COVERAGE MATTERS (CONSULTANCY) LIMITED
LEGAL NOTICES
REGULATORY STATUS:
Under the Legal Services Act 2007 Coverage Matters is permitted to provide legal services in England & Wales without being a law firm authorised and regulated by the UK Solicitors Regulation Authority (“SRA”). The SRA is the regulator of solicitors and law firms in England & Wales.
Ed Smerdon, Coverage Matters’ founder and director, is a qualified solicitor in England & Wales and is authorised and regulated by the SRA in his personal capacity under SRA ID 156614.
WHY COVERAGE MATTERS IS NOT REGULATED BY THE SRA:
SRA regulation is not necessary unless certain "reserved" legal activities are carried out. Reserved legal activities are set out in Section 12 of the Legal Services Act 2007 and can be summarised as: (1) the exercise of a right of audience; (2) the conduct of litigation; (3) preparing certain legal instruments in real estate transactions; (4) probate activities; (5) notarial activities; and (6) the administration of oaths. Coverage Matters does not carry out any "reserved" legal activities.
Based on our client and services profile, we have decided to operate under the latest model for delivering unreserved legal services in the UK which the SRA introduced on 25th November 2019.
WHY ED MAINTAINS HIS PERSONAL SRA REGULATION:
There are important protections afforded to our clients by Ed’s continued professional status as a solicitor authorised and regulated by the SRA, which are set out below:
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Ed’s adherence to the ethical and professional standards applicable to solicitors (eg duties to act with honesty and integrity and in the best interests of clients, and obligations relating to confidentiality and conflicts of interest) as set out in the SRA Principles and the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors. These are available on the SRA’s website, www.sra.org.uk.
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Ed’s continuous professional learning and development
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His continued accreditation as a solicitor
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Legal privilege will continue to apply to legal advice correspondence between clients and Ed
WHEN ED IS NOT ACTING AS A SOLICITOR:
Coverage Matters provides services that include legal advice but also other business services. If and to the extent he is providing these other services Ed is not acting as a solicitor and as such that work is not protected by his SRA regulated status (and will not be legally privileged). You will of course still benefit from Ed’s same expertise and insights.
PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE ("PII"):
Coverage Matters is not subject to the SRA’s compulsory PII requirements. However, we have opted to take out PII.
Coverage Matters and Ed are covered by a commercial PII policy, not an SRA approved Minimum Terms & Conditions (“MTC”) policy which law firms have (https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/indemnity-insurance-rules/). The cover provided by the MTC policy is typically broader than that provided by a commercial PII policy. Additionally, clients will not have access to the SRA Compensation Fund (https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/compensation-fund/) which is a fund clients can apply to in the event a law firm does not have the benefit of PII for some reason.
Further information about our PII can be provided on request.
CLIENT MONIES:
Coverage Matters is not authorised to handle and does not handle client monies.
DATA PRIVACY:
We take our responsibilities very seriously. We are registered with the UK Information Commissioners’ Office (“ICO”). A copy of our Data Privacy Policy is below.
LEGAL PRIVILEGE:
You enjoy the benefit of “legal advice privilege” in any legal advice provided by Ed. However, any non-legal services undertaken by Coverage Matters will not be covered by legal advice privilege. If in any doubt about whether your matter will be covered by legal advice privilege, please clarify with us at the outset.
COMPLAINTS:
Under the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, Ed has a personal duty to establish, maintain and provide an adequate complaints handling system.
Complaints regarding Coverage Matters’ services should be addressed to ed.smerdon@coveragematters.co.uk. These will be handled in accordance with our complaints policy. If you are not satisfied with the result of that complaint, or if it has not been resolved within eight weeks, you have the right to pursue the matter in the courts of England & Wales per Disputes above, and/or, submit a complaint to the SRA if you believe Ed may have breached the SRA’s Principles (see www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.page).
If you are a micro-enterprise, you may also be able to complain to the Legal Ombudsman.
Updated Legal Notices will be provided from time to time.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Email:
enquiries@coveragematters.co.uk
Phone:
+44 (0)781 727 3890
Coverage Matters (Consultancy) Limited
Privacy Policy
BY CONTINUING TO USE THIS WEBSITE AND / OR INTERACT WITH US, YOU CONFIRM THAT YOU:
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Are 18 or older
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Are accessing this site and/or interacting and engaging with Coverage Matters in the course of your business or profession
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Accept this Privacy Policy and that you agree to comply with it
If you do NOT agree, you must not use or access our site or engage with us in any way.
WE CURRENTLY COLLECT AND PROCESS THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
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Personal identifiers, contacts and characteristics, for example, name, email address, IP address, and other contact details
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Information about how you use our website (cookies – see below)
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Data you provide in any communications with us including via social media
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Any personal information you volunteer via your website or social media platforms
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Personal data embedded in business documents and materials you provide to us
We do not collect or process sensitive personal information about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, your health, or genetic or biometric data nor details about criminal convictions or offences.
HOW WE GET THE PERSONAL INFORMATION AND WHY WE HAVE IT:
The personal information we process is provided to us solely by you by any of the following means:
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When providing us with instructions for assignments you send to us for us to undertake as part of our professional business
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Other communications with us including via social media
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Volunteered via your website or social media platforms
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Embedded in business documents and materials you provide to us
We use the information that you have given us in order to enable us to provide services to your organisation, which you have requested we provide.
We do not positively share this information with other organisations unless you have instructed or consented to us doing so. However, external third parties who as part of providing services to us may process your personal data for specific purposes, are as follows:
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Cloud service providers acting as processors who provide data storage, IT and system administration services
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Email providers
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Professional advisers: lawyers, accountants, IT consultants
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UK official bodies such as HMRC, Solicitors Regulatory Authority (“SRA”)
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are:
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If you are a client or prospective client we need to process your data in order to provide your organisation with services for a fee under the terms of our contract with your organisation
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In order to protect our legitimate interest in conducting and managing our business by providing services to your organisation we sometimes need to use your personal data
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We may also seek your consent expressly
HOW WE STORE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION:
Your information is securely stored.
We keep the information identified above for as long as we are doing business with your organisation and then for a period of 24 months thereafter. We will then dispose of your information by deleting it from our systems.
COOKIES:
A cookie is a small file which we store on your browser or hard drive, if you have clicked “Agree” to our cookie policy when accessing this website. Our website uses these cookies to distinguish you from other users of which helps us provide you with a good experience when you browse our website.
We give you the option when accessing our website to block cookies and if you do so you may not be able to access all or parts of the website.
LINKS TO OTHER SITES:
We may provide links to other web sites and web pages that we do not control. We cannot be responsible for the privacy practices of any web sites or pages not under our control and we do not endorse any of those web sites or pages, the services or products described or offered on such web sites or pages, or any of the content contained on those web sites or pages. Before providing any personal information to such web sites, please be sure to carefully review that web site’s privacy policy.
We are not responsible for the collection, usage and disclosure policies and practices (including the data security practices) of other organizations, such as Google, Apple, Microsoft and Facebook or any other app developer, app provider, social media platform provider, operating system provider, wireless service provider or device manufacturer, including any personal information you disclose through or in connection with apps or our social media pages.
YOUR DATA PROTECTION RIGHTS:
Under data protection law, you have rights including:
Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to object to processing - You have the the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.
Please contact us at enquiries@coveragematters.co.uk if you wish to make a request
HOW TO COMPLAIN:
If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us at enquiries@coveragemattersco.uk
You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.
The ICO’s address:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113; ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk