1. Who we are

MJW Attorneys Incorporated is a law practice based in Hermanus, South Africa. For the purposes of POPIA, we are the “Responsible Party” for personal information collected through this website and in the course of providing legal services.

2. Our Information Officer

Megan Wentzel is the appointed Information Officer for the firm. You can reach her directly for any privacy-related query or request:

Email: megan@mjwattorneys.co.za

Phone: +27 74 500 7082
Address: Unit 7 Hemel-En-Aarde Craft Village, Village Lane

Sandbaai, Hermanus

7200

3. What personal information we collect

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

• Contact details you provide via our contact forms, email, or WhatsApp (name, phone number, email address).
• Information you share when instructing us or seeking a consultation, including matter-specific details relevant to family law or civil litigious matters.
• Information submitted through our pro bono intake form.
• Basic technical information collected automatically by our website host (such as browser type and pages visited), for the purpose of keeping the site running securely.

4. Why we process your information

We process personal information to:

• Respond to consultation requests and provide legal services;
• Assess and administer pro bono applications;
• Meet our professional, regulatory, and legal obligations (including obligations to the Legal Practice Council and, where applicable, courts);
• Communicate with you about your matter; and
• Maintain the security and proper functioning of this website.

5. Legal basis for processing

We rely on one or more of the following grounds recognised under POPIA: your consent (for example, submitting a contact form), the necessity of processing to perform a legal service you have requested, and our compliance with a legal obligation.

6. Sharing of information

We do not sell personal information. We may share information with third parties only where necessary to carry out your instructions (for example, with courts, opposing attorneys, mediators, or counsel), where required by law, or with your consent.

7. Retention

We retain client files and related personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services and to meet our professional and regulatory record-keeping obligations, after which records are securely destroyed or de-identified.

8. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information in our possession against loss, unauthorised access, and disclosure.

9. Your rights

Under POPIA, you have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you, request correction or deletion of that information, object to processing on reasonable grounds, and lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe your information has been mishandled.

Information Regulator (South Africa): inforegulator.org.za

10. Cookies

This website does not use tracking or advertising cookies. Third-party embeds (such as the Google Map on our homepage) may set their own cookies in line with their respective privacy policies.

11. Changes to this notice

We may update this notice from time to time. The date at the top reflects the most recent update.

12. Contact us

For any question about this notice or how your information is handled, please contact our Information Officer using the details in section 2 above.