Privacy Policy


  1. Introduction

Marc De Block Advocatenkantoor BV attaches great importance to the safe, transparent and confidential processing of your personal details. In particular, we wish to protect the data of our clients, employees and other contact persons against, among other things, loss, unauthorised access or unlawful processing.

We would like to inform you about the collection and processing of your personal data through this Data Protection Policy. We ask that you read this Data Protection Policy carefully as it contains essential information about how your personal data are processed and for what purpose.

By submitting your personal data, you expressly declare that you have read this Data Protection Policy and expressly agree to it as well as to the processing thereof.

 

  1. Scope of Application

This Data Protection Policy applies to all services provided by (or to) us and in general to all activities we perform.

 

  1. Processor

Marc De Block Advocatenkantoor BV, with its registered office at Bourlastraat 3 in 2000 Antwerp and company number 0828.631.111, is the data controller of your personal data.

In collecting and processing your personal data, we respect the Belgian regulations on the protection of personal data, as well as the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) as of its entry into force on 25 May 2018.

 

  1. Personal Data

According to your activities and your relationship with our firm, we process the following personal data: your personal identification data; file number; national register number to the extent necessary for the processing of your file; identification data under the Law of 18 September 2017 on the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism restricting the use of cash; data on solvency, insurance; financial transactions; CBE number, professional activities; agreements and settlements; licenses; mandates held; complaints, incidents or accidents; composition of the family, marriage or current form of cohabitation; memberships of associations, organizations, groups or professional associations; legal data concerning suspicions, convictions and sentences, judicial measures or administrative penalties; current employment; salary data insofar as necessary for the handling of the case; image and audio material necessary for the handling of the case or in the context of a training or event.

We kindly remind you that you are responsible for all data you provide and that we rely on its accuracy. Should your data no longer be up to date, please inform us in return.

You are not required to communicate your personal data, but you understand that providing certain services or collaborating will become impossible if you do not consent to the collection and processing.

 

  1. Processing purposes and legal basis

5.1 Client data

As part of our services and our activities, we collect and process personal data from our clients and principals, their staff, employees, appointees and other useful contacts. We process the following personal data: personal identification data; file number; national registry number to the extent necessary for the processing of your file; financial identification data; data on solvency, insurance; financial transactions; professional activities; agreements and settlements; licenses; mandates held; complaints, incidents or accidents; composition of the family, marriage or current form of cohabitation; memberships of associations, organizations, groups or professional societies; legal data concerning suspicions, convictions and sentences, judicial measures or administrative penalties; current employment; salary data insofar as necessary for the processing of the case; image and audio material necessary for the processing of the case or in the context of a training course or event.

The purposes of these processes are the execution of the agreements with our clients, client management, accounting and direct marketing activities such as sending promotional or commercial information or use on social media. The legal grounds are the execution of the agreement, the fulfillment of legal and regulatory obligations and/or our legitimate interest. For direct marketing activities by e-mail (such as a newsletter or invitation to events), consent will always be requested and can also be withdrawn at any time.

 

5.2 Suppliers’ data

We collect and process personal data from our suppliers, their staff, employees, appointees and other useful contacts. We process the following personal data: personal identification data, financial identification data, solvency, financial transactions, professional activities, agreements and settlements, CBE number.

The purposes of these processing operations are the execution of this agreement, supplier management, accounting and direct marketing activities such as sending promotional or commercial information. The legal grounds are the execution of the agreement, the fulfillment of legal and regulatory obligations and/or our legitimate interest. For direct marketing activities by e-mail (such as a newsletter or invitation to events), consent will always be requested and can also be withdrawn at any time.

 

5.3 Staff data

We process the personal data of our employees in the context of our personnel management and payroll administration.

 

5.4 Data in connection with the processing of our files

Within the framework of handling our files, we process the personal identification data of counterparties and their counsels, trade unions or representatives, as well as any other possible persons involved such as bailiffs, notaries, experts, civil parties, trustees, etc. The legal grounds are the fulfillment of legal and regulatory obligations and/or our legitimate interest or in some cases the performance of a contract.

 

5.5 Other data

In addition to the data provided above, we also process personal data belonging to others, such as possible new clients/prospects, confreres, useful contacts within our sector, network contacts, former lawyers/employees or employees, job applicants, etc. The purposes of these processing operations are in the interest of our business, direct marketing and public relations. The legal basis is our legitimate interest or in some cases the performance of a contract.

 

  1. Duration of processing

Personal data will be retained and processed by us for a period of time that is necessary in relation to the purposes of the processing and in relation to the relationship (contractual or otherwise) that we have with you.

In any case, your data will be deleted from our systems after a period of ten years after the termination of the contract, the file, the cooperation or the project, except with regard to those personal data that we must retain for a longer period on the basis of specific legislation or in the event of an ongoing dispute for which the personal data is still necessary. The identification data of our former lawyers/staff may be kept beyond these time limits for networking or marketing purposes, such as invitations to office or alumni events, and this until the death of the lawyer/staff member, unless he/she indicates that he/she no longer wishes to receive such invitations.

 

  1. Rights

In accordance with and subject to the terms of Belgian privacy legislation and the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation, we inform you that you have the following rights:

  • Right of access and inspection: you have the right to acquaint yourself, free of charge, with the data we hold about you and to verify the use to which it is put.
  • Right to rectification: you have the right to obtain rectification (correction) of your inaccurate personal data, as well as to complete incomplete personal data.
  • Right to data erasure or restriction: you have the right to request us to erase your personal data or to restrict its processing in the circumstances and under the conditions stipulated by the General Data Protection Regulation. We may refuse the data erasure or restriction of any personal data that are necessary for us to carry out a legal obligation, the performance of the contract or our legitimate interest, and this as long as these data are necessary for the purposes for which they were collected.
  • Right to data portability: you have the right to obtain the personal data relating to yourself, which you have provided to us, in a structured, common and machine-readable form. You have the right to transfer this data to another data controller.
  • Right to object: you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data for serious and legitimate reasons. However, please note that you cannot object to the processing of personal data that is necessary for us to carry out a legal obligation, the performance of the contract or our legitimate interest, and this as long as this data is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.
  • Right of withdrawal of consent: If the processing of personal data is based on prior consent, you have the right to withdraw this consent. These personal data will then only be processed if we have another legal basis for doing so.
  • Automatic decisions and profiling: we confirm that the processing of personal data does not include profiling and that you are not subject to fully automated decisions.

You can exercise the aforementioned rights by contacting info@deblocklaw.com. The contact person for this is: Mrs. Emilie VANHOUTTE (nr.: 03/206.22.55).

We make every effort to handle your personal data in a careful and legitimate manner in accordance with the applicable regulations. If you nevertheless believe that your rights have been violated and your concerns have not been addressed within our office, you are free to file a complaint with:

Data Protection Authority
Rue du Printing 35, 1000 Brussels
Tel. +32 (0)2 274 48 00
Fax. +32 (0)2 274 48 35
E-mail: contact@apd-gba.be

You can additionally turn to a court if you believe that you would suffer damage as a result of the processing of your personal data.

 

  1. Transfer to third parties

Certain personal data collected by us will be passed on to and possibly processed by our lawyers and, where appropriate, their respective (management) companies, as well as the courts and other government departments or third-party service providers, such as our IT supplier, accountant, auditor, social secretariat, insurance companies, etc. Within the framework of anti-money laundering legislation, data on clients, agents and beneficial owners may, in certain circumstances, be forwarded to the President of the competent Bar Council.

It is possible that one or more of the above third parties are located outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”). However, personal data will only be transferred to third countries with an adequate level of protection.

The employees, managers and/or representatives of the above-mentioned service providers or institutions and the specialized service providers appointed by them must respect the confidential nature of your personal data and may use these data only for the purposes for which they were provided.

If necessary, your personal data may be passed on to other third parties. This may be the case, for example, if all or part of our business is reorganized, if our activities are transferred or if we are declared bankrupt. It is also possible that personal data may need to be transferred in response to a court order or to comply with a particular legal obligation. In such case, we will make reasonable efforts to inform you in advance of such communication to other third parties. However, you will recognize and understand that in certain circumstances this may not always be technically, or commercially feasible or that legal restrictions may apply.

Under no circumstances will we sell or make your personal data commercially available to direct marketing agencies or similar service providers except with your prior consent.

 

  1. Technical and organizational measures

We take the necessary technical and organizational measures to process your personal data with an adequate level of security and to protect it against destruction, loss, falsification, alteration, unauthorized access or notification to third parties, as well as any other unauthorized processing of this data.

In no event can Marc De Block Advocatenkantoor BV be held liable for any direct or indirect damage resulting from the incorrect or illegal use of personal data by a third party.

 

  1. Access by third parties

With a view to processing your personal data, we grant access to your personal data to our employees, lawyers, staff and appointees. We guarantee a similar level of protection by providing contractual obligations to these employees, workers and contractors.

 

  1. Any questions?

If, after reading this Data Protection Policy, you have any further questions or comments concerning the collection and processing of your personal data, please contact Mrs. Emilie VANHOUTTE

  • Either by mail to Bourlastraat 3, 2000 Antwerp.
  • Or by e-mail to info@deblocklaw.com.

Cookie Policy


What are cookies?

This website uses cookies to optimize your visit to the website and to ensure an optimal user experience. A cookie is a small text file that a website puts on the hard drive of your computer (or other connected device) during a visit in order to store certain information. These cookies provide information about the browser type, operating system, geographical location, website visit and personal preferences, among other things.

 

What types of cookies are there?

Different types of cookies are used on this website. These cookies can be classified according to their duration, origin and function.

 

Duration:

Cookies usually have an expiration date. Here, a distinction must be made between:

  • The session cookies: these are cookies that are automatically deleted as soon as you close your browser.
  • The permanent cookies: these are cookies that remain on your computer for a longer period of time and sometimes even remain until you delete them manually.

 

Origin:

Cookies can be placed by the website itself or by a third party. Here a distinction should be made between:

  • First party (or own cookies): these are cookies that are placed by our website when you visit us.
  • Third party cookies: these are cookies placed by a third party. This is the case when the website incorporates certain elements from other websites, such as social media “plugins” (such as the “like” button from Facebook or Linkedin) or advertisements. In this way, your behavior can be tracked (e.g. to be able to do accurate and targeted marketing in the future). For these third-party cookies, please refer to the privacy and cookie statements provided by these parties on their websites.

 

Function:

Cookies can have several functions and purposes. This website uses three types of cookies being:

  • The strictly necessary cookies: these cookies include the essential and functional cookies and are necessary purely for technical reasons to be able to visit the site and make it function properly (e.g. to fill in forms, remember privacy preferences, …).
  • Marketing cookies: these cookies are used to show you relevant ads.
  • The performance cookies: these cookies are also sometimes called analytical cookies and aim to collect information about how you use our website (e.g. date and time of the visit). We use this data to optimize our website according to the needs of our users.

To ensure your privacy, we always ask for your permission before using marketing and/or performance cookies.

Below you will find an overview per type of cookie of the different specific cookies we use (see also the page of the cookie policy, in this overview you can also revise or add to your given permission where desired).

  • Language cookie: with this cookie we remember your language preference on the website, so that we don’t redirect you to the default language version of the website every time you visit. This cookie is kept for 1 year.
  • Facebook Pixel: This cookie keeps track of the pages you view on the website. Based on this we can show you relevant ads on Facebook, which are in your field of interest. Without these cookies, you will miss out on personalized offers or announcements. This cookie is from Facebook and is deleted after a maximum of 2 years. Your personal data is stored for a maximum of 180 days.
  • Google Analytics: Google Analytics is one of the most widespread and reliable analytical solutions on the internet to help gather information about how the website is best used and how the user experience can be improved. With this cookie we may keep track of how long you surf the website, exactly which pages you visit and how you found us. This way we know what visitors find interesting and we can continue to improve the website and its content. This cookie comes from Google and is deleted after 2 years maximum.

 

How do I check and delete already installed cookies?

You can use your browser settings to check (and if necessary, delete) which cookies have been placed on your device (by our website or other websites).

 

What are my rights?

The Cookie Policy does not affect your rights under applicable data protection regulations. More information on how we process your personal data, what your rights are as a data subject can be found together with the contact details of the data protection officer under the link general terms and conditions / privacy policy.

 

Modifiability clause

Marc De Block Advocatenkantoor BV reserves the right to amend and update the cookie statement where necessary. The last amendment took place on 11 January 2022.