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Business Legal Services
Data Protection & Privacy Law
Service overview: Data protection solicitors
- Personal data is information you hold about living individuals (data subjects) who can be identified from that data or a combination of data. There is extra protection for sensitive personal data which includes information about racial or ethnic origin, physical and mental health and much more.
- The control and processing of personal data is regulated currently by the Data Protection Act, but the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on 25 May 2018. The Data Protection Act will mirror the GDPR for when the UK leaves the EU.
- Most data controllers will need to notify the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) annually before processing personal data.
- Breaching the Data Protection Act is a criminal offence for which individuals may be liable – and penalties will increase with the introduction of the GDPR.
- Our data protection solicitors can help you comply with current law including GDPR, and advise each time the law changes.
- Read our Data Protection FAQs for useful answers to common data protection questions.
Experts in data protection & privacy law
Our team can assist you across all areas of data protection & privacy law, including:
What we do: Data protection & GDPR legal advice
As the owner of a growing business, protecting your company data is vital, alongside complying with strict new data protection regulations contained in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. And with the new ePrivacy Regulation coming into effect, your business will face even more regulatory burden. It’s important to be prepared.
Our data protection solicitors can advise you on a range of data protection law, from what is covered by data protection, preventing breaches and violations to who needs to register, and following the principles in the Data Protection Act 2018.
With the GDPR in full swing since 25 May 2018, you will need legal advice on your existing data and privacy processes to make sure you remain compliant with this new regulation.
We can provide an expert service, covering all data protection issues your business could encounter. Our service includes explaining and dealing with:
Your obligations under the current Data Protection Act 2018 and the GDPR
When you need to appoint a data protection officer and their duties of governance
Data retention and when records should be destroyed
Any registration processes
Formal enforcement action by the regulator (ICO)
Data breach issues, including reporting
Drafting data protection policies and processes
Your data processing and sharing agreements
Due diligence when appointing new business partners
Subject access requests and the new subject rights under GDPR
Buying and selling databases
Electronic communications and marketing
Data protection assessments and audits
Your existing and potential websites and other digital user applications, including policies related to privacy, consent mechanisms, privacy dashboards, terms of use and cookies
Data export issues with countries outside of Europe that do not provide ‘an adequate level of protection’ under EU law, such as data transfer and international cloud computing
Contractual agreements and data protection clauses to protect your business
Conducting a data privacy impact assessment
Staff training
Your obligations over the handling of employee data, recruitment and monitoring practices
Who we help: Data protection for businesses
We’ve advised multiple businesses on their data protection requirements and drafted a range of documents to help manage these issues in the future. We work with businesses of every size, whether they are:
- data controllers, or
- data processors
As a business owner who may be a data controller or data processor, you can expect strict rules and expensive fines for failing to comply with guidelines set by data regulators such as the ICO. It’s important to remember that fines are no longer capped at £500,000.
Testimonials
What our clients say
Harper James solicitors don’t speak in the legalese which I have heard too many times from other solicitors and which is totally unhelpful. What I’m after is focused, considered advice about the specific situations that I face. By which I mean, do you think this is a good idea? Their response might be ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. One word is often all I’m looking for! My solicitor gives a view and I really value that.
Tom Davenport
MD & Co-Founder,
Alvius
Choosing Harper James was one of the best choices we made as a start-up. The firm has provided invaluable advice and insight throughout the early stages of our business.
Leigh Purnell
CEO,
Petalite
The extend service we get from Harper James allows us to combine their expertise with that of our own in-house counsel. It means we can get quick and trustworthy legal advice from specialists in every legal area, as and when we need it. There are no hidden extras and the service we have received has always demonstrated an awareness of our fast-moving commercial requirements.
Amelia Guilfoyle
Head of legal,
Zoopla
What attracted me to Harper James was the pricing model they have in place. It means we get access to top legal professionals at prices we can afford. In our most recent funding round, the support we received was vital.
Mikhil Raja
CEO,
SonicJobs
Harper James have become a vital part of our business. We get quality advice from experienced solicitors at prices that other firms do not appear to be able to match.
Veejay Lingiah
CEO,
Flash Sticks
Always great to have HJ on hand
Lucy Lam Po Tang
Head of Operations,
Kite Global Advisors
My colleagues and I have found them to be adept at dealing with the variety of challenges facing early stage companies. They are a trusted source for sound, sensible advice and practical deal management.
Jill Shaw
CEO,
Anvil Semiconductors
The value for money and the service is 1st class and professional.
Jason Cannon
CEO and Co-Founder,
Figures UK Accountancy
Harper James has been invaluable. They drafted the relevant agreements and gave us sound legal advice in an area that we did not have prior experience in. As a start-up, having advice and feedback from an organisation that specialises in early-stage enterprises was instrumental in us having the confidence to push forward with our product
Dean Bryan
Co-Founder,
Yyoma
David Sant has been informative and reassuring as we in C-me Colour profiling work through the data protection analysis for the business model and the implications for our data protection processes and GDPR documentation.
Sue Wilsher
Company Secretary,
Colour Preferences
Harper James Solicitors provides excellent value for money and helps to cover gaps in specialist areas of legal practice. Using an outside legal provider enables us, as a business, to better manage our internal resources, the volume of work we have and to deal with our level of overall risk. I would undoubtedly recommend them to others.
Robert Cowling
General Counsel,
FleetCor
Having the Extend plan with Harper James gives us constant access to leading legal experts across the areas of law we need to keep growing our business. I’m convinced no one delivers better service or beatable value.
Paul Hutton
CEO,
Cranfield Aerospace Solutions
I spoke to an expert who brought a new perspective on an old problem and added value. For the price and for a general solicitor's grade advice, it is excellent.
Tom Robins
CEO,
Switchee
Very easy to work with, explain complex information in a clear and accessible manner. Spent the extra time to research and confirm all options and was very clear about the costs and confirmed before any commitment.
Martin Farrington
Director of Information Technology,
The Future Laboratory
Lillian is really helpful and clear in her communications. Her advice is pragmatic and she works in a timely manner, as well as having an approachable nature.
Janna Bates
Head of HR,
easyfundraising
Ease of use, a familiar legal team supporting my business who understand my business, and provide value for money.
Daniel Lawrence
CEO,
Bots For That Ltd
The lawyers are friendly, approachable and knowledgeable, and their response times are excellent. We are quite an unusual business, and they were keen to understand the business and took the time to get to know us and ask all the right questions.
Joanna Parkington
CEO,
Epical Global
Commercial Partner, Rob Cobley, helped us do the necessary due diligence and guided us on which online age verification solution offered us the best legal protection. We needed to eliminate any reputational risk and wanted a ‘gold-standard’ solution that set us apart from any competitors. Getting it right with all the 'belts and braces' gave us comfort because there are several different providers who achieve age verification in different ways. Navigating and implementing the solution was made possible with Rob’s help.
Raj Batra
Founder,
Diistil
Harper James solicitors don’t speak in the legalese which I have heard too many times from other solicitors and which is totally unhelpful. What I’m after is focused, considered advice about the specific situations that I face. By which I mean, do you think this is a good idea? Their response might be ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. One word is often all I’m looking for! My solicitor gives a view and I really value that.
Tom Davenport
MD & Co-Founder,
Alvius
Choosing Harper James was one of the best choices we made as a start-up. The firm has provided invaluable advice and insight throughout the early stages of our business.
Leigh Purnell
CEO,
Petalite
The extend service we get from Harper James allows us to combine their expertise with that of our own in-house counsel. It means we can get quick and trustworthy legal advice from specialists in every legal area, as and when we need it. There are no hidden extras and the service we have received has always demonstrated an awareness of our fast-moving commercial requirements.
Amelia Guilfoyle
Head of legal,
Zoopla
What attracted me to Harper James was the pricing model they have in place. It means we get access to top legal professionals at prices we can afford. In our most recent funding round, the support we received was vital.
Mikhil Raja
CEO,
SonicJobs
Harper James have become a vital part of our business. We get quality advice from experienced solicitors at prices that other firms do not appear to be able to match.
Veejay Lingiah
CEO,
Flash Sticks
Always great to have HJ on hand
Lucy Lam Po Tang
Head of Operations,
Kite Global Advisors
My colleagues and I have found them to be adept at dealing with the variety of challenges facing early stage companies. They are a trusted source for sound, sensible advice and practical deal management.
Jill Shaw
CEO,
Anvil Semiconductors
The value for money and the service is 1st class and professional.
Jason Cannon
CEO and Co-Founder,
Figures UK Accountancy
Harper James has been invaluable. They drafted the relevant agreements and gave us sound legal advice in an area that we did not have prior experience in. As a start-up, having advice and feedback from an organisation that specialises in early-stage enterprises was instrumental in us having the confidence to push forward with our product
Dean Bryan
Co-Founder,
Yyoma
David Sant has been informative and reassuring as we in C-me Colour profiling work through the data protection analysis for the business model and the implications for our data protection processes and GDPR documentation.
Sue Wilsher
Company Secretary,
Colour Preferences
Harper James Solicitors provides excellent value for money and helps to cover gaps in specialist areas of legal practice. Using an outside legal provider enables us, as a business, to better manage our internal resources, the volume of work we have and to deal with our level of overall risk. I would undoubtedly recommend them to others.
Robert Cowling
General Counsel,
FleetCor
Having the Extend plan with Harper James gives us constant access to leading legal experts across the areas of law we need to keep growing our business. I’m convinced no one delivers better service or beatable value.
Paul Hutton
CEO,
Cranfield Aerospace Solutions
I spoke to an expert who brought a new perspective on an old problem and added value. For the price and for a general solicitor's grade advice, it is excellent.
Tom Robins
CEO,
Switchee
Very easy to work with, explain complex information in a clear and accessible manner. Spent the extra time to research and confirm all options and was very clear about the costs and confirmed before any commitment.
Martin Farrington
Director of Information Technology,
The Future Laboratory
Lillian is really helpful and clear in her communications. Her advice is pragmatic and she works in a timely manner, as well as having an approachable nature.
Janna Bates
Head of HR,
easyfundraising
Ease of use, a familiar legal team supporting my business who understand my business, and provide value for money.
Daniel Lawrence
CEO,
Bots For That Ltd
The lawyers are friendly, approachable and knowledgeable, and their response times are excellent. We are quite an unusual business, and they were keen to understand the business and took the time to get to know us and ask all the right questions.
Joanna Parkington
CEO,
Epical Global
Commercial Partner, Rob Cobley, helped us do the necessary due diligence and guided us on which online age verification solution offered us the best legal protection. We needed to eliminate any reputational risk and wanted a ‘gold-standard’ solution that set us apart from any competitors. Getting it right with all the 'belts and braces' gave us comfort because there are several different providers who achieve age verification in different ways. Navigating and implementing the solution was made possible with Rob’s help.
Raj Batra
Founder,
Diistil
Why choose our data protection solicitors?
Our data protection solicitors promise to work with you and provide clear, jargon-free advice that allows you to manage your business while complying with various data protection rules. Additionally, some of our legal staff are member of the International Association of Privacy Individuals (IAPP).
With the regulation of personal data coming under increasing scrutiny, organisations can expect tighter rules and higher fines for non-compliance. In this technical area, we provide clear commercial advice that allows you to manage your business effectively, while remaining compliant.
The law around data protection is constantly adapting and changing, so we’ll also advise you on an ongoing basis regarding any new legislation or laws being introduced that could have an impact on your business.
Over the years we have also developed valuable working relationships with regulators, including the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Pricing and service plans
Legal support designed
to fit your business needs
Our three transparent service plans are designed to give you the widest possible access to high-quality legal advice, whatever the size and nature of your business:
Engage
Flexible access to senior solicitors at highly competitive rates
An alternative to our subscription plans, offering access to full service legal expertise on a project-by-project basis.
Enable
Purpose built legal support for start-ups and smaller businesses
Monthly subscription plan for £215 per month, with £145 monthly credit and access to all legal services at 50% discount on our Standard Rates.
Extend
Comprehensive legal partnership for established businesses
Fully account managed and scalable annual subscription plan with support from a curated team of partners and senior solicitors, with up to 34% discount on our Standard Rates.