Privacy policy.

1. Introduction

This Privacy Notice applies between you, the visitor to this website and/or user of my services and Cynthia McFarlane, the owner and provider of this website. Cynthia McFarlane acts as a Data Controller under the General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) and is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (‘ICO’) as a Data Controller under registration number ZA324198.

In this Privacy Notice I will inform you:

  • why I am able to process your personal information;

  • the purpose(s) I am processing your personal information for;

  • whether you have to provide your personal information to me in order to use this website or whether it is voluntary;

  • how long I store your personal information for;

  • whether there are other recipients of your personal information;

  • whether I intend to transfer your personal information to another country outside the European Economic Area, and

  • whether or not I perform automated decision-making or profiling on your personal information.

2. My Basic Principles

thehorselawyer.co.uk takes the privacy of your information very seriously. I have a few simple principles which I abide by in order to protect your privacy:

  • I only ask you for information which I genuinely need in order to provide you with a better service, for example your name, telephone number and e-mail address if you want to enquire about my services; and

  • Unless legally obliged to do so I won’t share your information with anyone, other than for the standard running of my business.

This Privacy Notice applies to my use of any and all data collected by me or provided by you in relation to your use of the website and/or the provision of my services to you. I aim to make my collection and use of your data as clear and as transparent as possible, but for brevity it has not been possible to list every circumstance in which I will use your data. I recommend that you read this Privacy Notice carefully.

3. My Contact Details

Any questions or queries you may have can be sent directly to me, Cynthia McFarlane by e-mail at:

info@thehorselawyer.co.uk at:

Cynthia McFarlane
Clerksroom
Equity House
TA1 2PX

4. Information Collection on My Website

I may collect and process Personal Information from you directly when you use my website, usually when you fill in the contact form or when you e-mail me, telephone me, write to me or when you have made an information request from me. Data provided to me directly in this way is processed by me with your consent. You may remove your consent at any time by contacting me using the contact information given in this Privacy Notice.

My contact form will require the following compulsory details:

  • Name; and

  • E-mail address.

I may also ask for optional details such as the subject matter of your enquiry and the message content itself.

Collection and processing of your Personal Information when using my website will also occur as follows:

  1. Google Analytics. I use Google Analytics to collect standard internet log information about visitors to my website. This is done in order to discover, for example, how many visitors I have to the website. The information is processed in such a way that visitors to my website are not identified, and I do not permit Google Analytics to process your information in a way which would allow you to be identified. You can read more about the use of Google Analytics and their Privacy Notice on their website.

  2. Website Hosting and Security. I use a third party hosting service, Wix, to host and to maintain the security and performance of my website. In order to do this it is necessary to collect the Internet Protocol (‘IP’) address of visitors to my website. I rely on the Privacy Shield Framework to transfer this information to Wix’s servers which are located in the US.

  3. Cookies. In order for my website to function properly and to provide you with a pleasant user experience, it is necessary for us to use Cookies – small text files that are placed on your computer by the website. Please be aware that Google Analytics also makes use of cookies on my website. Visitors to my website who do not wish to have cookies placed on their computers should set their browser preferences to refuse cookies before accessing my website; although the website may then not work properly. Disabling cookies in this way will also stop Google Analytics from tracking any part of your visit to pages within this website

For more information on the Cookies I use, please read my Cookie Notice.

The purpose for processing your Personal Data as set out above is to maintain and monitor the performance of my website and to constantly look to improve the site and the services it offers to you. The legal basis I rely on to process your Personal Data is set out in Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR, on the basis of my legitimate interests.

5. My Use of Your Data

Where you have contacted me and requested I provide you with information about my services, you have provided your consent to me processing your information under Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR. I will process your Personal Information for the purposes of providing you with the service you enquired about or for other closely related purposes. For example, where you purchase a service from me, I may e-mail you to ask you if you were happy with the service and if there is anything I can do to improve my service to you. I will keep a copy of your enquiry and my response to you for a period of 1 (one) year, but any further or more complex correspondence will be kept for 7 (seven) years.

Where you engage me to carry out work for you, the legal basis I process your information may change, in addition to the lawful basis of processing. For example if you engage me to carry out work for you, my purpose of processing will now be to provide that service to you and my legal basis of processing will now be under Article 6(1)(b) – processing is necessary for performance of a contract. The period I retain your Personal Information may also change and you can find out more details of my retention schedule by contacting me.

6. Marketing

I will only provide you with marketing information for the purposes of keeping you informed about my services. Where you request this information from me you consent to me processing your Personal Information under Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR. You can withdraw consent or change your preferences about marketing activities at any time by contacting me using the details set out above.

I will always ask for your consent via a positive opt-in to market to you products or services which differ from the core products and services you purchased from me. I will not send marketing materials to you if you are not a client, unless you have requested such marketing materials from me or consented to receive them via a positive opt-in. You can withdraw consent, ask me to stop sending you marketing messages or change your preferences about marketing activities at any time by contacting me using the details set out above.

I may use programs such as Mail Chimp to send marketing e-mails to you, in addition to Microsoft Outlook.

7. Data Retention Policy

Other than data that comprises a very simply enquiry and reply, which I will keep for a minimum of 1 (one) year, any Personal Data you submit to me will be kept for a period of 7 (seven) years. This includes e-mail correspondence. All of your Personal Data which I collect is stored securely with appropriate physical, managerial and electronic safeguards in accordance with the principles of the GDPR and any other applicable legislation. You can find out more details of my retention schedule by contacting me, using the contact information set out above.

8. Third Party Access to Your Data

I strive to keep third party access to your Personal Data to a minimum. However, Personal Information provided by you to me may in some circumstances need to be passed to third parties which i use for the running of my business, for example to the hosting provider of my website (Wix) or Clerksroom, the Barrister Chambers I am a member of, where I store e-mails on their server.

Information passed to third parties is used only to the extent required by them to perform the services that I request and I have in place contractual terms to regulate the processing of your Personal Data. Any use for other purposes is strictly prohibited. Furthermore, any data that is processed by third parties for me will be processed within the terms of this Privacy Notice and in accordance with the GDPR.

9. Your Data Protection Rights

Under the GDPR you have certain rights as regards the personal data I hold on you. Where you would like to exercise these rights, you can do so by using a Subject Access Request or (‘SAR’).

In a SAR you can ask me if I hold personal data on you, and if so, request a copy of that data. I will also give you a description of the data, tell you why I are holding it and tell you who I could have disclosed it to. I do not charge for the provision of this information.

In brief, you have the following data protection rights:

  • the right to be informed regarding your data;

  • the right to gain a right of access to your data;

  • the right to ask me to rectify data on you which is incorrect;

  • the right to ask me to delete the data I hold on you;

  • the right to ask me to stop processing data on you;

  • the right to ask me to restrict processing your data;

  • the right to ask me to transfer your data to another Data Controller/provide you with your data in a machine readable format (data portability); and

  • rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling.

I will reply to all requests as soon as possible, and in no event later than one month. Not all of these rights may be available to you, and will depend on the lawful basis I process your information.

For more information on your rights under the GDPR, please see the website of the Information Commissioner’s Office (‘ICO’).

10. Transfers outside the European Economic Area (‘EEA’)

Some of my third party service providers are located out-with the EEA. Therefore Personal Data which I collect from you may be stored, processed in and transferred to such countries, which may not have as stringent data protection laws as found in the EEA. If I transfer your Personal Data outside the EEA in this way, I will ensure that the third party provider which I use is compliant with the GDPR and that your privacy continues to be protected as outlined in this Privacy Notice. I may use a number of methods to achieve this objective, including the Privacy Shield Framework for transfers to the US such as I use for my web hosting provider Wix.

11. Changes to My Privacy Notice

Although any changes are likely to be minor, I reserve the right to change and update this Privacy Notice as I may deem necessary from time to time or as may be required by law. Your continued use of this website after any changes means you are deemed to have accepted any change to the terms of this Privacy Notice. As and when any changes occur, they will be set out on a change log. There is currently one document update dated 2 March 2022.

12. Automated Decision Making and Profiling

I do not use any automated decision making and profiling.

13. Right to Lodge a Complaint

Our supervisory authority is the ICO and you have the right to lodge a complaint with them if you do not feel I have adequately upheld your rights under the GDPR. Contact details for the ICO can be found on their website.

In addition to complaining to the ICO, where you feel I have breached your rights and the privacy of your data, you are also entitled to pursue action against me in the courts or other legitimate legal forums, such as mediation or other forms of dispute resolution.

14. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

This Privacy Notice governed by English law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.