Privacy policy

Privacy policy

This website is owned by Top On Web SA, a search engine optimization agency and a company specializing in the creation and management of websites located at 36 Johannes Gutenberg Street, 1402 Nivelles. This ownership does not include Personal Data that is submitted through various forms and exclusively transmitted to the Data Controller as defined in Regulation (EU) 2016/679.

The Data Privacy Officer of Halabi Law Firm can be contacted at the following address: eh@avocat-halabi.com.

At Halabi Law Firm, we are committed to respecting the privacy of individuals who are affected by our activities, particularly when visiting and using the website.

This Personal Data Protection Policy (hereinafter referred to as “the Policy”) describes how we manage the Personal Data we collect, whether through forms, website registrations, phone calls, emails, or other communications with you. We may also collect certain data for specific purposes (see below) from external data sources, such as the Annexes of the Belgian Official Gazette, and/or the register of legal entities and the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises to confirm the powers of representation of managers or administrators of legal entities. We process your Personal Data in accordance with all applicable regulations on the protection of personal data.

By accepting this Policy, using the services of Halabi Law Firm, registering for an event organized by Halabi Law Firm, or otherwise providing your Personal Data to Halabi Law Firm, you acknowledge and accept the terms of the Policy, as well as the processing and transfer of Personal Data that will be carried out in accordance with the Policy.

The Personal Data we collect for the purpose of managing pre-contractual and contractual relationships and performing our legal services generally include:

  • Your identification data: last name, first name, gender, date and place of birth, tax identification numbers, national registration number.
  • Your contact information: landline/mobile phone number, email address, home address, physical address other than the home address, IP address.
  • Data related to your personal (including marital status), family (including matrimonial regime), professional, and financial status.
  • Your banking information: account number, bank statements.
  • Information related to the case/dispute, including data concerning criminal convictions and offenses related to the client or third parties, as well as other specific categories of data (religious or other beliefs, racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, health data, and information on trade union membership).

For certain data processing activities, a specific personal privacy policy may apply.

We use this Personal Data for the following purposes:

  • Responding to your requests and communicating with you and other individuals in the course of our activities;
  • Sending you information about events (including a newsletter, with the option to unsubscribe);
  • Providing support and assistance in relation to our services;
  • Sending you important information regarding changes to our services, terms and conditions, as well as other administrative or technical information;
  • Making decisions regarding the provision of services;
  • Conducting surveys and market analyses, including satisfaction surveys;
  • Providing you with marketing information (including information about our services or other services offered by selected third-party partners) in accordance with your expressed preferences;
  • Allowing you to actively participate in our activities, including forums, discussions, seminars, appointments, and other events, and managing these activities;
  • Resolving claims;
  • Managing contractual relationships with our clients, unsolicited applications, and responses to job offers;
  • Handling requests for access, rectification, etc.;
  • We have legal obligations applicable to professional secrecy and matters that Halabi Law Firm is required to respect and respond to in relation to administrative or judicial authorities (police, public prosecutor, investigating judge, and court) in the context of criminal or judicial proceedings (including the Judicial Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, in particular);
  • Data processed as part of a mission of public interest, namely: compliance with applicable laws and regulatory obligations (including laws outside your country of residence), such as those relating to the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, as well as to comply with judicial procedures and respond to requests from public authorities (including those outside your country of residence). This specific privacy policy applies when we assist a client in the preparation or execution of transactions concerning: (i) the purchase or sale of real estate or commercial enterprises; (ii) the management of funds, securities, or other assets belonging to clients; (iii) the opening or management of bank or savings accounts or portfolios; (iv) the organization of contributions necessary for the establishment, management, or direction of companies; (v) the establishment, management, or direction of companies, trusts, fiduciaries, or similar legal structures; or when we act on behalf of a client or for the account of a client in any financial or real estate transactions. In this context, we must take the following steps:
    • (i) Identify you as a client, representative, or ultimate beneficial owner; for this purpose, we collect a copy of your identity card or any other valid identification document;
  • (ii) Determine your risk profile in terms of “money laundering risk” and classify you in a risk category in accordance with our client acceptance policy;
  • (iii) When specific situations provided by law (country of origin, identification difficulties, unusual relationship between the client and the lawyer, or the nature of operations, public or similar personality) impose an obligation of enhanced due diligence, ask you any question that we consider relevant to comply with our legal obligations;
  • (iv) Inform the Dean of the bar association as soon as we become aware, outside our mission of defense in court or legal advice, of facts that we suspect are related to money laundering or the financing of terrorism. The Dean, as a guardian of professional secrecy, will transmit the suspicion report to the CTIF (Financial Information Processing Unit), which we cannot legally inform you about.
    • Data related to our obligations concerning embargoes and asset freezing (including legislation on embargoes, notably EU Regulations 2580/2001 and 881/2002).

The legal bases for the processing are as follows:

  • The consent of the Data Subject, which can be withdrawn at any time (without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out prior to such withdrawal) (purposes 1 to 9);
  • Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract or for the implementation of pre-contractual measures (purpose 10);
  • The legitimate interest of the data controller (purpose 7);
  • A legal obligation (purposes 11 and 12).

If we were to collect additional data or process Personal Data for purposes other than those mentioned above, we will provide you with information about this new purpose, as well as any other necessary information before commencing the new processing. Some of our activities are subject to additional conditions that may contain additional information on how we use and disclose your Personal Data. Therefore, we recommend that you read them carefully.

We do not use automated decision-making techniques that have legal or significant effects on the data subjects.

Halabi Law Firm may make Personal Data accessible to the following individuals and entities:

  • Our external third-party service providers, such as experts, IT service providers, support, hosting, printing, and other similar suppliers, as well as subcontractors who assist us in our activities;
  • Government authorities and third parties involved in legal action or pursuant to a legal obligation;
  • Other third parties with whom we may share Personal Data in the context of a current or proposed reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, portfolio transfer, or other transaction related to all or part of our business.

The data of Halabi Law Firm is stored in France.

Halabi Law Firm takes appropriate technical and organizational measures in accordance with applicable privacy and data protection laws and regulations. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure (for example, if you believe that the security of your Personal Data that you have shared with us may have been compromised), please notify us immediately.

When Halabi Law Firm provides Personal Data to a service provider, the provider is carefully selected and is required to use appropriate measures to ensure the confidentiality and security of the Personal Data.

Halabi Law Firm takes reasonable steps to ensure that the processed Personal Data is appropriate, accurate, and complete for the intended use, in order to achieve the purposes described in this Policy.

In general, we retain your data only for as long as necessary, and we delete them as soon as the purpose for their collection is no longer valid.

  • Data processed for contract performance: The data of the data subjects are retained for 10 years from the end of our mandate to account for any potential disputes that may arise during this period. This period may be extended in the case of ongoing litigation.
  • Data processed due to a legal obligation will be retained in accordance with the timeframe imposed by the applicable law.
  • Regarding anti-money laundering prevention, we are required to retain documents related to anti-money laundering measures for a minimum period of 9 years (until 2019) and then 10 years (from 2020). After the expiration of this period, such data will be systematically destroyed.

Employment candidate data are retained for a minimum period of 9 years (until 2019) and then 10 years (from 2020) after the submission of the application.

If you share Personal Data concerning other individuals with Halabi Law Firm, you agree: (a) to inform them of the content of this Personal Data Protection Policy, and (b) to obtain the legally required consent for the collection, use, disclosure, and transfer (including cross-border transfer) of Personal Data concerning those individuals, in accordance with the terms of this Policy.

You have the right to access your Personal Data, to rectify them, to object to their use, to request their erasure, restriction, or portability under certain circumstances. Please contact us at the email address eh@avocat-halabi.com, providing proof of your identity with a front copy of your identity card, for any request or if you have any questions or concerns regarding our processing of your Personal Data. Please note that certain rights, such as the right of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, or portability, may be limited under the GDPR or Belgian privacy laws.

We regularly review the rules set forth in this Policy, and we reserve the right to make changes at any time to reflect developments in our business and legal requirements. We will inform you of any such changes.

If you are not satisfied with our processing of your Personal Data and believe that we will not be able to resolve the issue by contacting us, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority: https://www.autoriteprotectiondonnees.be/.