Guthrie • Colananni Attorneys — effective 26 August 2026 — Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”)
1. Introduction and Purpose
1.1 Guthrie • Colananni Attorneys (“the Firm”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly, in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”).
1.2 This Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and what rights you have in relation to it. It applies to personal information we collect through our website (gclaw.co.za), in the course of providing legal services, and in our general business dealings.
2. Who We Are
2.1 Guthrie • Colananni Attorneys is the “responsible party” for personal information processed as described in this Policy.
2.2 You can contact us regarding any privacy matter, or to exercise any of the rights described below, using the details in clause 16.
3. Personal Information We Collect
3.1 Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:
- identifying information such as your name, ID or passport number, and contact details;
- information you provide when instructing us or making an enquiry, including details relevant to your legal matter;
- financial information such as banking details, where relevant to a matter or to billing;
- information submitted through website contact or enquiry forms;
- correspondence between you and the Firm; and
- technical information such as IP address and browsing behaviour on our website, collected through cookies or similar technology.
3.2 Where a matter requires it, we may also process special personal information — for example, information relating to health, criminal behaviour, or trade union membership in family, estate or litigation matters — strictly to the extent necessary to provide the relevant legal service and in accordance with POPIA.
4. How We Collect Your Information
4.1 We collect personal information directly from you, for example when you contact us, instruct us, complete a form on our website, or correspond with us by email or telephone.
4.2 We may also receive personal information from third parties in the course of a matter, such as opposing parties, correspondent attorneys, courts, or other professionals involved in your matter.
5. Purpose of Processing
5.1 We process personal information to:
- provide, administer and bill for legal services;
- communicate with you about your matter or our services;
- comply with our legal, regulatory and risk management obligations, including under the Legal Practice Act, FICA and applicable court rules;
- respond to enquiries submitted through our website;
- maintain and improve our website; and
- protect the legitimate interests of the Firm, our clients and third parties.
5.2 We process personal information only where we have a lawful basis to do so, including where processing is necessary to perform a contract with you, to comply with a legal obligation, to pursue a legitimate interest, or with your consent.
6. Disclosure of Personal Information
6.1 We may share personal information, strictly on a need-to-know basis, with:
- courts, tribunals, regulators, statutory bodies, deeds registries and other government departments as required for your matter;
- opposing attorneys, correspondent attorneys, counsel and other professionals engaged in your matter;
- service providers who support our practice, such as IT, hosting, accounting and archiving providers, under appropriate confidentiality terms; and
- any party where required or permitted by law, or with your consent.
6.2 We do not sell personal information to third parties.
7. Cross-Border Transfers
7.1 Where personal information is transferred outside South Africa — for example, to a cloud service provider — we take reasonable steps to ensure it remains subject to a level of protection substantially similar to POPIA, as required by section 72 of POPIA.
8. Security Safeguards
8.1 We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, unauthorised access, interference, alteration or destruction, including access controls, secure storage and confidentiality obligations imposed on our staff.
9. Retention of Personal Information
9.1 We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Policy, including to comply with legal, regulatory, professional and record-keeping obligations applicable to attorneys, after which it is securely deleted or de-identified.
10. Your Rights
10.1 Subject to POPIA, you have the right to:
- be notified that your personal information is being collected;
- access the personal information we hold about you;
- request correction, deletion or destruction of personal information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date, incomplete, misleading, or obtained unlawfully;
- object to the processing of your personal information on reasonable grounds;
- object to processing for purposes of direct marketing; and
- withdraw consent, where processing is based on consent, without affecting processing already carried out.
10.2 To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in clause 16.
11. Cookies and Website Analytics
11.1 Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to support functionality and to understand how visitors use the website. You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings, though this may affect how the website functions.
12. Children’s Personal Information
12.1 Our website is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children other than in the course of providing legal services where processing is necessary and lawful — for example, in family law or estate matters — and then only in accordance with POPIA.
13. Direct Marketing
13.1 We will only send you direct marketing communications in accordance with POPIA, including obtaining your consent where required. You may opt out of receiving marketing communications from us at any time by contacting us.
14. Changes to this Policy
14.1 We may update this Policy from time to time. The effective date above reflects when it was last revised. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.
15. Complaints and the Information Regulator
15.1 If you believe we have not complied with POPIA in handling your personal information, please contact us first so that we can address your concern.
15.2 You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa:
The Information Regulator (South Africa)
Address: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za / complaints.IR@justice.gov.za
Website: www.justice.gov.za/inforeg
16. Contact Us
16.1 For any questions about this Policy or how we handle your personal information:
Guthrie • Colananni Attorneys
Email: info@gclaw.co.za
Tel: +27 87 711 1888