This Privacy and Cookies Policy ("Privacy Policy") regulates the processing of your personal data by the administrator of the Website and personal data, which is Alpha Advisory Wais & Drwięga Adwokaci sp.p. with its registered office in Warsaw at: ul. Chłodna 22A lok. 9/10, 00-891 Warsaw, entered into the Register of Entrepreneurs maintained by the District Court for the capital city of Warsaw, 13th Commercial Division of the National Court Register, under KRS number 0001218608, REGON 543782953, NIP 5273201183, e-mail: (the "Law Firm"), when providing services by the Law Firm, when contacting the Law Firm, and during your visits to the Law Firm's website https://alphaadvisory.pl/ (the "Website"). Use of the Website constitutes acceptance of the terms of this Privacy Policy.
You may contact the Law Firm regarding matters related to personal data processing and the exercise of rights under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) ("GDPR"), using the contact details provided in point 1. The Law Firm has not appointed a Data Protection Officer.
Your personal data will be processed by the Law Firm for legitimate purposes, in accordance with Art. 6(1)(b), (c) and (f) of the GDPR, i.e. for the purposes of:
providing legal assistance: in particular, concluding or performing a legal services agreement between the Law Firm and you, or the entity you represent, or which is your employer or principal (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR);
fulfilling legal and fiscal obligations: settling services and maintaining accounting records pursuant to the legal obligation arising in particular from the provisions of the Tax Ordinance Act of 29 August 1997, the Accounting Act of 29 September 1994, the Value Added Tax Act of 11 March 2004, and the Personal Income Tax Act of 26 July 1991 (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR);
conducting recruitment processes: processing data of persons applying for employment or cooperation (Art. 6(1)(b) and (c) GDPR);
pursuing legitimate interests: i.e. inter alia maintaining current business contact, responding to enquiries, including those submitted via the contact form on the Website, asserting claims and defending against claims, and fulfilling archiving obligations in respect of case documentation in accordance with the Act of 26 May 1982 — Polish Bar Act (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR);
fulfilling obligations in the area of counteracting support for aggression against Ukraine and verifying national and international sanctions: i.e. for the purpose of identifying and verifying whether a Client or entities related to the Client are subject to restrictive measures (sanctions), pursuant to the legal obligation arising from the Act on special solutions for counteracting support for aggression against Ukraine and the relevant Council of the EU Regulations (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR), and for the purpose of pursuing the Law Firm's legitimate interest in minimising legal and reputational risks (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR);
fulfilling obligations under the Act on Counteracting Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR);
ensuring the safety of persons and property at the Law Firm's premises: through the use of a video surveillance system (image recording without sound) in selected areas of the premises (communication corridors, shared workspace, kitchen), which constitutes the pursuit of the Law Firm's legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
For the purpose of providing legal services, the Law Firm may receive your data from other entities, courts, public authorities, counterparties' representatives and contractors, to the extent indicated by applicable law, in particular: first name, last name, marital status, national identification number (PESEL), address and all data contained in the documentation relating to cases handled by the Law Firm. For the purposes of sanctions verification, the Law Firm may process additional data, such as nationality, identity document series and numbers, and data on corporate and personal connections.
Your personal data may be shared with entities authorised to receive them under applicable law. In addition, data may be shared with entities providing services to the extent necessary to fulfil the indicated processing purposes (e.g. employees and associates of the Law Firm, entities providing accounting, translation, postal, courier, IT and programming services to the Law Firm, including providers of professional law firm management software, as well as insurance brokers and insurance companies, to the extent necessary for the assessment of claims and the management of the Law Firm's insurance cover). In each case, such entities shall be required to maintain the confidentiality of your personal data and to process it in accordance with personal data protection regulations.
Your data will not be transferred to recipients located outside the European Economic Area, unless this is necessary for the provision of legal assistance.
Data retention periods:
Your personal data will be processed by the Law Firm for the period necessary to conclude or perform the agreement between the Law Firm and you, or the entity you represent, or which is your employer or principal, and furthermore for the period of limitation of claims arising from or related to such agreement, or until the data retention obligation arising from generally applicable law expires, in particular the obligation to retain accounting and tax documents (whichever of the foregoing events occurs later);
in the case of contact in matters other than those referred to in point 7(a), your personal data will be processed for the duration of the current relationship (responses to contact, exchange of correspondence, etc.), and after the relationship ends, until the limitation period for any potential claims expires, or until the data retention obligation arising from generally applicable law expires, in particular the obligation to retain accounting and tax documents (whichever of the foregoing events occurs later);
in the case of video surveillance data — for a period of up to 14 days from the date of recording, unless, due to a specific event, the recording has been secured for the purposes of authorised authorities — in which case for the period necessary to clarify the matter or conclude the proceedings.
You have the right:
to access your personal data being processed;
to request rectification of your personal data being processed;
to request erasure of your personal data being processed;
to request restriction of the processing of your personal data;
to object to the processing of personal data on grounds relating to your particular situation — in the case of data processed on the basis of the Law Firm's legitimate interest. In such a case, the Law Firm may no longer process that personal data, unless it demonstrates the existence of compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override the interests, rights and freedoms of the data subject, or grounds for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;
to data portability — in the case of data processed for the purpose of concluding and performing the agreement referred to in point 3(a);
to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority responsible for personal data protection, i.e. the President of the Personal Data Protection Office (Prezes Urzędu Ochrony Danych Osobowych).
Providing data to the extent required by tax law (and anti-money laundering regulations) is a statutory requirement. In all other respects, the provision of data is voluntary, but necessary to conclude an agreement and provide legal assistance.
In connection with the processing of your personal data, you will not be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing, including profiling, that produce legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affect you.
Website
In order to ensure the security of the transmission of communications and personal data in connection with the services provided, the Law Firm applies technical measures to prevent the unauthorised acquisition and modification of data transmitted electronically, in particular through the use of the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption protocol for the Website.
Electronic mail (e-mail)
The provisions on confidentiality and data processing set out in this Privacy Policy apply accordingly to correspondence sent to the Law Firm via the e-mail addresses indicated on the Website.
The Law Firm's e-mail service is based on a Zero-Knowledge proof architecture. This means that data at rest is encrypted in a way that technically precludes the e-mail service provider from accessing the content of your correspondence and attachments. Please note, however, that if you correspond without using End-to-end encryption, the Law Firm's e-mail provider (Proton AG) may have brief, automated technical access to the content of an incoming message from external servers solely for the purpose of filtering it through anti-spam and anti-virus systems, before it is permanently encrypted with the Law Firm's public key under the Zero-Access architecture.
Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools
The Law Firm may use artificial intelligence tools, including Google Gemini, for the purposes of optimising internal processes, analysing documentation and supporting editorial work.
The Law Firm uses exclusively business versions of such tools, which guarantee that the data entered is not used to train the provider's language models.
The use of these technologies is carried out with respect for the principles of confidentiality, and all data is subject to protection equivalent to that applied to the Law Firm's other digital assets.
Processing of Data in Social Media
The Law Firm maintains profiles on social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), through which it publishes information about its activities and informational materials, and conducts educational activities, disseminating legal knowledge through the publication of substantive articles, commentaries and analyses on the Website and in social media.
In connection with the maintenance of these profiles, the Law Firm processes personal data of individuals interacting with these profiles (e.g. by liking the page, adding a comment, voting in a poll, sending a private message, following the profile or reacting to published content).
The legal basis for the processing of your data in this regard is the Law Firm's legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR), consisting in building and maintaining relationships with users, promoting the Law Firm's services, responding to enquiries submitted via these platforms, and conducting legal education and disseminating legal knowledge.
Please note that, with regard to statistics and the functioning of advertising mechanisms of a given platform, the Law Firm is a joint controller of data together with the provider of the respective social media platform: Meta Platforms Ireland Limited — for Facebook and Instagram; LinkedIn Ireland International Limited — for LinkedIn.
Detailed information on the personal data processing rules applied by the providers of these platforms and on your rights (including the right to object) can be found in their privacy policies: Facebook and Instagram (Meta), LinkedIn.
Your personal data collected via social media will be retained for the period necessary to fulfil the purpose (e.g. maintaining the relationship), but no longer than until you remove your interaction (e.g. withdraw a like, unfollow the profile or delete a comment) or lodge an effective objection.
Communication via Videoconferencing Tools
The Law Firm enables consultations and meetings to be conducted using remote communication tools, in particular the Microsoft Teams platform.
When using these tools, the Law Firm processes your identification data (first name, last name, e-mail address) and data in the form of your image and voice transmitted in real time.
The legal basis for the processing of this data is the necessity to perform the legal services agreement (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) and the Law Firm's legitimate interest in efficient communication with the Client and provision of legal assistance remotely (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). The provider of the Microsoft Teams tool is Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited. The Law Firm uses the business solutions offered by this provider, which meet security and confidentiality standards compliant with the GDPR. Data is processed within the provider's cloud infrastructure, and the Law Firm exercises due diligence to ensure that use of this tool is conducted with respect for the confidentiality and security of the User's data.
Cookies
The Website uses cookies (so-called "cookies"). These are digital data, in particular small text files, which are saved and stored on the User's end device (e.g. computer, tablet, smartphone) while browsing the Website.
The Law Firm uses cookies for the following technical purposes (necessary cookies): ensuring the proper functioning of the Website, maintaining sessions and optimising the use of its features. These files are installed automatically and do not require the User's prior consent.
The Law Firm uses cookies for the following analytical purposes (optional cookies): collecting anonymous statistics (via tools such as Google Analytics) on how the Website is used, which enables improvement of its structure and content (e.g. by analysing the number of visits, time spent on the Website and the type of browser used).
In principle, cookies are not used by the Law Firm to identify a specific natural person. However, to the extent that cookie identifiers (e.g. an IP address) may be linked to other data enabling identification, they may be considered personal data and are processed in accordance with the general principles of this Privacy Policy and the provisions of the GDPR.
Upon your first visit to the Website, a cookie banner is displayed allowing the User to accept all cookies or to select the "Necessary only" option (which blocks analytical cookies).
The User has the right to change their preferences or withdraw their consent at any time. This can be done by clicking the "Manage cookies" link available in the footer of the Website.
Independently of the tools available on the Website, the User may manage cookies directly in their web browser settings (with the option to block, delete or limit the saving of files). For detailed instructions, please refer to the "Help" section of your browser.
Legal Professional Privilege
The Law Firm and its associates are obliged to maintain professional secrecy in accordance with the Polish Bar Act (Prawo o adwokaturze). The obligation of secrecy covers information obtained in connection with the provision of legal assistance: legal consultation qualification, legal advice, legal consultation, drafting of documents, representation before courts, and representation in negotiations.
Merely initiating contact (submitting a commercial enquiry or a general legal enquiry) via the contact form on the Website, via a private message on social media, or by e-mail does not give rise to a mandate relationship and does not result in the granting of a power of attorney. Information provided during initial contact of a commercial or informational nature is not covered by legal professional privilege.
We respect your privacy. We use necessary files to ensure the proper functioning of our website. You can also consent to our use of technologies to collect anonymous statistics on how the website is used, which helps us improve its structure and content. You can choose only the necessary options or accept all of them. For details, see our Privacy Policy.