The purpose of this Privacy Policy (“PP”) is to protect the privacy of all those who interact (or wish to interact) with SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL through the Website http://www.spca-advogados.com/ (whose domain belongs to SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL) or through any other modality of contact. Through this PP you will know how your personal data will be collected and processed.

SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL is obliged to comply with the applicable legislation in this matter, namely the rules contained in the General Regulation on Data Protection (“RGPD”), approved by Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016.

Therefore, we request you to carefully read our PP and in the event of any question related to the exercise of your rights in this matter do not hesitate to contact us. You can do so through the following e-mail address spca@spca-advogados.com. This Privacy Policy is complemented by the Terms and Conditions of Use of the Site, and also by our Cookies Policy.

  • Personal Data

According to the GDPR, “personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL can handle the following categories of personal data: a) Identification data (e.g.: name, date of birth, sex, address, contacts, citizen card details, passport and taxpayer, nationality); b) data on education / work experience (e.g. education, qualifications, certifications, languages, curriculum vitae); c) Professional data / professional activity (e.g. position, function, company, address, business activities, process and diligence information); d) Billing details (e.g. fees and expenses); and, e) Image and sound recording data (e.g. photographic and video images).

The categories of personal data mentioned above may belong to different categories of data subjects such as customers, customer collaborators, counterparties, candidates for this law firm.

  • Responsible for the processing of personal data

The responsibility for the processing of personal data that may be transmitted in connection with the use of the Site will always belong to SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL.

Whenever justified, SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL may resort to Subcontractors, meaning, as such, natural or legal persons that treat personal data on their behalf, a fact for which the users of the Site give, from now on, their express consent.

The Subcontractors to whom SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL resolves, will implement all technical and organizational measures to the protection of the personal data transmitted by them, in order to ensure the defense of the rights and interests of the respective owners.

  • Collection and processing of personal data

SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL collects data through different means and moments, namely when we are sent e-mails, when we are delivered cards or information with personal data, when subscribed our newsletters, information or events, when we are sent a professional application or when customers hire our services.

The access and mere use of the Site by Users do not imply the collection or processing of any personal data. However, for sending institutional communications (Newsletters and Flashnews), Users who wish to receive them will have to provide us certain contact details, namely name and e-mail address.

  • Transfer of personal data

SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL does not transmit your personal data to third parties, except in those cases where this is necessary to provide the services you have contracted or to fulfill legal obligations to which SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL is subject. The transmission of data to third parties is carried out in accordance with the applicable legislation on data protection and within the limits of the purposes and legal grounds defined in this PP. SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL may share personal data with the following entities: 

  1. Relevant parties to the legal advice we provide, such as counterparties, courts, regulatory authorities, government institutions or other lawyers; 
  2. Public authorities and the Bar Association, in the scope of compliance with legal obligations; 
  3. c) Suppliers of SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL services for the purposes described above, such as providers of information technology, communications services or translation services. 

Personal data transmitted to us by the users of the Site will not be subject to any international transfer. Similarly, such information will also not be subject to cross-border treatment.

  • Rights of the data subject

The users of the Site are guaranteed the right of access, rectification, withdrawal of consent, opposition to the treatment for the purposes defined, deletion, limitation and portability of the personal data they have transmitted.

The rights of the aforementioned users may be exercised at any time, and it is sufficient to send such requests in writing to the e-mail address spca@spca-advogados.com. 

Without prejudice to the aforementioned terms, the users of the Site who have transmitted their personal data may also, whenever they deem it relevant, submit a complaint to the National Control Authority (CNPD), whose contacts may be consulted at https://www.cnpd.pt/. 

SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL warns that the exercise of the above rights may be limited by the existence of legal obligations or confidentiality, as well as the prevailing rights or legitimate interests of SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL or third parties.

  • Period of retention of personal data

SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL will keep your data for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purposes defined in this PP or for such period as may be required by applicable legal or regulatory standards.

According to each purpose of treatment, the deadlines for the preservation of personal data are as follows:

• Provision of legal services: Term of tenure, plus 20 years.

• Communications and sending of information: Until the holder of the data manifests his opposition.

• Event management: 2 years from the contact or participation in the event (as the case may be), if there is no contact or participation in another event by the data subject.

• Compliance with legal obligations: 7 years after the moment the customer identification was processed or, in the case of business relations, after the expiration of the same.

• Billing and accounting management: 10 years.

• Judicial and extrajudicial collection and claims: Up to the payment of amounts owed or resolution of the litigation, as applicable.

• Recruitment and selection: 2 years, counted from the delivery of the application or curriculum; 

In the remaining cases during the period in which the professional relationship with SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL remains.

Regarding the Site, the personal data collected and processed by SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL will be preserved for the entire period of time that users’ registration on the Site remains active.

Once the user’s registration on the Site has expired, the personal data transmitted by the user will be kept up to one 1 year from that date, unless another period of retention is derived from the applicable law.

However, the user of the Site may, at any time, request SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL to delete the personal data that he has transmitted.

  • Purposes relating to the collection and processing of personal data

SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL may collect or process personal data for the following purposes and with the following legal bases:

a) For the provision of legal services, which may include the opening of client and files, registration of proposed services and responses, communications with the client, parties and / or other entities, including courts, as well as archiving of documents in digital support and physical support, based on the performance of the contract and the legitimate interest of the parties, both to ensure the provision of legal services and the clients represented by SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL mandate and legal assistance;

b) For communication and sending and dissemination of legal information (e.g. newsletters, flashnews, events, etc …), based on the requests of the subscribers of the forms of our website and contribute to the development and dissemination of legal science, as well as to ensure the promotion and management of events promoted by us (invitation sending, registration of participants, dissemination of events);

c) To comply with legal compliance obligations;

d) For purposes of billing, accounting, expense accounting, costs and current accounts; maintenance of archives of accounting records and supporting documentation, as well as for the collection and judicial and extrajudicial claims of client’s debt, based on execution of contract, our legitimate interest, defense of our rights and credits, and compliance with obligations;

e) For recruitment and selection of lawyers and employees, which includes the analysis of applications and curriculum vitae, having as legal basis the pre-contractual diligence at the request of the data subject and our legitimate interest in the analysis of applications and internal process of selection;

f) The personal data provided in connection with the use of the Site will be further processed and stored in a database created for this purpose and are mandatory because they are necessary and indispensable for sending institutional communications of SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL, for the purpose of responding to requests for contact that the user has submitted.

  • Security measures

SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL is committed to protecting the privacy of users of the Site. Thus, it uses security systems that ensure that any and all personal data that may be transmitted by the Users of the Site is properly stored and protected, preventing any unauthorized access to these elements, as well as their loss, disclosure, destruction or use other than the purpose for which it was collected.

  • Policy of Cookies

The Site uses Cookies, these being understood as text files that identify the User’s computer in our servers. Therefore, the Cookies used do not individually identify the User of the Site and, to that extent, do not constitute a tool for collecting personal data.

Our Cookies Policy can be found here.

  • Changes to the Privacy Policy

SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL reserves the right to make any changes in this PP. Whenever this happens, they will be published on the Site.