This section will be relevant to you if you are a witness in a claim being made against a barrister and sets out our uses of your personal data.
What personal data will we collect?
- Your name and title.
- Contact information, including your telephone number and email addresses.
- Information which is relevant to your capacity as a witness which is the subject of or relevant to a claim being made against a barrister.
What special category data will we collect?
Whilst we do not actively collect your special category data, there may be some circumstances where we receive your special category data if relevant to the incident you witnessed which is the subject of or relevant to a claim being made against a barrister, such as details about your physical or mental health or details about your criminal convictions and related information.
How will we collect your personal data?
We will collect information directly from you by email, telephone and through other written and verbal communications in correspondence we may have with you.
As well as obtaining information directly from you, we may also collect information from:
- Individuals who are making the claim;
- The barrister who is the subject of the claim and individuals at his or her chambers; and
- Any claims files or case files relating to the claim and which document the incident you witnessed.
What will we use your personal data for?
We use your personal data for a number of different purposes. In each case, we must have a "legal ground" to do so. We will rely on the following “legal ground”, when we process your "personal data":
- We need to use your personal data for a legitimate business reason (e.g. to keep a record of all claims we investigate and handle, to keep business and accounting records and to manage our business operations). When using your personal data for these purposes, we will always assess our need to use this personal data for these purposes against your rights to privacy to ensure we are protecting your rights.
When the information that we process is classed as “special category data", we must have an additional “legal ground". We will rely on the following legal grounds when we process your "special category data":
- We need to use your special category data for purposes relating to an insurance claim and there is a substantial public interest in such use. Such purposes include handling claims.
- We need to use your special category data to establish, exercise or defend legal claims. This might happen when we are faced with legal proceedings or want to bring legal proceedings ourselves or when we are investigating a legal claim that a third party brings.
- We have your explicit consent.
| Purpose for processing | Legal grounds for using your personal data | Legal grounds for using your special category data |
| To investigate and handle any claims made against a barrister and communicating with you in relation to the claim. | We have a legitimate business reason (to investigate and handle all claims that have been notified to us pursuant to your insurance policy and to communicate with you regarding this claim). | Such use is necessary for insurance purposes. We have your explicit consent. We need to use your information in order to establish, exercise or defend legal rights. |
| Managing our business operations such as maintaining accounting records, internal audit requirements, receiving professional advice (e.g. tax or legal advice). | We have a relevant legal or regulatory obligation. We have a legitimate business reason (to effectively manage our business operations). | We need to use your information in order to establish, exercise or defend legal rights. |
| Investigating or detecting the unauthorised use of our systems, to secure our system and to ensure the effective operation of our systems. | We have a legitimate business reason (to ensure the integrity and security of our systems). | We need to use your information in order to establish, exercise or defend legal rights. |
| Transferring or selling part of our business or re-organising our company structure. | We have a legitimate business reason (to manage our business and re-organise our company). | Not applicable. |
With whom will we share your personal data?
We will keep your personal data confidential and we will only share it where necessary for the purposes set out above with the following parties:
- Thomas Miller Professional Indemnity Ltd and other Thomas Miller Group Companies, including for our general outsourcing management and administration purposes.
- Third parties who assist in the administration of our insurance business. These include insurers and underwriters.
- Individuals who are making the claim against a barrister.
- The barrister who is the subject of the claim and individuals at his or her chambers.
- Professional advisers.
- The Bar Standards Board, the Bar Council and the Legal Ombudsman.
- Courts and tribunals where legal proceedings have been initiated.
- Insurers who provide our own insurance (reinsurers) and companies who arrange such reinsurance.
- The police, other third parties or law enforcement agencies where reasonably necessary for the prevention or detection of crime.
- Third party suppliers we appoint to help us carry out our everyday business activities such as IT suppliers, actuaries, accountants, auditors, lawyers and document management providers.
- Selected third parties in connection with any sale, transfer or disposal of our business.