Last updated: 9 August 2024

Table of contents

1. What is the Alliance for Lawyers at Risk?
2. Personal data we collect and process
3. How we use your personal data (our purposes) and our legal basis for processing it
4. Who we share your personal data with
5. How we keep your personal data secure
6. International data transfers
7. Data retention
8. Your data protection rights
9. Updates to this Privacy Notice
10. How to contact us

We recommend that you read this Privacy Notice in full to ensure you are completely informed about your personal data.  However, if you only want to access a particular section of this Privacy Notice, then you can click on the relevant link above to jump to that section.

The Alliance for Lawyers at Risk respects your right to privacy.  This Privacy Notice explains who we are, how we collect, share and use personal data about you and how you can exercise your privacy rights.

If you have any questions or concerns about our use of your personal data, then please contact us using the contact details under the “How to contact us” heading below.

1. What is the Alliance for Lawyers at Risk? 

The Alliance for Lawyers at Risk CIO (“Alliance for Lawyers at Risk“) is an independent UK-based pro-bono Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Our focus is the promotion of human rights and protection of the rule of law for the benefit of the public throughout the world, in particular but without limitation, by supporting lawyers and other human rights defenders who are at risk by reason of their work.

For more information about the Alliance for Lawyers at Risk, please see the “About Us” section of our website at https://www.lawyersatrisk.org/about/.

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2. Personal data we collect and process

a)       Whether you are a volunteer, supporter, donor or other contact, the personal data we collect from you, either directly or indirectly, will depend on how you interact with us and with our website. We collect personal data about you from the following different sources:

• Information that you provide directly

We collect personal data directly from our volunteers, supporters, donors when you choose to provide us with this information at events, by post, email or telephone, and on the contact us page of our website.

• Information from third parties/third party sources

We also collect your personal data from third party sources, i.e. our service providers that provide operational assistance, email, marketing services, as well as payment services, social media platforms and publicly available websites.  Information received from third parties will be checked to ensure that the third party either has your consent or are otherwise legally permitted or required to disclose your personal data to us.   

b)         The table below describes the categories of personal data we collect from and about you:

We do not ordinarily collect any sensitive personal data (such as health-related information, information about political or religious beliefs, information about race or ethnicity, or sexual orientation).

We may collect sensitive personal data about the individuals and activists we support where it is necessary for the assistance we provide. Our collection of sensitive personal data is based either on explicit consent, or on the basis that the information has manifestly been made public.

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3. How we use your personal data (our purposes) and our legal basis for processing it

We use the personal data that we collect from and about you only for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice or for purposes that we explain to you at the time we collect your information. Depending on our purpose for collecting your information, we rely on one of the following legal bases:

• Consent – in certain circumstances, we may ask for your consent before we collect, use, or disclose your personal data, in which case you can voluntarily choose to give or deny your consent without any negative consequences to you;

• Legitimate interests – we will use or disclose your personal data for the legitimate interests of either the Alliance for Lawyers at Risk or a third party, but only when we are confident that your privacy rights will remain appropriately protected. If we rely on our (or a third party’s) legitimate interests, these interests will normally be to: support our charitable initiatives and events, to process donations and Gift Aid contributions, to communicate with you and respond to your questions; promote our events and initiatives; and/or to manage the security of our IT infrastructure, and the safety and security of our trustees, volunteers, activists, supporters and other contacts.  Where we require your data to pursue our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party, it will be in a way which is reasonable for you to expect as part of the running of our organisation and which does not materially affect your rights and freedoms; or 

• Legal obligation – there are instances where we must process and retain your personal data to comply with laws or to fulfil certain legal obligations.

The following table provides more details on our purposes for processing your personal data and the related legal bases. The legal basis under which your personal data is processed will depend on the data concerned and the specific context in which we use it.

Purpose/Activity	Type of personal data	Lawful basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest
To research, support and partner with lawyers and activists globally in connection with their work in promoting human rights and fostering the rule of law.	Identity and Contact  Data Activist Data Social Media Data Communication Data Marketing Data Sensitive personal data	As necessary for our legitimate interests to carry out our charitable initiatives and events. In respect of sensitive personal data on the basis of your explicit consent, or on the basis of you making your information manifestly public.
To organise and carry out our charitable initiatives and events.	Identity and Contact  Data Activist Data Communication Data Marketing Data	As necessary for our legitimate interests to carry out our charitable initiatives and events.
To manage our volunteers.	Identity and Contact  Data Communications Data	As necessary for our legitimate interests to carry out our charitable initiatives and events.
To collect and process donations, as well as Gift Aid contributions.	Identity and Contact  Data Donation Data Communications Data	As necessary for our legitimate interests to invite, collect, and process donations and Gift Aid contributions.
To send updates about our initiatives, events, and requests for donations.	Identity and Contact Data Donation Data Communication Data Marketing Data	As necessary for our legitimate interests to carry out our charitable initiatives and events. Consent (where required under applicable law)
As otherwise necessary to communicate with or respond to communications from you, including regarding our charitable initiatives, donations and events.	Identity and Contact Data Donation Data Communication Data	As necessary for our legitimate interests to carry out our charitable initiatives and events.
To analyse the effectiveness of our initiatives and events.	All of the categories above.	Consent (where required under applicable law).   Otherwise our legitimate interests (to run and improve our initiatives, including the website.
To analyse social media performance metrics to evaluate and execute social media campaigns, on various social media channels to promote our activities and events, answer questions and otherwise drive and monitor engagement.	Account Data Social media Website Usage Data Device Data	Consent (where required under applicable law).   Otherwise our legitimate interests (to promote our activities and events, and to use the insights to improve or engagement activities).
To comply with legal and regulatory obligations to which we are subject, including our obligations to respond to your requests under data protection law.	Identity and Contact Data Activist Data Communication Data Donations Data	Legal obligation.
To protect our legal rights (including where necessary, to share information with law enforcement and others), for example to defend claims against us and to conduct litigation to defend our interests.	Identity and Contact Data Activist Data Communication Data Donations Data	Our legitimate interests to protect our organisation’s interests.

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4. Who we share your personal data with

We share your personal data with the following categories of recipients:

• our trustees and volunteers, where necessary for example to pursue our charitable initiatives, host events, or who otherwise process personal data for purposes described in this Privacy Notice;

• third party service providers and partners who provide services to us for example to process donations, to support our website, or who otherwise process personal data for purposes described in this Privacy Notice.

• any competent law enforcement body, regulatory, government agency, court or other third party (such as our professional advisers) where we believe disclosure is necessary (i) as a matter of applicable law or regulation, (ii) top exercise, establish or defend our legal rights or so a third party can defend theirs, or (iii) to protect your vital interests or those of any other person; or

• any other person with your consent to the disclosure (obtained separately from any contract between us).

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5. How we keep your personal data secure

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect the personal data that we collect and process about you.  The measures are designed to provide a level of security appropriate to the risk of processing. 

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6. International data transfers

As a UK based charity, we do our best to keep the data you share with us in the UK. However, there may be times when your personal data is transferred internationally, for example where such transfer is appropriate in accordance with our international charitable initiatives, or if we work with a service provider overseas. These countries may have data protection laws that are different to the laws of your country (and, in some cases, may not be as protective).

Where we transfer your personal data to countries or organisations outside of the European Economic Area (“EEA“) and the UK, which have been formally recognised as providing an adequate level of protection for personal data, we rely on the relevant “adequacy decisions” from the European Commission and “adequacy regulations” (data bridges) from the Secretary of State in the UK.

Where the transfer is not subject to an adequacy decision or regulations, we have taken appropriate safeguards to ensure that your personal data will remain protected in accordance with this Privacy Notice and applicable laws. For example for transfers out of the UK and EEA, we will use the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses for controller to controller and controller to processor transfers, including the UK Addendum or the UK International Data Transfer Agreement as applicable. 

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7. Data retention

We retain the personal data we collect from you where we have an ongoing legitimate need to do so (for example, to provide you with a service you have requested or to comply with applicable legal, tax or accounting requirements). When we have no ongoing legitimate need or legal reason to process your personal data, we will either delete or anonymise it.

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8. Your data protection rights

Individuals located in the UK and EEA have the following data protection rights.  To exercise any of them see specific instructions below or contact us using the contact details provided under the “How to contact us” heading below.

• You may access, correct, update or request deletion of your personal data. 

• You can object to processing of your personal data, or ask us to restrict processing of your personal data.

• You have the right to opt-out of marketing communications we send you at any time.  You can exercise this right by contacting us using the contact details provided under the “How to contact us” heading below.  If you choose to opt out of marketing communications, we will still send you non-promotional emails, such as emails about your donation, Gift Aid contribution, or work with the Alliance on our charitable initiatives.

• If we have collected and processed your personal data with your consent, then you can withdraw your consent at any time by using the contact details provided under the “How to contact us” heading below.  Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal, nor will it affect processing of your personal data conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent. 

• You have the right to complain to a supervisory authority about our collection and use of your personal data.  For more information, please contact your local supervisory authority. Contact details for supervisory authorities in Europe are available here and for the UK here. 

We respond to all requests we receive from individuals wishing to exercise their data protection rights in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

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9. Updates to this Privacy Notice

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time in response to changing legal, regulatory, technical or organisational developments.  When we update our Privacy Notice, we will take appropriate measures to inform you, consistent with the significance of the changes we make. 

You can see when this Privacy Notice was last updated by checking the “last updated” date displayed at the top of this Privacy Notice. 

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10. How to contact us

If you have any questions or concerns about our use of your personal data, please contact us using the following details: [email protected].