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Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Charl du Plessis Attorneys Inc. (“the Firm”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your personal information and respecting your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, use, store, share and safeguard personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”) and other applicable South African law.

2. What personal information we collect

Depending on your relationship with us, we may collect:

  • Identifying information: full name
  • Contact details: email address, telephone numbers.
  • Property and transaction information: deed details, purchase price, bond details, title information.
  • Information required for statutory compliance, including FICA verification documents.
  • Correspondence and instructions you provide to us.

We collect special personal information only where it is necessary and permitted by law (for example, where required for litigation or to comply with a legal obligation).

3. How we collect personal information

We collect information directly from you, from third parties you have authorised (such as estate agents, banks, the Deeds Office, or other attorneys), from publicly available sources, and automatically through our website.

4. Why we process your personal information

We process personal information to:

  • Provide legal services, including conveyancing, commercial and company law, real estate, litigation, estate administration and related matters.
  • Comply with our statutory and regulatory obligations, including FICA, the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014, and rules of the Legal Practice Council.
  • Carry out client due diligence and verify identity and source of funds.
  • Communicate with you about your matter and our services.
  • Maintain accurate records and manage our internal administration.

5. Lawful basis for processing

We process personal information where it is necessary to perform our mandate to you, to comply with a legal obligation, to protect a legitimate interest, or where you have given consent. Certain processing is governed by attorney-client privilege and by statutory duties (such as those under FICA and the Legal Practice Act) and may continue independently of consent where the law requires.

6. Sharing and disclosure

We may share personal information, only as necessary, with:

  • The Deeds Office, SARS, banks and bond originators, and other attorneys or correspondents involved in your matter.
  • The Financial Intelligence Centre and other regulators, where required by law.
  • Service providers (such as IT, hosting and document management providers) who are bound to protect your information.
  • Courts, sheriffs and counsel in the course of litigation.

We do not sell personal information. We require all third parties to safeguard information in line with POPIA.

7. Cross-border transfers

Some service providers (for example, cloud or email hosting) may process information outside South Africa. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient is subject to a comparable level of data protection, as required by section 72 of POPIA.

8. Security safeguards

We maintain appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, unauthorised access or disclosure. This includes access controls, secure storage, and confidentiality obligations on all staff.

0. Retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected, and thereafter only as long as required by law or professional rules (for example, the retention periods applicable to attorneys’ records and FICA documentation). When no longer required, information is securely destroyed or de-identified.

10. Your rights

Subject to POPIA, you have the right to:

  • Request access to the personal information we hold about you.
  • Request correction or deletion of inaccurate, irrelevant or excessive information.
  • Object to the processing of your personal information, free of charge and through accessible channels.
  • Withdraw consent, where processing is based on consent.
  • Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

Some rights are limited where information must be retained to comply with the law, to protect privilege, or to pursue or defend legal claims. To exercise a right, contact our Information Officer. Requests for access are dealt with under the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA).

11. Cookies and website analytics

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to enable functionality and understand site usage. You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect site functionality.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always available on marclaw.co.za, and the effective date appears above.