We are the Law Society of Ireland of Blackhall Place, Dublin 7 and Law Society Skillnet of Blackhall Place, Dublin 7 (“we”, “us”, “our”). The Law Society of Ireland is the educational, representative and regulatory body of the solicitors' profession in Ireland. Law Society Skillnet is a business support network comprising member firms and practices within the legal sector in Ireland. Law Society Skillnet is promoted by the Law Society and governed by a Steering Committee comprising members of its learning-network. The network is co-funded by Skillnet Ireland and member companies from the National Training Fund through the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

We take our responsibilities under applicable data protection law, including the General Data Protection Regulation and implementing legislation such as the Data Protection Act 2018 very seriously. The purpose of this notice is to inform you of the data relating to you that we may collect and use in connection with your continuing professional development (“CPD”) with Law Society Professional Training (“LSPT”), and Law Society Skillnet (“LSS”).

The Law Society and Law Society Skillnet are the controllers of this personal data. If you have any questions about our use of your personal data, please contact us at dataprivacy@lawsociety.ie or lawsocietyskillnet@lawsociety.ie.

Personal Data that we collect and Process

We will collect and process personal data relating to you in connection with LSPT and LSS. This personal data may include:

• your name and contact details, including your address, phone number, email address and post code;
• your age range;
• your nationality;
• your gender;
• your highest attainment level on the National Framework of Qualifications;
• your employment status;
• your work and personal phone number;
• where relevant, details of your current employment, including the name of your company and your job title;
• where relevant, details of your social welfare payments;
• where relevant, your solicitor number;
• any special dietary requirements you may have;
• your debit/credit card or bank account details;
• details of the fees paid to us or paid to you and how they are paid;
• details of your attendance at LSPT and LSS courses;
• any other personal data which you provide to us directly for example photographs and testimonials;
• where relevant, your medical records.

Purposes of Processing and Legal Basis

We will use personal data relating to you for the purposes of:

• processing your application to participate on a LSPT or LSS course;
• carrying out research and surveys to evaluate the quality and impact of LSPT and LSS courses;
• Sending you a CPD Certificate confirming your attendance and/or completion of a training event for CPD Scheme verification by you. This includes providing you with secure access to a virtual library where you can store your CPD Certificates;
• sending you promotional and marketing materials, including information on training and networking events, subject to any preferences that you express when we collect your contact details or subsequently. You can opt out of receiving promotional and marketing materials from us at any time by contacting lspt@lawsociety.ie or lawsocietyskillnet@lawsociety.ie or by phoning the Professional Training team at 01 881 5727.

The legal bases on which we collect, process and transfer your information in the manner described above are:

• that this is necessary for the performance of a contract with you or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract;
• our legitimate interests in regulating the solicitors’ profession in Ireland and ensuring the proper management and functioning of the Law Society and Law Society Skillnet. We will not process your personal data for these purposes if to do so would constitute an unwarranted interference with your own interests, rights and freedoms; and
• that this is necessary for compliance with a legal or regulatory obligation that applies to us; and
• to perform a task carried out in the public interest.

The legal bases on which we collect, process and transfer special categories of data relating to you in the manner described above are:

• that you have given your explicit consent to such processing.

Recipients of Data

We may disclose your personal data to other organisations in connection with the above purposes, including:

• to third parties who we engage to provide services or benefits to us or to you, such as professional advisers, auditors, examiners, insurers and outsourced service providers;
• to competent regulatory authorities and other bodies as requested or required by law, including the Department of Social Protection; and
• to Skillnet Ireland and other relevant Government and EU agencies to comply with legal or regulatory obligations.

Requirement to Provide Data

You are not under a statutory or contractual duty to provide us with any personal data. However, there are some pieces of information that you must provide to us so that we can process your application to participate on a LSPT and LSS course. If you do not provide us with this information, you may not be able to attend the LSPT and/or LSS course.

Retention

We will not hold your data for longer than is necessary. We may retain your personal data for the duration of your relationship with the Law Society and Law Society Skillnet and for such period of time thereafter as is necessary to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

Transfers Abroad

In connection with the above we might transfer your personal data outside the European Economic Area, including to a jurisdiction which is not recognised by the European Commission as providing for an equivalent level of protection for personal data as is provided for in the European Union. If and to the extent that we do so, we will ensure that appropriate measures are in place to comply with our obligations under applicable law governing such transfers. These may include entering into a contract governing the transfer that contains the ‘standard contractual clauses’ approved for this purpose by the European Commission. If you would like to receive further details of the measures that we have taken in this regard, please contact us at dataprivacy@lawsociety.ie.

Your rights

You have the following rights, in certain circumstances and subject to certain restrictions, in relation to your personal data:

• Right to access the data– You have the right to request a copy of the personal data that we hold about you, together with other information about our processing of that personal data.
• Right to rectification– You have the right to request that any inaccurate data that is held about you is corrected, or if we have incomplete information you may request that we update the information such that it is complete.
• Right to erasure– You have the right to request us to delete personal data that we hold about you. This is sometimes referred to as the right to be forgotten.
• Right to restriction of processing or to object to processing– You have the right to request that we no longer process your personal data for particular purposes, or to object to our processing of your personal data for particular purposes.
• Right to data portability– You have the right to request us to provide you, or a third party, with a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used machine readable format.
• Right to withdraw your consent– Where our processing of your personal data is based on you having provided your consent, you have the right to withdraw such consent.

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us at dataprivacy@lawsociety.ie.

Complaints

If you have any queries or complaints in connection with our processing of your personal data, you can contact us at dataprivacy@lawsociety.ie or lawsocietyskillnet@lawsociety.ie.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commission if you are not happy with the way we have used your information or addressed your rights. Details of how to lodge a complaint can be found at https://www.dataprotection.ie/en/contact/how-contact-us or you can contact the Data Protection Commission via the webforms on their website https://forms.dataprotection.ie/contact or on the helpline at 01 765 0100 or 1800 437 737 for further information.