Privacy Policy

1. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to visitors, people using Smart Legal Guidance, people looking for or booking a solicitor, clients using consultation services through the platform, solicitors and law firms applying for or using membership, and people who contact Just Talk Law.

2. Who is responsible for your information

Just Talk Law is responsible for personal information processed for operation of the Just Talk Law platform. You can contact us about privacy at help@justtalklaw.co.uk or through our Contact page.

Where you speak with or instruct an independent solicitor or law firm, that solicitor or firm will normally be separately responsible for personal information they process for professional legal services. Their own privacy notice may also apply.

3. Information we may collect

Depending on how you use the service, we may collect your name, email address, telephone number, postcode or location, account and membership information, firm and regulatory details, consultation preferences, availability and booking information, payment and transaction references, communications with us, and technical information such as IP address, browser, device and security logs.

When you use Smart Legal Guidance or describe a legal problem, the information you provide may include details about a dispute, employment, family circumstances, health, finances, allegations, court or regulatory matters, or other information that may be sensitive. Please provide only information reasonably needed for us to help with the enquiry.

4. How we use personal information

We may use personal information to provide and improve the website and Smart Legal Guidance; understand and classify an enquiry; identify suitable legal areas and participating solicitors; show relevant solicitors and their contact options; pass your enquiry or consultation request to the solicitor or firm you choose; send service messages and reminders; send marketing emails only where you have opted in; administer member accounts and membership payments; verify solicitor and firm information; administer refunds and records for consultations booked before the introduction model began; respond to support requests; prevent fraud, misuse and security incidents; maintain records; and comply with legal, regulatory, tax and accounting obligations.

5. Our lawful bases

Under UK data-protection law, our lawful basis depends on the activity. We may process information because it is necessary to take steps at your request or perform a contract with you, because we have legitimate interests in operating and protecting the platform and providing the service, because we must comply with a legal obligation, or because you have given consent where consent is specifically required.

Where information is treated as special-category personal data, we process it only where an additional lawful condition applies. This may include information you have deliberately provided in order to seek legal guidance or establish, exercise or defend legal claims. We minimise use of this information to what is reasonably necessary for the relevant service.

6. AI-assisted legal guidance

Just Talk Law uses automated and AI-assisted technology to help understand the information you provide, identify the likely legal area, provide general guidance and support matching. This is not a substitute for regulated legal advice from a solicitor. We use service providers to support this technology and apply contractual and technical safeguards to information processed on our behalf.

If a matter requires professional judgment or legal advice, you should speak with a suitably qualified solicitor. A participating solicitor remains independently responsible for the professional advice they provide.

7. When we share information

We may share information with service providers that help us operate the platform, including hosting, email, security, analytics, payment, booking and technology providers. We may also share information where required by law, regulation, court order or to protect the rights, security or integrity of Just Talk Law and its users.

We do not release your contact details to a participating solicitor merely because you have used general guidance. When you send an enquiry or a consultation request to a solicitor, we share your name, telephone number, email address and the practice area you selected with that solicitor or their authorised firm, who will use it under their own privacy notice. We do not collect details of your legal problem through these forms. If you contact a solicitor by WhatsApp, telephone or email, that service and the solicitor handle the information under their own privacy arrangements.

Where a serious matter is assessed through our Smart Legal Guidance callback service, we collect the further detail needed to assess it and share it with the law firm it is referred to, as explained in that service.

8. Payments

Just Talk Law does not take payment for consultations; any consultation fee is paid directly to the solicitor or firm. Membership subscriptions paid by solicitors and firms are processed by specialist payment providers under their own security and privacy arrangements. We keep the transaction records needed for membership accounting, and for refunds or disputes about consultations booked through Just Talk Law before the introduction model began.

9. International transfers

Some technology providers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where UK data-protection law requires safeguards for an international transfer, we use appropriate contractual or other recognised safeguards through the relevant provider arrangements.

10. How long we keep information

We keep information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including providing the service, maintaining booking and financial records, resolving disputes, preventing abuse and complying with legal, tax, accounting and regulatory obligations. Retention periods vary according to the type of record and why it is held.

As a guide: a direct enquiry record (name, telephone, email and practice area) is normally deleted 30 days after it is sent if it could not be delivered, and 90 days after a successful introduction; consultation requests and Contact page messages are normally deleted after 90 days; general guidance conversations that did not become a referral are normally deleted 30 days after they end; detailed information about a serious matter is normally deleted 7 days after the receiving law firm has confirmed receipt, keeping only a minimal referral record. A record of your marketing consent is kept while the consent is active and, after you unsubscribe, only the minimum needed to respect that choice. Deleted information may remain in secure backups for a limited period until they are overwritten.

11. Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures intended to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or alteration. No online system can guarantee absolute security, so users should also protect their passwords and avoid sending unnecessary sensitive information.

12. Cookies and similar technologies

We may use essential cookies and, where permitted, other cookies or similar technologies to operate the website, remember settings, understand performance and support security. More information is available in our Cookie Policy.

13. Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, UK data-protection law may give you rights to ask for access to your personal information, correction of inaccurate information, deletion, restriction of processing, objection to certain processing, portability of information, and withdrawal of consent where processing is based on consent. These rights are not absolute and legal exemptions can apply.

To exercise a right, contact help@justtalklaw.co.uk. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

14. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we use personal information, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the independent regulator for data protection in the United Kingdom.

15. Children

Just Talk Law is not designed as a service for children to create accounts or book legal consultations independently. If information about a child is relevant to an adult's legal enquiry, provide only what is reasonably necessary and avoid unnecessary identifying details.

16. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as the platform, our service providers or legal requirements change. The latest version will be published on this page with an updated date.