Discover how Timelex, a boutique IT/IP law firm built a custom legal solution on the ClauseBase automation engine to improve access to and exercise of legal rights under the GDPR.
Timelex is a boutique law firm specialized in information technology, privacy & data protection, intellectual property, and media & electronic communication. Since its founding in 2007, the firm has consistently been ranked as a top-tier firm in its area of expertise by such law firm rankings as Legal 500and Chambers.
The General Data Protection Regulation introduced and re-affirmed a host of rights related to an individual’s personal data. Knowing about those rights is one thing, but exercising them is something else entirely. A lack of structure or standardization in the process of filing requests frequently stifled individuals wishing to exercise these rights. The organisations processing these personal data were also often at a loss for how to respond to these requests and which information(not) to include.
In response to the general sense of confusion faced by both natural and legal persons, the Belgian Data Protection Authority published a collection of template forms to facilitate the procedure. These templates were a welcome resource but asa series of static documents, they did little to guide users through the drafting process. They did not solve the problem of confusion among its intended audience.
The enterprising lawyers at Timelex saw the foundations of a solution that could solve this problem in this base material provided by the Data Protection Authority. Based on their own prior experience advising on the exercise of data subject rights under the GDPR, they started by shoring up the gaps that still existed in the base templates, and then they were off to the races.
Armed with the base material provided by the DPA – now enhanced with their own expertise on the matter – Timelex set its internal ClauseBase author to work. That author, attorney Bernd Fiten, had the following to say:
“I had used ClauseBase in the past to create a range of automated documents which we frequently provide to our clients.Things like privacy statements, data processing agreements, cookie notices, etc. I’ve really enjoyed finding new and exciting ways to make our knowledge available to clients. When theDPA templates were released, I was already looking at them through the “ClauseBase lens” and immediately saw the opportunity to improve the forms through ClauseBase. Its simplicity in use made the generator a great success. We are very excited to be able to offer these automated solutions to our cli‐ents.”
Through Bernd’s translation of the legal material to an automated format, Timelex created Rightso, a specialized tool to help individuals and companies alike navigate the complexities of exercising GDPR-granted rights. With the help of a simple set of questions, anyone can generate a GDPR requestor response in either Dutch, French or English. Filing a tailored request or response becomes as easy as clicking a button.
As a firm specialized in data protection, processing these personal data in a compliant manner was of course a priority. The ClauseBase team worked with Timelex to set up a unique instance of the software that generates all documents from within the browser, with no server contact needed. This means that the ClauseBase servers never actually process any of the personal data submitted by Rightso users.
The Result
Timelex continues to explore tailored legal solutions for its clients by leveraging its own expertise with ClauseBase. In the future, the firm intends to continue analyzing opportunities to create legal products like Rightso where it makes sense for clients. The firm is also offering its automation expertise to clients looking to engage the firm in their own automation projects.
Edwin Jacobs, Partner at Timelex says:
“We are an ambitious law firm and are constantly striving to support our clients in the best way we can. ClauseBase allows us to continue to fulfil these ambitions. Keeping pace with our clients’ evolving needs is an everyday challenge. Therefore, we try to think along with them to provide legal services in a way that is intuitive and clear. Offering legal solutions like our Rightso generator is a great example of how we put our clients’ needs first .”
Have a look at Rightso here.
