Privacy Policy

1. Purpose of this Privacy Policy

The law firm Beeler & Marbacher AG | Notariat (“Beeler & Marbacher AG”, hereinafter also referred to as “we” or “us”) is a legal practice based in Lucerne. As part of our business activities, we collect and process personal data, particularly data regarding our clients, affiliated persons, opposing parties, courts and authorities, corresponding law firms, professional and other associations, visitors to our website, participants in events, newsletter recipients, and other entities or their respective contact persons and employees (hereinafter also referred to as “you”). In this Privacy Policy, we provide information regarding these data processing activities.

If you provide us with data about other persons (e.g., family members, representatives, opposing parties, or other related individuals), we assume that you are authorized to do so, that the data is accurate, and that you have ensured that such individuals have been informed of this disclosure, insofar as a legal duty to inform applies (e.g., by having provided them with a copy of this Privacy Policy in advance).

2. Who is responsible for processing your data?

The party responsible for the data processing described in this Privacy Policy is:

Beeler & Marbacher AG
Sälistrasse 27
6005 Lucerne
mail@beelermarbacher.ch

3. For What Purposes Do We Process Your Data?

When you use our services, visit our website at beelermarbacher.ch (hereinafter referred to as the “Website”), or otherwise engage with us, we collect and process various categories of your personal data. Generally, we may collect and process this data for the following purposes:

• Communication: We process personal data to communicate with you and with third parties, such as opposing parties, courts, or authorities, via email, phone, mail, or other means (e.g., to respond to inquiries, in the context of legal advice and representation, or for contract initiation or fulfillment). This may also include sending our clients, contractual partners, and other interested parties information about events, legislative changes, news about our firm, or similar updates, for instance, in the form of newsletters and other regular contacts (by electronic means, post, or phone). You may opt out of such communications or refuse or withdraw your consent at any time. For this purpose, we primarily process the content of the communication, your contact information, and metadata. Should it be necessary to verify your identity, we may also collect additional data (e.g., a copy of an identification document).
• Contract Initiation and Conclusion: For the purpose of entering into a contract, particularly for establishing a client relationship, with you or your employer or principal, including assessing potential conflicts of interest, we may collect and process, among other data, your name, contact information, authorizations, consents, information regarding third parties (e.g., contact persons, family details, and opposing parties), contract terms, contract date, credit information, and any other data you provide to us or that we collect from public sources or third parties (e.g., commercial registers, credit reporting agencies, sanctions lists, media, legal expense insurers, or the internet).
• Contract Administration and Execution: We collect and process personal data to fulfill our contractual obligations to our clients and other contractual partners (e.g., suppliers, service providers, corresponding law firms, project partners), especially to provide and enforce contractual services. This includes data processing related to mandate management (e.g., legal advice and representation of our clients in court and before authorities, and related correspondence), enforcement of contracts (collections, legal proceedings, etc.), accounting, and public communications (where permitted). For these purposes, we primarily process the data collected or obtained during contract initiation, conclusion, and execution, as well as data created in connection with our contractual services or data obtained from public sources or third parties (e.g., courts, authorities, opposing parties, information services, media, investigators, or the internet). Such data may include consultation and advisory records, notes, internal and external correspondence, contractual documents, documents created or received in court and authority proceedings (e.g., complaints, appeals, judgments, and decisions), background information about you, opposing parties or other persons, additional mandate-related information, service records, invoices, as well as financial and payment information.
• Website Operation: To securely and reliably operate our website, we collect technical data, such as IP address, details about the operating system and settings of your device, the region, time, and manner of use. We also use cookies and similar technologies; for further details, please see Section 8.
• Improvement of Our Electronic Offerings: To continually improve our website, we may collect data about your behavior and preferences, for instance, by analyzing how you navigate through our website and interact with our social media profiles.
• Security and Access Controls: We collect and process personal data to ensure and enhance the security of our IT and other infrastructure (e.g., buildings). This includes, for example, monitoring and controlling electronic access to our IT systems and physical access to our premises, analyzing and testing our IT infrastructures, system and error checks, and creating security backups.
• Compliance with Laws, Regulations, and Internal Policies ("Compliance"): We collect and process personal data to comply with applicable laws (e.g., anti-money laundering, tax obligations, or our professional duties), self-regulation, certifications, industry standards, our corporate governance, as well as for internal and external investigations in which we may be a party (e.g., by law enforcement or supervisory authorities or designated private entities).
• Risk Management and Corporate Governance: We collect and process personal data as part of our risk management (e.g., protection against criminal activities) and corporate governance. This includes our business organization (e.g., resource planning) and business development (e.g., the acquisition and sale of business units or companies).
• Job Applications: If you apply for a position with us, we collect and process relevant data for evaluating your application, conducting the recruitment process, and, in the case of a successful application, for preparing and concluding an employment contract. In addition to your contact information and details from the related correspondence, we primarily process the data in your application documents as well as any additional data we may collect about you, for instance, from professional social networks, the internet, media, and references if you consent to our contacting them.
• Other Purposes: Other purposes include, for example, training and educational purposes, administrative purposes (e.g., accounting), as well as organizing, conducting, and following up on events, such as participant lists and the content of presentations and discussions, as well as image and audio recordings created during such events. Protecting other legitimate interests is also included among other purposes, which cannot be exhaustively listed here.

4. Where Do the Data Come From?

From You: The majority of the data we process is provided by you (or your device) directly, such as in connection with our services, your use of our Website, or your communication with us. While there are generally no obligations for you to provide data (except in specific cases, e.g., legal obligations), you may need to provide certain data if you wish to enter into contracts with us or use our services. Additionally, the use of our Website is not possible without some level of data processing.

From Third Parties: We may also obtain data from publicly accessible sources (e.g., debt enforcement registers, land registers, commercial registers, media, or the internet, including social media) or receive data from (i) authorities, (ii) your employer or principal who has a business relationship with us or otherwise interacts with us, as well as from (iii) other third parties (e.g., clients, opposing parties, legal expense insurers, credit agencies, address verification providers, associations, contractual partners, internet analytics services). This includes data processed in the context of contract initiation, conclusion, and fulfillment, as well as data from correspondence and meetings with third parties, along with other categories of data.

5. To Whom Do We Disclose Your Data?

In connection with the purposes outlined in Section 3, we may disclose your personal data to the following categories of recipients. Where necessary, we will obtain your consent or seek exemption from our supervisory authority from our professional duty of confidentiality.

Service Providers: We collaborate with service providers in Switzerland and abroad who process data on our behalf (e.g., IT providers), in joint responsibility with us, or on their own behalf, using data they receive from us or have collected for us. Such providers include IT providers, banks, insurers, collection agencies, credit agencies, address verification services, other law firms, or consulting firms. We typically enter into agreements with these third parties concerning the use and protection of personal data.

Clients and Other Contractual Partners: This includes clients and other contractual partners where data disclosure arises from the contract (e.g., if you act for a contractual partner or if services are provided for you). This category of recipients also includes entities with whom we cooperate, such as other law firms domestically and internationally, or legal expense insurers. These recipients typically process the data under their own responsibility.

Authorities and Courts: We may disclose personal data to public authorities, courts, and other governmental bodies in Switzerland and abroad if necessary to fulfill our contractual obligations, especially in the context of mandate management, or if we are legally required or entitled to do so, or if it is necessary to protect our interests. These recipients process data under their own responsibility.

Opposing Parties and Involved Persons: Where required to fulfill our contractual obligations, particularly in mandate management, we may disclose your personal data to opposing parties and other involved persons (e.g., guarantors, financiers, affiliated companies, other law firms, witnesses, or experts).

Other Persons: This includes other cases where third-party involvement arises from the purposes listed in Section 3. Examples include delivery recipients or payment beneficiaries you specify, third parties involved in representative capacities (e.g., your lawyer or bank), or participants in legal or administrative proceedings. We may also disclose your personal data to our supervisory authority, particularly where it is necessary to obtain an exemption from our professional duty of confidentiality. In cases where we work with media and provide them with material (e.g., photos), you may also be affected. In connection with corporate development, we may sell or acquire businesses, assets, or enter partnerships, which may entail disclosing data (including yours, as a client, supplier, or representative thereof) to persons involved in these transactions. Data sharing may also occur in communication with competitors, industry organizations, associations, and other committees, which may include data about you.

Each of these recipient categories may, in turn, involve additional third parties, thus making your data accessible to them as well. We may restrict processing by certain third parties (e.g., IT providers), but not by others (e.g., authorities, banks, etc.).

We may also allow certain third parties to independently collect personal data from you on our Website (e.g., providers of tools embedded on our Website). Where we are not decisively involved in these data collections, these third parties bear sole responsibility. For concerns and to exercise your data protection rights, please contact these third parties directly. See Section 7 for your rights and Section 8 for information on activities on our Website.

6. Do Your Personal Data Get Transferred Abroad?

We primarily process and store personal data within Switzerland and the European Economic Area (EEA); however, depending on the case—for example, when involving subcontractors of our service providers or in proceedings before foreign courts or authorities—your data could potentially be transferred to any country worldwide. As part of our work for clients, your personal data may reach any country in the world.

If a recipient is located in a country without adequate data protection, we contractually require the recipient to uphold a sufficient level of data protection (for this, we use the revised Standard Contractual Clauses of the European Commission, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj, including amendments necessary for Switzerland), unless the recipient is already subject to a legally recognized framework ensuring data protection. We may also disclose personal data to a country without adequate data protection without entering into a separate contract, provided we rely on an exception. Such an exception may apply, for example, in the context of foreign legal proceedings, cases of overriding public interest, or where necessary to conclude or fulfill a contract in your interest (e.g., disclosing data to our correspondent law firms). Exceptions also apply if you have consented, or if obtaining consent within a reasonable timeframe is impractical, and the disclosure is necessary to protect your or another’s life or physical integrity, or when the data is publicly accessible, and you have not objected to its processing. In some cases, we may also rely on exceptions for data obtained from a legally designated register (e.g., the commercial register) to which we have legitimate access.

7. What Rights Do You Have?

In connection with our data processing, you have certain rights under applicable law. Specifically, you may have the right to request information regarding the processing of your personal data, to correct inaccurate personal data, to request the deletion of personal data, to object to data processing, or to request the release of specific personal data in a common electronic format or its transfer to another controller.

To exercise your rights with us, please contact us using the details provided in Section 2. To prevent misuse, we may require you to verify your identity (e.g., with a copy of an identification document, if necessary).

Please note that there are conditions, exceptions, or limitations to these rights (e.g., to protect third parties or trade secrets or due to our professional duty of confidentiality). For data protection or confidentiality reasons, we reserve the right to redact or provide only excerpts of documents.