Privacy Policy

The operator of eLawyers.pk is the data controller for personal data processed through the Platform's core infrastructure, including account records, verification files, directory listings, messaging metadata, and security logs.

Where an advocate or law firm communicates with a client, exchanges documents, or renders advice outside the Platform pursuant to a separate retainer, that advocate or firm acts as an independent controller for the resulting matter data, and this Policy does not govern that independent processing.

This Policy applies to all personal data processed in connection with the Platform, regardless of whether the data subject holds a registered account, and supplements our Terms of Use, Cookie Policy, and Confidentiality Notice.

Personal data. any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person, including names, contact details, identity documents, professional credentials, and device identifiers.

Sensitive data. personal data revealing matters such as criminal allegations, health information incidentally disclosed in a consultation request, or government-issued identity numbers, which we handle with heightened access restrictions.

Processing. any operation performed on personal data, including collection, storage, verification, transmission, disclosure, retention, and deletion.

Verification documents. identity proofs, bar council enrolment certificates, chamber or office evidence, and related materials submitted by an advocate for review by our verification officers.

Account and profile data. Full name, email address, mobile number, password hash, account role (client, advocate, firm representative, officer, or administrator), and preferences supplied at registration or through account settings.

Verification data. Government-issued identity documents, Pakistan Bar Council or Provincial Bar Council enrolment numbers and certificates, office address and photographs, and any supplementary evidence requested during review by a verification officer.

Directory and listing data. Practice areas, courts of practice, languages spoken, years of call, firm affiliation, consultation modes, and any biography or fee-arrangement notes an advocate chooses to publish.

Communications and case-coordination data. Consultation inquiries, in-Platform messages, appointment requests and confirmations, review submissions, complaint filings, and metadata describing when and between whom such communications occurred.

Documents. Files uploaded to your account, attached to a consultation, or transmitted via a document share link, together with associated metadata such as file name, size, checksum, and malware-scan result.

Technical and security data. IP address, browser and device characteristics, session and multi-factor authentication events, CAPTCHA challenge outcomes, rate-limit triggers, and audit-log entries generated by your use of the Platform.

Cookies. Data collected via cookies and similar technologies as described in our Cookie Policy.

To create and administer accounts, authenticate sign-in, and enforce role-based access to client, advocate, officer, and administrator features.

To operate credential verification, including review of submitted documents by verification officers, conflict-of-interest and duplicate-listing checks, and periodic reverification.

To enable directory search, profile discoverability, consultation inquiries, messaging, appointment scheduling, document exchange (including time-limited share links), reviews, and complaint handling.

To detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, impersonation, malware distribution, abuse of messaging or review systems, and other conduct that threatens the security or integrity of the Platform.

To send transactional notifications (such as appointment confirmations, verification decisions, and security alerts), respond to support requests, and, where you have consented, send service updates.

To comply with legal obligations, respond to lawful requests from courts, bar councils, or law enforcement, and enforce our Terms of Use and related policies.

We do not sell personal data, and we do not use client consultation content to serve third-party advertising.

Performance of a contract: processing necessary to provide the account, directory, messaging, appointment, and document features you request.

Legitimate interests: processing for security, fraud and malware prevention, verification integrity, service reliability, and product improvement, balanced against your rights and reasonable expectations.

Consent: processing for optional communications, non-essential cookies, and any feature that presents a clear opt-in, which you may withdraw at any time without affecting processing already carried out.

Legal obligation: processing necessary to comply with applicable law, respond to valid legal process, or cooperate with a competent bar council or regulator.

Service providers. Hosting, database, email, SMS, malware-scanning, and analytics providers who process data on our behalf under contractual confidentiality and security obligations, strictly to the extent necessary to deliver the Platform.

Other users. When you submit an inquiry, message, appointment request, or document share link, the recipient advocate, client, or firm representative you have addressed receives the corresponding personal data necessary to respond.

Verification counterparties. Where reasonably necessary to confirm credentials, we may make limited enquiries with a Pakistan Bar Council, Provincial Bar Council, or comparable professional body, disclosing only the information required for that confirmation.

Legal and safety disclosures. We may disclose personal data where required by law, in response to a valid court order or lawful request from an investigative authority, or where necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of Platform users or the public.

Corporate transactions. In connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets, personal data may be transferred subject to confidentiality commitments consistent with this Policy.

We retain account and profile data for as long as the account remains active and for a reasonable period thereafter to address disputes, complaints, or legal requirements.

Verification documents are retained for the duration of active listing status and for a defined post-suspension period to support reverification, audits, and complaint investigations, after which they are securely deleted absent a legal hold.

Documents uploaded for case coordination follow retention settings configured by administrators, which may shorten default retention once a matter is marked closed, subject to any applicable legal hold.

Security and audit logs are retained for a period sufficient to investigate incidents and satisfy compliance obligations, after which they are aggregated or deleted in the ordinary course.

Where you submit an account deletion request, we process it after the grace period described in our account settings, unless earlier deletion is legally required or later deletion is necessary to complete an active legal hold, complaint, or dispute.

Access and portability: you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you in a structured, commonly used format.

Correction: you may update most profile and account information directly, and may request correction of data you cannot edit yourself.

Deletion: you may request deletion of your account and associated personal data, subject to retention exceptions described in Article 7.

Discoverability control: verified advocates may enable or disable public directory visibility from their security or profile settings at any time without deleting the underlying account.

Communication preferences: you may opt out of non-essential notifications while continuing to receive transactional messages necessary to operate your account.

To exercise these rights, contact privacy@elawyers.pk. We may request additional information to verify your identity before acting on a request.

We apply encryption in transit, hashed credential storage, row-level security on databases, and private object storage with authenticated, time-limited access for uploaded documents.

We support multi-factor authentication for accounts, use CAPTCHA or equivalent challenge-based protections on sensitive forms, and apply rate limiting to deter automated abuse.

Uploaded files are scanned for malware before being made available for download, and document share links are time-limited, revocable, and access-logged.

We maintain audit logs of security-relevant events and review them to detect anomalous account activity, in accordance with our internal security procedures.

No system is completely secure. You should use a strong, unique password, enable multi-factor authentication where offered, and notify us promptly at support@elawyers.pk of any suspected unauthorised access.

The Platform is intended for use by persons who have attained the age of majority under the laws of Pakistan and who have legal capacity to seek or provide legal services.

We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If we become aware that a minor has provided personal data without appropriate consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete such data.

We may update this Policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by a revised effective or last-updated date on this page, and, where appropriate, communicated through the Platform.

Continued use of the Platform after an update takes effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy, to the extent permitted by law.

Privacy questions, access, correction, or deletion requests should be directed to privacy@elawyers.pk. General support enquiries may be sent to support@elawyers.pk, and formal legal notices to legal@elawyers.pk.