Privacy Policy

In accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable legislation, MF_AC (standing for Menezes Falcão, Advogados e Consultores) presents its website’s privacv policy. 

1. Personal data processed by MF_AC;
2. Purposes and legal basis for the processing of personal data;
3. Maintenance period of personal data;
4. Transmission of personal data;
5. Security of personal data;
6. Rights of the personal data holder;
7. Exercising your rights;
8. Updating the Privacy Policy;
9. Contacts.

1. Personal data processed by MF_AC

MF_AC may process the following category of personal data:

a)      Identification data (e.g., name, date of birth, gender, address, contact details, citizen’s card data, passport data, tax number, nationality);

b)     Data relating to education and work experience (e.g., education, qualifications, certifications, curriculum vitae, information from previous employer);

c)      Professional data (e.g., title, position, job description, company, office address);

d)     Professional activity data (e.g., business activities, information about cases and briefs, experience);

e)      Invoicing and expenses data (e.g., fees, client-related travelling and communications expenses);

f)       Recorded image and sound data (e.g., photographic and video images).

 
What is personal data?

Personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. An identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

Data subjects are the individuals to whom the data refers.

The personal data categories listed above may belong to different categories of data subjects, such as clients, employees of corporate clients, counterparties, or applicants of MF_AC.

MF_AC collects personal data in various ways and at different times, including when you send us an e-mail or reply to an invitation, when you give us your visiting card, when you sign up for our information or events (newsletters), when you apply for a position with us or when you engage our services. In some cases, MF_AC may collect personal data indirectly from public sources, in which case it will provide all the information about the processing of that data to the relevant data subject at the earliest opportunity.

2. Purposes and legal basis for the processing of personal data

MF_AC may process personal data for the following purposes and on the following lawful bases:

a)      Provision of legal services, which may include: opening a client dossier; keeping a record of any service proposals received; communications with the client, other parties and/or public bodies, including courts and tribunals and keeping documents on file in digital and physical formats. 

Legal basis: contractual performance and legitimate interest.

• it is in MF_AC interest to process clients’ information in a sustained and efficient manner, as it ensures its quality and integrity and enables the provision of excellent services; and
• it is in the Interest of the clients represented and advised by MF_AC.

b)     Complying with statutory compliance obligations.

Legal basis: compliance with statutory obligation. 

c)      Invoicing and accounts management, which includes: booking expenses, monitoring costs and refunds (e.g. travelling and mobile communications expenses to be paid by clients); invoicing and management of current accounts and keeping accounting records and supporting documents on file.

Legal basis: contractual performance; legitimate interest and compliance with statutory obligation. 

• Manage efficiency, invoice the services provided correctly and in a timely fashion, and ensure compliance with the applicable statutory obligations.

d)     Submitting cases to legal directories.

Legal basis: legitimate interest, namely MF_AC’ interest in fostering the culture and the excellence of its lawyers.

e)      Judicial and non-judicial claims, which includes the collection and recovery of amounts owed by clients.

Legal basis:  legitimate interest, namely MF_AC’ legal interest in satisfying its debt-claims and defending its rights.

f)       Recruitment and selection, which includes analysing applications and CVs, as well as the internal selection process for lawyers and staff according to MF_AC needs.

Legal basis: pre-contractual audit at the request of the data subject and legitimate interest.

• MF_AC’ interest in analysing applications and having applicants undergo an internal selection process, in accordance with pre-defined criteria.

g)      Communications and sending of information, including the dissemination of legal information (e.g. newsletters, legal updates);

Legal basis: legitimate interest:

• Reply to requests from persons that fill in the MF_AC website forms with a relevant suitable correspondence;
• Contribute to the development of legal science and play an important role in the community of legal professions.

3. Maintenance period of personal data

MF_AC will only keep your data for the period of time necessary to achieve the purposes established in this Privacy Policy or during the period required by the applicable legislation or regulations.

The personal data storage periods, depending on each processing purpose, are as follows:

• Provision of legal services: for the duration of the client/lawyer relationship, plus 20 years;
• Protection of persons and goods: 30 days;
• Complying with statutory compliance obligations: 7 years from the time the client’s identification is processed or, in the case of business relationships, after their conclusion;
• Invoicing and accounts management: 10 years;
• Submitting cases to legal directories: for the duration of the case or brief;
• Judicial and non-judicial collection and complaints: until payment of the amounts in debt or settlement of the dispute, whichever is applicable;
• Recruitment and selection: 2 years from the time the application or CV is received, if the staff applicant is not selected; 3 years from the time the application or CV is received if the lawyer applicant is not selected;
• Communications and sending of information: until the data subject objects.

For the duration of the professional relationship with MF_AC in the remaining cases

4. Transmission of personal data

MF_AC does not transfer your personal data to third parties, except in cases where this proves to be necessary for the provision of the services you have engaged or in order to comply with the obligations to which MF_AC is subject.

The transfer of data to third parties is carried out in accordance with the applicable data protection legislation and within the limits of the purposes and lawful bases established in this Privacy Policy.

MF_AC may share your personal data with the following entities:

• Relevant parties for the legal advisory services we provide, for example, counterparties, courts and tribunals, regulatory authorities, government institutions or other lawyers;
• Law firms that are members of the Interlegal network (https://www.interlegal.net/members/map?list);
• Public authorities and the Portuguese Bar Association, with regard to compliance with legal obligations;
• Service providers that supply services to MF_AC for the purposes described above, such as Information Technologies (IT) providers, communications services, translation services and digital and physical archive services.

In cases where the transfer of personal data to the above-mentioned entities involves an international transfer of personal data (i.e., outside of the European Union), MF_AC:

(i) will carry out this transfer on the basis of a Commission adequacy decision, according to which the country or international organisation in question guarantees a level of personal data protection equivalent to that under European Union law; or

(ii) if there is no Commission adequacy decision, it will ensure that such transfers are made in stringent compliance with the law and that appropriate guarantees are implemented to ensure the protection of your personal data.

The existing adequacy decisions are available at www.eur-lex.europa.eu.

5. Security of the personal data

MF_AC has a very strict security policy, from a technical and organisation viewpoint, in order to protect your personal data from unauthorised destruction, loss, alteration, disclosure or access and against any other form of unlawful or abusive treatment.

The technical and organisational security measures created and implemented by MF_AC are also required of the MF_AC service providers that may process personal data on their own behalf.

6. Rights of the personal data holder

As a data subject, you have the following rights: 

• Right of access: you may ask MF_AC at any time for confirmation as to whether it is processing your data, for access to your personal data, and for information about that processing. You may also obtain a copy of the personal data that has been processed.
• Right to rectification: if your personal data is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask for it to be rectified or completed.
• Right to erasure or to be forgotten: in certain situations, you have the right to request the erasure of your personal data. This right may be restricted in certain situations if the processing of the data is necessary for compliance with statutory obligations to which MF_AC is subject or when processing said data is necessary for the purposes of declaring, exercising or defending a right in legal proceedings.
• Right to restrict processing: in certain situations, you may ask MF_AC to limit access to personal data or suspend processing activities. This will happen, for example, in cases where you dispute the accuracy of your personal data, for a period of time which enables MF_AC to check its accuracy, or in cases where you have objected to the processing, until it is verified whether the legitimate interests of MF_AC or of a third party prevail over yours.
• Right to data portability: in cases where the processing of data is based on a contract to which you are a party or on your consent, you may ask MF_AC to hand over to you the data you supplied in a structured, current and automatic reading format. You may also ask MF_AC to transfer this data to other data controllers, as long as this is technically possible.
• Right to object: when the data processing is based on the MF_AC’ legitimate interest or when it is carried out for purposes other than those for which the data was gathered, but which are compatible with the same, you have the right to object to the processing of your data for reasons related to your own personal situation. MF_AC will cease to process your personal data in such cases unless it has legitimate reasons to carry out this processing and these reasons prevail over your interests.
• Right not to be subject to automated decision-making: MF_AC make no automated individual decisions, including profiling, which have an effect on your legal status or significantly affect it in a similar way.
• Right to withdraw consent: in cases where the processing of the data is based on your consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time. If you withdraw your consent, your personal data will no longer be processed, unless there is another lawful basis that permits processing.
• Right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority: you have the right to lodge a complaint with the National Data Protection Commission (“Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados”) about matters related to the processing of your personal data.

Please note that the exercise of the above-mentioned rights may be restricted by virtue of third-party rights and freedoms, statutory obligations, confidentiality obligations or the prevailing legitimate interests of MF_AC or a third party.

7. Exercising your rights

You can exercise your rights free of charge through the contacts mentioned in section 9. of this Privacy Policy.

8. Updating of the Privacy Policy

The Privacy Policy may be updated by MF_AC - which is the reason why you should check it regularly. You can obtain more information about personal data processing from the Cookie Policy available in the Terms and Conditions of Use on our website.

9. Contacts

If you have any questions or need more information about the processing of your personal data or your rights as a data subject, please contact us via e-mail at geral@mf-ac.pt, or by letter addressed to MF_AC to the address Rua Joshua Benoliel, 6 - 8.º A e C, 1250-133 Lisboa.