Last updated: September 1, 2026

1. Our Commitment to Privacy and Confidentiality

DCL Law recognizes the importance of privacy, confidentiality and the protection of personal information. Legal matters frequently involve sensitive personal, financial, family, health, business and property information.

We collect, use, disclose, retain and protect personal information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, commonly referred to as PIPEDA, other applicable privacy laws, our professional obligations as lawyers and the rules and standards of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society.

This Privacy Policy describes how DCL Law handles personal information relating to clients, prospective clients, website visitors, professional contacts, service providers and other individuals whose information we receive in the course of operating our law practice.

In this Privacy Policy, “DCL Law,” “DCL,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to DCL Law Inc.

2. Personal Information

Personal information is information about an identifiable individual. Information may be personal information either on its own or when combined with other information.

Personal information generally does not include business contact information that is used solely to communicate with an individual in relation to that individual’s employment, business or profession, where that information is excluded under applicable law.

Information that has been properly anonymized so that an individual cannot reasonably be identified is not personal information.

3. Lawyer Confidentiality and Privilege

Our obligations regarding client information extend beyond this Privacy Policy.

Lawyers have a professional duty to protect confidential information received from clients and, in appropriate circumstances, prospective clients. Certain communications and documents may also be protected by solicitor client privilege, litigation privilege or another legal protection.

Not every communication with DCL Law is necessarily privileged. Whether privilege applies depends on the circumstances. Nothing in this Privacy Policy limits any privilege, professional duty or legal obligation applicable to DCL Law or its lawyers.

4. Accountability

DCL Law has designated a Privacy Officer who is responsible for overseeing our privacy practices and our compliance with this Privacy Policy.

DCL Law remains responsible for personal information under its control, including personal information transferred to a service provider for processing on our behalf.

We use contractual, administrative or other appropriate measures to require service providers to protect personal information and use it only for authorized purposes.

5. Personal Information We Collect

The personal information we collect depends on the nature of our relationship with you and the legal services being requested or provided.

We may collect the following categories of information:

• Identity and contact information, including your name, residential address, mailing address, email address, telephone number, date of birth, occupation and preferred method of communication.
• Client identification and verification information, including government issued identification, identification numbers, photographs, corporate registration information, information about directors, shareholders and beneficial owners, occupation or business activities and source of funds information.
• Legal matter information, including facts, instructions, correspondence, agreements, court documents, transaction records, property information, corporate records, estate planning information and other documents connected with a legal matter.
• Sensitive personal information where relevant to a legal matter, including information about family relationships, children, marriage or separation, health, disability, employment, finances, taxes, insurance, property ownership, debts, assets, beneficiaries and estate matters.
• Financial and transaction information, including billing details, payment information, banking instructions, mortgage information, trust account transactions, transaction proceeds and information needed to receive, hold, transfer or account for funds.
• Communications, including emails, letters, telephone messages, meeting notes, documents submitted through electronic systems and records of communications with you or other persons involved in a matter.
• Information about other individuals, including family members, beneficiaries, executors, attorneys, directors, shareholders, business associates, witnesses, counterparties and other persons whose information is relevant to a legal matter.
• Website and technical information, including Internet Protocol address, browser type, device type, operating system, approximate location, referring page, pages viewed, dates and times of visits, website interactions, form submissions and security or error information.

We limit the collection of personal information to what is reasonably necessary for identified and appropriate purposes.

6. How We Collect Personal Information

We usually collect personal information directly from you.

We may also collect information from:

• A person you have authorized to communicate with us.
• Family members, representatives, executors, attorneys, directors, officers, employees or business partners.
• Other lawyers, law firms, opposing parties, witnesses and persons involved in a legal matter.
• Realtors, lenders, mortgage brokers, financial institutions, accountants, insurers, title insurers, appraisers, experts and other professional advisers.
• Courts, tribunals, government departments, land registries, corporate registries, property databases and other public or private record systems.
• Credit reporting agencies, identity verification providers and fraud prevention services where permitted.
• Our website, cookies, security tools, analytics tools and other technologies.
• Other sources permitted or required by law.

In some legal matters, we may collect personal information about an individual without collecting it directly from that individual. This may occur where the collection is authorized by the individual, reasonably necessary to provide legal services, available from a permitted public source or otherwise permitted or required by law.

7. How We Use Personal Information

DCL Law may use personal information to:

• Respond to inquiries and consultation requests.
• Conduct conflict checks and determine whether DCL Law can act in a matter.
• Establish, manage and document a lawyer client relationship.
• Verify the identity of clients, instructing individuals, beneficial owners and third parties.
• Confirm the source of funds and comply with fraud prevention, trust accounting and professional requirements.
• Provide legal advice and representation.
• Prepare, review, negotiate, execute, file and register legal documents.
• Complete real estate, corporate, estate, family law and other legal transactions and proceedings.
• Communicate with clients and other persons involved in a legal matter.
• Obtain instructions and provide updates about a matter.
• Coordinate services with courts, registries, lenders, insurers, accountants, experts and other advisers or participants.
• Manage deadlines, appointments, files, records and client relationships.
• Issue invoices, process payments, administer trust funds and collect unpaid accounts.
• Maintain business, accounting, insurance, tax and professional records.
• Comply with legal, regulatory, professional, insurance, audit and reporting obligations.
• Detect, investigate and prevent fraud, misuse, cybersecurity incidents and other unlawful or unauthorized activity.
• Operate, secure, maintain and improve our website, systems and services.
• Send legal updates or other communications where permitted by law.
• Establish, exercise or defend legal rights.
• Fulfil other purposes that are identified when the information is collected or that are permitted or required by law.

DCL Law may retain limited information about a prospective client or proposed matter even when we do not accept the retainer. This may be necessary for conflict management, professional risk management, regulatory compliance and the protection of confidential information.

8. Consent

DCL Law obtains consent for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information where consent is required.

Consent may be express or implied, depending on the sensitivity of the information, the purpose for which it is collected and the reasonable expectations of the individual.

For example, when you retain DCL Law and provide information needed to complete your legal matter, we may rely on your express consent, your instructions and consent that is reasonably implied by the retainer.

You may withdraw consent by contacting our Privacy Officer, subject to reasonable notice and any legal, professional, contractual or regulatory restrictions. Withdrawing consent may prevent DCL Law from providing or continuing to provide certain legal services.

DCL Law may collect, use or disclose personal information without consent where permitted or required by law. This may include responding to a court order, complying with professional obligations, investigating fraud, collecting an outstanding account, protecting a person from harm or establishing or defending a legal claim.

9. Disclosure of Personal Information

DCL Law does not sell or rent personal information.

We may disclose personal information where reasonably necessary to provide legal services, carry out your instructions, administer our practice or comply with legal and professional obligations.

Recipients may include:

• Lawyers, paralegals, legal assistants and other authorized DCL Law personnel.
• Co counsel, agents, experts, investigators, appraisers and other professionals assisting with a matter.
• Courts, tribunals, arbitrators, mediators, government departments, land registries, corporate registries and regulatory authorities.
• Other parties, opposing counsel, witnesses and participants in a legal matter.
• Financial institutions, lenders, mortgage brokers, title insurers, realtors, accountants, insurers, beneficiaries, executors and other persons involved in a transaction or matter.
• The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, the Lawyers’ Insurance Association of Nova Scotia, auditors or other professional bodies where required or appropriate.
• Technology, email, cloud storage, website hosting, cybersecurity, backup, document management, electronic signature, payment, accounting, legal research, courier, storage and secure destruction providers.
• Collection agencies or legal service providers where reasonably necessary to collect an unpaid account.
• Government, law enforcement or other authorities where disclosure is permitted or required by law.
• A successor, acquiring firm or other appropriate party in connection with a proposed practice succession, merger, reorganization or transfer, subject to applicable confidentiality and professional requirements.

We limit disclosures to information reasonably necessary for the applicable purpose. Service providers are not permitted to use personal information for their own unrelated purposes unless separately authorized by you or permitted by law.

10. Website Information, Cookies and Similar Technologies

When you visit the DCL Law website, our systems and service providers may automatically collect technical information about your visit.

This may include your Internet Protocol address, browser and device information, operating system, referring website, pages viewed, dates and times of access, approximate location, website interactions and security or error information.

The website may use cookies and similar technologies for purposes such as:

• Operating essential website functions.
• Maintaining security and preventing abuse.
• Remembering visitor preferences.
• Understanding website traffic and performance.
• Identifying technical errors.
• Improving website content and usability.

Where required by law, we obtain consent before activating nonessential analytics, advertising or similar technologies. Visitors can manage available choices through the website’s cookie preference tool and can also control cookies through their browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.

11. hCaptcha, Google Maps and Embedded Services

The DCL Law contact form uses hCaptcha to help protect the website from spam, automated submissions and abuse. hCaptcha may receive technical and interaction information, including Internet Protocol address, browser information, device information and information about how a visitor interacts with the security challenge.

The contact page also contains an embedded Google Map. Google may receive technical, device, usage and location related information when the map loads or when you interact with it.

These providers process information under their own privacy policies and may process information outside Canada. You can avoid interacting with the embedded map by using the address information displayed on the website instead.

Our website may also link to social media services and other third party websites. When you select one of these links, the third party’s privacy practices apply.

12. Contact Forms, Email and Prospective Clients

The DCL Law contact form currently asks for information such as your name, telephone number, email address, requested service and message.

Submitting an online form or sending an email does not, by itself, establish a lawyer client relationship. A lawyer client relationship is established only after DCL Law has agreed to act and the required engagement arrangements have been completed.

Do not submit confidential or time sensitive information through the general website contact form. Please contact the office directly to determine an appropriate method for transmitting sensitive information.

Although we use reasonable safeguards, ordinary email and Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be completely secure.

13. Marketing Communications

DCL Law may send legal updates, firm news or other promotional communications where you have consented or where the communication is otherwise permitted by law.

Our commercial electronic messages will identify DCL Law and include a method for unsubscribing where required by Canada’s Anti Spam Legislation.

You may withdraw consent to marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe mechanism in the message or contacting us. We may continue to send service, transactional, legal or administrative communications that are necessary for an existing matter or relationship.

14. Storage and Processing Outside Nova Scotia or Canada

DCL Law and its service providers may store or process personal information in Nova Scotia, elsewhere in Canada or in another country.

When personal information is processed outside Nova Scotia or Canada, it may be subject to the laws of that jurisdiction and may be accessible to courts, law enforcement or government authorities in accordance with those laws.

DCL Law remains accountable for personal information transferred to service providers for processing on our behalf. We take reasonable steps to assess providers and use contractual, security or other appropriate measures based on the sensitivity of the information.

15. Retention and Destruction

DCL Law retains personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and to satisfy applicable legal, professional, insurance, tax, accounting, limitation period and regulatory requirements.

Retention periods vary depending on the nature of the legal matter and the information involved. Relevant considerations may include:

• Whether the matter remains active.
• The type of legal service provided.
• Client identification and verification requirements.
• Trust accounting and business record requirements.
• Applicable limitation periods.
• Professional liability insurance requirements.
• The need to preserve evidence or respond to a legal claim.
• Whether an original will, power of attorney, corporate record or other important document is being held.
• Instructions or agreements concerning file storage.
• Conflict management and professional risk requirements.

When information is no longer reasonably required, DCL Law securely destroys, deletes or anonymizes it in accordance with our file retention and destruction procedures. Some information may remain temporarily in secure backups until it is deleted through the normal backup cycle.

16. Security Safeguards

DCL Law uses administrative, physical and technical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity, quantity, format and location of the personal information under our control.

These measures may include:

• Confidentiality obligations and staff training.
• Access restrictions based on business and professional need.
• Password, authentication and account security controls.
• Encryption and secure transmission methods where appropriate.
• Cybersecurity software, firewalls, monitoring and system updates.
• Secure office, file storage and document disposal practices.
• Backup, recovery and continuity procedures.
• Vendor assessment and contractual privacy requirements.

No method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. While DCL Law takes reasonable measures to protect personal information, absolute security cannot be guaranteed.

17. Privacy Breaches

DCL Law maintains procedures for identifying, containing, investigating and responding to suspected privacy and security incidents.

Where a breach of security safeguards creates a real risk of significant harm, DCL Law will notify affected individuals and report the incident to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada as required by PIPEDA.

We maintain records of privacy breaches as required by applicable law.

18. Accuracy, Access and Correction

DCL Law takes reasonable steps to ensure that personal information used for an ongoing purpose is accurate, complete and current.

You may submit a written request to:

• Learn whether DCL Law holds personal information about you.
• Obtain access to personal information held about you.
• Receive information about how your personal information has been used or disclosed.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information.

We may need to verify your identity before processing a request.

Access may be limited or refused where permitted or required by law. Examples may include information protected by solicitor client privilege, information about another person, confidential commercial information, information generated during a dispute resolution process or information that cannot be disclosed without violating a legal or professional obligation.

A request for access under privacy legislation is not necessarily the same as a request by a client for their legal file. Clients seeking their file should contact the lawyer responsible for their matter.

DCL Law will respond within the time required by applicable law. We will not charge a fee for a routine access request. If a fee is permitted and appropriate because of significant retrieval or reproduction costs, we will provide advance notice.

19. Information About Children

The DCL Law website is intended primarily for adults and is not directed toward children.

DCL Law may, however, collect personal information about children where that information is relevant to a family law, estate, real estate or other legal matter. In those circumstances, we collect, use and disclose the information with appropriate authority or as otherwise permitted or required by law.

20. Third Party Websites

The DCL Law website may contain links to websites or services operated by third parties.

DCL Law does not control and is not responsible for the privacy, security or content practices of those third parties. You should review the applicable privacy policy before submitting personal information to a third party website or service.

21. Changes to This Privacy Policy

DCL Law may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices, services, technology or legal obligations.

The updated policy will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. Where a change materially affects how personal information is collected, used or disclosed, we will provide additional notice or obtain consent where required by law.

22. Questions, Access Requests and Complaints

Questions, access requests, correction requests and privacy complaints should be directed to:

Privacy Officer
DCL Law
110 Garland Avenue, Suite 202
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B3B 0A7
Canada

Telephone: 902 404 3150
Fax: 902 464 0965
Email: privacy@dcllaw.org

DCL Law will investigate written privacy complaints and take appropriate corrective action where a complaint is justified.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may have the right to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.