights

As a data subject, you have a number of rights. You can:

  • access and obtain a copy of your data on request - this could be in a portable electronic format
  • request that the university changes incorrect or incomplete data if you think that it is inaccurate or out of date
  • request that the university delete or stop processing your data, for example where the data is no longer necessary or legally required for the purposes of processing

If your personal data has been provided by consent, you have a right to withdraw that consent at any time.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact the Data Protection Officer at DPO@ljmu.ac.uk.

If you do not provide data

In order to provide legal advice or assistance through the Legal Advice Centre, we need certain personal data from you. If you choose not to provide the necessary information, or if you withdraw your consent, we may be unable to assess your case or continue to offer legal advice or assistance.

Transfers of data outside the UK

We normally keep your personal data within the UK. In some cases, however, we may need to transfer it to another country - for example, to deliver a contract with you or to work with a partner organisation such as a university based overseas.

Whenever this happens, we make sure your information stays protected. This could be through a UK “adequacy regulation” (which confirms that the other country’s data protection laws are up to UK standards) or by putting strong safeguards in place.

These safeguards might include:

  • model contractual clauses
  • formal data sharing or processing agreements
  • binding corporate rules

In short, even if your data travels abroad, it will continue to be treated with the same care and respect as it would under UK law.

Automated decision-making

We do not use computers to make decisions about you based solely on your personal data. Any decisions that affect you will always be made by a human, ensuring that you are treated fairly.

How to complain to the university

You have a right to complain to the university if you think it has not properly responded to your request for personal information or feel it has not handled your personal data responsibly.

If you are not satisfied with how your request for information or how your personal data has been handled, you should set out your complaint in writing to:

Maria Burquest
University Secretary and General Counsel
Legal and Governance Services
2nd Floor Exchange Station
Tithebarn Street
Liverpool
L2 2QP

or by email via DPO@ljmu.ac.uk.

How to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office

You have the right to complain to The Information Commissioner if you believe that our processing of your personal data does not meet our data protection obligations. The Information Commissioner can be contacted using the following details:

  • Post: Information Commissioners Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK95AF.
  • Telephone: 0303 123 1113.
  • Email: contact can be made by accessing the ICO website.