Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Phoenix Family Law provides free family-court information on this website and, once launched, paid administrative and McKenzie Friend support services. Phoenix Family Law is not a firm of solicitors and is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

For the purposes of UK data protection law (UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018), Phoenix Family Law is the controller of the personal data described in this notice.

2. What we collect

If you enquire about our services

• Your name, your chosen safe contact details (email and/or phone) and safe times to contact you.
• We deliberately ask you not to include case details at the enquiry stage.

If you become a client

• Case documents and our working notes about your matter.
• Because of the nature of family proceedings, this material may include special category data — for example information about your health or sex life — and criminal-offence data, such as allegations described in accounts of abuse.

3. Why we can use your data (lawful bases)

• Enquiries and service delivery: the data is necessary to take steps at your request before entering a contract, and then to perform our contract with you (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(b)).
• Special category data and criminal-offence data — while we work with you: we rely on your explicit consent (UK GDPR Article 9(2)(a); for criminal-offence data, Article 10 with the consent condition in paragraph 29 of Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 2018), which we ask for in writing before you send us any case material. You can withdraw that consent at any time; if you do, we will stop actively working with that material and discuss with you what this means for the engagement. Withdrawing consent does not always mean immediate deletion — we may retain the file where necessary for legal claims, as explained below.
• Special category data and criminal-offence data — retention after the engagement ends: we rely on the legal claims basis (UK GDPR Article 9(2)(f) — establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; for criminal-offence data, the legal-claims condition in paragraph 33 of Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 2018). This is why we can keep your file for the retention period in section 4 even if you have withdrawn consent.

4. How long we keep it

• Enquiries that do not become engagements: deleted 6 months after our last contact.
• Client files: kept for 6 years after the engagement ends, in line with the limitation period for contractual claims (on the legal-claims basis described in section 3), then securely deleted. This retention applies even if you withdraw your consent, because the file may be needed to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

5. Marketing

We do not send marketing emails or messages unless you have separately and explicitly consented to receive them, and you can withdraw that consent at any time. Engaging our services never signs you up to marketing.

6. Cookies, analytics and the tools on this site

This website sets no cookies and runs no analytics or tracking. The interactive flowcharts and wellbeing tools run entirely in your browser: your answers and choices are never sent to us or to anyone else, and nothing about your use of them is recorded.

7. Who we share your data with

We do not share your personal data with any third party, with one exception: the service providers (processors) that make our operations possible — our email and website hosting providers. Those providers act only on our instructions. Their names will be listed here once confirmed, before the paid services launch. We never sell personal data.

8. Where your data is stored

Your personal data is stored in the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area. We do not transfer it outside the UK/EEA.

9. Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

• access a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
• have inaccurate data corrected;
• have your data erased in certain circumstances;
• restrict or object to our processing in certain circumstances;
• receive your data in a portable format where processing is based on consent or contract;
• withdraw consent at any time, where consent is the basis we rely on.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in the site footer or your engagement letter. We will respond within one month.

10. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, please contact us first so we can put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or by phone on 0303 123 1113.