The following data protection declaration applies to the processing of personal data that we receive in connection with our business activities and with the use of our websites www.probstpartner.ch, www.organhaftung-schweiz.ch and www.swissdataprotectionlaw.ch. Personal data includes a person’s name and contact details, as well as other information that can be attributed to a person.
1. Responsible person and contact point
Responsible for the data processing explained in this privacy policy is
Probst Partner AG
Bahnhofplatz 18, 8401 Winterthur
info@probstpartner.ch
052 269 14 00
If you have any questions about our handling of personal data or other data protection con-cerns, you can contact us at the aforementioned address.
2. Processed personal data and processing purposes
2.1 General
We mainly process personal data that we receive or collect from our clients and business partners in the course of our business relationships or when using our websites and other services.
If you provide us with personal data from other persons (e.g. employees), you are responsible for informing the person accordingly.
We have a legitimate interest in processing of the personal data corresponding to the afore-mentioned purposes. Some processing is also necessary to fulfil our contractual obligations to you or our legal obligations (e.g. retention obligations).
2.2 Communication with us
We obtain personal data when you contact and communicate with us by post, telephone, via our email addresses or otherwise. This data includes in particular your name, your contact details, information about your role in the organisation in which you work or on whose behalf you communicate with us, your communication to us (e.g. information about your request). Such data will be stored and processed for the purpose of handling your request or communi-cating with you.
2.3 Mandate
Within the scope of a client relationship, we process personal data which we receive from you or third parties involved or which we collect ourselves. This includes in particular:
- Client data and data for mandate management: first and last name as well as contact details of the contact persons, position and title, associated company/job, industry, any cross-connections (e.g. shareholders or related persons) and further background infor-mation from publicly accessible sources (e.g. commercial register), any assigning per-son, contents of enquiries and mandate, counterparties and their representatives as well as further details for checking any conflicts of interest;
- Client data: Communications with clients, courts, opposing counsel and third parties, advisory documentation, information disclosed to us by or on behalf of clients, opposing counsel, courts, authorities and other parties to proceedings, or which we produce in the course of our services;
- Service and billing data: Information on the services provided and invoiced, invoice data, proof of services, invoices, payments, bank details;
We process personal data mainly to provide, document, bill and improve our services. This includes processing to comply with legal requirements (e.g. to check for any conflicts of inter-est or for comparison with sanctions lists) and to enforce or defend against legal claims. We also process the personal data of our clients in order to communicate with them, respond to enquiries and send them newsletters, information about our firm and invitations to events, courses, conferences or lectures (using any means of communication such as email, social media, post or telephone).
2.4 Contract processing
In connection with the conclusion and execution of contracts, we collect in particular contact data, information on the execution of contracts as well as interactions with the contractual partners. The processing of contracts includes everything that is necessary or expedient to select a contractual partner, to conclude, implement and enforce a contract. It also includes processing for record keeping, to address the concerns of contractors and the concerns of others, to provide our services, to deliver notices to you, to comply with legal obligations, to protect and enforce our rights and to defend ourselves against claims by others.
If you participate in a video conference, the terms of use and data protection conditions of the respective video platforms and providers, which are available on the websites or apps of the respective providers, also apply.
2.5 Applications
If you apply for a job with us, we process your CV and the other data in your application file as well as from interviews. With your consent, we also obtain information from the references you have provided. We need this data for the application process.
If the application does not lead to an employment relationship, the application documents will be deleted no later than six months after completion of the application process, unless you have consented to a longer retention period or the deletion does not conflict with any legitimate interests of ours.
If you apply for a vacancy online via a job board or a recruitment agency, the respective data protection conditions of these platforms and providers also apply.
2.6 Use of our websites
When visiting and using our websites, certain technical information is automatically collected and stored in log files. This technical information includes, in particular, IP address, date and time of access to our websites, device information (hardware model, operating system version, device identification, etc.), website visited, system activities, browser type, browser language, URL of the previously visited website, name of the file retrieved, etc.
This data is collected automatically when you visit our website. We use this data to provide the functions of the website and to ensure its proper, stable and secure operation. In addition, we evaluate this data for statistical purposes, such as determining which pages are favoured
or how many accesses are made and when. The evaluations are carried out on an aggregated basis, without this data being related to your person. We use the knowledge gained in this way to improve and further develop our website and our offers.
We use cookies and similar technologies on our websites. Cookies are files that are stored on the user’s device and collect information about visitors and the use of our websites. Cookies and similar technologies enable, among other things, a better use of the websites and an evaluation of their use . When using this technical information, no assignment is made to a specific person. The collection and processing of this information is necessary to display our websites to you and to ensure their stability and security. This information is also collected to improve the websites and our services and to analyse their use. We use Matomo Analytics to analyse the use of our websites. We do not process any personal data in the process.
If you do not want cookies to be used during your visit, you can block their use in your browser settings. In this case, certain parts of our website may not function or may not function fully.
2.7 Events and Newsletter
Unless you have objected to the use of your data for these purposes, we may use your data for advertising and marketing (including inviting you to and holding events and sending you newsletters about current events and offers).
When you participate in events organised by us, we process your name, contact details, infor-mation about your role in the organisation you work for and other personal data provided by you as part of your participation in events or as a result of your participation. This data is used to organise and run the events, as well as to send newsletters and other information about our offers. If applicable, photos and videos may be taken at the event and published by us on our websites and social media channels, for example.
For the dispatch of newsletters and the management of newsletter recipients, we use the tool from CleverReach GmbH & Co KG, which is based in Germany and has server locations in Germany and Ireland.
We also include visible and invisible image elements in some of our newsletters and other marketing emails, where permitted, which help us to determine whether and when the email has been opened so that we can measure and better understand how our offers are being used and can be improved.
If you no longer wish to receive newsletters and invitations from us, you can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the relevant link in the respective emails or by notifying the contact point in section 1 of this privacy policy. If you object to the use for marketing and advertising, we will note in our systems that you do not wish to receive any further marketing communica-tions.
2.8 Other purposes
In addition to the above purposes, we may also use the personal information we collect to comply with our legal obligations (including accounting), to protect and enforce our rights, to defend ourselves in connection with legal disputes and governmental proceedings, and to pre-vent and investigate crime and misuse of our services.
3. Disclosure of personal data
We share personal data with third parties in the following situations:
- If the data subject has given consent to this,
- if this is done in connection with the processing of the mandate or is necessary for other purposes described in this privacy policy,
- if this is provided for by law or we are obliged to do so,
- if this is necessary to safeguard legitimate interests, such as combating abuse or safe-guarding rights or in emergency situations.
In connection with the processing of the mandate, information may be disclosed in particular to courts and authorities, counterparties, correspondent lawyers, legal expenses insurers and other experts.
For certain services, such as the operation of IT systems and applications and the hosting and support of our websites, we may also use external service providers. In order to provide their services, these service providers may receive access to your personal data and may collect, store or otherwise process it on our behalf. In doing so, we strive to ensure that your infor-mation is kept confidential, protected from unauthorised access and use and disclosure, and not used for any purpose other than to provide the services on our behalf. The service provid-ers and server locations are generally all located in Switzerland. In certain cases, the service providers or their subcontractors may also have access to personal data from abroad (namely in the case of cloud solutions from providers in EU countries or the USA).
We process the personal data in our area of responsibility in Switzerland. However, we may transfer the personal data to recipients (namely clients, counterparties or authorities or other-wise in accordance with this privacy policy) who in turn process the personal data in other countries, including those that do not guarantee a level of data protection comparable to Swiss law. If we transfer data to a country without a comparable level of data protection, we ensure an appropriate level of protection as provided for by law by using appropriate contracts (namely on the basis of the so-called standard contractual clauses) or rely on the legal excep-tions such as your consent (e.g. when using video telephony solutions), the conclusion or execution of a contract, the establishment, exercise or enforcement of legal claims. You can contact the data protection officer mentioned under para. 1 for further information on the mea-sures implemented.
4. Your rights
Persons whose data we process have the right, within the framework of the data protection law applicable to them, to request information about the personal data concerning them and to request that it be corrected or deleted. Insofar as our processing is based on consent, every data subject also has the right to revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future.
To exercise such rights, please contact the contact point mentioned in section 1.
However, please note that conditions and exceptions apply to these rights. To the extent per-mitted or required by law, we may refuse requests to exercise these rights. For example, we may or must retain or otherwise process personal data despite a request to delete the personal data or restrict processing for legal reasons.
5. Adjustments to this privacy policy
We reserve the right to change this privacy policy at any time. We will inform about such changes in an appropriate manner, e.g. by publishing them on our website. With this information, the respective new version comes into force.
Status August 2023