Global Privacy Notice

Last updated: May 2025

  1. How do we use your personal data?
  2. Where do we get your personal data from?
  3. What happens if you fail to provide personal data to us?
  4. How do we share your personal data?
  5. International transfers of personal data
  6. For how long do we keep your personal data?
  7. Your rights
  8. Complaints
  9. Country specific information

This Global Privacy Notice explains how Linklaters collects, uses and shares your personal data. It also explains your rights in relation to your personal data1 and how to contact us.

Linklaters is a global law firm. Linklaters LLP in England is responsible as the controller2 for personal data collected through this website. When you interact with Linklaters, the relevant Linklaters office that is providing services to you or otherwise liaising with you will be the controller of your personal data. A full list of Linklaters entities that are covered by this privacy notice is available in Schedule 2 of our Global Data Protection Standards.

We will update this Global Privacy Notice from time to time. The date of the latest update is shown at the top of this page.

A glossary of terms that we use in this Global Privacy Notice is available here. Hover over terms to read their meanings.

How do we use your personal data?

We use personal data for the purposes listed below, subject to applicable law. The way in which we use your personal data will depend on who you are and why you are interacting with us. Click on the headings that are relevant to you to find out more.

Running our websites and technology platforms

Relevant for: website visitors and people who use our online and mobile platforms

We collect information about how you interact with our technology platforms3 (including our websites and other online platforms) so that we can deliver services to you, understand how our technology platforms are being used, keep our systems and information safe and improve our technology platforms. This includes personal data that you submit through our technology platforms, information about the areas of our technology platforms that you visit and how you interact with them and technical details about the equipment that you use to access our technology platforms and the country from which you are accessing them.

We use this personal data because we have a legitimate interest in providing services and information through our technology platforms. We also have legitimate interests in developing and improving our technology platforms and keeping our systems safe.

Some of this information is obtained using cookies and other similar tracking technologies. Please see our Cookie Notice for more information about the cookies that we use and how you can manage them.

Advising our clients

Relevant for: contacts at our clients, individuals involved in our clients’ matters, expert advisors

We use personal data to carry out conflict checks, anti-money laundering checks, anti-terrorism checks, financial sanctions screening, fraud checks and other background checks in relation to client matters. The personal data used for these purposes includes names, contact details, identity data (such as passport number), financial information, source of funds information, and matter related information. We process this data due to our legal obligations or our legitimate interests in preventing fraud and understanding our clients and those involved in client matters.

If our checks uncover criminal activity, we will also process criminal offence data. We process this data to comply with our legal obligations and to prevent and detect crime.

We use personal data to enable us to deliver services to our clients. This may include names, contact details, information about a person’s involvement in a matter, financial and transaction information, job roles and other professional information (this is not an exhaustive list). Personal data that we process for these purposes may be directly provided to us by the client when we do not have direct interaction with you. We process this personal data because we have a legitimate interest in managing and delivering services to our clients, or it is necessary for the performance of a contract we have with you.

We process personal data to manage payments due to us and to recover money due to us. This includes names, contact details, identity information and financial information. We have a legitimate interest in recovering money owed to us.

We process personal data in connection with the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims on behalf of clients. This may include using personal data in witness statements and court disclosures. We process the data based on our legal obligations, such as complying with court requirements, or because we have a legitimate interest in protecting our clients’ interests or facilitating the administration of justice.

We sometimes process special category data4 where this is necessary to provide legal services to our clients in connection with the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Running events and sending out marketing communications

Relevant for: people who receive our newsletters or who are invited to our events, attendees and speakers

We process names, contact information (including email and phone numbers), access and dietary requirements and information about your marketing preferences to send out newsletters and briefings, invite you to events and webinars, manage events and obtain feedback about our events. If you are a speaker at one of our events, we will use your contact details and professional information to help us administer the event.

We will use your data for these purposes on one of the following bases:

  • Where we have your consent for marketing purposes
  • If we do not have your consent, where we have a business relationship with you and we have a legitimate interest to use your information for marketing purposes
  • For our legitimate interests to manage events

You have the right to opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time, and you can do so by using unsubscribe form, or contacting us at the details above.

Managing our legal technology

Relevant for: everyone

We process personal data to operate and manage our legal technology tools. This includes using personal data to provide technology solutions and legal services. It is in our legitimate interests to use personal data for these purposes. When processing personal data for analysis in litigation datasets, we apply techniques such as pseudonymisation or anonymisation where possible to minimise risks to individuals’ privacy. Personal data is only accessed by authorised personnel.

Managing our suppliers

Relevant for: our suppliers and supplier contacts

We use names, business contact details, bank details and information about services provided to manage our supplier relationships, including carrying out due diligence checks, managing services and making payments. If you are an individual, we use this information for the purposes of our contract with you. For corporate supplier contacts, we have a legitimate interest to use personal data to manage our supplier relationships.

Recruitment

Relevant for: individuals who we contact for recruitment purposes

If you contact us to enquire about job vacancies we will process your details in accordance with our recruitment privacy notice, which is available here.

We may search for candidates on LinkedIn and other business-related social media sites and contact individuals to provide them with information about roles at Linklaters. We process names and professional information obtained from LinkedIn for these purposes. It is in our legitimate interests to use personal data posted on business related sites for recruitment purposes.

Responding to enquires and complaints

Relevant for: individuals who make an enquiry or contact us with a complaint

We will use information that you provide to us in connection with an enquiry or a complaint to respond to you. This will include your name, contacts details and information submitted as part of your enquiry or complaint. We have a legitimate interest to respond to enquiries and complaints. .

Managing access to our offices

Relevant for: individuals who visit our offices

If you visit one of our offices we collect your name, contact details and information about your visit to enable us to manage your visit and keep our buildings secure. We may also capture CCTV images of your visit for safety, security, and investigation purposes. If you use our guest wifi, we will use your email address and technical information about your use of the wifi system to manage your access to the wifi, to ensure compliance with our wifi terms and for systems security purposes. It is in our legitimate interests to use personal data to manage office and system access.

If you voluntarily provide us with special category data so that we can help you with access arrangements or for dietary purposes, we use this personal data with your consent.

Complying with our legal and regulatory obligations

Relevant for: everyone

We process personal data to enable compliance with legislation and regulations which govern the running of our business. This includes compliance with health and safety regulations, regulations which apply to the running of law firms and any other regulations applicable to us. In some circumstances we are legally required to report suspected criminal activity to relevant authorities. The personal data used for these purposes will depend on the nature of the legal obligation that applies and could include any personal data that we process as described elsewhere in this notice. We process this personal data because we have a legal obligation to do so.

Quality controls, audits, legal claims and regulatory investigations

Relevant for: everyone

We process personal data to perform quality control checks, prepare for and take part in internal and external audits, establish and defend legal claims, and prepare for and take part in audits/investigations by relevant regulatory bodies such as data protection supervisory authorities and legal regulatory bodies. The personal data used for these purposes will depend on the nature of the checks, audits, claims or investigations taking place and could include any personal data that we process as described elsewhere in this notice. It is in our legitimate interests to process personal data for quality control, legal claims and audit purposes. Where we are required to comply with a regulatory investigation, we have a legal obligation to process personal data for this purpose.

Business planning and management

Relevant for: everyone

We use personal data to help us with planning the resources that we need to run our business and to develop our products and services. This includes processing names, contact details and information about services provided to and by Linklaters. It is in our legitimate interests to use information to support our business planning and management activities.

Where do we get your personal data from?

Where we have direct interactions with you, we collect personal data directly from you. In other cases, we may obtain personal data from your employer (if you work for one of our clients or suppliers), from our clients (if you are involved in a client matter) or from other third parties. These third parties may include insurers, previous legal representative, opposing parties in litigation, regulators, public registers, publicly available court or legal records and screening providers (for example in relation to anti-money laundering, financial sanctions checks and credit screening).

What happens if you fail to provide personal data to us?

Where we need to collect personal data by law (for instance, in relation to anti-money laundering or other “know your customer” checks) or under the terms of a contract we have with you and you fail to provide the personal data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with services). In this case, we may have to decline to provide or receive the relevant services, but we will notify you if this is the case at the time the personal data is collected.

How do we share your personal data?

We share personal data with other Linklaters offices to provide services to our clients and to operate our business as efficiently as possible.

We also share personal data with third parties as follows:

  • Where we are required and as permitted by applicable law to provide information to courts, regulators, law enforcement agencies, tax authorities or similar agencies. Please note that the data is shared only where such disclosure is lawful and necessary, and only following a proportionality assessment.
  • With our professional advisers and consultants, including lawyers, bankers, auditors, accountants and insurers, including our professional indemnity insurers
  • With our suppliers and services providers where necessary
  • With third parties involved in a matter, for example, barristers, experts and other external counsel, or specialist
  • If we sell or transfer part of our business or assets
  • With third parties who we partner with to run events
  • To obtain feedback and references for legal directories

International transfers of personal data

We transfer personal data between our offices around the world to enable us to provide services to our clients and operate our business. Within Linklaters’ offices, these transfers are governed by EU and UK regulator-approved Binding Corporate Rules that we have in place and which are accessible here, together with the list of entities covered by the rules.

We transfer personal data to suppliers, service providers and our clients who are located in countries outside the UK and European Economic Area which are not recognised as having adequate data protection laws. Where we do so, we put in place standard contractual clauses to protect personal data, or we ensure that there is an alternative mechanism in place to protect personal data. If you would like more information about the transfers that we make and how we protect personal data, please contact us.

We may also transfer personal data to other countries to establish, exercise or defend legal claims, either on behalf of Linklaters or on behalf of our clients.

For how long do we keep your personal data?

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for. This includes the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, accounting and reporting requirements, to carry out legal work and for the establishment or defence of legal claims.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider its amount, nature, sensitivity, potential risks, processing purposes, possible alternative methods, and legal requirements. If you would like to know more about the retention periods we apply to your personal data, please contact us using the details above.

When personal data is processed as part of legal claims, it will be retained as long as required to complete ongoing legal actions, comply with court orders and/ or fulfil obligations under applicable laws. A periodic review determines whether the data should be securely archived, anonymised or deleted once its relevance ceases.

In some circumstances we may anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

Your rights

You have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data. It is Linklaters’ policy to respect your rights, and Linklaters will act promptly and in accordance with any applicable law, rule or regulation relating to the processing of your personal data.

Details of your rights are set out below:

  • right to be informed about how personal data is used – you have a right to be informed about how we will use and share your personal data;
  • right to access personal data – you have a right to obtain confirmation of whether we are processing your personal data, access to your personal data and information regarding how your personal data is being used by us. Your right to access personal data may be restricted in certain circumstances. For example, this could apply if the requested data includes communications protected by legal professional privilege or litigation privilege, subject to any applicable local laws;
  • right to have inaccurate personal data rectified – if you are aware that personal data that we hold about you is inaccurate, you can contact us and ask us to update it;
  • right to have personal data erased in certain circumstances – this is not a blanket right to require all personal data to be deleted. We will consider each request carefully in accordance with the requirements of any laws relating to the processing of your personal data. For example, this right may not apply if the data needs to be processed to comply with a legal obligation or if it is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims;
  • right to restrict processing of personal data in certain circumstances – this right arises if you are disputing the accuracy of personal data, if you have raised an objection to processing, if processing of personal data is unlawful and you oppose erasure and request restriction instead or if the personal data is no longer required by us but you require the personal data to be retained to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim;
  • right to data portability – in certain circumstances you can request to receive a copy of your personal data in a commonly used electronic format. This right only applies to personal data that you have provided to us (for example by completing a form or providing information through a website). The right to data portability only applies if the processing is based on your consent or if the personal data must be processed for the performance of a contract and the processing is carried out by automated means (i.e. electronically);
  • right to object to processing of personal data – you have a right to object to processing being carried out by us if (a) we are processing personal data based on legitimate interests or for the performance of a task in the public interest (including profiling), (b) if we are using personal data for direct marketing purposes, or (c) if information is being processed for scientific or historical research or statistical purposes; and
  • right not to be subject to automated decisions where the decision produces a legal effect or a similarly significant effect – you have a right not to be subject to a decision which is based on automated decision making where the decision will produce a legal effect or a similarly significant effect on you. If we leverage automated data analysis, for instance, to detect risks or assist in the preparation of a litigation strategy, this does not produce legal effects. This processing is always subject to human oversight.

You may exercise any of your rights at any time using the contact details set out above. You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one calendar month (or earlier in accordance with applicable laws). Occasionally it may take us longer than one calendar month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

Complaints

If you would like to make a complaint about our processing of your personal data, please refer to our Global Data Protection Complaints Procedure, which is available on the privacy section of our Website. You may raise your concerns with your local data protection authority directly, without going through our Global Data Protection Complaints Procedure. However, we would encourage you to contact us in the first instance as we aim to promptly, efficiently and satisfactorily resolve any concerns or complaints you may have in relation to Linklaters’ processing of your personal data.

Country specific information

If you are located in one of the countries/regions listed below, the following additional provisions apply.

Mainland China

For individuals based in mainland China:

References to “special category data” shall be understood to refer to “sensitive personal information” under Chinese laws, i.e., personal data that can easily lead to the infringement of the personal dignity of natural persons or the harm of personal or property safety once leaked or illegally used, including such information as biometrics, religious belief, specific identities, medical health, financial accounts, and information of minors under the age of 14. We only process sensitive personal information if and to the extent permitted or required by applicable laws, including after obtaining your separate consent if required. We will seek to protect such information rigorously using the security measures required by the applicable laws and, therefore, your sensitive personal information should not be processed in a way that will result in negative implications to your personal rights, e.g. harm to your reputation, physical or mental health, personal or property security.

We will seek your consent or apply other applicable legal bases to process your personal data. In particular, we rely on your consent for the processing of your personal data for conducting direct marketing activities.

When necessary for the purposes described in this Global Privacy Notice, subject to your consent where required by applicable law, your personal information may be shared to third parties located outside mainland China as specified in the section “International transfers of personal data”. Further details about the identity and contact details of recipients within Linklaters’ offices located outside mainland China, and details on what, how and why such recipients process your personal data process your personal data are accessible here.

In addition to any relevant rights outlined in the section “Your rights”, you may have certain additional rights related to your personal data. Subject to applicable laws, these rights include the right to deregister your account and the right to request us to explain our processing rules for personal data.

Glossary

 Controller means the organisation that decides the purposes for which and the means for which personal data are collected. The controller is ultimately responsible for the use of your personal data.
 Personal data means information about an identifiable individual.
Special category data means information relating to race or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data used to uniquely identify a person, health data or information about sex life or sexual orientation.
Technology platforms means Linklaters’ websites, electronic platforms and portals.