Privacy

With this data protection notice, we inform you (hereinafter also referred to as “user” or “data subject”) about the data processing by CTSP Legal PartG mbB. The term “data processing” always refers to the processing of personal data. This information notice is intended for any natural person with whom we have (or will imminently have) an attorney-client relationship, or a contract, service or business relationship or any other relationship of communicati

This data protection notice applies to the processing of data by:

CTSP Legal PartG mbB

Email: office@ctsp-legal.com

Phone: + 49 (0)89 54196664

 

1. Collection and storage of personal data as well as nature and purpose of its processing

a) When visiting our website

When you visit our website www.ctsp-legal.com, information is automatically sent to the server of our website by the browser used on your end device. This information is temporarily stored in a so-called log file. The following information is collected without any action on your part and stored until the time of automatic deletion:

 

• IP address of the accessing computer,

• date and time of access,

• name and URL of the retrieved file,

• website from which access is made (Referrer URL)

• browser used and, if appropriate, the operating system of your computer as well as the name of your access provider.

 

We process the above mentioned data for the following purposes:

 

• ensuring smooth connection establishment of the website,

• ensuring comfortable use of the website,

• assessing system security and stability as well as

• for other administrative purposes.

 

The legal basis for the processing of data is Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is based on the above-mentioned data collection purposes. Under no circumstances we use the data collected for the purpose of drawing any conclusions regarding you.

Furthermore, we use cookies as well as analytics services when you visit our website. More details on this can be found in sections 3 and 4 of this data protection notice.

b) When visiting our online presence on social media networks

We maintain online presences on social networks (LinkedIn), to inform active users there about our services and to communicate with interested parties via these platforms. Our social media channels can only be accessed via an external link. Once you access our social media profile on the respective network, the terms and conditions and data processing policies of the respective operator apply.

We have no influence on the collection of data and its further use by social networks. There is no knowledge of the extent to which, at what location, and for what duration the data is stored, to what extent the networks comply with existing obligations to delete, which evaluations and links are made with the data, and to whom the data is forwarded. We expressly point out that your data (e.g., personal information, IP address) is stored by the operators of the networks in accordance with their data usage policies and used for business purposes.

We process data with regard to social media presences only to the extent that comments or direct messages are directed to us. The legal basis for the processing of the data after the user has given consent is Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. a) GDPR.

c) When contacting us by email or telephone

We only receive personal data relating to you as an individual, such as your name, telephone number, or email address, if you explicitly provide us with this data, for example, by providing us with your email address so that we can contact you.

We store this data for as long as necessary for the purpose for which you provided us with the data; afterwards, it will be deleted unless we are required by law to store it for longer periods. You can request information about your data at any time (see section 5 of this data protection notice).

The processing of this data is based on Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR.

d) In the context of service provision 

Subject matter of our data processing are your contact details as well as, if applicable, other personal data required for the provision of our services or our communication with you. This includes, in particular, the following data:

• Master data (e.g. name, address, contact information such as email, telephone number and internet address),
• Client-related data (e.g. contracts, communication, shipping documents, evidence, witness data),
• Advisory data (e.g., contents of inquiries, advisory documentation, documents, file notes, legal opinions and legal assessments),
• Activity data (e.g. advisory documentation, proof of services, accounts as well as further information necessary for the assertion and defense of your rights within the scope of the mandate),
• As well as other data that you voluntarily provide to us within the scope of the client relationship.

 

The data processing is usually carried out at your request and is necessary for the proper processing of the mandate and the mutual fulfillment of obligations under the mandate agreement, pursuant to Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. b) GDPR. In addition, we process your personal data to the extent necessary to protect the legitimate interests of CTSP Legal (Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR). The processing of your personal data based on the above-mentioned provisions is particularly necessary:

 

• in order to enter into or execute engagement letters, contracts and other business relationships (including the processing of purchase orders, deliveries or payments) or in order to prepare or reply to quotation requests and to determine the conditions of the contractual relationship, namely with our clients, service providers or cooperation partners for whom you act as representative or employee, as the case may be;
• for internal administrative purposes of the law firm (e.g., for accounting purposes);
• for any other communication purposes;
• in order to ensure IT security and IT operations at the law firm;
• in order to engage service providers (e.g., external IT service providers) who support our business processes;
• in order to conduct compliance or similar investigations in individual cases.

 

Moreover, personal data is also processed in order to perform contracts entered into or to fulfil orders placed by natural persons with whom we have business relationships (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b) GDPR).

If we know you personally and/or you are in a client relationship with our law firm, we may send you greeting cards on special occasions, such as Christmas cards, based on our legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR. We assume that the recipients appreciate the greetings on special occasions. If this is not the case, you can object to the sending of greeting cards pursuant to Art. 21 GDPR (see section 6 of this data protection notice).

If you choose not to provide us with your personal data, we are unable to perform the contractual relationship and/or cannot fulfil the above stated communication purposes.

Pursuant to the provisions of the German Anti-Money Laundering Act (Geldwäschegesetz), we are obligated to identify our clients and, hence, need you to provide us with the necessary information (Sec. 11 para. 6 sentence 1 German Anti-Money Laundering Act). Pursuant to Sec. 50 of the German Federal Lawyers’ Act (Bundesrechtsanwaltsordnung), we are obligated under professional law (Berufsrecht) to keep and manage attorneys’ reference files, registers and files, respectively; to this purpose, we may use electronic data processing. In these cases, data processing is required by law and is based on Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. c) GDPR.

If you have not provided us with your personal data yourself, we received such data from our clients or cooperation partners or obtained them from publicly available sources, in particular from company websites or industry directories or public registers, e.g. land register, commercial registers and registers of associations. Each of our employees and all employees of external service providers who have access to personal data are obliged to treat this data confidentially.

We will continue processing your personal data also after termination of our attorney-client, contract or service relationship or our contact to the extent that this is necessary for the aforementioned purposes, to comply with post-contractual obligations or to fulfil statutory requirements for the retention of records or for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us. The same applies if you have consented to additional data storage pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a) GDPR. Thereafter, your personal data will be erased.

The personal data obtained by us for the purpose of the mandate will be retained by us for a period of ten years and then deleted, unless we are obliged to retain the data for a longer period pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. c) GDPR due to retention and documentation obligations under tax and commercial law (from the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch), German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch) or German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung) as well as professional regulations for the purpose of conflict checks or unless you have agreed to a longer retention pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a) GDPR.

2. Disclosure of data

We will transmit your personal data only on the basis of (and in accordance with) the statutory provisions in the context of the correct execution of a mandate or if and to the extent that you have consented to such transmission in the individual case.

To the extent required, your personal data may be disclosed to service providers within and outside the European Economic Area (EEA) who perform specific services for us such as IT services (processors). In the course of our work, we also use, among other things, cloud-based IT solutions from third-party providers (e.g., Microsoft Office365). In particular, we use (cloud-based) services for document management, collaboration and automatization or analysis of documents as well as external (cloud-based) providers of Exchange servers and data rooms.

In the course of our law firm’s usual work processes and for the purposes specified under section 1 d) of this data protection notice, it is possible that we disclose your data to third parties within and outside the European Union, for example to our cooperation partners or to law firms with whom we work together on a client matter, to translators, opponents or to other third parties.

In addition, we can – to the extent legally permissible – disclose your data to domestic and foreign public authorities and courts (such as social security institutions, tax authorities or law enforcement agencies) in order to comply with statutory duties or in order to act in the interests of our law firm.

The data disclosed may be used by our employees and third parties exclusively for the purposes stated. The attorney-client privilege remains unaffected. We have also taken technical and organizational measures to process your data securely and to ensure an adequate level of data protection for transfers to third countries.

3. Cookies 

We place cookies on our website. These are small files automatically created by your browser and stored on your terminal device (laptop, tablet computer or smartphone or the like) when you visit our website. Cookies do not harm your computer, they do not contain viruses, Trojans or other malware.

The cookie contains information deriving in each case in relation to the specific terminal device used. However, this does not mean that we thereby immediately gain knowledge of your identity.

On the one hand, the use of cookies serves the purpose of improving the use of our offer for you. For this, we place so-called session cookies on our website in order to recognize that you have already visited individual pages of our website. These are automatically deleted after your visit on our website.

Moreover, we use temporary cookies, again for the purpose of optimizing user-friendliness. These will be stored on your terminal device for a specific determined period of time. If you re-visit our website in order to use our services, it will automatically be recognized that you have visited our website before and which input and settings you have made so that the same information does not have to be entered again.

We also use cookies to collect statistics on the use of our website and in order to evaluate these in the interests of optimizing the site and its content (see section 4 of this data protection notice). These cookies allow us to automatically detect during a subsequent visit that you were previously here. These cookies are automatically deleted after a specifically defined period of time.

The data processed by means of cookies are necessary for the mentioned purposes in order to protect the legitimate interests pursued by us as well as by third parties according to Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR.

Most browsers accept cookies automatically. However, you can configure your browser in a way that no cookies will be stored on your computer or a notification appears before a new cookie is placed. However, if you deactivate all cookies, you may not be able to use all functions of our website.

4. Analysis tools / tracking tools

Any tracking measures are carried out on the basis of Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR. With the tracking measures used, we want to ensure a needs-based design and continuous optimization of our website. On the other hand, we use the tracking measures to statistically record the use of our website and to evaluate it for the purpose of optimizing our offer for you. These interests are to be regarded as legitimate within the meaning of the aforementioned provision.

5. Rights of data subjects

You have the right to:

• demand information on your personal data that are processed by us according to Art. 15 GDPR. In particular, you may demand information on the purposes of processing, the category of the personal data, the categories of recipients to whom your data have been or will be disclosed, the planned period for which the personal data will be stored, the existence of the right to request rectification, deletion, restriction of processing or to object to such processing, the existence of the right to lodge a complaint, the source of your data where they have not been collected by us, as well as on the existence of automated decision-making including profiling and, if appropriate, demand meaningful information on the details thereof;
• demand without undue delay the rectification of inaccurate personal data or the completion of the personal data stored by us according to Art. 16 GDPR;
• demand the deletion of your personal data stored by us, provided that processing is not necessary for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information, for compliance with a legal obligation, for reasons of public interest or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims according to Art. 17 GDPR;
• demand restriction of the processing of your personal data, where the accuracy of the data is contested by you, the processing is unlawful and you oppose the deletion of the personal data and we no longer need the personal data, but they are required by you for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims according to Art. 18 GDPR or you have objected to processing according to Art. 21 GDPR;
• demand the personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or to demand the transmission of those data to a different person responsible according to Art. 20 GDPR;
• withdraw your consent given to us at any time according to Art. 7 (3) GDPR. This will have as a consequence that we are no longer entitled to process data based on such content and
• lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority according to Art. 77 GDPR. Generally, for this you may refer to the supervisory authority at your habitual residence or your place of work or the seat of our law firm.

6. Right to object

If your personal data are processed on the basis of legitimate interests according to Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR, you have the right, according to Art. 21 GDPR, to object to the processing of your personal data, to the extent that the objection is based on grounds relating to your particular situation or you object to processing for direct marketing purposes. In the latter case you have a general right to object which will be implemented by us without reference to any particular situation.

If you wish to use your right of withdrawal or objection, you only need to send an email to: office@ctsp-legal.com.

7. Data security

During your visit on our website we use the widespread SSL procedure (Secure Socket Layer) in connection with the highest level of encryption supported by your browser. You can recognize whether a specific page on our website is transmitted in encrypted form, if you see a locked eye or a lock symbol in the lower status bar of your browser.

Moreover, we use appropriate technical and organizational security measures in order to protect your data against accidental or deliberate manipulations, partial or total loss, destruction or against the unauthorized access by third parties. Our security measures will be continuously improved in accordance with the technical development.

8. Updates and changes to this data protection notice 

This data protection notice is current and has a status of August 2023.

Due to the further development of our website and the services thereon or due to amended legal or regulatory requirements it may be necessary to amend this data protection notice. This latest data protection notice can at any time be found on and printed from our website at https://www.ctsp-legal.com/privacy.