Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

§1. Purpose and scope

RDS Avocats inc. (hereinafter the “Firm”, “we”) is committed to protecting the confidentiality of the personal information of its clients, prospective clients and website visitors, in accordance with the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (CQLR, c. P-39.1), as amended by the Act to modernize legislative provisions as regards the protection of personal information (Law 25), as well as the professional secrecy obligations set out in the Code of Professional Conduct of Lawyers (CQLR, c. B-1, r. 3.1) and the Act respecting the Barreau du Québec.

This policy applies to all personal information collected by the Firm, whether through its website, its online appointment-booking tools, by telephone, by email or in the course of a professional mandate.

§2. Person in charge of the protection of personal information

In accordance with Law 25, the Firm has designated a person in charge of the protection of personal information. Failing the designation of another person, this responsibility falls to the person exercising the highest authority within the Firm.

• Person in charge: Me Hanitra Ravalimanantsoa, founding partner
• Contact: info@rds-avocats.com · (514) 447-9281

Any question, access request, correction request or complaint relating to the protection of personal information must be addressed to this person.

§3. Personal information we collect

Depending on the nature of your relationship with the Firm, we may collect:

• Contact information: name, address, email, telephone number;
• Information relating to your file: facts relevant to your legal situation, documents and exhibits submitted, history of your exchanges with the Firm;
• Financial information: for billing and payment purposes (card numbers are not retained by the Firm when payment is processed by a secure third-party provider);
• Technical information: IP address, browser type, pages viewed, when you visit our site or use our booking system;
• Sensitive information, where applicable: health status, ethnic origin or criminal history, when relevant and necessary for the handling of your file (notably in family, immigration or estate matters). Explicit consent is required for the collection of such information.

§4. Purposes of collection

Personal information is collected for the following purposes, and solely for those purposes:

• Assess your request and determine whether the Firm is in a position to represent you;
• Carry out the professional mandate entrusted to us;
• Communicate with you regarding your file or an appointment;
• Prepare invoices and collect payment of fees;
• Comply with our legal, ethical and regulatory obligations (including record-keeping requirements imposed by the Barreau du Québec);
• Improve our website and our online appointment-booking tools.

The Firm collects only the information necessary for these purposes and does not use it for incompatible purposes without your consent, except as provided by law.

§5. Consent

Your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information is requested at the appropriate time, in a clear manner, separately from any other information, and for each purpose pursued. You may withdraw your consent at any time, subject to the Firm’s legal or ethical obligations to retain certain information (including client files, which the Barreau du Québec requires be kept for a specified minimum period).

§6. Disclosure to third parties and subcontractors

The Firm may disclose certain personal information to third parties in the following circumstances:

• To experts, accounting firms, notaries or other professionals whose collaboration is necessary to carry out your mandate, with your consent or when required by the nature of the mandate;
• To service providers (cloud hosting, appointment-booking platform, payment processing, file-management software), acting as subcontractors and bound by a written agreement guaranteeing a level of protection equivalent to that provided by Quebec law;
• To courts, government bodies or competent authorities, when required by law;
• In the context of a sale, merger or reorganization of the Firm, subject to maintaining the confidentiality of the transferred information.

The Firm does not sell or rent your personal information to third parties for commercial or advertising purposes.

§7. Transfer of personal information outside Quebec

When the Firm uses a provider located outside Quebec (for example a cloud service hosted elsewhere in Canada or in the United States), a privacy impact assessment (PIA) is conducted before the transfer, to ensure that the information will benefit from protection deemed adequate. A written agreement governs each transfer of this nature.

§8. Retention and destruction of information

Personal information is retained only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, taking into account the retention periods imposed by the Barreau du Québec for client files and applicable limitation periods. At the expiry of these periods, the information is destroyed, anonymized or de-identified in a secure manner.

§9. Security measures

The Firm implements physical, administrative and technological security measures proportionate to the sensitivity of the information held, including: restricted access to files, authentication for computer systems, encryption of sensitive communications where appropriate, and confidentiality agreements with staff and subcontractors who have access to personal information.

§10. Cookies

Our website and our online appointment-booking system may use cookies or similar technologies to ensure the proper functioning of the site, measure traffic and improve the user experience. You are informed of this use on your first visit and may configure your browser to refuse certain cookies, subject to the possibility that this may limit certain features of the site.

§11. Decision based exclusively on automated processing

The Firm does not make any decision that has a legal effect or significantly affects you solely on the basis of automated processing of your personal information. Any assessment of your file is carried out by a member of the Firm’s staff.

§12. Your rights

In accordance with the law, you have the following rights with respect to your personal information held by the Firm:

• Right of access: obtain communication of the personal information we hold about you;
• Right of rectification: have inaccurate, incomplete or outdated information corrected;
• Right to withdraw consent: withdraw your consent, subject to the Firm’s legal and ethical obligations;
• Right to portability: obtain your information in a structured and commonly used format, and request that it be transmitted to a third party, where this right applies;
• Right to de-indexing: request, in certain circumstances, that the dissemination of information concerning you cease when it causes you serious injury.

These rights may be exercised by writing to the person identified in section 2. The exercise of these rights does not apply to information protected by lawyer-client privilege or covered by litigation privilege.

§13. Professional secrecy of the lawyer

§14. Confidentiality incident

The Firm keeps a register of any confidentiality incident involving personal information it holds. When such an incident presents a risk of serious injury to a person concerned, the Firm notifies the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec as well as the persons concerned, in accordance with the law.

§15. Complaint

Any person who believes that their rights have not been respected may submit a written complaint to the person identified in section 2. If they remain unsatisfied, they may contact the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec (cai.gouv.qc.ca).

§16. Changes to this policy

The Firm may amend this policy from time to time to reflect changes in its practices or legal requirements. The version in force is the one published on the Firm’s website, with an indication of the date of the last update.

§17. Contact information

For any question relating to this policy: info@rds-avocats.com · (514) 447-9281.

§1. Acceptance of the terms

By consulting the website of RDS Avocats inc. or by booking one of the services offered by the Firm (discovery call, strategic consultation, in-depth consultation or any other similar service), you accept these terms of use. If you do not accept these terms, please do not use our online booking services.

§2. Nature of the services offered

The Firm offers different appointment formats for information and preliminary orientation purposes, including:

• A discovery call, lasting 15 minutes, to briefly identify your need and guide you toward the appropriate solution;
• Strategic or in-depth consultations, offered for the fixed fees indicated at the time of booking, plus applicable taxes.

The fees displayed are established in accordance with the Regulation respecting advertising by lawyers and are guaranteed for the duration and content of the service as described, subject to future changes with notice posted on the site.

§3. No lawyer-client relationship before a formal mandate

The general information provided during a discovery call or a consultation does not constitute complete legal advice applicable to your entire situation and cannot replace an in-depth analysis of your file in the context of a formal mandate.

§4. Fees, payment and cancellation policy

• Discovery call – immigration: 15 minutes, at the rate displayed at the time of booking, service fees included.
• Discovery call – commercial, corporate and transactional law: 15 minutes, free of charge, limited to a first consultation per client. A subsequent discovery call for the same file or a new issue may be billed at the rate of a strategic consultation.
• Strategic and in-depth consultations: fixed fees displayed at the time of booking, plus applicable taxes, payable at the time of booking or according to the terms indicated on the platform.

Any cancellation or change of appointment must be made at least 24 hours before the scheduled time in order to avoid cancellation fees or to allow a refund, as the case may be. The Firm reserves the right to postpone or cancel an appointment in the event of an impediment, in which case a new appointment will be offered at no additional charge.

§5. Confidentiality of preliminary exchanges

Although no lawyer-client relationship is established before confirmation of a mandate, any information communicated to the Firm during a discovery call or a preliminary consultation is treated confidentially and is protected by the professional secrecy of the lawyer, in accordance with section 13 of the Privacy Policy.

§6. Conflict of interest check

Before confirming any mandate, the Firm conducts a conflict of interest check in accordance with the Regulation respecting conflicts of interest of lawyers. The Firm reserves the right to decline a mandate, including after a discovery call or a consultation, if a conflict of interest is identified. The limited information collected solely for the purposes of this check will not be used for other purposes.

§7. Scope of information provided and limitation of liability

The content of the Firm’s website, including service descriptions, articles and general information, is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No decision should be made solely on the basis of this information without a formal consultation with a lawyer.

Nothing in these terms has the effect of limiting the professional liability of the Firm with respect to services rendered in the context of a formally entrusted mandate, which remains governed by the Code of Professional Conduct of Lawyers and the usual rules of professional liability.

§8. Intellectual property

The content of the Firm’s website (texts, logos, layout, graphic elements) is protected by applicable intellectual property laws and remains the property of the Firm. Any reproduction, without prior written authorization, is prohibited, except for personal and non-commercial use.

§9. Acceptable use of the site and booking tools

You undertake to use the Firm’s website and online booking tools lawfully, to provide accurate information when booking an appointment, and not to attempt to disrupt the operation of the platform. The Firm reserves the right to refuse or cancel a booking made in bad faith or in violation of these terms.

§10. Governing law and jurisdiction

These terms are governed by the laws of the province of Quebec and the laws of Canada applicable therein. Any dispute relating to these terms falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the judicial district where the Firm has its head office.

§11. Complaints and disciplinary remedies

Any complaint relating to the professional conduct of a lawyer of the Firm may be addressed to the syndic of the Barreau du Québec (barreau.qc.ca). The Firm nevertheless encourages any unsatisfied person to first contact the Firm directly in an effort to resolve the situation.

§12. Changes to these terms

The Firm may amend these terms of use at any time. The applicable version is the one published on the website at the time the services are used. It is your responsibility to consult these terms periodically.