Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

1.1. Introduction to Data Governance

Legal practice in Pakistan, whether in property, civil, criminal, tax, or corporate matters, depends on clients being able to speak candidly to their counsel. That candour is only possible where confidentiality is absolute. Our Lahore practice handles title deeds, financial records, family circumstances, and, in criminal matters, information that carries direct consequences for a client's liberty. We treat the protection of that information as inseparable from the professional duty we owe you.

Pakistan has not enacted a comprehensive data protection statute. The obligations we describe below therefore do not rest on a general privacy regulator; they rest on the professional-privilege protections available under Pakistani law, on the conduct rules of the Bar Councils to which our barristers are answerable, and on the contractual undertakings we give each client. We regard these as binding, and we have chosen to extend several protections, including access and correction rights, that no Pakistani statute currently compels.

[TO CONFIRM: the individual who holds overall accountability for data handling in the Lahore office: name and title] holds ultimate responsibility for the practices set out in this policy. Enquiries about this policy should be directed to that person at info@uhalegal.com.

1.2. Identity of the Practice and Regulatory Standing

This policy is issued by the Lahore practice operating at uhalegal.com. Our practice is legally distinct from our UK office at uhalegal.co.uk; the two coordinate on UK immigration matters but are separately constituted and separately accountable. The specific details of our standing and contact are as follows:

• Legal Entity: [TO CONFIRM: registered entity name and legal form, e.g. partnership, sole proprietorship, or company]
• Registration: [TO CONFIRM: SECP / registrar number, or confirmation that the practice is an unregistered partnership of advocates]
• Office Address: 507 High Q Tower, Jail Road, Gulberg, Lahore, Pakistan.
• Bar Enrolment: Our barristers are enrolled with the Punjab Bar Council and are barristers of the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn. [TO CONFIRM: enrolment numbers]
• SRA Status: Members of our team are registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority as Foreign Registered Lawyers. [TO CONFIRM: SRA registration numbers, and confirmation of which named individuals hold this status]
• Direct Contact: info@uhalegal.com.

Please note that registration with the SRA as a Foreign Registered Lawyer is a registration of the individual lawyer. It is not a grant of authorisation to this practice to carry out reserved legal activities in England and Wales, and it does not place this practice under SRA supervision for the Pakistani legal work described in this policy.

1.3. Basis for Processing and Data Categorisation

We process your information on three grounds: the contractual necessity of performing the work you have instructed us to do; compliance with obligations imposed on us by Pakistani law and by court or Bar Council process; and your consent, where we seek it expressly. We do not process client information for any purpose beyond advancing the matter you have instructed us on.

Where we prepare or review UK immigration applications, that work involves transferring your information to our UK office and, in turn, to the Home Office. Because that work is directed at individuals in the United Kingdom, UK data protection law may apply to it in addition to the protections described here. [TO CONFIRM: whether the practice relies on the UK office's UK GDPR compliance for this work, or has taken its own advice on extraterritorial application under Article 3(2). This determines what we can accurately state here]

We categorise the information we hold into the following tiers of sensitivity:

Communications between you and your counsel for the purpose of obtaining legal advice attract professional privilege under Pakistani law. We will not disclose privileged material to any third party except where you direct us to, or where a court of competent jurisdiction compels disclosure and no privilege objection is available.

1.4. Storage, Security, and Retention

[TO CONFIRM: the Lahore office's actual electronic storage arrangement: named practice management system or cloud provider, whether two factor authentication is enforced, and who has access] The paragraph that follows describes intended practice and must be verified against what the office does today before this page is published.

Electronic files are held in a secure, access-controlled system. Access is limited to the counsel and staff working on your matter. Client information is not stored on unprotected personal devices or removable media. Physical documents and original instruments, particularly title deeds and original certificates, are held at our Gulberg office in locked, fire-resistant storage, and originals are returned to the client on conclusion of the matter.

We retain closed files for [TO CONFIRM: retention period for the Pakistan practice, and its basis. The UK office's 7-year period is set by its own regulator and does not carry over; consider limitation periods under the Limitation Act 1908 and any tax record keeping requirement] after which digital records are permanently deleted and physical records are cross-cut shredded on site.

1.5. Your Rights Over Your Information

Although Pakistani law does not currently confer a general statutory right of access to personal data held by a private practice, we extend the following rights to every client as a matter of contract and professional standard: the right to ask what information we hold about you and to receive a copy; the right to have inaccurate information corrected; the right to have information deleted, where we are not required to retain it; and the right to object to a particular use of your information.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@uhalegal.com. We will respond within [TO CONFIRM: response window the office can realistically meet]. Where we cannot comply, for example where retention is required by law or where deletion would prejudice a live matter, we will tell you why.

2.1. Professional Standards

These Terms govern the relationship between this practice and its clients and supplement, but do not replace, the engagement letter you sign at the outset of your matter. Where the two conflict, the engagement letter prevails.

Our barristers are enrolled with the Punjab Bar Council and are subject to the conduct rules made under the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act 1973, including the Canons of Professional Conduct. They are barristers of the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, and members of the team are registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority as Foreign Registered Lawyers.

2.2. Scope of Our UK Immigration Work

This is the most important limitation on our service, and we state it plainly. From our Lahore office we prepare and review UK immigration applications, assess eligibility, and organise supporting evidence. We do this in coordination with our UK office, which carries the UK regulatory permissions for that work.

[TO CONFIRM: this section must be confirmed against how the two offices actually divide the work, and against the IAA's rules on who may give UK immigration advice from outside the UK. The wording below is a starting position, not a settled one]

Where your matter requires UK immigration advice, that advice is given by our UK office and you will be engaged by that office under its own terms. The Lahore practice does not hold UK regulatory authorisation to advise on UK immigration matters in its own right, and nothing on this website should be read as an offer to do so.

2.3. Fees and Payments

[TO CONFIRM: the entire fee model for the Lahore practice: fixed fee or hourly, whether advance payments are taken, whether a client account is operated, accepted payment methods, and the treatment of court fees, stamp duty, and registration charges]

The UK office's “no client money” and invoice-only model, its Airwallex account, and its VAT position are specific to that entity and its regulator. None of it has been carried across to this page, because none of it can be assumed to describe the Lahore practice. Please confirm what is actually true here.

2.4. Client Responsibilities

The outcome of any matter depends on the quality and honesty of the instructions we receive. You are responsible for providing full, accurate, and timely documentation. We accept no liability for adverse outcomes, rejections, or delays caused by evidence that is missing, late, incomplete, or untrue.

This obligation is at its most serious in UK immigration matters, where a false representation, even one made without dishonest intent, can result in refusal and a long-term re-entry ban. We will not submit an application we know or suspect to be founded on inaccurate evidence, and we will withdraw from a matter rather than do so.

2.5. Complaints and Regulatory Escalation

If you are dissatisfied, please write in the first instance to [TO CONFIRM: name and title of the person who handles complaints in the Lahore office] at info@uhalegal.com. We will acknowledge your complaint within [TO CONFIRM: acknowledgement window], investigate it, and provide a written conclusion within [TO CONFIRM: final response window].

If our response does not resolve the matter, you may escalate to the body with jurisdiction over the counsel concerned:

• Punjab Bar Council: Complaints about the professional conduct of an enrolled advocate may be made to the Bar Council's Disciplinary Committee. [TO CONFIRM: current address and complaints contact for the Punjab Bar Council]
• Solicitors Regulation Authority: Complaints concerning a Foreign Registered Lawyer's conduct in connection with England and Wales may be made to the SRA. [TO CONFIRM: confirm the SRA accepts complaints on this basis for the individuals concerned]

Complaints about our UK office should be directed to that office under the procedure set out at uhalegal.co.uk, which escalates to the Immigration Advice Authority. The IAA has no jurisdiction over the Pakistani legal work described on this page.

2.6. Governing Law

These Terms and any engagement arising from them are governed by the laws of Pakistan, and the courts at Lahore have exclusive jurisdiction. [TO CONFIRM: confirm this is the intended forum, particularly for clients instructing from the UK]