Welcome to the website of Jing Law Firm (the “Firm“). This privacy statement serves to inform you how the Firm processes personal data and what kind of cookies are used.

1.  What personal data does the Firm process?

Personal data is any information that can be used to directly or indirectly identify a natural person. What personal data the Firm processes depends on your relationship with the Firm. Such data may include:

• If you are a client: (1) basic personal information such as name, date and place of birth, gender, copy of ID documents (e.g. ID card, passport, driver’s license and residence permit), company name, position, signature sample(s) etc.; (2) contact information such as phone number, address, e-mail address, social media account(s) etc.; (3) in certain cases possible previous criminal or administrative sanction records; and (4) other information such as banking and financial information.
• If you are a potential client or otherwise a business contact: (1) basic personal information such as name, date and place of birth, gender, company name, position etc.; and (2) contact information such as phone number, address, e-mail address, social media account(s) etc.
• If you are a supplier or otherwise a contracting party: (1) basic personal information such as name, date and place of birth, gender, company name, position, signature sample(s) etc.; (2) contact information such as phone number, address, e-mail address, social media account(s) etc.; and (3) other information such as banking and financial information.
• If you apply for a job, internship or volunteer position: (1) basic personal information such as name, date and place of birth, gender, photo, copy of ID documents (e.g. ID card, passport, driver’s license and residence permit) etc.; (2) qualification information such as education and work experience, professional certificates etc.; (3) if the application concerns the position of a Dutch lawyer: certificate of conduct; and (4) contact information such as phone number, address, e-mail address, social media account(s) etc.
• If you are an employee, intern or volunteer: all the data as mentioned in the previous category plus data regarding remuneration, expenses compensation and evaluation reports etc.
• If you are a visitor to the website: usage data such as webpages visited, timing of visits etc.
• If you are a subscriber to the social media accounts or channels of the Firm or Dr William (Jing) Guo your social media accounts and certain usage data such as which posts you have read and when. 

2.  How does the Firm obtain personal data?

In many cases the personal data that the Firm processes is provided by you. For example, you may provide your personal data to the Firm when calling or e-mailing the Firm to request a fee proposal, by entering into an agreement with the Firm, by subscribing to the social media accounts or channels of the Firm or by applying for a job, internship or volunteer position. The Firm may also obtain your personal data from other sources. These sources may include inter alia professionals that cooperate with the Firm to provide services to you, counterparties, publicly available sources such as trade registers and land registry etc.

3.  What are the purposes for processing personal data?

The purposes for which the Firm processes personal data may vary depending on your relationship with the Firm. Such purposes include:

• If you are a client: (1) to comply with legal requirements regarding client identification and tax duties etc.; (2) to perform the contracts with you; (3) to communicate effectively with you and to maintain a good client relationship; and (4) to send you invoices.
• If you are a potential client or otherwise a business contact: (1) to respond to your questions regarding the Firm’s services and fees; (2) to explore possible cooperation with you; (3) to provide you with marketing information; and (4) to prepare for conclusion of contracts with you.
• If you are a supplier or otherwise a contracting party: (1) to perform the contracts with you, including paying your invoices etc.; (2) to communicate effectively with you; and (3) to comply with legal requirements regarding tax duties etc.
• If you apply for a job, internship or volunteer position: (1) to respond to your questions regarding possible vacancies; and (2) to select suitable candidates to strengthen the Firm’s team.
• If you are an employee, intern or volunteer at the firm: (1) to perform employment, internship or volunteer contracts with you; (2) to comply with tax and other legal requirements; and (3) to maintain a sound relationship with the team members.
• If you are a visitor to the Firm’s website: (1) to maintain a well-functioning website; (2) to improve website visitors’ experience; and (3) to safeguard website security.
• If you are a subscriber to the social media accounts or channels of the Firm or Dr William (Jing) Guo: (1) to provide you with information and contents that the Firm/Dr Guo creates on such social media; and (2) to communicate with you regarding the Firm’s services and marketing events etc. 

4.  On the basis of what legal grounds does the Firm process personal data?

The Firm never processes personal data without legitimate legal grounds. The grounds for data processing include:

• preparation for conclusion of contracts or performance of contracts (this applies to e.g. clients, potential clients, suppliers and other contracting parties, job, internship or volunteer position applicants, employees, interns and volunteers); 
• compliance with the Firm’s legal obligations (this applies to e.g. clients, suppliers and other contracting parties, employees, interns and volunteers);
• the Firm’s legitimate interest to maintain a well-functioning legal practice (this applies to e.g. potential clients and other business contacts and job, internship or volunteer position applicants); and
• your consent (this applies to e.g. potential clients approaching the Firm for fee quotes and subscribers to the social media accounts or channels).

5.  For how long does the Firm retain personal data?

The Firm does not retain personal data longer than necessary for the data processing purposes. At the same time, the Firm duly observes the relevant legal requirements regarding minimum data retention periods. This means that the retention period of your personal data depends on the purposes for which it is processed and the applicable data retention legal requirements.

• Personal data regarding clients, suppliers and other contracting parties as well as employees, interns and volunteers is retained for seven years in accordance with articles 2:10 and 3:15i of the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek) and article 52 of the General Tax Act (Algemene wet inzake rijksbelastingen). In order for it to comply with the legal obligation of verifying possible conflict of interest before accepting new assignments, the Firm will retain certain basic personal data regarding its clients and their counterparties such as name and date of birth for twenty years after completion of a matter.
• Personal data regarding potential clients will no longer be retained as soon as it becomes apparent that he/she will not retain the Firm’s services, but ultimately four months after the last substantive contact.
• Personal data regarding applicants for jobs, internship or volunteer positions will be retained for four weeks after rejection.
• Personal data regarding visitors to the Firm’s website will be retained for twelve days.
• Personal data regarding subscribers to the social media accounts or channels of the Firm or Dr William (Jing) Guo will no longer be retained after they unsubscribe.

6.  With whom does the Firm share personal data?

The Firm does not share your personal data with third parties, unless it is necessary for the data processing purposes or the Firm is required to do so by law. This means under circumstances the Firm may share your personal data with inter alia government institutions, courts, counterparties, suppliers of certain IT services or professional parties that cooperate with the Firm to provide services to you.
The Firm will only transfer your personal data to a third party for the purposes and on the legal grounds as stated in this privacy statement. If a third party processes your personal data as a data processor (as defined in the General Data Protection Regulation), the Firm will conclude a processor agreement with such third party, which agreement meets the relevant legal requirements. Third parties to whom the Firm transfers your personal data are themselves responsible for compliance with privacy legislation. The Firm is neither responsible nor liable for the processing of your personal data by such third parties.
In order for it to provide its services, the Firm may need to transfer your personal data to certain recipients in a country outside the European Economic Area. In that case the Firm will ensure that the data transfer is compliant with the applicable law by, for example, using the European Commission standard contractual clauses for such data transfer.

7.  How does the Firm protect personal data?

The Firm takes relevant technical and organisational measures to ensure an appropriate level of security to protect your personal data. Technical measures include password protection, two-step verification login and data encryption. Organisational measures include screening of staff that may have access to personal data and restricting data access to those that strictly need access in order to achieve the data processing purposes.

8.  What kind of cookies does the Firm use?

The Firm uses Google Analytics in order to better understand how its website is visited. The Firm uses Google Analytics in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Dutch name: Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens), so that for such use no prior consent of website visitors is required.

9.  What rights do you have as a data subject?

As a data subject, you have the following rights under the relevant privacy legislation:

• right to be informed of the way we process your personal data;
• right to access your personal data;
• right to rectify or correct your personal data if it is inaccurate or incomplete;
• right to erase your personal data;
• right to object to or request restriction of processing of your personal data;
• right to data portability;
• right to object to profiling; 
• right to withdraw your consent; and
• right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority (in the Netherlands this is the Dutch Data Protection Authority).

The Firm respects your rights and will be pleased to facilitate lawful exercise of your rights. However, there may be circumstances under which the Firm is not able to accommodate your request due to its legal professional privilege or certain legal obligations that the Firm must comply with.
If you have any questions or requests regarding your privacy rights, please feel free to contact the Firm by using the contact information stated below. The Firm will respond within four weeks after receiving your question or request. The Firm will handle your request only if it concerns your own personal data. In order to make sure that it does not provide your personal data to unauthorised persons, the Firm will need to verify your identity before substantively handling your request.

10.  Languages and updates

This privacy statement is drafted in English and may be translated by the Firm into other languages for reference purposes. In case of discrepancies between different language versions, the English version prevails.
The Firm may update this privacy statement from time to time without prior notice. The latest version will always be available on the Firm’s website. The Firm encourages you to visit this webpage regularly in order to ensure that you are informed of the latest privacy policy.

11.  Contact information

If you have any questions, requests or complaints regarding the processing of your personal data, please feel free to contact Dr William (Jing) Guo via e-mail (j.guo@jinglawfirm.nl) or telephone (0031 (0)64 9009 284).