POPIA Privacy Notice

Who We Are

Bert Smith Incorporated is a South African legal practice providing services including property law, conveyancing, bond registrations, notarial services, estates, litigation, property development and related commercial legal services.

Personal Information We May Collect

Depending on the nature of your interaction with us, we may collect:

• Names, surnames and identity information.
• Contact details, including telephone numbers, email addresses and physical addresses.
• FICA and verification documentation.
• Financial, banking, property and transaction information.
• Tax and regulatory information where required.
• Correspondence and information supplied during legal instructions or enquiries.
• Website and technical information collected through normal website operation.

Why We Process Personal Information

We may process personal information for purposes including:

• Providing legal advice and professional legal services.
• Managing property transfers, bond registrations and related transactions.
• Performing client identification, FICA and other regulatory checks.
• Communicating with clients, banks, estate agents, developers, public bodies and other transaction stakeholders.
• Managing enquiries, consultations and ongoing client relationships.
• Meeting legal, regulatory, accounting and professional obligations.
• Protecting our legal rights, systems, employees and clients.

How We Obtain Personal Information

Personal information may be collected directly from you, from an authorised representative, from parties involved in a legal or property transaction, from financial institutions, regulatory bodies, public records, or other lawful sources relevant to the legal services we are instructed to provide.

Sharing of Personal Information

Where necessary, personal information may be shared with third parties involved in providing or supporting our legal services, including:

• Banks and financial institutions.
• Deeds Offices and government departments.
• Municipalities and statutory bodies.
• Estate agents, developers and other professional advisers.
• Service providers who support our systems and business operations.

We do not sell personal information. Information is disclosed only where necessary, authorised or required by law.

Information Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, interference, alteration, disclosure or destruction.

Retention of Information

Personal information is retained only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, to comply with legal and professional record-keeping obligations, or to protect legitimate legal interests.

Your Rights

Subject to applicable law, you may request to:

• Confirm whether we hold personal information about you.
• Access personal information held by us.
• Correct or update inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Object to certain forms of processing where permitted by law.
• Request deletion or destruction of information where legally appropriate.

Website Enquiries and Communications

Information submitted through our website enquiry or consultation forms is used to respond to your enquiry and to direct your matter to the appropriate attorney or department. Please do not submit unnecessary sensitive personal information through a general website form.

Contact Us About Your Personal Information

If you have a privacy or POPIA-related enquiry, wish to exercise a data protection right, or require further information about how your personal information is processed, please contact Bert Smith Incorporated:

Updates to This Notice

This Privacy Notice may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in legislation, regulatory requirements, technology or our business practices. The latest version will be published on this website.