ecmfocus.co.uk - Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 21 May 2026

1. Introduction

Welcome to ECMFOCUS LTD ("we", "us", or "our") provide professional McKenzie Friend Services to assist individuals in family court proceedings. We are committed to respecting and protecting your privacy, including any sensitive information shared with us. We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

This policy explains how we handle your personal data including : collection, processing, storage and sharing when you engage with our systems and services, in compliance with the UK GDPR Act 2018, the Data Use and Access Act 2025. We process your data primarily on the basis of Contractual Necessity and Legal Obligation.

Legal Disclaimer: ECMFOCUS LTD is not a law firm, we are not solicitors or barristers and are not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Our services do not include "reserved legal activities" as defined by the Legal Services Act 2007, any support or services provided do not constitute as legal advice. We operate to provide assistance within the guidance of family court practice, by engaging in any form of assistance or service, you agree to the service use terms outlined.

2. Information We Collect

To provide a versatile and professional client engagement, we may collect/process including the following information through website forms, phone calls, emails, face-to-face meetings, and any other client communication or interaction:

• Identity & Contact Data

Full Name, Title, Gender and Residential Address

Date of Birth, Email Address, and Telephone Numbers

• Case-Specific Information

Details of your family law situation and any information you provide to us including : Court bundles, expert reports/evidence, statements, applications, and history of proceedings

• Financial Disclosure (such as Form E/D81)

Bank statements, property valuations, and mortgage records

Pension valuations (CEVs), business interests, assets and liabilities

Employment Data: National Insurance (NI) Number, P45, P60 and Payslips

Any other information related to Divorce/Financial Ancillary Matters

• Special Category Data

Sensitive information within court documents (e.g., health data or racial/ethnic origin)

Personal data relating to minors (children) for Child Arrangements or Divorce purposes

• Technical & Third-Party Data

IP addresses and browsing patterns via website cookies

Information from publicly available sources such as HM Land Registry or other parties involved in your legal proceedings where relevant

• Payment Details

Stripe: Payments are processed securely via Stripe. We do not store your card details.

Direct Bank Transfers: We retain records of payments made directly to our company bank account for tax and accounting purposes.

• Marketing Research/Referral : self-reported

Optional Data collected on website forms to identify marketing channels and verify external referral code which may entitle a discounted service element

Unsolicited Information & Pre-Engagement Disclosure

Important: If you send us documents or personal data (including sensitive court papers) via email or other means prior to a formal engagement or before reading this policy, the following applies:

1. Receipt is not Engagement: Sending us information does not establish a McKenzie Friend-Client relationship. We do not review unsolicited documents until an engagement is confirmed.

2. Confidentiality & Security: Any unsolicited data received will be treated with the same high level of confidentiality and security as client data.

3. Automatic Deletion: In the event we do not enter into a formal engagement or agreement with you within 30 days of receiving unsolicited data, all such information will be permanently deleted from our systems.

Lawful Bases for Processing

We only process your data when the law allows us to. We rely on the following bases:

• Contractual Necessity: To perform the McKenzie Friend services you have requested.

• Legal Claims (Article 9(2)(f) UK GDPR): Processing sensitive "Special Category" data as it is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims in court.

• Legal Obligation: We are statutorily required to retain financial records for 6 years to comply with HMRC tax laws and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations.

• Legitimate Interests: To manage and respond to initial inquiries (including unsolicited communications) to determine if we can assist you.

3. How We Use Your Information

We may use the information we collect as needed to deliver our professional McKenzie Friend services and to comply with our legal obligations. Specifically, we use your data/information for the following purposes:

• Service Delivery & Case Management

To provide practical assistance and support in your family court proceedings.

To assist in the preparation and organisation of case matters, court documents, bundles, statements, and applications (such as C100, Child Arrangements).

To review and help organise your financial disclosure (such as Form E/D81) for divorce or financial remedy cases.

• Communication & Client Engagement

To contact you regarding your case via email, phone, video call, or other client interactive services.

To respond to your initial inquiries and provide a versatile, responsive service tailored to your needs.

• Billing & Financial Compliance

To process payments via Stripe or manage through direct bank transfers.

To maintain accurate business records and tax accounts in compliance with HMRC regulations.

• Identity Verification & Conflict Checks

To verify your identity and ensure we do not have a conflict of interest

To prevent the fraudulent use of our services and ensure the security of the information shared with us.

• Legal & Regulatory Obligations

To defend our legal rights or respond to any professional negligence claims (supported by our 6-year retention period).

To comply with any court orders regarding the disclosure or handling of information.

• AI Technology

Analysis: AI tools may process text for efficiency; your data is not used to train public models.

Imagery: All images of people in the image carousel gallery on ecmfocus.co.uk including site graphics are AI-generated and do not represent real individuals.

• Website Improvement (Automated Data)

To analyse how our website is used and to ensure our digital services are functioning correctly for all users.

We will never sell or rent your information, or share your data with a third party for marketing purposes.

4. Data Retention and Security

We only retain your personal data for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

Retention Periods

• Case Files and Financial Records: In accordance with the Limitation Act 1980 and HMRC tax regulations, we retain client files, case-related data, and financial transaction records for a period of 6 years from the date the matter is closed or the final invoice is paid, unless a legal obligation necessitates to keep data for any longer period, in such situations periodical reviews will be carried to ensure the need to continue to hold the data with relevant safeguards in place. This allows us to comply with statutory tax obligations and to defend our legal rights.

• Unsolicited or Non-Engaged Data: If you provide data/documents and a formal engagement of services is not commenced, we will delete your data within 30 days, unless we are required to keep it to document a conflict of interest check.

• Identity Verification Documents: Scans of ID provided for verification purposes when requested are kept for the duration of our engagement and archived for the 6-year period to verify the identity of the fee-payer to HMRC.

Data Security

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, accessed, modified or disclosed in an unauthorised way. Devices are secured with strong passwords, PINs, or biometric locks (Fingerprint/FaceID) and are set to "auto-lock" after a short period of inactivity. Google Workspace uses robust cloud-encrypted storage by default for all data at rest (stored) and in transit (moving) including AES-256 encryption. Despite the appropriate safeguards and efforts to secure your information, no electronic transmission over the Internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, transmission of personal information to and from our Services is at your own risk. You should only access the Services within a secure environment.

• Access Control: Access to your data is strictly limited to those who have a business "need to know" to perform the requested services.

• Secure Disposal: Once the retention period expires, all digital data is permanently erased using secure deletion methods and any physical documents are professionally shredded. Unless a legal obligation necessitates to keep data for any longer period.

Data Transfers

Our website is hosted on Google Sites, and we use Google Workspace infrastructure including email. Your data may be processed on servers located outside the UK or EEA. In such cases, we ensure that the transfer is protected by appropriate safeguards, such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the ICO.

5. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal data. We only share your information with third parties when it is necessary to provide our services or to comply with legal obligations:

• Service Processors:

Stripe: To process your payments securely. Stripe acts as a separate data controller for payment processing.

Google Workspace: For secure email communication and encrypted cloud storage of your case files.

• Legal & Professional Necessity:

The Court & Other Parties: To assist you in your proceedings, we may share documents with the Court or other parties as directed by you.

Professional Advisors: We may share data with our insurers, accountants or legal advisors and any such parties if necessary to defend our legal rights.

• Legal Obligations:

We may disclose your data if required by law, a court order or to comply with a request from a regulatory body like HMRC/ICO.

6. Your Legal Rights

Under the UK GDPR and the Data Use and Access Act 2025, you have several rights regarding your data:

• Right of Access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

• Right to Rectification: You can ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.

• Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): You may request that we delete your data. Note: We may legally refuse this request if we must retain the data to comply with HMRC tax laws or for the defence of legal claims (the 6-year rule).

• Right to Restrict or Object: You can object to us processing your data in certain circumstances.

• Right to Complain: You have the right to lodge a complaint regarding our data handling.

7. Cookies

We use Google Workspace infrastructure and any cookies used will be necessary to run the website to provide the services, please view Google policy for further information.

8. Changes to this policy

Please check this page for the active policy terms prior to engagement of service as we may update Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be published on this page and where appropriate notified to you by email.

9. Contact US

How to Exercise Your Rights or Make a Complaint

If you wish to exercise any of these rights or have a complaint about how we handle your data:

1. Contact Us: Please email us at : support@ecmfocus.co.uk , FAO : Data Protection Officer (DPO).

2. The ICO: If you remain unsatisfied, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk .