Legal
Privacy Policy
1. Controller
The controller responsible for data processing on this website is:
Rechtsanwalt Richard Mertens, LL.M.
Kurfürstendamm 216
10719 Berlin, Germany
Phone: +49 30 98312332
Email: info@mertens-rechtsanwalt.de
As a lawyer, I am bound by professional confidentiality (Section 43a(2) of the Federal Lawyers’ Act (BRAO), Section 203 of the German Criminal Code (StGB)). I treat all information you entrust to me as confidential.
2. General information on data processing
Personal data is any information that can be used to identify you personally. I only process your data insofar as this is necessary to provide this website, to respond to your enquiries or on the basis of your consent.
Processing is carried out on the following legal bases under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):
- Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR – your consent,
- Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR – performance of a contract and pre-contractual measures, e.g. handling your enquiry,
- Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR – legal obligations, e.g. retention periods,
- Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR – legitimate interests, e.g. the secure and proper operation of this website.
Information is only stored on, or accessed from, your device (e.g. cookies) if this is strictly necessary for technical reasons (Section 25(2) of the German Telecommunications and Digital Services Data Protection Act (TDDDG)) or if you have given your consent (Section 25(1) TDDDG).
3. Hosting
This website is hosted by STRATO GmbH, Otto-Ostrowski-Straße 7, 10249 Berlin, Germany. The servers are located in Germany. When you visit the website, STRATO processes the server log files listed below on my behalf. A data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR is in place with the provider. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR; my legitimate interest lies in providing the website securely and reliably.
Server log files
Each time the website is accessed, the following data is recorded automatically: browser type and version, operating system, referrer URL, host name of the accessing computer, date and time of the request and IP address. This data is not combined with other data sources and is deleted after no more than [enter retention period as shown in the STRATO customer area, e.g. 7 days].
SSL/TLS encryption
This website uses SSL or TLS encryption. You can recognise an encrypted connection by the padlock symbol and “https://” in your browser’s address bar. Data you send to me cannot then be read by third parties.
4. Contacting me
By phone or email
If you contact me by phone or email, I process your details (e.g. name, contact details, the content of your enquiry) in order to respond to your enquiry. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR where your enquiry relates to instructing me, and otherwise Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Please note that unencrypted emails are not fully protected against access by third parties while in transit.
Contact form
If you use the contact form, your details (name, email address, optionally your phone number, the selected matter and your message) are transmitted in encrypted form to my web space at STRATO GmbH in Germany and forwarded from there exclusively by email to my office mailbox. No third-party providers are used; the form entries are not stored on the web server. To protect against automated spam, the form checks whether a field that is invisible to humans has been filled in and how quickly the form was submitted; no additional data is collected for this purpose.
The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR where your enquiry relates to a potential mandate, and otherwise Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in responding to enquiries). A data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR is in place with STRATO.
Please only share the information via the form that is needed for an initial contact. We will discuss confidential details and documents during the consultation.
Your enquiry will be deleted once it has been dealt with in full, unless statutory retention obligations apply. If I take on your case, the professional retention periods apply (generally six years under Section 50 BRAO).
5. Consent management (cookie banner)
On your first visit to this website, you will be asked whether you consent to the use of statistics and marketing services. These services – including Google Tag Manager – are only loaded once you have actively given your consent. Without your consent, only strictly necessary functions are used. Declining has no disadvantages for your use of the website.
The consent banner is this website’s own solution; no data is transferred to third parties for it. Your choice is stored together with a time stamp, a random identifier and the version of the banner in your browser’s local storage (“rm_consent”), so that you are not asked again on every visit. You will be asked again after twelve months or if the services used change. The legal basis is Section 25(2) no. 2 TDDDG and Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR in conjunction with Art. 7(1) GDPR (proof of consent).
You can withdraw or change your consent at any time with effect for the future – just as easily as you gave it: . The “Cookie settings” link can also be found at the bottom of every page. When you withdraw consent, any cookies already set by the services concerned are deleted.
6. Google Tag Manager
This website uses Google Tag Manager. The provider is Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (“Google”). Tag Manager is a tool that allows me to integrate and manage services such as Google Analytics and Google Ads on the website. It does not set any cookies itself and does not analyse usage data, but it does process your IP address, which may be transmitted to Google servers.
Tag Manager is only loaded after you have given your consent. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG. The services integrated via Tag Manager are only activated in line with your choice in the cookie banner (Google Consent Mode).
7. Google Analytics 4
With your consent, I use Google Analytics 4, a web analytics service provided by Google Ireland Limited. Google Analytics records how visitors use the website, such as the pages viewed, time spent on the site, approximate location (at city or region level), device and browser. Cookies or similar technologies are used for this purpose. IP addresses are not stored in Google Analytics 4.
The data helps me to improve the website and my advertising. Event data is deleted in Google Analytics after two months. Google Signals, the collection of granular location and device data and data sharing with other Google products are disabled.
The legal basis is your consent pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG. A data processing agreement is in place with Google. Data may be transferred to Google LLC in the USA. Google LLC is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, for which an adequacy decision of the European Commission exists (Art. 45 GDPR).
Further information: Google Privacy Policy.
8. Google Ads and conversion tracking
I place advertisements via Google Ads, a service provided by Google Ireland Limited. With your consent, I use Google Ads conversion tracking: if you reach this website via an ad, a cookie is set. This allows Google and me to see that someone clicked on an ad and then, for example, sent an enquiry or made a call. I only receive statistical reports, not information that could identify you personally.
I may also use the remarketing function of Google Ads. This allows my ads to be shown to you on other websites after you have visited this website. The content of your enquiry and details of your matter are not transmitted to Google.
The legal basis is your consent pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG. Data may be transferred to Google LLC in the USA; this takes place on the basis of the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. You can also deactivate personalised advertising in your Google ad settings.
9. Fonts, scripts and links
Locally stored fonts and scripts
All fonts and software libraries used on this website are stored locally on the server. When you visit the website, no connection is made to the servers of Google Fonts, content delivery networks or other third-party providers – with the exception of the services described above, and these only with your consent.
Links to other websites
This website contains links to external services, e.g. anwalt.de and LinkedIn. Data is only transmitted to these providers when you click on the respective link. The respective providers are responsible for data processing on their sites.
10. Storage period
Unless a more specific storage period is stated in this policy, your data will remain with me until the purpose of processing no longer applies, you withdraw your consent or you request erasure – unless statutory retention obligations prevent this.
11. Your rights
You have the right at any time:
- to request information about the data I hold about you (Art. 15 GDPR),
- to request the rectification of inaccurate data (Art. 16 GDPR),
- to request the erasure of your data (Art. 17 GDPR),
- to request the restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR),
- to receive your data in a commonly used, machine-readable format (Art. 20 GDPR),
- to withdraw consent you have given at any time with effect for the future (Art. 7(3) GDPR),
- to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR). The authority responsible for me is the Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (Berliner Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit), Alt-Moabit 59–61, 10555 Berlin, Germany.
To exercise your rights, an informal message to info@mertens-rechtsanwalt.de is sufficient. Please note that the rights of access and erasure may be restricted by my professional duty of confidentiality and by statutory retention obligations.
Right to object under Art. 21 GDPR
Where I process your data on the basis of legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR), you may object to this processing at any time on grounds relating to your particular situation. I will then no longer process your data unless I can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing or the processing serves the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
12. Changes to this privacy policy
I will update this privacy policy if the website or the legal requirements change. The version published here at any given time applies.