This policy outlines our obligations in complying with the New Zealand Privacy Law, and Lawyers

and Conveyancers Act requirements from time to time.


It sets out how we will collect, use, disclose and protect your personal information.

This policy does not limit or exclude any of your rights under the Act. If you wish to seek further

information on the Act, see www.privacy.org.nz.


How we collect your Personal Information


We collect personal information about you from:


  • you directly, when you provide this information to us, including but not limited to, via the website any process, and or any contact with us (e.g. telephone call, email or text)
  • third parties where you have authorised this or the information is publicly available


What information do we collect?


We usually, as a minimum, collect the following information:


  • name, address, contact details
  • date of birth
  • identification / photograph
  • occupation
  • other information required for AML purposes
  • IT Device, Location information, IP address (indirectly via our website or social media
  • platform)
  • information which assists us in conducting our business, meeting our legal obligations and
  • providing our services
  • any other related information


You are not required to provide us with your information.  However, if you do not, we may refuse

to act for you.


What your Personal Information is used for


In dealing with Weston Ward and Lascelles Ltd, we will collect these personal details for many

purposes, these being:


  • as needed in the course of business to carry out work instructed by you
  • to respond to communications from you,
  • to verify your identity
  • to undertake credit checks of you (if necessary)
  • meet our legal obligations and facilitate our internal business operations
  • to market our services, including contacting you electronically (e.g. by text or email for this
  • purpose)
  • to provide you with relevant information and updates on legal issues which we think may be
  • of interest to you
  • to improve the services and products that we provide to you
  • to invoice you and to collect money that you owe us, including authorising and processing
  • credit card transactions
  • to conduct research and statistical analysis (on an anonymised basis)
  • to deal with any complaint
  • to protect and/or enforce our legal rights and interests, including defending any claim
  • for any other purpose authorised by you or the Act


We will take reasonable steps in the circumstances to check that the personal information we

collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete, relevant, not misleading and up to date.


Disclosing your Personal Information


Weston Ward and Lascelles Ltd may disclose your personal information to:


  • another company within our group, any business that supports our services and products,
  • including any person that hosts or maintains any underlying IT system or data centre that we
  • use to provide the website or other services and products
  • agency for verification of identity (AML purposes)
  • a credit reference agency for the purpose of credit checking you
  • other third parties (for anonymised statistical information)
  • a person and/or organisation who can require us to supply your personal information (e.g. a
  • regulatory authority)
  • any other person authorised by the Act or another law (e.g. a law enforcement agency)
  • any other person authorised by you


A business that supports our services and products may be located outside New Zealand.  This may

mean your personal information is held and processed outside New Zealand.


Protecting your Personal Information

We will take reasonable steps to keep your personal information safe from loss, unauthorised

activity, or other misuse.


Accessing and Correcting your Personal Information

Subject to certain grounds for refusal set out in the Act, you have the right to access your readily

retrievable personal information that we hold and to request a correction to your personal

information.  Before you exercise this right, we will need evidence to confirm that you are the

individual to whom the personal information relates and / or otherwise authorised to do so.


In respect of a request for correction, if we think the correction is reasonable and we are reasonably

able to change the personal information, we will make the correction.  If we do not make the

correction, we will take reasonable steps to note on the personal information that you requested

the correction.


If you want to exercise either of the above rights, email us at enquiry@wwl.co.nz.  Your email should

provide evidence of who you are and set out the details of your request (e.g. the personal

information, or the correction, that you are requesting).


We may charge you our reasonable costs of providing to you copies of your personal information

and / or correcting that information.


Internet use

While we take reasonable steps to maintain secure internet connections, if you provide us with

personal information over the internet, the provision of that information is at your own risk.


If you post your personal information on the Social Media platform, you acknowledge and agree

that the information you post is publicly available.


If you follow a link on our website to another site, the owner of that site will have its own privacy

policy relating to your personal information. We suggest you review that site’s privacy policy before

you provide personal information.


We use cookies (including an alphanumeric identifier that we transfer to your computer’s hard drive

so that we can recognise your browser) to monitor your use of the website. You may disable cookies

by changing the settings on your browser, although this may mean that you cannot use all of the

features of the website.


If you have any queries or complaints about our Privacy Policy, please contact our Office.