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Privacy Policy and SMS Terms of Service

Employment Law Advocates  |  employmentlawadvocates.ca

Effective date: June 1, 2026

1. Who We Are

Lluc Cerda Professional Corporation and, in British Columbia, Lluc Cerda Professional Law Corporation, operating as Employment Law Advocates (“Employment Law Advocates,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), is an employment law firm based in Calgary, Alberta. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use and share it, and how we protect it when you visit employmentlawadvocates.ca, contact us, become a client, or communicate with us by telephone, email, or text message (SMS).

Section 9 of this Policy contains our SMS Terms of Service, which apply to anyone who agrees to receive text messages from us.

2. Personal Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

  • Contact information, such as your name, email address, mailing address, and telephone numbers, including your mobile phone number.
  • Information about your legal matter, such as your employment history, the circumstances of your dismissal or workplace concern, compensation and benefits information, and documents you provide to us. Where relevant to your matter, this may include sensitive information such as health or financial information.
  • Text message information, including your mobile phone number, the content of messages exchanged with us, the date and time of those messages, a record of your consent to receive text messages (how and when it was given and what you agreed to), and any opt-out request.
  • Website information, including information you submit through our website contact form and technical information such as your IP address, browser type, and pages visited, collected through cookies or similar analytics tools.
  • Information from others, such as employers, opposing parties, witnesses, and other professionals, where collected in the course of your legal matter with your authorization or as permitted by law.

3. How We Use Personal Information

We use personal information to:

  • respond to your inquiry, perform conflict checks, and determine whether we can assist you;
  • provide legal services and communicate with you about your inquiry or legal matter;
  • schedule consultations and appointments and send related confirmations and reminders;
  • send you text messages that you have agreed to receive, as described in Section 9;
  • open and administer your file, including billing and accounts;
  • meet our legal, regulatory, and professional obligations, including those of the Law Society of Alberta; and
  • operate, secure, and improve our website.

We do not use your mobile phone number or your text message consent to send marketing or promotional text messages.

4. How We Share Personal Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We disclose personal information only as follows:

  • Service providers. We use trusted service providers to support our operations, such as our business telephone and messaging provider, website host, practice management and document storage systems, and IT support. These providers may access personal information only to perform services for us and are required to protect it.
  • With your consent or at your direction. In advancing your legal matter, we may share information with opposing parties or their counsel, courts, tribunals, mediators, experts, and others, as authorized by you.
  • As required or permitted by law. For example, in response to a court order or to meet our regulatory obligations to the Law Society of Alberta.

Text message consent is never shared. No mobile opt-in or text message consent will be shared with third parties or affiliates. All of the categories of disclosure described above exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.

5. Confidentiality and Solicitor-Client Privilege

As lawyers, we owe our clients a professional duty of confidentiality, and communications made for the purpose of obtaining legal advice may be protected by solicitor-client privilege. Please keep the following in mind:

  • Contacting us does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Please do not send confidential details through our website contact form or by text message until we have confirmed that we can act for you.
  • Text messages are not a secure channel. Standard SMS is not encrypted end to end and may be stored on your device and by your wireless carrier. We use text messaging for convenience, such as scheduling and brief updates, and will avoid sending detailed legal advice or sensitive information by text. Please do not text us highly sensitive information or documents unless we have agreed to that method.
  • Do not use a work device or account. Your employer may be able to access messages sent or received on an employer-issued phone, email account, or network. Please communicate with us only through personal devices and accounts.
  • Text messages form part of your file. Messages exchanged with us about your matter are kept as part of your client file.

6. Consent

We collect, use, and disclose personal information with your consent, except where otherwise permitted or required by law. You may withdraw your consent at any time on reasonable notice, subject to legal or contractual restrictions. If you withdraw consent, we will explain any consequences, such as our inability to continue providing certain services. You can withdraw consent to text messages at any time by replying STOP, as described in Section 9.

7. Safeguards and Storage Outside Canada

We protect personal information using physical, organizational, and technological safeguards appropriate to its sensitivity, including access controls, password protection, and restricting access to personnel who need it.

Some of our service providers, including our telephone and text messaging provider, may store or process personal information outside Canada, including in the United States. While outside Canada, personal information is subject to the laws of that jurisdiction and may be accessible to its courts, law enforcement, and national security authorities. For information about our policies and practices regarding service providers outside Canada, or to ask questions about their collection, use, disclosure, or storage of personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer (Section 12).

8. Retention

We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Policy and to meet our legal and professional obligations, including the Law Society of Alberta’s file retention requirements. Records of text message consent and opt-out requests are retained for as long as we send text messages to you and for four years afterward, to document compliance. Information is then securely destroyed or anonymized.

9. SMS Terms of Service

9.1 Types of text messages

If you consent to receive text messages from Employment Law Advocates, you agree to receive the following types of messages:

  • Conversational messages: two-way messages with our lawyers and staff about your inquiry or legal matter, used as an alternative to email or telephone. Examples include scheduling, requests for documents or information, and brief updates on your matter.
  • Inquiry and appointment messages: automated or staff-sent messages relating to an inquiry you submitted, such as confirmation that we received your website contact form, next steps, consultation scheduling, and appointment reminders.

We do not send marketing or promotional text messages.

9.2 How you consent

You may consent to receive text messages from us by:

  • texting us first at 403-536-6960, in which case we may reply to your message and continue the conversation;
  • checking the optional SMS consent box on our website contact form at https://employmentlawadvocates.ca/contact/; or
  • agreeing verbally or in writing, for example in your retainer agreement or by email, to receive text messages from us.

Consent to receive text messages is not a condition of contacting us, retaining us, or receiving any service. You may always choose to communicate with us by telephone or email instead.

9.3 Message frequency and costs

Message frequency varies depending on your inquiry or matter. Message and data rates may apply according to your wireless plan.

9.4 Opting out and getting help

You can opt out at any time by replying STOP to any message from us. We also honour END, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, QUIT, and ARRET. After you opt out, you will receive one message confirming your opt-out and no further text messages from any of our numbers. To opt back in, reply START.

For assistance, reply HELP (or AIDE), email us at info@employmentlawadvocates.ca, call us at 403-536-6960, or visit employmentlawadvocates.ca.

9.5 Your mobile number

By consenting, you confirm that you are the account holder or an authorized user of the mobile number you provide. Please let us know if you change or give up that number so that we can update our records.

9.6 Carriers

Wireless carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

9.7 Privacy

No mobile opt-in or text message consent will be shared with third parties or affiliates. Information collected through text messaging is otherwise handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

10. Access, Correction, and Complaints

You may request access to, or correction of, the personal information we hold about you by contacting our Privacy Officer. We will respond within the time required by law. Access may be limited in some circumstances, for example where information is subject to solicitor-client privilege belonging to another person.

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer first. If we are unable to resolve your concern, you may contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta (oipc.ab.ca).

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. The updated version will be posted on this page with a new effective date. We will not make changes that reduce the protection of your text message consent without notice to you.

12. Contact Us

Privacy Officer: Lluc Cerda

Employment Law Advocates

1816 Crowchild Trail NW, Suite 700, Calgary, Alberta T2M 3Y7

Email: lluc.cerda@employmentlawadvocates.ca|  Telephone: 403-536-6960

Website: employmentlawadvocates.ca

Compliance Framework

✓ Law Society of Alberta Code of Conduct (Rules 3.1-2, 3.2-1, 3.3 and 3.5)
✓ Alberta Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)
✓ Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
✓ Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)
✓ Office of Information & Privacy Commissioner (OIPC)
✓ RingCentral Security Standards
✓ RingCentral SMS registration (TCR) and wireless carrier messaging requirements