Privacy Policy

Effective date: July 14, 2026
Last updated: July 14, 2026

Gosal & Company Barristers & Solicitors (“Gosal & Company,” the “Firm,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy, confidentiality, and security of the personal information entrusted to us.

As a British Columbia law firm, we recognize both our legal obligations under applicable privacy legislation and our professional obligations concerning the confidentiality of information received from clients and prospective clients.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and protect personal information when you:

  • Visit our website at wcblawyers.com;
  • Contact us by telephone, email, fax, contact form, videoconference, or in person;
  • Request an initial consultation;
  • Become a client of the Firm;
  • Provide information in connection with a WorkSafeBC claim, appeal, reopening application, or other legal matter; or
  • Otherwise communicate or interact with Gosal & Company.

This policy applies to our website and our legal practice. It does not replace any additional terms contained in a client retainer agreement.

1. Privacy Laws and Professional Obligations

Gosal & Company handles personal information in accordance with British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act, commonly referred to as PIPA, and any other privacy legislation that applies to a particular matter, including the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, where applicable.

Nothing in this Privacy Policy limits solicitor-client privilege, litigation privilege, or the Firm’s professional obligations under the rules governing lawyers in British Columbia.

Our duties of confidentiality and privilege may provide protections beyond those required under general privacy legislation.

2. What Is Personal Information?

Personal information is information about an identifiable individual. Depending on how you interact with us, this may include:

  • Your name, mailing address, email address, and telephone number;
  • Your date of birth and other identifying information;
  • Your preferred language and communication preferences;
  • Information about your employer, occupation, workplace, union, or employment history;
  • Your WorkSafeBC claim number and information relating to your claim;
  • WorkSafeBC decision letters, claim records, medical reports, vocational records, appeal documents, and correspondence;
  • Information about a workplace accident, injury, occupational disease, psychological injury, or disability;
  • Medical diagnoses, treatment history, medications, symptoms, functional limitations, and healthcare providers;
  • Wage, income, employment, benefit, pension, tax, or financial information;
  • Information about family members, representatives, witnesses, employers, coworkers, healthcare providers, experts, or other individuals connected with a legal matter;
  • Billing, payment, and accounting information;
  • Records of telephone calls, emails, meetings, consultations, and other communications;
  • Information provided through our website contact form; and
  • Technical information generated when you use our website.

Personal information does not generally include information that has been anonymized so that it can no longer reasonably identify an individual.

3. Information Collected Through Our Website

Contact Form Information

Our website contact form allows you to submit your:

  • Name;
  • Email address;
  • Telephone number; and
  • Message.

Your message may contain additional information about your workplace injury, medical condition, WorkSafeBC claim, employment, appeal deadlines, or other personal circumstances.

We use this information to review and respond to your inquiry, arrange a consultation, conduct an initial conflict check, assess whether the Firm may be able to assist you, and communicate with you about possible legal services.

Technical and Usage Information

When you visit our website, our web server and website tools may automatically collect certain technical information, such as:

  • Your Internet Protocol address;
  • Browser and device type;
  • Operating system;
  • Approximate geographic location;
  • Pages viewed and links selected;
  • The date and time of your visit;
  • The website or search engine that referred you to us; and
  • Website errors, performance data, and security-related activity.

This information may be collected through server logs, cookies, and similar technologies. We use it to operate and secure the website, understand how visitors use it, diagnose technical problems, and improve website performance and content.

4. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit a website. Our website may use:

  • Essential cookies needed for website operation, security, navigation, and form functionality;
  • Preference cookies that remember certain website choices;
  • Analytics technologies, where enabled, that help us understand website traffic and visitor activity; and
  • Security or spam-prevention technologies, where enabled, that help protect our forms and website from misuse.

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Blocking certain cookies may affect how some parts of the website function.

Where required by law, we will request consent before using non-essential cookies or similar tracking technologies.

5. Information Collected During Consultations and Legal Representation

If you request a consultation or retain Gosal & Company, we may collect personal information directly from you and, where appropriate and legally permitted, from other sources, including:

  • WorkSafeBC;
  • The WorkSafeBC Review Division;
  • The Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal;
  • Physicians, specialists, psychologists, counsellors, therapists, and other healthcare providers;
  • Hospitals, clinics, and rehabilitation providers;
  • Employers and former employers;
  • Unions and worker representatives;
  • Vocational rehabilitation providers;
  • Independent medical or vocational experts;
  • Witnesses and other individuals with relevant information;
  • Other lawyers and law firms;
  • Courts, tribunals, government bodies, and regulatory authorities;
  • Insurers, benefit providers, and pension administrators; and
  • Publicly available records or sources permitted by law.

We will collect only the information that we reasonably consider necessary for the purposes of the consultation, conflict check, potential retainer, legal representation, or another appropriate purpose.

6. How We Use Personal Information

Gosal & Company may use personal information to:

  • Respond to website, telephone, email, or other inquiries;
  • Schedule and conduct consultations;
  • Confirm your identity and contact information;
  • Conduct conflict checks;
  • Determine whether we can accept a legal matter;
  • Open, administer, and maintain client files;
  • Provide legal advice and representation;
  • Manage WorkSafeBC claims and obtain relevant claim records;
  • Prepare Review Division requests and WCAT appeals;
  • Assist with claim reopening applications and benefit disputes;
  • Gather, assess, and present medical, vocational, employment, and financial evidence;
  • Communicate with WorkSafeBC, tribunals, healthcare providers, experts, employers, unions, witnesses, and other relevant parties;
  • Prepare legal arguments, submissions, evidence, and correspondence;
  • Meet legal, regulatory, professional, accounting, insurance, and record-keeping obligations;
  • Issue invoices, process payments, and maintain financial records;
  • Protect the Firm, its clients, staff, website, and information systems from fraud, misuse, cybersecurity threats, and unauthorized access;
  • Investigate and respond to privacy, security, professional, or legal concerns;
  • Improve our website, services, office procedures, and client experience; and
  • Fulfil another purpose that is identified to you and permitted by law.

We will not use personal information for a materially different purpose unless we obtain appropriate consent or the use is otherwise authorized by law.

7. Consent

We obtain consent where required by law. Consent may be express or implied, depending on the circumstances, the sensitivity of the information, and the reasonable expectations of the individual.

For example, when you voluntarily submit information through our contact form for the purpose of requesting a consultation, you consent to our collection and use of that information to review and respond to your inquiry.

By retaining Gosal & Company, you consent to the reasonable collection, use, and disclosure of personal information necessary to provide legal advice and representation, subject to the retainer agreement, applicable law, and our professional obligations.

You may withdraw consent by providing reasonable notice to us. However, withdrawing consent may affect our ability to respond to your inquiry or provide legal services. Consent cannot be withdrawn where continued collection, use, retention, or disclosure is required to meet a legal, professional, contractual, or regulatory obligation.

8. When We Disclose Personal Information

Gosal & Company does not sell or rent personal information.

We may disclose personal information in the following circumstances:

Legal Services

Where necessary to provide legal advice or representation, information may be disclosed to:

  • WorkSafeBC and its employees or contractors;
  • The Review Division;
  • The Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal;
  • Courts, tribunals, and government bodies;
  • Healthcare and rehabilitation providers;
  • Medical, vocational, accounting, or other experts;
  • Employers, unions, witnesses, opposing parties, and their representatives;
  • Other lawyers or legal service providers; and
  • Other individuals or organizations involved in the matter.

These disclosures will be limited to what we reasonably consider necessary and appropriate for the legal matter.

Employees and Service Providers

Information may be made available to the Firm’s lawyers, articled students, legal assistants, administrative staff, contractors, and consultants who require it to perform their responsibilities.

We may also use service providers for functions such as:

  • Website hosting and maintenance;
  • Email and telephone services;
  • Cloud storage, document management, and data backup;
  • Information technology and cybersecurity;
  • Accounting and payment processing;
  • File storage, copying, scanning, courier, and document destruction services;
  • Videoconferencing and remote meeting services; and
  • Website analytics and spam prevention, where enabled.

Service providers are expected to use personal information only for the services they provide to us and to protect it using appropriate safeguards.

Legal and Regulatory Requirements

We may disclose information where the disclosure is:

  • Required or authorized by law;
  • Required by a court order, warrant, subpoena, or tribunal process;
  • Required by the Law Society of British Columbia, our professional insurer, an auditor, or another regulatory authority;
  • Necessary to collect an account or respond to a legal claim;
  • Necessary to investigate suspected fraud, security incidents, unlawful activity, or professional misconduct;
  • Necessary to protect the safety, rights, or property of an individual or the Firm; or
  • Otherwise permitted under applicable privacy legislation.

Any disclosure remains subject to solicitor-client privilege, litigation privilege, and our professional duties.

9. Information Processed Outside British Columbia or Canada

Some technology, cloud, communication, or support providers used by the Firm may store or process information outside British Columbia or outside Canada.

When information is processed in another jurisdiction, it may be subject to that jurisdiction’s laws and may be accessible to courts, law enforcement, or government authorities in accordance with those laws.

We select and manage service providers with the sensitivity of legal and client information in mind and take reasonable steps to require appropriate confidentiality and security protections.

10. Security Safeguards

Gosal & Company uses reasonable administrative, physical, and technical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information in our custody or control.

These safeguards may include:

  • Confidentiality and privacy obligations for lawyers, staff, and contractors;
  • Access controls based on job responsibilities;
  • Password protection and authentication measures;
  • Secure office and file-storage practices;
  • Technology security, malware protection, updates, and backups;
  • Policies governing the handling, transmission, storage, and destruction of information;
  • Secure disposal of paper and electronic records; and
  • Procedures for responding to suspected privacy or security incidents.

No website, email system, cloud service, or internet transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure. For that reason, please do not use the general contact form to send highly sensitive documents or information such as:

  • Social Insurance Numbers;
  • Banking information or passwords;
  • Complete medical files;
  • Copies of identification;
  • Detailed WorkSafeBC claim files; or
  • Confidential documents concerning another person.

Please call our office to arrange an appropriate method for sending sensitive documents.

11. Website Inquiries and Lawyer-Client Relationships

Submitting a website contact form, sending an email, or leaving a telephone message does not, by itself, create a lawyer-client relationship.

A lawyer-client relationship is created only when the Firm agrees to act for you and the required engagement or retainer arrangements have been completed.

Although we handle inquiries carefully, you should not assume that information submitted through a general website form is protected by solicitor-client privilege. Conflict checks may also be required before we can receive or discuss detailed information.

Do not submit urgent appeal deadlines solely through the website. If your inquiry is time-sensitive, call the office directly at 604-591-8187.

12. Retention of Personal Information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and to meet applicable legal, regulatory, insurance, professional, accounting, and business requirements.

The appropriate retention period depends on factors such as:

  • Whether you became a client;
  • The nature and duration of the legal matter;
  • Applicable limitation and appeal periods;
  • Law Society and professional requirements;
  • Insurance and risk-management requirements;
  • Whether information is needed to manage conflicts of interest;
  • Whether the information is relevant to a complaint, investigation, claim, or proceeding; and
  • Whether the information must be retained by law.

Information relating to prospective clients and conflict checks may be retained even where the Firm is not retained, where reasonably necessary to document the inquiry, manage conflicts, respond to complaints, or protect legal rights.

When personal information is no longer reasonably required, we will securely destroy, delete, or anonymize it, subject to our legal and professional obligations.

13. Accuracy of Information

We make reasonable efforts to ensure that personal information used to make a decision or provide legal services is accurate and complete.

Please notify us if your contact information, employment information, medical information, or other relevant information changes or if you believe information in our records is inaccurate.

14. Accessing or Correcting Your Personal Information

Subject to applicable legal exceptions, you may submit a written request asking us to:

  • Provide access to personal information about you that is under our custody or control;
  • Explain how that information has been used;
  • Identify individuals or organizations to which the information has been disclosed, where required by law; or
  • Correct an error or omission in your personal information.

We may need to verify your identity before responding.

Access may be limited or refused where permitted or required by law, including where disclosure would:

  • Reveal personal information about another individual;
  • Reveal confidential information provided by another person;
  • Threaten the safety or health of an individual;
  • Reveal confidential commercial information;
  • Interfere with an investigation or proceeding; or
  • Reveal information protected by solicitor-client privilege, litigation privilege, or another legal privilege.

Where a requested correction is not made, we may annotate the record to show that a correction was requested.

We will respond within the period required by applicable law. Fees may apply where permitted by law, and we will advise you in advance if that is the case.

15. External Websites and Social Media

Our website contains links to third-party services and websites, including Google Maps, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

When you follow an external link, the third party may collect information from you in accordance with its own privacy policy and terms. Gosal & Company does not control and is not responsible for the privacy, security, content, or data-handling practices of third-party websites.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of those services before providing personal information.

16. Privacy Incidents

If we become aware of unauthorized access, use, disclosure, loss, or another security incident involving personal information, we will investigate and respond in accordance with applicable law and our professional obligations.

Depending on the circumstances, our response may include containing the incident, securing affected systems, notifying affected individuals or regulators, and taking steps to reduce the likelihood of a similar incident occurring again.

17. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes to:

  • Our services or legal practice;
  • The website and its technologies;
  • Our service providers;
  • Privacy legislation or regulatory guidance; or
  • Our information-handling practices.

The updated policy will be posted on our website with a revised “Last updated” date. Material changes may also be communicated in another appropriate manner.

18. Contacting the Privacy Officer

Gosal & Company has designated a Privacy Officer to oversee compliance with this Privacy Policy and applicable privacy legislation.

Questions, access requests, correction requests, and privacy complaints may be directed to:

Privacy Officer
 Gosal & Company Barristers & Solicitors
 #304–9639 137A Street
Surrey, British Columbia
V3T 0M1

Telephone: 604-591-8187
Fax: 604-591-8126
Email: info@gosalandcompany.com
Email subject line: Privacy Request

Please provide enough information for us to understand and respond to your request. Do not send sensitive identification documents by regular email unless we specifically ask you to do so and provide appropriate instructions.

If you submit a complaint, we will investigate it and respond within a reasonable period. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia.