Legal

Koskie Minsky LLP (KM) has created policies and procedures to meet the required Accessibility Standards for Customer Service, Ontario Regulation 429/07 under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005.

Our Accessibility policies are available for your review in a number of formats. Should you wish to access these documents or would like to provide feedback on your accessibility experience with KM, please contact:

Katherine Mather
Human Resources Manager
Koskie Minsky LLP
Barristers and Solicitors
20 Queen Street West, Suite 900, Box 52
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 3R3

Email: kmather@kmlaw.ca
Fax: (416) 204-2825

A response will be provided as soon as possible in the format that takes the persons disability into account.

Customer Services Policy

Please access our Customer Service Policy (PDF).

Statement of Commitment to Accessibility

Please check our Statement of Commitment (PDF) for more information.

Service Disruption

No disruptions in services at this time.

This website is intended to provide general information only. Despite our best efforts, it is not always completely up to date and should not be relied upon to make important legal decisions. This website does not offer legal advice and is not designed to answer questions about your individual situation or entitlement. It does not eliminate the need to obtain independent legal advice. Communications through this website will not be treated as private, privileged or confidential. It does not create a solicitor-client, fiduciary or other relationship. Whether you are a class member or not in a particular class action or not depends upon the court order made in that particular case. This website will be updated from time to time with information as it becomes available.

At Koskie Minsky LLP (“KM”), protecting your privacy and maintaining high standards of confidentiality with respect to Personal Information in our possession is an important part of our daily routines. This Privacy Policy informs you of our approach to privacy and tells you about the ways we ensure your information is protected.

Our obligations as legal professionals are governed, in part, by the Rules of Professional Conduct that govern all members of the Law Society of Upper Canada. These Rules require us, in part, to hold in strict confidence all information concerning the business and affairs of our clients acquired in the course of the professional relationship and we are not permitted to divulge any such information unless we have received express or implied consent from the client or are required by law to do so. These obligations apply not only to lawyers but to all professionals, employees, contractors and agents who provide services related to the delivery of our legal and other services.

The terms of this Privacy Policy also accord with other applicable laws and policies, including the federal Protection of Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

What is Personal Information?

“Personal Information” means any information about an identified individual, or an individual whose identity may be inferred or determined from the information. It includes, for example, names, home addresses, phone numbers, financial information, medical information and employment information.

The Collection, Use & Disclosure of Personal Information

All Personal Information that is collected either to determine whether KM will enter into a professional relationship with a person or organization, or in the course of a professional relationship, is held in strict confidence and not revealed to any third parties unless expressly or implicitly authorized by the person or organization concerned. A professional relationship develops when KM agrees to be retained to provide services to a particular individual or organization.

Either before or when we collect Personal Information about you, we will explain how we intend to use it. We will limit the information we collect to what we need for those purposes and will only use it for those purposes. We will obtain your consent before using your information for any other purpose and before collecting information about you from third parties. We endeavour, wherever possible, to collect Personal Information directly from the individual concerned, rather than relying on third parties.

By providing Personal Information to our firm, you agree and consent that we may collect, use and disclose your Personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and any other applicable privacy legislation. If you do not agree with these terms, please do not provide any Personal Information to KM. Unfortunately, certain services can only be offered if you provide Personal Information to us. If you choose not to provide us with any required Personal Information, we may not be able to offer you those services.

In order to protect their own interests, individuals or organizations should not send confidential information to KM until they have had a direct discussion with a professional at the firm about retaining KM to provide legal services.

Koskie Minsky only collects information from individuals or organizations that is required to provide services or information to them. We collect e-mail and mailing addresses when individuals subscribe to a publication offered by the KM. We use information collected through such subscriptions to send subscribers the publication they have requested, and to provide information that may be of possible interest.

KM does not sell, trade, barter or exchange for consideration any Personal Information it has obtained.

KM may disclose Personal Information to organizations that perform services on behalf of our firm. Personal Information will only be provided to such organizations if they agree to use such information solely for the purposes of providing services to KM and under the instruction of KM. Further, they must agree to act in a manner consistent with the relevant principles articulated in this Policy.

Please note that there are circumstances where the use and/or disclosure of Personal Information may be justified or permitted or where our firm is obliged to disclose information without consent. Such circumstances include:

• Where KM is required by law or by order or requirement of a court, administrative agency or other governmental tribunal to disclose certain information;
• Where KM believes, upon reasonable grounds, that disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, privacy, safety or property of an identifiable person or group;
• Where disclosure is necessary to establish or collect money owing to KM;
• Where disclosure is necessary to permit KM to pursue available remedies or limit any damages that KM may sustain; or
• where the information is public.

Where obliged or permitted to disclose information without consent, KM will not disclose more information than is required.

Accuracy and Access

We will give you access to the information we retain about you. KM will also make every reasonable effort to keep your Personal Information accurate, current and as complete as necessary for the purposes for which we have collected the information. We expect our clients to participate in keeping their Personal Information as up-to-date and accurate as possible.

Retention

KM keeps Personal Information only as long as it is required for the reasons it was collected. The length of time we retain information varies, depending on the product or service and the nature of the information. This period may extend beyond the end of a person’s relationship with us but only as long as necessary for us to have sufficient information to respond to any issues that may arise at a later date. At all times, KM protects your privacy by making every reasonable effort to keep your personal information in secure locations.

Currently, KM holds Personal Information at our office and at one off-site storage facility.

Security

KM endeavours to maintain adequate physical, procedural and technical security with respect to its office and information storage facility so as to prevent any loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, or modification of Personal Information. It is sometimes necessary to transport Personal Information to other locations such as Courts, Tribunals or meetings. Our lawyers and staff are careful to keep your Personal Information secure if and when it must leave our office or storage facility.

In terms of communicating Personal Information to KM, you should note there is no method of transmitting or storing data that is completely secure. Mail, telephone calls, faxes and transmissions over the Internet are all susceptible to possible loss, misrouting, interception and misuse of the information being communicated or transmitted. When faxing information to KM, you should be aware that as well as our general fax number, each lawyer has a direct fax line that you should use to ensure greater protection for Personal Information being sent to the firm.

KM attempts to strike a reasonable balance between security and convenience. In communicating with clients and others, KM often requests the right to use a method of communication that is less secure than some of its less convenient alternatives. An example of this is e-mail.

Our suppliers, agents and service providers, as part of their contracts with KM, are bound to maintain your confidentiality and may not use the information for any unauthorized purpose.

KM Website

The only Personal Information KM collects on its website is the information voluntarily supplied by you if you contact us through our website. This information typically is restricted to your name and e-mail address. We do not employ any electronic means to automatically collect personally identifiable information from any visitor or user of our website or from their computers. We may use your Personal Information collected through our website to respond to your inquiries, contact you or provide you with e-mails or brochures that we believe will interest you or as otherwise permitted or required by law.

KM’s website does not presently use cookies, clear GIFs or any type of “web bug.”

Questions

If you have questions about accessing your Personal Information; KM’s collection, use, management or disclosure of Personal Information; or this Privacy Policy, please contact our Privacy Officer, Lauren Tarasuk Walancik, at (416) 595-2034, 20 Queen St. West, Suite 900, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 3R3. The Privacy Officer will report directly to the Koskie Minsky LLP Executive Committee pursuant to this policy.

We will respond to written requests from individuals who seek to access their personal information or who wish to challenge the accuracy and completeness of their information and to have it amended. We will also respond to written complaints regarding KM’s information and privacy practices.

KM may revise this Privacy Policy, without notice, if we change our personal information management practices, are required by law to make certain revisions, or for any other reason.

Adopted December 2017

We are committed to endorsing and upholding the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion in all aspects of our practice.

• We shall promote the unique backgrounds and contributions that every person (lawyer, student, staff member, client, prospective client, supplier or member of the general public) brings to our workplace at Koskie Minsky LLP and recognize that our diversity adds depth and strength to our firm’s culture and capabilities and promotes a diversity of thought and perspective which supplies us with the tools to provide innovative, quality legal services to our clients.
• We are committed to creating and fostering an environment within our firm that reflects the diversity of the broader communities in which we work and live and the clients we service.
• We shall work towards the elimination of barriers created by racism, unconscious bias and discrimination so as to allow all members of our firm to achieve their greatest potential, be acknowledged for their achievements and be offered professional and workplace opportunities that are commensurate with their skills, experience and performance. This extends to the firm’s practices in connection with recruitment, hiring, compensation, benefits, work allocation, evaluation, mentoring, continuing education, duty to accommodate, leaves of absence, support services, partnership admission, social opportunities or any other activities that may create barriers to or affect success in employment.
• We understand the importance of clearly communicating and enforcing these principles across our firm through ongoing education, inclusion, diversity, anti-discrimination, unconscious bias and awareness training in order to attract and retain the best talent and to better serve our clients’ needs.
• We also appreciate the special responsibility of lawyers, in particular, to adhere to and advance the letter and the spirit of the human rights laws in force in order to maintain the public trust and confidence in the profession and the Rule of Law.
• We are dedicated to protecting everyone’s right to feel safe, included, dignified and respected at all times, regardless of sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, race, ancestry, ethnicity, colour, place of origin, citizenship, creed, age, marital and family status, disability, record of offences or any other attribute covered under the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Rules of Professional Conduct issued by the Law Society of Ontario, and shall strive to create a collaborative and supportive environment where everyone feels safe to celebrate their diversity.
• We have established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee which reports directly to our Executive Committee and takes a leadership role in the recommendation and implementation of all policies, procedures and initiatives related to these principles.