Version 2.0 - last updated 10 November 2026

Privacy Notice

Version id privacy-v2.0-2026-11-10. SHA-256 b1876ce72c595c14c057c88a9a7a60f36b4d006a45224b51df3e46b4e8ce9f6c.

Permanent URL for this version: /legal/privacy/2026-11-10/. Download PDF.

This notice explains how Silva Lex Ltd collects and uses personal data, who we share it with, how long we keep it and your rights. It applies to visitors to our website, people who contact us or use our chat assistant, our clients and the people who work for them, and other people whose data we handle in the course of our work.

1. Who we are

1.1 Silva Lex Ltd, trading as Silva, is a legal advisory and consultancy company registered in England and Wales (number 15582690). Our registered office is 37 West Sunniside, Sunderland, England, SR1 1BU.

1.2 We are the controller of the personal data described in this notice. We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office under registration number ZB878159.

1.3 For any question about this notice or your data, email info@silvalex.co.uk or write to our registered office.

2. Whose data we handle

2.1 This notice covers:

(a) website visitors and people who send us an enquiry, sign up to our newsletter or use Elena, our website chat assistant;

(b) our clients, and the directors, employees and other people who instruct us or deal with us on a client's behalf;

(c) other people involved in our clients' matters, such as counterparties, employees, opposing parties, witnesses and their advisers;

(d) people whose details we find in public sources when carrying out research for a client;

(e) people at businesses we may contact about our services; and

(f) barristers, solicitors and other professionals we work with.

3. What we collect

3.1 Depending on how you deal with us, we may collect:

(a) identity and contact details, such as your name, job title, employer, email address, phone number and postal address;

(b) information you give us in an enquiry, chat, email, call or meeting, including recordings, transcripts and notes of calls and meetings;

(d) information about a matter, which may include employment, financial, contractual and dispute details;

(e) billing and payment details;

(f) marketing preferences; and

(g) technical information about your visit to our website, such as your IP address, browser type, the pages you visit and how long you stay. Our Cookie Policy at silvalex.co.uk/cookies has more detail.

3.2 Some matters involve special category data (for example, health information in an employment matter) or information about criminal allegations or convictions. We only handle this where it is needed for the matter.

4. Where we get it

4.1 We collect most personal data from you directly. We also receive it:

(a) from our clients, where you are involved in their matter;

(b) from public sources, such as Companies House, HM Land Registry, the Insolvency Register, court records, the press and published business profiles; and

5. Why we use it and our lawful basis

5.1 We use personal data for the purposes below. Under the UK GDPR we must have a lawful basis for each.

(a) To provide our services, manage our relationship with clients and take payment. Lawful basis: performance of our contract with you or, where you act for a client, our legitimate interest in serving that client.

(b) To handle other people's data in a client's matter, including research from public sources. Lawful basis: our and our client's legitimate interests in obtaining advice and establishing, exercising or defending legal rights.

(c) To verify identity, prevent fraud and meet our legal and insurance obligations. Lawful basis: legal obligation and our legitimate interests.

(d) To respond to enquiries and chat messages. Lawful basis: steps taken at your request before a contract, or our legitimate interests.

(e) To send our newsletter and updates about our services. Lawful basis: consent, or our legitimate interests where you are a client or a business contact. You can opt out at any time.

(f) To run, secure and improve our website, services, processes and internal tools. Lawful basis: our legitimate interests. Where we use what we learn from our work to improve our processes, we do not disclose your confidential information to anyone else.

(g) To record calls and meetings for notes and summaries. Lawful basis: our legitimate interests in keeping an accurate record. We will tell you when a call is being recorded.

5.2 We use special category data where it is needed to establish, exercise or defend legal claims or to obtain legal advice, or with your explicit consent. We use criminal offence data on the same legal claims basis, under Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 2018.

5.3 Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have weighed them against your rights. You can ask us for more detail and you can object (clause 10).

5.4 We do not sell personal data. We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing which have a legal or similarly significant effect on you.

6. Artificial intelligence

6.1 We use artificial intelligence in our work, including for research, document review, analysis, drafting, call notes and summaries. This includes Claude, provided by Anthropic, other AI services, AI features built into the business software we use, and AI tools we build and run ourselves, some of which run on our own hardware.

6.2 Elena, our website chat assistant, uses Claude. Your messages are processed by Anthropic to generate replies, and we store conversations and summaries in our own systems.

6.3 We only use AI services under business terms which protect the confidentiality of the information and do not allow the provider to use it to train its models. Our people review AI output before it is used in advice. Our AI Policy at silvalex.co.uk/ai-policy explains how we use AI.

7.1 We share personal data with service providers who handle it for us under contract, including providers of:

(a) email, document storage and office software;

(b) AI services (clause 6);

(d) client and matter management;

(e) website forms, chat and hosting;

(f) email marketing; and

(g) accounting and invoicing.

7.2 We also share personal data, where needed, with:

(a) barristers, solicitors, overseas lawyers, accountants and other professionals working on a matter;

(b) the other side of a matter and their advisers, as part of our work;

(d) courts, regulators, the police or other authorities where the law requires it; and

(e) a buyer of, or successor to, our business.

8. International transfers

8.1 Some of our service providers, including Anthropic and other AI and software providers, are based in or store data in the United States or elsewhere outside the UK.

8.2 Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we make sure it is protected by one of the safeguards UK law allows: a UK adequacy decision (including the UK-US data bridge for certified US organisations), the International Data Transfer Agreement, or the UK Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses. You can ask us for details of the safeguard used.

9. How long we keep it

9.1 We keep personal data only as long as we need it:

(a) enquiries which do not lead to an engagement: 12 months from last contact;

(b) Elena conversations and summaries: 12 months from the conversation;

(d) client files, including call recordings, transcripts and notes: seven years after the work ends;

(e) identity verification records: five years after the end of our relationship;

(f) accounting and invoicing records: six years after the end of the financial year they relate to;

(g) marketing preferences: until you unsubscribe, after which we keep only enough to make sure we do not contact you again; and

(h) website analytics: as set out in our Cookie Policy.

9.2 We may keep data longer where the law requires it or where it is needed for an actual or likely legal claim.

10. Your rights

10.1 You have the right to:

(a) access the personal data we hold about you;

(b) have inaccurate data corrected;

(d) restrict how we use your data;

(e) receive your data in a portable format;

(f) object to our use of your data where we rely on legitimate interests, and at any time to direct marketing; and

(g) withdraw your consent, where we rely on it.

10.2 Some rights are limited. For example, we may not have to provide data which is subject to legal professional privilege, or where giving it would harm a client's legal claim or another person's rights. Where a right is limited, we will tell you unless the law prevents it.

10.3 To use any of these rights, email info@silvalex.co.uk. We will respond within one month, or tell you within that time if we need longer.

11. Complaints

11.1 If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data, please complain to us first at info@silvalex.co.uk. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days, look into it without undue delay and tell you the outcome.

11.2 You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

12. Changes to this notice

12.1 We review this notice regularly and may update it. The current version is always at silvalex.co.uk/privacy, with the date it was last updated.