Legal Notice

The purpose of this website is to provide general information about the law firm of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP ("Davies").

The material provided on this website is not legal advice and is only of a general nature. While Davies has taken reasonable efforts to ensure the information contained herein is accurate, it does not warrant or guarantee that this information is correct or up-to-date. Additionally, Davies does not provide any warranties with respect to any links to other websites contained herein, which are included for your convenience only and are not intended to be referrals or endorsements of the linked entities.

In no event shall Davies be liable to visitors of this website or anyone else for any damages or injury whatsoever arising out of or in connection with the use or inability to use this website or any hyperlinked website (including but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, lost profits, business interruption, loss of programs or other data on your information handling system or otherwise), even if we are expressly advised of the possibility of such damages.  Your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using and accessing this website.

Davies encourages your inquiries. Please visit the individual directory pages of our lawyers on this website to find out information about their areas of practice and whether they are qualified to practice law in your particular jurisdiction. You should be aware, however, that accessing our website or contacting our lawyers using e-mail does not create a lawyer-client relationship or impose any obligation on Davies. Moreover, due to the nature of the Internet, any electronic communication between us may not be secure and, unless you are already a client of our firm, will not be privileged and may be disclosed to other persons. Therefore, you should not send us any e-mail that contains confidential or sensitive information.

All content of this website, including its design, is protected by copyright and trademark laws. Any copying, distribution, or other protected use, without the express prior written permission of Davies, is strictly prohibited.

We request that you not use any of the information on this website, including the e-mail addresses that are available herein, to transmit, distribute or facilitate the distribution of unsolicited bulk e-mail or other advertisements to Davies or any of the partners or employees.

If you have any questions regarding this website please contact our website administrator, or if you require further information about Davies please contact one of our offices listed below.

Thank you for visiting our website.

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Privacy Policy

Introduction

This privacy policy (the "Privacy Policy") outlines the manner in which Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP and its affiliates ("Davies" or "we") collect, use and disclose personal information of individuals ("you") in Canada in the course of operating our business.  The confidentiality of your personal information and protection of your privacy are important to us.  In addition to adhering to the provisions of applicable privacy legislation, as lawyers we are also subject to professional and ethical obligations relating to the confidentiality of the information we receive in the context of the lawyer-client relationship.  We take these obligations very seriously and have implemented measures to ensure that your personal information is managed in a responsible and appropriate manner.

"Personal information" is a broad term that includes any information about or that can be used to identify an individual.  The types of personal information we may collect about an individual will depend upon the nature of the services we are requested to provide or the purpose for collecting the information (see "Purposes for Collecting, Using or Disclosing Personal Information", below).  Generally, personal information may include a person's name and home contact information, billing and account information, information relevant to their legal matters (such as information about their business or financial affairs) and other information incidental to the provision of legal advice and services by our firm.  We may also collect personal information about directors, officers, shareholders and employees of a client, adverse parties and other parties who are individuals.  In certain circumstances, we may be required pursuant to our professional or statutory obligations, including "know-your-client" requirements imposed by our governing law societies, to verify the identity of a client or its representatives.  This may include obtaining additional personal information, such as a person's occupation or date of birth and we may be required to obtain and retain a copy of an individual's personal identification document.

Personal information may not include business contact information, including your name, title or position, business or business e-mail address, telephone or facsimile number in your capacity as an employee of an organization.  Personal information also excludes certain publicly-available information, such as information listed in a public telephone directory.
 
Purposes for Collecting, Using or Disclosing Personal Information

We collect, use and disclose personal information only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances and we limit the amount and type of personal information we collect, use or disclose to that necessary for the purposes identified.  Generally speaking, Davies collects, uses and discloses personal information of clients and other individuals for the primary purpose of providing legal services and advice on matters in which we have been retained.  In some cases, we may be required pursuant to "know-your-client" regulations applicable to our profession to obtain certain personal information and in such cases the purpose is to comply with our regulatory obligations.  We also collect and use personal information for administrative purposes (such as billing and payment processing) and the maintenance of our document management and precedent systems.

We also collect and use personal information of clients and prospective clients to establish and foster relationships by communicating about our firm and our services.  We use personal information to distribute publications and invitations to events to individuals who subscribe to our mailing lists or are invited by firm members, to maintain contact lists and to conduct other activities to market our firm.
 
We may share personal information with third parties in the course of representing clients, including conducting negotiations, litigation or other proceedings.  Such third parties may include opposing parties and their counsel, foreign counsel and advisors, witnesses, courts and adjudicators.

In addition to the above we may collect, use and disclose personal information for other purposes ancillary to our business.  Examples include:

• information about agents and suppliers of goods and services to Davies to establish and maintain commercial relationships (such as selecting suppliers and processing invoices);
• information about visitors and guests of our premises for safety and security purposes;
• information about individuals who apply to us for employment or partnership for purposes of considering and evaluating their suitability for such a position;
• information about former employees and partners of Davies in order to maintain contact and comply with statutory obligations; and
• as otherwise permitted or required by law.

Consent

We collect, use and disclose personal information only with consent.  However, because we collect only such information as is necessary for our intended purposes, as a general rule our practice is not to request written consent to do so because consent can reasonably be implied in most cases.  By contacting us or voluntarily providing us with your personal information or by subscribing to our mailing list, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.  To the extent that you provide personal information of another individual to us, you represent that you have the necessary consent or authority to permit us to collect, use and disclose such personal information for the purposes set out in, and in accordance with, this Privacy Policy.  You may withdraw your consent to our continued use and disclosure of your personal information (upon reasonable notice and subject to legal or contractual restrictions) and we provide an opt-out opportunity to individuals from our publications and distribution lists.  You can unsubscribe on our website or by e-mailing us at communication@dwpv.com.

In some cases we may be authorized or required by law to collect, use or disclose personal information without consent.  For instance, we may be required to disclose information to civil or regulatory authorities or pursuant to a subpoena or court order.

Retention and Safeguards

Davies retains personal information for as long as it is needed for the purposes for which it was collected or in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements and professional standards.

We use safeguards that are standard in the legal profession to protect the security of personal information in our possession.  This includes the establishment of policies and procedures and the training of personnel, the use of physically secure facilities, the adoption of other standard security practices and the appointment of a Privacy Officer.

Any information or documentation which we collect in compliance with our "know-your-client" obligations is stored separately from other files and access thereto is limited to personnel who are responsible for ensuring that we comply with our obligations.

To the extent we enter into arrangements with service providers, agents and contractors to store, handle or process personal information on our behalf, such as for data processing, document storage and office services, we take reasonable steps, by contractual means or otherwise, to ensure that such parties use the information only for the purposes of complying with such arrangements and that they provide comparable privacy protection while the information is in their possession or control.

Our Website

Visitors to our website are not required to provide any individually identifiable information, such as a name or address, nor do we collect such information passively by electronic means. We collect only general information about visitors, such as their IP addresses and times of visit, and use this information to improve our website. However, if you decide to give us personal information, such as your e-mail address, we will use it only for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. Davies does not provide information to third parties regarding individual visitors to its website. While reasonable precautions are taken to protect all information given to Davies, due to the nature of the Internet Davies cannot guarantee that there will not be any unauthorized access to your information.  From time to time, our website may contain links to other websites which may collect your personal information. We do not assume any responsibility for the privacy practices of the third parties operating such websites. You should read the privacy policies of these websites and in light of such policies, decide whether or not you want to provide your personal information to the operators of these third party websites.

Access to Your Personal Information and Further Information

You have the right to access and challenge the accuracy and completeness of any personal information about you in our possession, and to have such information amended, subject to exceptions permitted or required by applicable law.  To make an access or amendment request or if you have a question or concern about your personal information or this Privacy Policy, please send a written request to:

Privacy Officer
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
1 First Canadian Place, Suite 4400
Toronto, ON M5X 1B1

or

privacyofficer@dwpv.com

Changes to our Privacy Policy

Our Privacy Policy is available in its entirety at www.dwpv.com.  We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy at any time by updating our Privacy Policy on our website.  Please check back frequently for the most current version of our Privacy Policy.