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Website Privacy Policy

​Last Updated: January 2026

Gu Legal Ltd and its associated entities that are authorised to carry the name Gu Legal (together, "Gu Legal", "we", "our", or "us") are the controller and committed to protecting your privacy and handling our personal information in an open and transparent manner. 

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This Website Privacy Policy describes our practices in relation to the personal information that we handle in the course of providing our services and operating our business. This Policy gives you information about how Gu Legal collects and uses your personal data through your use of this website, including any data you may provide when you register with us, sign up for our newsletter or submit your online enquiry form. This website is not intended for children and we do not knowingly collect data relating to children. 

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Please note that this Privacy Policy does not apply to personal information that we collect from and about (i) individuals who have applied for a position with Gu Legal ("Applicants"); (ii) individuals who are being considered for a specific position with Gu Legal ("Candidates"); or (iii) Gu Legal personnel, including lawyers, business services professionals, and consultants ("Personnel"). Applicants and Candidates should refer to our Careers Privacy Notice upon request for details regarding our handling of their personal information. Personnel should review the notices and other information provide to them in connection with their role. 

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This Privacy Policy describes how we use, disclose, and protect the personal information that we collect from and about individuals: 

  • throughout our website, www.gulegal.org, and any websites and digital properties where this Privacy Policy is posted or linked (collectively, the "Website") and any of our online interactions with individuals;

  • in connection with our business development and marketing activities;

  • through the legal and other services that we provide to our clients and prospective clients ("Client Services"); and

  • through our other online and offline interactions with individuals, including during in-person interactions in our office and at events. 

Collectively, we refer to the above-listed activities as the "Services".

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This Privacy Policy also describes the choices and legal rights available to you with respect to  your personal information and how you can exercise them.

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As used in this Privacy, "personal information" means information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, to a specific individual. For clarity, personal information includes any information that constitutes "personal information", "personal data", "personally identifiable information", or any substantially similar term under applicable data protection and privacy legislation in any relevant jurisdiction. 

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The types of personal data we collect about you

Personal data means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified.

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We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:

  • Identity data: includes first name, last name, any previous names, username or similar identifier, marital status, title, date of birth and gender.

  • Contact data: includes billing address, delivery address, email address and telephone numbers.

  • Financial data: includes bank account and payment card details.

  • Transaction data: includes details about payments to and from you and other details of products and services you have purchased from us.

  • Profile data: includes your username and password, purchases or orders made by you, your interests, preferences, feedback and survey responses.

  • Usage data: includes information about how you interact with and use our website, products and services.

  • Marketing and communications data: includes your preferences in receiving marketing information and newsletters from us and our third parties and your communication preferences.

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We also collect, use and share aggregated data such as statistical or demographic data which is not personal data as it does not directly (or indirectly) reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate individuals' Usage Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific website feature in order to analyse general trends in how users are interacting with our website to help improve the website and our service offering.

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How is your personal data collected? 

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We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through: 

  • Your interactions with us. You may give us your personal data by filling in online forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you:

    • create an account on our website​;

    • subscribe to our services or publications;

    • request marketing or newsletters to be sent to you;

    • enter and submit the online enquiry form on our website;

    • instruct us and use our services or products;

    • enter a promotion or survey; or

    • give us feedback or contact us.

  • Automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with our website, we will automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies and other similar technologies. We may also receive Technical Data about you if you visit other websites employing our cookies. Please see our cookie policy for further details.

  • Third parties or publicly available sources. We will receive personal data about you from various third parties and public sources as set out below:

    • Technical Data is collected from the following parties:​

      • analytics providers such as Google;​

      • advertising networks such as Linkedin or GoogleAd or GoogleAnalytics; and

      • search information providers such as Google or Thirdford or secured search service providers.

    • Contact, Financial and Transaction Data is collected from providers of technical, payment and delivery services.

    • Identity and Contact Data is collected from data brokers or aggregators or client due diligence service providers such as Thirdford or clients themselves when conducting SRA required client ID due diligence assessment.

    • Identity and Contact Data is collected from publicly available sources such as Companies House and Electoral Register based inside the UK.

 

How we use your personal data?​​

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  • Legal basis

The law requires us to have a legal basis for collecting and using your personal data. We rely on one or more of the following legal bases:

  • Performance of a contract with you: Where we need to perform the contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you.

  • Legitimate interests: We may use your personal data where it is necessary to conduct our business and pursue our legitimate interests, for example to prevent fraud and enable us to give you the best and most secure customer experience. We make sure we consider and balance any potential impact on you and your rights (both positive and negative) before we process your personal data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your personal data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by law).

  • Legal obligation: We may use your personal data where it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation that we are subject to. We will identify the relevant legal obligation when we rely on this legal basis.

  • Consent: We rely on consent only where we have obtained your active agreement to use your personal data for a specified purpose, for example if you subscribe to an email newsletter.

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  • ​Purposes for which we will use your personal data

We have set out below, in a table format, a description of all the ways we plan to use the various categories of your personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified what our legitimate interests are where appropriate.

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Purpose/Use                                                                     Type of data                                 Legal basis and retention period

To register you as a new customer                                            (a) Identity                                       Performance of a contract with you. 

                                                                                                   (b) Contact                                      We will retain this data as long as it's necessary and no longer than 6                                                                                                                                                                    years after your matter completion.

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To process and deliver your order including:                               (a) Identity                                       (a) Performance of a contract with you 

(a) Manage payments, fees and charges                                    (b) Contact                                      (b) Necessary for our legitimate interests (to recover debts due to us)

(b) Collect and recover money owed to us                                  (c) Financial                                     We will retain this data for 6 months after we received your payment.

                                                                                                    (d) Transaction  

                                                                                                    (e) Marketing and Communications

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To manage our relationship with you which will include:              (a) Identity                                        (a) Performance of a contract with you 

(a) Notifying you about changes to our terms or privacy policy   (b) Contact                                        (b) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

(b) Dealing with your requests, complaints and queries              (c) Profile                                          (c) Necessary for our legitimate interests (to keep our records 

                                                                                                     (d) Marketing and Communications      updated and manage our relationship with you

​                                                                                                                                                               We will retain this data for as long as it's necessary and no longer than 6                                                                                                                                                                 years after your matter completion.

To enable you to partake in a prize draw,                                      (a) Performance of a contract with you 

competition or complete a survey                                                  (b) Contact                                      (b) Necessary for our legitimate interests (to study how customers use 

                                                                                                       (c) Profile                                              our products/services, to develop them and grow our business)

                                                                                                       (d) Usage                                           We will retain this data for 6 months.

                                                                                                       (e) Marketing and Communications

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To administer and protect our business and                                   (a) Identity                                       (a) Necessary for our legitimate interests (for running our business,

this website (including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing,       (b) Contact                                          provision of administration and IT services, network security, to 

system maintenance, support, reporting and hosting of data)        (c) Technical                                        prevent fraud and in the context of a business reorganisation or 

                                                                                                                                                                     group restructuring exercise).

                                                                                                                                                               (b) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

                                                                                                                                                                   We will retain this data for as long as it is necessary in accordance                                                                                                                                                                        with the relevant legal obligation. 

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To deliver relevant website content and online                                (a) Identity                                         Necessary for our legitimate interests (to study how customers use 

advertisements to you and measure or understand                        (b) Contact                                        our products/services, to develop them, to grow our business and to

the effectiveness of the advertising we serve to you                       (c) Profile                                           inform our marketing strategy)。

                                                                                                        (d) Usage                                           We will retain this data for 6 months.

                                                                                                        (e) Marketing and Communications

                                                                                                        (f) Technical 

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To use data analytics to improve our website,                                 (a) Technical                                      Necessary for our legitimate interests (to define types of customers 

products/services, customer relationships and                                (b) Usage                                          for our products and services, to keep our website updated and

experiences and to measure the effectiveness                                                                                          relevant, to develop our business and to inform our marketing 

of our communications and marketing                                                                                                       strategy). We will retain this data for 6 months

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To send you relevant marketing communications                           (a) Identity                                          Necessary for our legitimate interests (to carry out direct marketing,

and make personalised suggestions and                                       (b) Contact                                          develop our products/services and grow our business). 

recommendations to you about goods or services                         (c) Technical                                       Having obtained your prior consent to receiving direct marketing 

that may be of interest to you based on your                                  (d) Usage                                           communications. We will retain this data for as long as it is necessary

Profile Data                                                                                     (e) Profile                                           unless you have updated and notified us with your marketing

                                                                                                        (f) Marketing and Communications    preference. 

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To carry out market research through your                                    (a) Identity                                           Necessary for our legitimate interests (to how customers use our 

voluntary participation in surveys                                                   (b) Contact                                          products/services and to help us improve and develop our products                                                                                                                                                                        and services).

                                                                                                                                                                   We will retain this data for 6 months, unless you have updated and                                                                                                                                                                        notified us with your marketing

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Direct marketing

During the online enquiry submission or registration process on our website when your personal data is collected, you will be asked to indicate your preference for receiving direct marketing communications from us via emails. Alternatively, you will receive marketing communications from us, if you have requested information from us or purchased services from us and you have not opted out of received the marketing. 

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​We may also analyse your Identity, Contact, Technical, Usage and Profile Data to from a view which services and offers may be of interest to you so that we can then send you relevant marketing communications. 

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Third-party marketing

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We will get your express consent before we share your personal data with any third-party for their own direct marketing purposes. 

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Opting out of marketing

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​You can ask to stop sending you marketing communications at any time by logging into the website and checking or unchecking relevant boxes to adjust your marketing preferences. If you have any questions, please email us via privacy@gulegal.org. If you opt out of receiving marketing communications, you will still receive service-related communications that are essential for administrative or customer service purposes (for example, relating to the client engagement letter, appointment reminders, updates to our Terms of Business, checking that your contact details are correct and up to date etc.). 

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Cookies 

 

You may access certain areas of our website without providing any personal data at all. However, to use all features and functions available on our website you may be required to submit or allow the collection of certain data. You may restrict our use of Cookies. For more information about the cookies we use and how to change your cookie preferences, please see our Cookie Policy for more information.

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How and where do we store or transfer your personal data?

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We will store your personal data in the UK. This means that it will be fully protected under the Data Protection Legislation. We may also store some of your personal data if applicable within the European Economic Area (the "EEA"). This means that your personal data will be fully protected under the EU GDPR and or to equivalent standards by law. Transfer of personal data to the EEA from the UK are permitted without additional safeguards. 

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Disclosure of your personal data

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We will not share your personal data with any third parties for any purposes without your consent, subject to the following exceptions. In accordance with complying with the SRA regulations and statutory requirements that we may need to share some of your personal data in order to conduct client due diligence and anti-money laundering assessments. Those assessments are usually conducted by a trusted third party suppliers based in the UK. If we sell, transfer, or merge pars of our business or assets, your personal data may be transferred to a third party. Any new owner of our business may continue to use your personal data in the same way(s) that we have used it, as specified in this Privacy Policy. In some limited circumstance, we may be legally required to share certain personal data, which might include yours, if we are involved in legal proceedings or complying with legal obligations, a court order, or the instructions of a government authority. 

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Data security​

 

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

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Data retention

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We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you.

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To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.

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By law we have to keep basic information about our customers (including Contact, Identity, Financial and Transaction Data) for 6 years after they cease being our customers for SRA compliance purposes. In some circumstances, we will anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical or internal purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you. In some circumstance, you can ask us to delete your data, please see "Your legal rights" section below for further information.

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Your legal rights

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You have a number of rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data. You have the right to:

  • Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a "subject access request"). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.

  • Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.

  • Request erasure of your personal data in certain circumstances. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.

  • Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) as the legal basis for that particular use of your data (including carrying out profiling based on our legitimate interests). In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your right to object.

  • You also have the absolute right to object any time to the processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes. 

  • Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.

  • Withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.

  • Request restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in one of the following scenarios:

    • If you want us to establish the data's accuracy;

    • Where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it;

    • Where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; or

    • You have objected to our use of your data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.

​If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us via privacy@gulegal.org. 

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No fee usually required

 

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 could refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

 

What we may need from you

 

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.

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Time limit to respond

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We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it could take us longer than a 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. 

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Contact us 

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or about the use of your personal data or you want to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us in the following ways (for the attention of Lydia Gu):

Email: privacy@gulegal.org

Postal Address: 124 City Road, London, England, EC1V 2NX

 

Changes to this Privacy Policy

 

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. This may be necessary, for example, if the law changes, or if we change our business in a way that affects personal data protection. Any changes will be immediately posted on our website and you will be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Website Privacy Policy on your first use of our website following the alterations. We recommend that you check this page regularly to keep up-to-date. 

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