Privacy Policy

PSS Legal Advisors LLP (“PSS Legal” / “Firm” / “We” / “Us” / “Our” as applicable) is a limited liability partnership firm incorporated under the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2008 and is a full-service Law firm in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. PSS Legal owns and manages the website pss.legal and its other digital platforms (collectively referred to as the “Platform”). We value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data in compliance with applicable laws.

Applicability of this privacy policy

This Privacy Policy, as amended from time to time (“Privacy Policy”) forms part and parcel of the Platform’s integral terms and conditions by this reference. This Privacy Policy covers the Firm’s practices for collecting and processing Personal Information (as detailed below) and the Firm is committed to maintaining the confidentiality, integrity and security of your Personal Information, as required under applicable laws from time to time. This Privacy Policy applies to our Platform alone and does not apply to the Platforms of any third parties, even if their Platforms are linked to the Platform.

We recommend you review the respective privacy statements of the other parties with whom you interact. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully before using the Platform along with the Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) provided on the Platform.

BY ACCESSING THE PLATFORM, YOU EXPRESSLY CONSENT TO BE BOUND BY THIS PRIVACY POLICY FOR USING THE PLATFORM OR BY OTHERWISE GIVING US YOUR INFORMATION, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE PRACTICES AND POLICIES OUTLINED IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY, AND YOU HEREBY EXPRESSLY CONSENT TO OUR COLLECTION, USE AND SHARING OF YOUR INFORMATION AS DESCRIBED IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE, MODIFY, ADD, OR DELETE PORTIONS OF THE TERMS OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY AT OUR SOLE DISCRETION AT ANY TIME. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE OR EXPRESSLY CONSENT TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY AT ANY TIME, YOUR SOLE RECOURSE WILL BE TO STOP USING THE PLATFORM. IF YOU USE THE SERVICES ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE (SUCH AS YOUR CHILD) OR AN ENTITY (SUCH AS YOUR EMPLOYER), YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU ARE AUTHORISED BY SUCH INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY TO ACCEPT THIS PRIVACY POLICY ON SUCH INDIVIDUAL’S OR ENTITY’S BEHALF.

General

The Platform is owned and managed by PSS Legal Advisors LLP (“We” or “Us” or “Our”), a law firm located in Chennai, India. This Privacy Policy applies to all current and former users accessing or using Our Platform, or otherwise engaging with us through email or other means (collectively, “You” or “Your”). The collection and processing of information in the course of our delivery of services or other contractual or commercial engagements will be done in accordance with specific terms applicable thereto, and not by this Privacy Policy.

By accessing or using Our Platform or by otherwise giving Us Your information, You confirm that You have the capacity to enter into a legally binding contract and have read, understood, and agreed to the practices and policies outlined in this Privacy Policy. You hereby expressly consent to Our collection, use, sharing, and disclosure of Your information as described in this Privacy Policy.

We may modify, add to, or delete from this Privacy Policy periodically, and Your continued access to or use of the Platform will be deemed to be acceptance and express consent of such changes. If You do not agree with this Privacy Policy at any time, in part or in whole, do not access/use the Platform or services provided through it or provide Us with any of Your information. If You are accessing or using the Platform from a location outside India, You do so at Your own risk and will be solely liable for compliance with local laws, as applicable.

What constitutes personal information?

We understand that the information you provide may be categorized as personal information. We reserve the right to collect, use, store, transfer, and disclose information provided to Us by You or your agents in the course of the use of Our Platform(s), as per applicable law and in accordance with this Privacy Policy. Our security standards for the maintenance, storage and dissemination of all information provided to Us by you conform to all applicable legal requirements.

A. When you access our Platform, we collect, store and retain certain information for the provision of Services, including but not limited to the following:

your personal details such as name, date of birth/age and gender,
contact details such as residential address, contact number, email address, and location
any information you provide the Firm when you contact us for help;
user details as provided at the time of registration/signup or any time thereafter to the Firm;
information you enter into our system when using the Services/Platform, and
Your usage details such as your content, time, frequency, duration and pattern of use, features used and the amount of storage used and any other information that is willingly shared by you or is essential for rendering our Services.

B. In addition to the above, the following information is defined as “Personal Information” under Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices & Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 (“SPDI Rules”) to mean any information that relates to a natural person, which, either directly or indirectly, in combination with other information available or likely to be available with a body corporate, is capable of identifying such person.

The SPDI Rules further define “Sensitive Personal Data or Information” of a person to mean personal information about that person relating to the following: (i) passwords; (ii) financial information such as bank accounts, credit and debit card details or other payment instrument details; (iii) physical, physiological and mental health condition; (iv) sexual orientation; (v) medical records and history; (vi) biometric information; (vii) information received by body corporate under lawful contract or otherwise; (viii) visitor details as provided at the time of registration or thereafter; and (ix) call data records.

(Points (A) and (B) shall collectively referred to as “Personal Information“).

You shall, at any time while using the Platform and/or the Services, also have the option to withdraw your consent given earlier to us to use such Personal Information. Such withdrawal of the consent is required to be sent in writing to us at [email protected]. In such event, however, the Firm fully reserves the right not to allow further usage of the Platform and/or provide any Services thereunder to you.

How is personal information collected?

The Firm may collect information either actively, as described above, or passively. We collect information on various aspects of Your usage of Our Platform (“User Information”), information on demographic indicators (“Demographic Information”) and information on general and specific user trends (“Usage and Indirect Information”) (hereinafter collectively called as “Information”).

To improve the responsiveness of the Platform, as you navigate through the Platform, certain information can be passively collected (that is, gathered without your actively providing the information) using various technologies and means, such as Internet Protocol addresses, cookies, Internet tags, and navigational data collection. We may request that You provide Us with Information when You visit any of Our offices/outlets to enquire about or avail of Our Services.

Use of Cookies: We use “Cookies” (alphanumeric identifiers), which are transferred to your hard drive through Your smartphone(s)/ web browser(s) when You visit Our Platform(s).

A “cookie” is a bit of information that a Platform sends to your web browser that helps the site remember information about you and your preferences. You can set your browser to reject cookies, however, not all aspects of the site may be available to you if you choose to do so.
“Session” cookies are temporary bits of information that are erased once you exit your Web browser window or otherwise turn your device off. Session cookies are used to improve navigation on Platforms and to collect aggregate statistical information. This site uses session cookies.
“Persistent” cookies are more permanent bits of information that are placed on the internal memory storage of your device and stay there unless you delete the cookie. Persistent cookies store information on your device for a number of purposes, such as retrieving certain information you have previously provided (e.g., passwords), helping to determine what areas of the Platform visitors find most valuable, and customizing the Platform based on your preferences.
“Internet tags” (also known as single-pixel GIFs, clear GIFs, invisible GIFs, and 1-by-1 GIFs) are smaller than cookies and tell the Platform server information such as the IP address and browser type related to the visitor’s device. This site uses Internet tags. Tags have been placed both on online advertisements that bring people to the site and on different pages of the site. These tags indicate how many times a page is opened and which information is consulted. We do not collect or seek personally identifiable information through these tags.
“Navigational data” (“log files,” “server logs,”, “clickstream” data, and in-house analytics tools) are used for system management, to improve the content of the Platform, market research purposes, and to communicate information to visitors. This site uses navigational data.

Cookies enable Our systems to recognise You when You visit Our Platform again and thereby improve Our service to You. This enables Us to understand traffic information/areas of Our Platform that are visited frequently which in turn helps us enhance the content of our Platform for ease of access to the Platform(s). We also use Cookies for security, session continuity, and customization purposes. If a User rejects a Cookie, he/she may still be able to use most of Our Platform(s) but may not be able to gain access to certain Services or features of the Platform(s).

Log Files: The Platform uses Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. An IP Address is a number assigned to your computer by your Internet service provider so you can access the Internet and is generally considered to be non-personally identifiable information, because in most cases an IP address is dynamic (changing each time you connect to the Internet), rather than static (unique to a particular user’s device). We may use your IP address to diagnose problems with our Platform, report aggregate information, determine the fastest route for your device to use in connecting to our Platform, and administer and improve the Platform. We use your IP addresses to analyse site usage trends, administer the site, track User activity within Our Platform(s) and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use.

How do you consent to our use of your personal information?

By providing your Personal Information (including any changes thereto as may be provided by you from time to time) and/or accessing the Platform(s), you are consenting to collection, storage, use and disclosure of your Personal Information by the Firm for the purposes and to the persons (as applicable) outlined in this Privacy Policy (as amended from time to time).
Collection of information that has been designated as ‘Sensitive Personal Data or Information’ under the SPDI Rules requires your express consent and by affirming your assent to this Privacy Policy, you provide your consent to such collection as required under applicable law.
Our Services may be unavailable to you in the event such consent is not given or if you choose to withhold your Personal Information. In such cases, the Firm will not be liable and/or responsible for the denial of its Services to you on account of the inadequacy of Personal Information provided by you.

As outlined in this Privacy Policy, we will not process your Personal Information without a lawful basis to do so. In general, the Firm may process your Personal Information on the legal basis of: (i) consent (where the Firm has obtained your prior, express consent to the processing; (ii) contract (if you have either availed Services and/or entered into an agreement with us and such processing is a necessary part thereof); (iii) compliance with Applicable Laws (as set forth below); (iv) to protect the vital interests of any individual.

Purpose of collection and usage of personal information

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

1. To provide legal advice and services
2. To manage and administer our relationship with you, your company or your organisation including keeping records about business contacts, services and payments so we can customise our offering for you, develop our relationship and target our marketing and promotional campaigns;
3. To send emails, newsletters and other messages to keep you informed of legal developments, market insights and our services ;
4. For events, legal briefings, roundtables and other events;
5. For Client surveys and feedback, including events feedback and client listening exercises as well as answering issues and concerns which may arise;
6. For legal compliance, including client due diligence (under anti-money laundering, sanctions screening and other crime prevention and detection laws and regulatory requirements), which may involve automated screening checks to ensure that clients and contacts are genuine and to prevent fraud or crime and we may not be able take instructions if you do not provide the information we need to do these checks;
7. To check the website and our other technology services are being used appropriately and to optimise their functionality;
8. To provide security to our offices and other premises (normally collecting your name and contact details on entry to our buildings);
9. To protect our information assets and technology platforms from unauthorised access or usage and to monitor for malware and other security threats;
10. For compliance with our legal and regulatory obligations as a law firm including auditing and reporting requirements ;
11. To pursue the legitimate business interests listed in the “Legitimate Interests section of this policy below.

Your rights

You have the following rights under the applicable law:

Access: you are entitled to ask us if we are processing your data, and if we are, you can request access to your Personal Information. This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and certain other information about it;
Correction: you are entitled to request that any incomplete or inaccurate personal data we hold about you be corrected;
Erasure: you are entitled to ask us to delete or remove personal data in certain circumstances. There are also certain exceptions where we may refuse a request for erasure, for example, where the Personal Information is required for compliance with law or in connection with claims;
Restriction: you are entitled to ask us to suspend the processing of certain of your personal data, for example, if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it;
Transfer: you may us to help you request the transfer certain of your Personal Information to another party;
Objection: where we are processing your Personal Information based on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party), and you may challenge this. However, we may be entitled to continue processing your information. You also have the right to object where we are processing your Personal Information for direct marketing purposes;
Automated decisions: you may contest any automated decision made about you where this has a legal or similar significant effect and ask for it to be reconsidered.

Consent: where we are processing Personal Information with consent, you can withdraw your consent.

If you want to exercise any of these rights, please contact the Grievance/nodal officer set out in this Privacy Policy below, in writing at the relevant email address

Our website, newsletters, email updates and other communications may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of others. The personal data that you provide through these websites is not subject to this privacy notice and the treatment of your personal data by such websites is not our responsibility.

If you follow a link to any other websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy notices which will set out how your information is collected and processed when visiting those sites.

Retention of information

We can retain Personal Information for as long as needed or permitted in light of the purpose(s) for which it was obtained and consistent with Applicable Laws. The criteria for determining the duration for which the Firm will keep your Personal Information are as follows: (i) the Firm will retain copies of your Personal Information in a form that permits identification only for as long as is necessary in connection with the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, including for the length of time the Firm has an ongoing relationship with you and provide the Services to you; (ii) if there is a legal obligation to which the Firm is subject (for example, certain laws require the Firm to keep records of your transactions for a certain period of time before the Firm can delete them); or (iii) keeping in view the legitimate interests of the Firm (litigation or regulatory investigations).
We reserve the right to retain Information provided by You until the Purposes for which such Information was provided are completed and/or extinguished following which such Information will be destroyed or anonymized.
We, however, reserve the right to retain, store and use Your Information including Personal Information collected for the Purpose, whether such Information has been deleted or not. After a period of time, Your data may be anonymized and aggregated and then may be held by Us as long as necessary for Us to provide Our Services effectively.
Please note that any withdrawal of consent to use Information provided by You may result in Our inability to provide You with access to Our Platform(s) and/or terminate any existing relationship that We may have with You.
If You wish that We no longer retain Information provided by You in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy, contact Us at the email address given hereunder of this Privacy Policy

Information sharing and disclosures

We disclose Your Information to advisors, affiliates, agents, insurers, consultants, contractors, counterparties, group companies, and other persons as may be applicable (collectively called the “Third Parties”), only when necessary under obligations arising from contractual or legal relationships:
Disclosure of information, if any, to governmental authorities may be made only pursuant to an order demanding the same or as may be disclosed in good faith to:
Conform to legal requirements or comply with mandatory legal processes;
Protect Our rights and/or property;
Prevent a crime or preserve national security; or
Protect the personal safety of other Users or the public at large.

If you are an user from outside India

If You are a User from outside India, then You may be required to provide clear and affirmative consent to the collection, processing, and sharing of your Personal Information by/with Us, subject to withdrawal of your consent at any time on request. Kindly take note that any such compliance mandated under the laws of your country/country that you reside in is your sole responsibility, and the Firm shall not be held liable in whatsoever manner for any action or omission at Your end with respect to any such non-compliance.

Third-party services

Our Platform(s) may contain links to third-party Platforms and/or services (“Third Party Services”). We have no control over such Third Party Services, which are provided by persons or companies other than Us. We are not responsible for any collection or disclosure of Your information by such Third Parties thereof.
Once you leave our Platform, the use of any information you provide is governed by the privacy policy of the operator of the site you are visiting. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of every Platform you visit. If you can’t find the privacy policy of any of these sites via a link from the site’s homepage, you should contact the site directly for more information.
Further, We are not liable for any loss or damage which may be incurred by You as a result of the collection and/or disclosure of Your information via third-party services. We shall not be liable for any disputes arising from or in connection with such transactions between You and the aforementioned Third Parties.
Such third-party Platforms, and external applications or resources, accessible via Our Platform(s) may have their own privacy policies governing the collection, storage, transfer, retention and/or disclosure of Your information that You may be subject to.
We recommend that You exercise reasonable diligence, as You would in traditional offline channels and practice judgment and common sense before committing to any transaction or exchange of information, including but not limited to reviewing the third-party Platform or application’s privacy policy.
Please note that the Firm may be required to share your Personal Information with third parties for the purposes of rendering Services to you (such third parties may include any service providers, vendors, etc), and by agreeing to this Privacy Policy, you provide your consent to share the Personal Information collected by the Firm to such third parties

Disclaimer

You hereby agree that any Information provided by You may be disclosed by Us in ways not otherwise described under this Privacy Policy. As a User of Our Platform(s), You assume all responsibility and risk for the use of Our Platform(s) by You including Information You post or access and for Your conduct on Our Platform(s).
You hereby agree and acknowledge that any use of Our Platform(s) by persons under the age of 18 and any Information provided by such persons to Us for the access/use of Our Platform(s) and/or services under this Privacy Policy, is to be done only with the involvement, consent and supervision of an Adult.

Intellectual property

All the intellectual properties including but not limited to trademarks and copyrights, whether registered or unregistered, used on the Platform and/or Services are owned solely by the Firm at all points in time.
You acknowledge and agree that the material and content contained within the Platform is made available for your personal non-commercial use only.
You hereby consent to refrain from using the content in such ways as to duplicate, reproduce, transmit, publish, display, sell, commercially exploit, or create derivative works, or from aiding or abetting a Third Party in doing so.

Confidentiality of personal information

The Personal Information collected from you will, at all times during retention, be maintained by the Firm (including its employees, representatives, partners, etc) in strict confidence and the Firm takes all necessary precautions to protect your Personal Information both online and off-line and implements reasonable security practices and measures including certain managerial, technical, operational and physical security control measures that are commensurate with respect to the information being collected.

However, please take note that the Firm does not undertake any liability for any unauthorized use of your account and password. If you suspect any unauthorised use of your account, you must immediately notify the Firm by sending an email to [email protected].

Notwithstanding the above, the Firm shall not be responsible for the confidentiality, security, or distribution of your Personal Information by our partners and third parties outside the scope of our agreement with such partners and third parties. Further, the Firm shall not be responsible for any breach of security or for any actions of any third parties or events that are beyond the reasonable control of the Firm including, acts of government, computer hacking, unauthorized access to computer data and storage device, computer crashes, breach of security and encryption, poor quality of Internet service or telephone service of the User etc.

How do we handle children’s personal information

The Firm’s Platform and Services are directed towards the general public. However, it is to be noted that, if you are not an adult, you may continue to look at our Platform but you should not submit any of your Personal Information to us. Any information, including but not limited to Personal Information and consent, provided by such individual shall be deemed to have been provided under requisite parental/guardian control and guidance.

We do not knowingly collect information from children or other persons who are under 16 years old. If you are under 16 years old, you may not submit any personal data to us.

Restriction of liability

The Firm makes no express and implied warranties, claims, or promises, or does not provide a guarantee on the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of the contents available through the Firm. The Firm hereby expressly refutes any liability for errors, actions or omissions in the contents made available through the Firm.

Grievance / Nodal officer

Herein below are the contact details of the Grievance/Nodal officer of the Firm. This information is provided as per Applicable Laws including but not limited to the SPDI Rules, etc.,

Name: Mr. P.S. Suman, Managing Partner

Address: 4th Floor, No.5, VNCT Building, Mahalingapuram Main Road, Mahalingapuram, Nungambakkam, Chennai- 600034.

Email Id: [email protected] with a copy to [email protected]

Miscellaneous

This Policy is to be read in conjunction with and shall be deemed to be part of Our Terms of Usage of Our Platform(s).
You hereby agree and acknowledge that Information provided by You and collated through Our Platform(s) or otherwise may be stored and/or processed in jurisdictions outside the territory of India. You hereby agree and acknowledge that for the effective provision of Our Services, Information may be stored or processed by trusted Third Parties engaged by Us.
We endeavour to ensure that the sharing or disclosure of Information to such trusted Third Parties engaged by Us is in accordance with the applicable laws of India.
You agree that the whole or any part of Information provided to Us by You could be read, collected, or used by other Users or Third Parties in the ordinary usage of Our Services by such Users or Third Parties. You hereby agree and acknowledge that We are not responsible in the event that You receive unsolicited messages or communications as a consequence of the same.
The Firm reserves the right to change our policy regarding how visitor information is used. We will use for the new purposes only data collected after the policy change. If you are concerned about how your information will be used, check this privacy policy for changes when you visit our Platform.
You hereby agree and acknowledge Our right to use the whole or any part of the Information provided by You by way of posts, comments, reviews or otherwise.
If any provision of this Privacy Policy is held to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be disregarded and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force.
Headings are for reference purposes only and in no way define, limit, construe or describe the scope or extent of such section.
The Firm’s failure to act or delay in acting with respect to any failure by you or others to comply with this Privacy Policy does not waive or limit the Firm’s right to act with respect to subsequent or similar failures.
This Privacy Policy sets forth the entire understanding and agreement between you and PSS Legal with respect to the subject matter hereof.
Any cause of action or claim you may have with respect to this Privacy Policy, or the Platform must be commenced within six (6) months after the claim or cause of action arises or such claim or cause of action shall be barred.
You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under this Privacy Policy without the prior written consent of the Firm, and any purported assignment or transfer in violation of this provision shall be null and void.
The Firm reserves the right to seek all remedies available at law and in equity for violations of this Privacy Policy and/or the rules and regulations set forth on the Platform, including without limitation the right to block access from a particular internet address.
This Privacy Policy, their subject matter and any non-contractual disputes or claims shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India, and you submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts at Chennai, India, in relation to any disputes arising under this Privacy Policy. The Firm reserves the right to seek injunctive, or any other equitable relief, in any courts of competent jurisdiction that, in its sole opinion, consider this to be necessary.
The Firm reserves the right to launch an investigation into complaints or reported deviances from the Terms. The Firm can take any action deemed fit and necessary by it. These actions can include but are not limited to, reporting any suspected unlawful activity to law enforcement officials, regulators, or third parties. Additionally, the Firm may disclose any information necessary or appropriate to such persons or entities pertaining to any user’s profiles, e-mail addresses, usage history, IP addresses and traffic information.