1.1 Temple Gate Solicitors is a trading name of Temple Gate Solicitors Ltd (Company Number: 14019608). Temple Gate Solicitors is a law firm registered in England and Wales under registered number 8001009.
1.2 Its registered office address and principal place of business is Building 3, 297-303 Edgware Road, London, NW9 6NB, United Kingdom.
1.3 Its members are either solicitors or other legal practitioners authorised to practise in England and Wales, barristers called to the Bar in England and Wales or costs lawyers authorised to practise in England and Wales. The Principal Solicitor at Temple Gate Solicitor is Ms Zareena Mustafa (SRA ID: 432783).
Regulation of Legal Services
2.1 The Law Society of England and Wales represents solicitors in England and Wales. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is the independent regulatory arm of The Law Society. The Legal Ombudsman is an independent body which adjudicates upon complaints which a law firm’s own complaints handling procedure cannot resolve.
2.2 Temple Gate Solicitors is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under SRA number 8001009. The SRA Standards and Regulations contain the rules of professional conduct which apply to all solicitors and this firm and can be accessed on the website of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (sra.org.uk).
Regulation of Financial Services
3.1 Sometimes the provision of our legal services may involve regulated activities relating to ‘investments’ within that term’s meaning in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Temple Gate Solicitors is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and we do not provide any financial services which are regulated by the FCA.
Client Engagement
4.1 No client-lawyer relationship and no contract or agreement between you and this firm is created by your use of this website. The only way to become a client of Temple Gate Solicitors is through a mutual agreement in writing between you and us after we have completed our standard new client take on procedures. Our take on procedures include conflict of interest, finance crime and other checks required by law and regulation.
4.2 If you are interested in becoming a client of the firm, please contact us so that we can determine whether your matter is one with which we can assist you. Please do not provide us with confidential, sensitive or legally privileged information before we have carried out and completed our conflict checks, unless we ask you to do so. This is because if you provide information to us on an unsolicited basis and it is or might be relevant to the matter of a current client of the firm we may be required to disclose it to the current client.
4.3 Advice and services are provided to our clients on the basis of the relevant engagement letter and our terms of business. By instructing the firm, clients confirm their agreement to the firm’s engagement letter and terms of business. No responsibility is assumed and no liability is accepted for information that is supplied or for services that are rendered to someone who is not a client of the firm (including someone using this website) unless in writing we have expressly agreed otherwise.
Anti-Money Laundering Obligations
5.1 The United Kingdom’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing legislation and related rules issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Sector Affinity Group require us to take steps to know our clients, their business and the reason for their instruction. They also require us to conduct due diligence on new clients before we enter into a business relationship with them and on-going monitoring of existing clients.
5.2 We are required to verify and document the identity and address of every client of the firm. This includes any beneficial owner or controller of a company or trust, and anyone purporting to act on behalf of a client. Sometimes we are able to verify and document the identity of a client through publicly available information including from publicly available electronic data sources. If this is not possible, we will ask the client to provide us with the necessary information and documents. Periodically, or if their circumstances change, we may ask a client to provide us with up to date evidence of identity or address or with other information. If we are unable to obtain satisfactory evidence of identity or address, we will not be able to act, or continue acting.
5.3 We are also required to identify the source of and to consider the provenance of all monies that will be paid to or controlled by the firm. We cannot accept funds unless the source has previously been disclosed to us and verified to our satisfaction. We will never knowingly facilitate money laundering or the financing of terrorists. If payment is made to us in breach of this legal requirement, the funds may be frozen until their source and provenance has been established to our satisfaction.
5.4 The legislation which governs money laundering and the financing of terrorism has placed all professional advisers, including lawyers, under a legal duty to disclose information to the National Crime Agency in certain circumstances. Where a lawyer knows or suspects that a transaction involves money laundering or the financing of terrorism, he or she may be required to report that knowledge or suspicion to the National Crime Agency. If this happens, we will not be able to inform you that a disclosure has been made or of the reason for it, for legal reasons. We accept no responsibility or liability for any loss, damage, costs or expenses that you incur by reason of such disclosure.
Fraud & Cybercrime
6.1 Fraud, and in particular cyber-crime, are on the increase worldwide. In common with many businesses, including a large number of other law firms, the name of this firm and of individual lawyers who work for us have on occasions been used by criminals without our knowledge or permission in an attempt to carry out scams and frauds on members of the public worldwide.
6.2 Always be on the look-out for criminal conduct to ensure that you do not become a victim of it. If something looks unusual or suspicious (for example, if it is written in poor English, a business is using consumer email accounts like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo, or contact details in a communication do not accord with the publicly available contact details of that organisation) either ignore it and delete it or destroy it, or proceed with extreme caution and investigate it thoroughly before acting on it.
6.3 Always verify the identity and assess the possible motives of anyone who contacts you on an unsolicited basis. Remember also that a fraudster might be trying to impersonate either someone you know, or someone you would normally expect to be on your side, for example, a bank employee, a police officer, or a lawyer (including us). If something sounds too good to be true (a surprise windfall, for example), usually it is not true. Do not hand over money, or disclose personal or financial information, unless you know who you are dealing with and their true intentions.
6.4 Fraudsters often use email to perpetrate their scams, so treat unsolicited emails with particular care. Sometimes other forms of communication are also used to initiate a scam, including text, fax, letter and telephone. Often the initial email or other communication will either promise the recipient a share of a large sum of money (from a dead person’s estate, an insurance policy, or a lottery win, for example) in return for paying a modest sum (an ‘administration fee’ of some description), upfront (which is commonly referred to as an ‘advance fee’ fraud), or it will request personal or financial information about the recipient or their bank account allegedly in order to check their account is working correctly or so that non-existent money can be paid into it (which information they then use to try and access the account by impersonating you in an ‘identity theft’ fraud ).
6.5 Without their knowledge or permission, fraudsters sometimes mention in their communications the involvement of a genuine law firm or a genuine lawyer in an attempt to give legitimacy and credibility to their scam and/or to try and lull their potential victim into a false sense of security. Sometimes fraudsters’ communications will also direct the recipient to a bogus website and/or a bogus social media account that intentionally replicates the look and feel of the website or social media account of a genuine business, bank or law firm. Such copies (clones) of websites and social media accounts are created without the knowledge or permission of the genuine business and in an attempt to give legitimacy or respectability to a scam. Never seek to verify the existence or involvement in a transaction of a law firm or lawyer by using contact details contained in an unsolicited communication: always use a public search engine, such as Google, or a reputable online professional directory.
6.6 We are aware that on occasions, the name of this firm, or of lawyers who work for us, and clones of our website, have been used by fraudsters without our knowledge or permission. Please note that we only practice under the firm name ‘Temple Gate Solicitors’. If you receive a communication which purports to come from, or which mentions, a firm which has a similar but not identical name to us, or which has the same name but different contact details (business address, telephone number, fax number, email address and/or website address) it will not have originated from us or have been sent by us, on our behalf or with our knowledge or permission. Similarly, our website, and the email addresses which we operate, only use the domain name ‘@templegatesolicitors.com’. If a website or email address uses a different domain name, including a similar but not identical domain name, and even one that has only one character different, it will not belong to us and will be nothing to do with us.
6.7 We are also aware that fraudsters sometimes seek to intercept legitimate payments and divert them to their own bank account. Often they will do this by ‘hacking’ an individual’s email account (in particular consumer facing email accounts like Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo) and then changing the bank account details which appear in an otherwise legitimate email that the account holder sends out or which a genuine person or business has sent to the account holder. This is known as a ‘man in the middle’ fraud. We will never use email to notify you of a change to bank account details which we have already provided to you (in our engagement letter and on the back of our invoices). Any email appearing to come from us which seeks to do this will not be genuine. Do not act on it or reply to it, and instead contact us immediately by telephone: do not use email to contact us in case a fraudster has compromised your email account and is monitoring the emails you send and receive. Please note that we will not accept responsibility if you transfer money into a bank account which does not belong to Temple Gate Solicitors.
6.8 If you receive an email or other communication purporting to come from Temple Gate Solicitors, or from someone holding themselves out as being a member of or agent acting on behalf of Temple Gate Solicitors, or if you are directed to a website or social media account which purports to belong to this firm, and you have any suspicions at all about it, before responding to it or taking any other action in relation to it please contact the member of this firm who you normally deal with or email info@templegatesolicitors.com. We will tell you whether the communication came from us, or whether it is our website or our social media account. Never take risks. If you have a suspicion or a concern, report it to us, before acting.
6.9 Our regulator, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, maintains a ‘Scam Alert’ database which provides members of the public with information about known scams in which the identity of a genuine English law firm or a genuine English lawyer has been used, or is being used, by persons unknown for criminal purposes. The database can be viewed on the SRA’s website (sra.org.uk). Frauds and scams with a United Kingdom element to them can be reported to the UK police using the Action Fraud website (www.actionfraud.police.uk).
Electronic Communications
7.1 Electronic communication involves certain known risks. It might be insecure, intercepted, carry viruses, distort during transmission or arrive late or not at all. Anyone who communicates with us electronically, or who does not expressly prohibit such communication, will be assumed to accept the associated risks. By using email or fax to communicate with us you consent to us communicating with you in the same manner. Unless in writing you expressly prohibit electronic communication, we may use email and/or fax to communicate with you and others involved in your matter. We accept no liability for any inadvertent breach of confidence or privilege, or for any loss or damage, which occurs as a result communication by email or fax.
7.2 Email we send to you will not be encrypted unless we inform you otherwise. We use anti-virus systems and software but we accept no liability for viruses. We expect you to use, and rely on, your own anti-virus software. We recommend that you scan all emails and any attachments for viruses before opening them. We also recommend that you confirm any advice received by email before acting on it.
7.3 We monitor electronic communications (including email) in order to protect our business and our clients and to ensure that our legal and regulatory obligations and our internal policies and procedures are being complied with.
Data Protection Notice
8.1 Temple Gate Solicitors is a data controller under the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Data Protection Act 2018. We process personal data in accordance with our obligations under relevant data protection laws. Our Privacy Notice, which sets out what to expect when we process personal data, is published on this website. A copy of the notice will also be supplied on request. When you provide personal data to us we shall assume that you have complied with your own obligations under relevant data protection laws.
8.2 Any personal information you provide to us during your use of this website will be processed in accordance with current United Kingdom data protection laws and for one or more of the following purposes: (1) for the purpose or purposes specified in the part of the website that you used to submit the information to us; (2) to enable us to supply you with any information or assistance that you have requested; (3) to enable us to provide you with information about us, our services and our events; and (4) for any other purpose for which you give your consent.
8.3 If at any time you wish to have your name removed from our database, or you wish to contact us in relation to any other matter concerning the processing of your personal data, please email our Data Protection Officer (info@templegatesolicitors.com).
Website Privacy Notice
9.1 When you access this website, your computer’s browser provides us with certain electronic information (such as your IP address, browser type, and date and time of access). The website collects this information to provide you with a good user experience. We also use it to help us improve the website and to compile statistical data on its use.
9.2 Further information about ‘cookies’ and how we use them is published on this website in our ‘Cookies Policy’, which can be accessed on this website.
Disclaimer
10.1 The information contained in this website is general information only, based on the law of England and Wales. The user should be aware that laws and regulations may be different outside England and Wales. Although care is taken to ensure that the information on the website is accurate and up to date, we do not accept any responsibility for mistakes or omissions. In particular, articles may be out of date. Temple Gate Solicitors enters into no express or implied conditions, warranties, terms or representations regarding the quality, accuracy, or completeness of the information. No part of the website’s content constitutes, nor claims to be, a comprehensive review of the applicable law. Please contact us directly if you need a comprehensive and up to date statement of the relevant law.
10.2 By using this website you agree that you have read this disclaimer and that you agree to the terms and conditions of operation contained within the disclaimer. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, you are not authorised to use this website.
Reliance on Content
11.1 The information provided on this website is not intended to be legal advice and is for educational purposes only. Do not use this site to disregard any legal advice, nor to delay seeking legal advice or representation because of something you have read or seen on this site. Before acting or relying in any way on information contained on the site, you should seek detailed specialist advice from a suitably qualified solicitor, based on your specific circumstances. Any reliance upon the information given on this site is at the user’s own risk. Temple Gate Solicitors excludes to the fullest extent lawfully permitted all liability for loss or damage, whether direct, indirect or consequential arising from your accessing, failing to access, or reliance on information contained in this website, from delay or the failure to respond to an enquiry, or from any information or omission contained in this website.
11.2 We have reviewed all the material on the website, however Temple Gate Solicitors accepts no responsibility for loss as stated above and shall not be liable for any typographical or other errors or omissions within the material contained in this website or its accurateness and completeness.
Professional Relationship
12.1 Sometimes the provision of our legal services may involve regulated activities relating to ‘investments’ within that term’s meaning in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Temple Gate Solicitors is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and we do not provide any financial services which are regulated by the FCA.Use of this website is not intended to create a professional or business relationship. The content of pages on this website does not constitute legal or other professional advice. No formal relationship between solicitor and client is created until instructions have been accepted by a written acknowledgement from Temple Gate Solicitors. To avoid any doubt, neither the submission nor confirmation of submission of an online claim screening form constitutes such an acknowledgement.
Website Service
13.1 While we try to ensure that our website is available 24 hours a day, we cannot guarantee this and will not be liable if for any reason the website is unavailable at any time or for any period. Access to our website may be suspended temporarily and without notice for any reason (including, without limitation, system failure, maintenance or repair) and for reasons beyond our control. Please note that although reasonable care is taken to ensure that the website and materials available from it are virus free, we cannot accept responsibility for any viruses you download.
Links
14.1 This website contains links to other websites not operated or controlled by us. If you use these links, you will leave our website. These links are provided for convenience only and do not constitute any endorsement by Temple Gate Solicitors. We do not have any control over the content of external internet sites which are linked to our site or which are linked from it and cannot accept any responsibility for them. Links are only permitted to the Home Page of our website, unless otherwise expressly agreed. In order for any link to be permitted, it must be performed in accordance with English law and neither damage our reputation nor take advantage of it. No links are permitted which suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part without prior consent. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice. If you have any questions about linking please contact us on info@templegatesolicitors.com.
Intellectual Property Rights
15.1 The intellectual property rights (including, without limitation, copyright and trademarks) in all material on our website (including, without limitation, text, online claim screening service, images and plans) are owned by Temple Gate Solicitors unless otherwise stated. All rights are reserved.
Privacy Notice
16.1 This notice tells you what to expect when we collect information about individuals. If you need further information or have any questions or complaints about our privacy notice or privacy practices please contact our Data Protection Officer using the details below:
Data Protection Officer, Temple Gate Solicitors, Building 3, 297-303 Edgware Road, London, NW9 6NB, United Kingdom.
Which countries we transfer personal information to
How we protect personal information
The legal rights of individuals whose personal information we process
16.3 The personal information that we collect
16.3.1 Personal information (personal data) means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.
16.3.2 Because of the wide ranging nature of our work, and the different reasons why we need to use personal information, what we collect is very varied and includes:
Identity and contact data – including name, date of birth, email address, postal address, telephone numbers, passport details and information provided or collected as part of our client take on or employee recruitment processes.
Financial and transaction data – including bank account details, payment card details and details of payments from and to individuals.
Technical and usage data – including information about how individuals use our website.
Marketing data – including individuals’ preferences in receiving marketing from us and information provided to us for the purpose of attending events such as dietary information and accessibility requirements.
Information used to provide our services – including information provided to us by or on behalf of our clients or otherwise provided to us or generated by us in the course of providing services to our clients.
16.3.3 In particular in order to provide our services, we collect special category data and personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences. Special category data includes personal data which reveals racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, data concerning health and data concerning a person’s sex life or sexual orientation.
16.4 How we obtain personal information
16.4.1 We obtain personal information in different ways, including through:
Direct contact – individuals may give us their personal information by corresponding with us by post, email or telephone or otherwise.
Clients – our clients may give us personal information of individuals (for example a client’s employees) to enable us to provide our services.
Third parties or publicly available sources – we may receive personal information of individuals from third parties (for example disclosure by the police or CPS in connection with a prosecution) in connection with the provision of services by us to our clients. We may also receive information from publicly available sources such as the Home Office, Companies House and HM Land Registry.
Our website – we use cookies to help us to provide users with a good experience when browsing the website and allow us to improve the site. Details of the cookies we use, the information we gather and how cookies can be blocked can be found in our Cookie Policy on our website and in our Legal Notices.
16.5 How we use personal information
16.5.1 We use personal information in a variety of ways including:
To provide our services to our clients
To recruit employees and members of Temple Gate Solicitors
To manage and supervise our employees and members
To promote our services
To meet our legal and regulatory obligations
To meet our audit and insurance obligations
16.6 The basis upon which we use personal information
16.6.1 We will only use personal information (including special category data and data relating to criminal convictions and offences) when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use personal data in the following circumstances:
Where we need to do so to perform a contract we are about to enter into or have entered into – for example a contract of employment.
Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party such as one of our clients) and the interests and fundamental rights of the individual whose personal information we are using do not override those interests – for example where we act for a client in bringing regulatory proceedings.
Where it is necessary to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.
16.6.2 When we use special category data and data relating to criminal convictions and offences it will normally be when this is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or where we need to do so as an employer.
16.6.3 Generally we do not rely on consent as a legal basis for processing personal information other than in relation to sending direct marketing communications. Consent to receiving direct marketing communications can be withdrawn at any time, including through our website.
16.7 How long we keep personal information
16.7.1 We will keep personal information in accordance with our data retention practices, which apply appropriate retention periods for each category of personal information. In setting retention periods we take account of the purposes for which the personal information was collected, legal and regulatory obligations on us to retain information, limitation periods for legal action and our business purposes.
16.8 Who we share personal information with
16.8.1 We may share personal information with third parties including:
In the course of providing services to our clients – for example when instructing a medical expert to produce a report or counsel to provide advice.
When we outsource certain support services – for example photocopying or IT services.
Our professional advisers – for example our auditors, bankers and insurers.
To regulatory authorities, courts, tribunals and law enforcement agencies – for example our regulator the Solicitors Regulatory Authority.
16.8.2 Third parties to whom we transfer personal information are required to respect the security of the information and treat it in accordance with the law. We do not sell personal data to third parties.
16.9 Which countries we transfer personal information to
16.9.1 In the course of providing services to our clients we may need to transfer personal information outside the European Economic Area (EEA), for example where we are providing immigration advice to companies based outside the EEA.
16.9.2 Whenever we transfer personal information outside the EEA, we implement at least one of these safeguards or ensure that at least one of these conditions applies:
By transferring to a country that the European Commission has been decided provides an adequate level of protection for personal information.
If transferring personal information to the US, by transferring to organisations that are part of the Privacy Shield.
By using adopted or approved (by the European Commission) standard data protection clauses.
The transfer is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
The transfer is necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract between us and the individual whose personal information is being transferred.
16.10 How we protect personal information
16.10.1 We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. We have put in place appropriate measures to inform our staff about how we collect, handle and keep information secure.
16.10.2 We have put in place measures to deal with any suspected personal information breach and will notify relevant individuals and the Information Commissioner of a breach when we are legally required to do so.
16.11 The legal rights of individuals whose personal information we process.
16.11.1 Individuals have the rights set out below. If you wish to exercise any of these rights please contact our Data Protection Officer using the contact details given above.
Request access to their personal information (commonly known as a “data subject access request”). This enables individuals to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about them and to check that we are lawfully processing it.
Request correction of the personal information that we hold about them. This enables individuals to have any incomplete or inaccurate information we hold, though we will need to verify the accuracy of the new information provided to us.
Request erasure of their personal information. This enables individuals to ask us to delete or remove personal information where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. Individuals also have the right to ask us to delete or remove their personal information where they have successfully exercised their right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed their information unlawfully or where we are required to erase their personal information to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with a request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to the individual, if applicable, at the time of their request.
Object to processing of personal information where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or that of a third party) and there is something about the individual’s particular situation which makes her/him want to object to processing on this ground as she/he feels it impacts on her/his fundamental rights and freedoms. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process the information which overrides those rights and freedoms. Individuals also have the right to object where we are processing their personal information for direct marketing purposes.
Request restriction of processing of their personal information. This enables individuals to ask us to suspend the processing of their personal information in the following scenarios: (a) if the individual wants us to establish the information’s accuracy; (b) where our use of the information is unlawful but an individual does not want us to erase it; (c) where the individual needs us to hold the information even if we no longer require it as she/he needs it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; or (d) the individual has objected to our use of their information but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.
Withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process personal information. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before consent is withdrawn.
16.12Complaints
16.12.1 Individuals have a right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.co.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with any concerns before the ICO is approached so please contact our Data Protection Officer, using the contact details given above, in the first instance.
