Privacy and Data Protection Policy


1        Who am I?


Joanne Ball Solicitor (“me” and “I“) is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.


This policy (together with my terms of business and any other documents referred to in it) sets out the basis on which any personal data I collect from you, or that you provide to me, whether via this website or otherwise, will be processed by me. Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.


For the purpose of UK and European data protection and e-privacy legislation (“Data Protection Legislation”), the data controller is Joanne Ball Solicitor and my head office address is 15 Vicarage Close, Liverpool, L18 7HU


2             Information I collect from you


If you provide me with information about other people, you must make sure that they have seen a copy of this privacy policy and are comfortable with you giving me their information.


I will collect and process the following data about you:


3        Information you give me


  • This is information about you that you give me by filling in forms on my website joanneballsolicitor.co.uk (“my site”) or by corresponding with me by phone, e-mail or otherwise. It includes information you provide when you register to use a secure part of my site, search for a service, make an enquiry, request a quotation, engage me to provide services, during the course of a legal matter, participate in social media functions on my site, and when you report a problem with my site. The information you give me may include your name, position, company, contact details (such as address, e-mail address and phone number), your personal preferences, choices and requirements specific to particular requests or services, financial and credit card information, personal description and photograph.


  • If you are my client, for certain types of legal matters occasionally you may give me certain special categories of personal data. This includes information about your health, your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, your sex life or sexual orientation, biometric information to uniquely identify you or your genetics (“Special Categories of Data”). You may give me information about criminal convictions or offences.


4      Information I collect about you


When you visit my site I may automatically collect the following information:


  • technical information, including the internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet, your login information, browser type and version, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform;
  • information about your visit, including the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL), clickstream to, through and from my site (including date and time), products or services you viewed or searched for page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), methods used to browse away from the page and any phone number used to call me.


5      Information I receive from other sources


This is information I may receive about you from other sources. For example, your name, address, telephone number, email address, financial, billing or employment information or other information regarding a matter on which I advise my client, including biographical or other personal data.


I work closely with third parties (including, for example, business partners, accountants, sub-contractors in technical, payment and delivery services, advertising networks, analytics providers, search information providers, credit reference agencies) and may receive personal information about you from them. This includes professional advisers who may refer your case or matter to me.


If you are my client, for certain types of legal matters occasionally such third parties, such as Counsel or medical professionals, may disclose Special Categories of Data to me or information about criminal convictions or offences.


My clients or enquirers may give me personal data (including Special Categories of Data or information regarding criminal convictions or offences relating to you) during the course of a matter or in the course of obtaining a fee estimate from me which I process in accordance with the strict obligations of confidentiality to which I am subject under the general law, regulations and professional requirements. I may also receive information from court agents and court officers, as well as tracing agents, regulatory bodies and enforcement authorities including, when making enquiries into potential criminal offences, the Police.


Information may also be provided by personal representatives, trustees and deputies who may provide me with information in connection with a matter including litigation which I am conducting for a client.


Friends, family members or colleagues who may provide information to me about you as part of the work I undertake for them.


I may supplement the personal data collected from you with information from publicly available sources or credit referencing agencies, such as information to validate your identity or address, or to perform a credit or an identity check.


6        Legal grounds for collection and use of your personal information


I will only collect, use and otherwise handle your personal information when:

I have your consent for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes (see section 4) – please note that there are very limited circumstances where I rely on your consent as I usually have another lawful basis for processing; and/or


  • it is necessary for my legitimate interests in connection with operating my site and my business, in particular:
  • responding to your queries;
  • providing services and/or information to you;
  • keeping in touch with you and/or your business;
  • hosting and maintaining our sites;
  • providing technical support to you;
  • using in the investigation and/or defence of potential complaints,
  • legal proceedings;
  • preventing and detecting fraud and other criminal offences;
  • ensuring network and information security;


as long as, in each case, these interests are in line with applicable law and your legal rights and freedoms; and/or


  • where this is necessary for legal obligations which apply to me (for example, under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 and professional obligations to which I am subject as a member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and other professional bodies); and/or
  • where this is necessary for the performance of a contract I have with you (for example to provide my services to you, invoice you for my services and investigate and address any fee disputes that may arise) or that you have with a third party (such as where I arrange for the supply of another firm’s services to you). This applies where I use Special Categories of Data or information about criminal convictions and offences in connection with a legal matter; and/or
  • where this is necessary to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract


7     Uses made of the information


I use information held about you in the following ways:


  • Information you give to me.


I will use this information:


  • To fulfil your requests – to carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and me, respond to your queries and to provide you with the information, products and services that you request from me;
  • to provide you with information about other services I offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about;
  • where you have provided me with your contact details, to provide you with information about goods or services we feel may interest you. This may be by post, telephone or electronic means (e-mail or SMS).
  • If you are a client, Counsel, supplier or referrer, I will only contact you by electronic means (e-mail or SMS) with information about goods and services similar to those which were the subject of a previous legal matter where you instructed me or an enquiry made to me unless you specifically consent to other marketing emails. If you do not want me to use your data in this way, you can opt out. If you opt out of marketing communications, your visit to and use of my site, the response to your enquiry and your use of our legal services will not be affected.


8      Marketing Opt-Out


You are entitled to opt-out of marketing communications at any time and free of charge by emailing joanneball@joanneball.co.uk  



  • where legally permitted for specific purposes made clear at the point of collection on particular pages of my site or in my dealings with you; and/or
  • where I otherwise have legal grounds for collection and use of your personal information as explained in more detail in clause 4 above.


If you choose not to provide personal information requested by me, I may not be able to provide you with the information and/or services you have requested or otherwise fulfil the purpose(s) for which I have asked for the personal information. Apart from this, your visit to my site will remain unaffected.


9    Information I collect about you


I will use this information:


  • to improve my site to ensure that content is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer;
  • to allow you to participate in interactive features of my service, when you choose to do so;
  • as part of my effort to keep my site safe and secure;
  • to make suggestions and recommendations to you and other users of my site about goods or services that may interest you or them.


10    Information I receive from other sources


We will combine this information with information you give to me and information I collect about you. I will use this information and the combined information for the purposes set out above (depending on the types of information I receive), where those purposes are compatible.



11   Disclosure of your information


Some services that I provide require the involvement of third parties. I have carefully selected these third parties and taken steps to ensure that your personal information is adequately protected.


You agree that I have the right to share your personal information with the following third parties:


i) Google Analytics


My site uses Google Analytics, a web analysis service provided by Google Inc. (“Google“). Google Analytics works using cookies.


Google Analytics cookies collect your IP address, however because IP anonymisation is used on our sites, your IP address will be shortened (and therefore anonymised) as soon as technically possible and before it is stored or otherwise used in connection with Google Analytics.


The anonymisation process takes place within the European Union or the European Economic Area, except in exceptional cases, where your full IP address may be sent to a Google server in the USA and shortened there.


I use the information collected by Google Analytics cookies to find out about how visitors use my site.


The IP address sent by your browser in connection with Google Analytics will not be combined by Google, with other data.


You can prevent Google Analytics cookies from being stored by setting your browser software accordingly (see our website privacy policy for further information). However, please note that you may not then be able to make full use of all my site’s functions.

You can also opt-out of Google Analytics by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available at the following link: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.


ii) Sharing with my service providers


I may share your personal information with my third party service providers based in the UK or the European Economic Area (“EEA”) who I engage to process the information that I collect from you on my site or otherwise, and/or to host and maintain my site, content or services, on my behalf and in accordance with this privacy policy.


I will let you know if I need to transfer your personal information to any third party service providers located outside of the EEA.


Where I employ third party companies or individuals to process personal information provided by me (and not collected by them), they only use this personal information on my behalf and in line with my instructions and this privacy policy.


iii) Sharing with other selected third parties


I may share your personal information with selected third parties including:

  • business partners and other professionals for the performance of any contract I enter into with you, for example (but not limited to) barristers, medical professionals, other solicitors, care providers, case funders, ATE (after the event) insurance providers and courts;
  • analytics and search engine providers that assist me in the improvement and optimisation of my site;
  • credit reference agencies for the purpose of assessing your credit score where this is a condition of me entering into a contract with you;
  • My site offers the possibility to share content on social media channels, e.g., Facebook. The respective social media provider will directly gather personal information only after you click on the corresponding sharing button. Please refer to the privacy policy of the social media providers to learn more about what personal information is collected and used.


I will disclose your personal information to third parties:


  • In the event that I sell or buy any business or assets, in which case I will disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets.
  • If Joanne Ball Solicitor is acquired by a third party or as part of any business restructuring or group reorganisation, in which case personal data held by me about my clients will be one of the transferred assets. If a change happens to my business, then the new owners may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this privacy policy.
  • If I am under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply my terms of business and other agreements; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Joanne Ball Solicitor, my clients, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations, regulators and law enforcement agencies for the purposes of preventing and detecting fraud, other criminal offences, credit risk reduction and/or to ensure network and information security.


12    How long do I store personal information?


It is my policy to retain your personal information for the length of time required for the specific purpose or purposes for which it was collected. Such purposes are set out in this privacy policy.


Where you are a client the period the hard copy file for your matter (including your personal data) will be retained is set out in our terms of business which you were sent with my letter of engagement. However, on occasion I may be obliged to store some data for a longer time, for example, where a longer time period is required by applicable laws.


I will keep your will and any other original documents or deeds until such time as I am informed that you have died or revoke your will (in the case of a will) or you ask for the deeds or documents to be returned to you or destroyed, provided I am not under a legal or professional obligation to retain such a document.


My experience shows that my clients appreciate me retaining in electronic form full records (including your personal data) of their matter so that they can access it in the future. I, therefore, keep this for as long as I am obliged under legal and professional obligations and thereafter until you ask me to delete it. Please note that I must always maintain a record of your name, your contact details, the name of your matter and when your file was opened and closed even if you request me to delete the electronic records of your matter.


Where I keep personal data for a longer period than is set out in our terms of business.  I will ensure that your personal data will continue to be treated in accordance with this privacy policy.


13   Where I store your personal data


All information you provide to me is stored in my office or off-site secure storage or on my secure server.


Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although I will do my best to protect your personal data, I cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to my site or email address whilst in transit; any transmission is at your own risk. Once I have received your information, I will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.


14    Confidentiality


I acknowledge that the information you provide may be confidential. I will maintain the confidentiality of and protect your confidential information in accordance with all applicable laws.


15    Your rights


You have the right to ask me not to process your personal data for marketing purposes. I will usually inform you (when I collect your data) if I intend to use your data for such purposes. You can also exercise the right at any time by contacting me at joanneball@joanneball.co.uk.


If you wish to:


  • Access, confirm, correct, rectify, update, supplement, anonymise, block, restrict or delete your personal information;
  • Object to my use of your personal information;
  • Withdraw your consent;
  • If you have any questions about my processing of your personal information; or
  • If you would like to transfer your personal information from me to another person or business,


please contact me at joanneball@joanneball.co.uk.


Where you request access to your personal information, I will fulfil your request by sending your copy electronically, unless the request expressly specifies a different method. For any subsequent access request, I may charge you an administrative fee. In order to comply with your request, I may ask you to verify your identity.


I will provide you with all rights in relation to your personal information to which you are entitled under applicable law. If you are unhappy with the way that I have handled your personal information, you can make a complaint to the authority responsible for data protection in the country that you are based. Contact details are typically available online, or alternatively you may ask me for assistance at joanneball@joanneball.co.uk.


In the UK the data protection authority is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), phone 0303 123 1113, website www.ico.org.uk. I would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact me in the first instance.


16    Changes to my privacy policy


Any changes I make to my privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by email. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.


Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to joanneball@joanneball.co.uk


September 2025