Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice explains how Candice Bowker, an attorney practising as a sole proprietor under the style Bowker Attorneys ("Bowker Attorneys", "the Firm", "we", "us" or "our"), collects and otherwise processes personal information. It applies to the Firm’s website, prospective-client enquiries, client onboarding and other processing undertaken in the course of the Firm’s legal practice, to the extent relevant to the person concerned.

This Notice is intended to meet the transparency requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA"), including section 18, and must be read together with the Firm’s PAIA Manual and Website Terms of Use.

Because Bowker Attorneys is a sole proprietorship, the responsible party is Candice Bowker in her professional capacity trading as Bowker Attorneys, rather than a separate incorporated entity.

Responsible party: Candice Bowker trading as Bowker Attorneys

Email: info@bowkerattorneys.co.za

Website: https://bowkerattorneys.co.za

Candice Bowker is the Head of the private body for PAIA purposes and the Information Officer for POPIA purposes, subject to registration with the Information Regulator.

Information Officer registration: Candice Bowker

The categories of personal information processed depend on the nature of the interaction or legal matter. They may include:

• identity and contact information, including names, identity or passport details, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses;
• business, employment, directorship, ownership and representative-capacity information;
• communications and information supplied in an enquiry, consultation, mandate, instruction or legal matter;
• conflict-check information, including the identities of counterparties and persons materially connected to a proposed matter;
• client due-diligence, risk-assessment, sanctions-screening and beneficial-ownership information required under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 ("FICA") and related obligations;
• financial, banking, invoicing, payment and trust-account information where relevant;
• legal, contractual, evidentiary, court, tribunal, regulatory and dispute-related information;
• information about witnesses, experts, opposing parties, employees, contractors, representatives and other third parties involved in a matter;
• where lawful and necessary, special personal information, including information concerning health, sex life, race or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, political persuasion, trade-union membership, biometric information or alleged criminal conduct;
• where lawful and necessary, personal information relating to children; and

limited technical information generated through normal website hosting, security and server operations, such as IP address, device/browser information, timestamps and security logs.

We may collect personal information directly from you and, where lawful and relevant to a legal mandate or compliance obligation, from third parties. Third-party sources may include clients, counterparties, courts and tribunals, government departments, regulators, public registers, witnesses, experts, advocates, correspondent attorneys, service providers and publicly available sources.

Where we collect personal information from a source other than the data subject, we will process it only where a lawful basis exists and will provide notification where POPIA requires it and no statutory exception applies.

If you contact Bowker Attorneys through the Website, we may collect your name, email address, telephone number, business or organisation details and a short description of your enquiry. We use this information to receive, assess and respond to the enquiry, to determine whether the Firm is able to assist, and where appropriate to conduct preliminary conflict, risk and compliance checks.

Please do not send pleadings, identity documents, medical records, bank statements, children’s information or other highly sensitive or confidential documents through the general website form unless Bowker Attorneys specifically asks you to do so through an approved channel.

Submitting a website form or sending an unsolicited email does not by itself mean that Bowker Attorneys has accepted a professional mandate. Whether any communication is legally privileged is determined by applicable law and the circumstances; users should not assume that an unsolicited website submission is privileged merely because it is sent to a law firm.

We may process personal information for purposes reasonably connected with the legal practice, including:

• receiving and responding to enquiries and requests for contact;
• assessing whether the Firm can act and conducting conflict checks;
• conducting client due diligence and complying with FICA, sanctions and related regulatory requirements;
• establishing, administering and performing attorney-client mandates and providing legal services;
• communicating with clients, prospective clients, counterparties, courts, tribunals, regulators, advocates, experts and other participants in legal matters;
• preparing legal documents, conducting negotiations, dispute resolution and litigation, and establishing, exercising or defending rights or obligations in law;
• administering fees, invoices, accounting, trust-account obligations, collections and payments;
• complying with the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014, the Legal Practice Council Rules and Code of Conduct, FICA, tax laws, court rules and other legal or professional duties;
• maintaining records, professional risk management, complaints handling and insurance requirements;
• protecting the Firm, clients and third parties against fraud, cybercrime, misuse, unlawful conduct and security threats; and

operating, maintaining and securing the Website and the Firm’s systems.

We process personal information only where permitted by POPIA or another applicable law. Depending on the circumstances, the legal basis may include consent; steps requested before entering into a contract; performance of a contract; compliance with a legal obligation; protection of a legitimate interest of the data subject; proper performance of a public-law duty where applicable; or pursuit of the legitimate interests of the Firm or a third party, subject to POPIA.

The Firm does not rely on blanket consent where another lawful ground is more appropriate. If processing is based on consent, consent may be withdrawn subject to the consequences permitted by law and without affecting processing that was lawful before withdrawal.

Legal matters can require the processing of special personal information and information concerning children. Bowker Attorneys will process such information only where a specific authorisation under POPIA or another law applies, including where processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of a right or obligation in law, where valid consent or the consent of a competent person applies, or where another statutory authorisation is available.

The Firm will apply heightened confidentiality, access control, minimality and security safeguards to such information. Where prior authorisation from the Information Regulator is required for a particular processing activity, the Firm will obtain it before undertaking that activity.

Information supplied through a general website enquiry is ordinarily voluntary. If Bowker Attorneys proceeds with a potential mandate, certain information may become mandatory because it is necessary to conduct a conflict check, verify identity, comply with FICA or another law, open a matter, provide legal services, administer funds or comply with professional duties. If required information is not supplied, the Firm may be unable to accept or continue a mandate.

Bowker Attorneys seeks to process only personal information that is adequate, relevant and not excessive for the purpose concerned. Data subjects are requested to provide accurate and current information and to notify the Firm of material changes. The Firm may take reasonable steps to verify information where appropriate.

Bowker Attorneys does not sell personal information. Personal information may be disclosed where lawful and reasonably necessary to:

• clients and authorised representatives;
• advocates, correspondent attorneys, experts, consultants, translators and other professional service providers;
• courts, tribunals, sheriffs, process servers, mediators, arbitrators and regulators;
• banks, payment providers, accountants, auditors, bookkeepers and professional insurers;
• IT, email, cloud, backup, cybersecurity, practice-management, hosting and website service providers acting as operators;
• the Legal Practice Council, Legal Practitioners Fidelity Fund, Financial Intelligence Centre, South African Revenue Service, law-enforcement or other competent authorities where required or authorised by law; and

other parties where disclosure is required for the proper performance of a mandate, the exercise or defence of legal rights, compliance with law, or with appropriate authority.

Where a service provider processes personal information on behalf of Bowker Attorneys as an operator, the Firm will take reasonable steps to ensure that the operator acts only with authorisation, maintains confidentiality and implements appropriate security safeguards. Operator security obligations will be regulated in writing where section 21 of POPIA requires it.

Some email, cloud, software, hosting, backup or professional service providers may process or store information outside South Africa. A transfer outside the Republic will be made only where a lawful ground under section 72 of POPIA applies and the Firm has taken appropriate steps to protect the information.

Website hosting / data location: Cloudflare Pages / Cloudflare global edge network, including South African points of presence

Email / cloud provider and location: Google Workspace (Google Ireland/LLC) — data region per the Firm’s Workspace configuration

At the date of this Notice, Bowker Attorneys does not use advertising cookies, behavioural tracking cookies, analytics pixels or similar marketing technologies on the Website. The Website may nevertheless generate strictly necessary technical information or storage through ordinary hosting, cybersecurity, load-balancing or form-security functions. Such information will be used only for legitimate operational and security purposes.

Before publication, the Firm will obtain written confirmation from the website developer or host as to whether any technical cookie, local-storage item, CAPTCHA service, analytics tool, embedded third-party content or tracking technology is present. If non-essential tracking is introduced, this Notice and any consent mechanism will be updated before that technology is activated.

Information submitted for a legal enquiry will not automatically be added to a marketing database. Bowker Attorneys will not treat a request for legal contact as consent to unrelated electronic direct marketing. If the Firm undertakes electronic direct marketing in future, it will do so in accordance with section 69 of POPIA and the applicable guidance of the Information Regulator, including consent and opt-out requirements where applicable.

Bowker Attorneys does not currently use the Website to make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects solely through automated processing. If that position changes, the Firm will assess the requirements of POPIA before implementation and update this Notice where necessary.

Bowker Attorneys maintains reasonable technical and organisational safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of information processed and the risks reasonably foreseeable. These may include access controls, strong authentication and multi-factor authentication, secure devices and cloud systems, anti-malware protection, encryption where appropriate, secure backups, confidentiality obligations, restricted access to client information, operator controls and incident-response procedures.

No electronic system is completely risk-free. For particularly sensitive material, the Firm may require a more secure transmission method than an ordinary website form or unencrypted email.

Where there are reasonable grounds to believe that personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, Bowker Attorneys will investigate and contain the incident and will notify the Information Regulator and affected data subjects as required by section 22 of POPIA, subject to any lawful delay or exception. Operators are required to notify the Firm promptly of suspected compromises affecting Firm data.

Bowker Attorneys retains personal information for no longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected or subsequently lawfully processed, subject to statutory and professional retention requirements. Relevant considerations may include the Legal Practice Act and LPC Rules, FICA, tax and accounting requirements, court rules, prescription periods, insurance requirements, litigation holds, professional duties and the need to preserve limited conflict-check information.

Website enquiries that do not result in a mandate will not be kept indefinitely without a lawful or legitimate reason. When information is no longer authorised to be retained, it will be securely deleted, destroyed or de-identified as reasonably practicable.

Subject to applicable law, a data subject may request confirmation of whether the Firm holds personal information about them; request access; request correction or deletion; object to processing on the grounds permitted by POPIA; withdraw consent where consent is the relevant basis; and lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

These rights are not absolute. Access or deletion may be limited by legal professional privilege, duties of confidentiality, litigation requirements, the rights of other persons, statutory retention duties and other lawful grounds.

Requests concerning personal information should be addressed to the Information Officer. The Firm may require adequate proof of identity and sufficient information to locate the relevant record. Access requests are dealt with in accordance with POPIA read with PAIA and the Firm’s PAIA Manual.

Information Officer email: info@bowkerattorneys.co.za

Complaints may be lodged with the Information Regulator (South Africa). Current published contact details are:

Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191

P.O. Box 31533, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2017

Telephone: 010 023 5200

Toll free: 0800 017 160

General enquiries: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za

Information Regulator website

The Website may link to third-party websites or services. Bowker Attorneys does not control those third parties’ privacy or security practices. A user should review the third party’s terms and privacy information before supplying personal information to it.

This Notice may be amended when the Firm’s processing activities, Website functionality, service providers, professional obligations or applicable law materially change. The current version will be published on the Website with an updated review date.