Privacy Policy

We are Sterling Oak Research and Investigations. Discretion is the foundation of our work, and that begins with how we handle your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains, in plain language, what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, when we may disclose it, and the choices and rights you have. We encourage you to read it before you send us an inquiry.

We handle personal information in keeping with the principles of British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act (BC PIPA), which generally governs how private-sector organizations in British Columbia collect, use, and disclose personal information, and, where it applies, Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). This page is general information about our practices; it is not legal advice, and it does not replace any privacy terms we agree with you in writing if you become our client.

1. What information we collect

We collect only the personal information we need to review your inquiry and respond to you. What we receive depends on how you contact us:

Through our confidential inquiry form

• The type of help you are asking about and a short description of your situation and what you hope to understand, confirm, or accomplish, in your own words.
• General location and scope information, such as a city or region, whether your matter is personal, legal, or business-related, and whether you are asking for yourself or on behalf of someone else.
• Your timing and contact preferences, such as your preferred contact method, a preferred time window or time zone, and an optional preferred consultation date.
• Your name and email address, and your phone number if you provide it or if you ask us to contact you by phone.
• How you heard about us, if you choose to tell us.

By phone or email

If you call or email us, we receive the information you choose to share in that conversation or message, such as your name, your phone number or email address, and the outline of your matter. Please keep first messages brief and high-level, for the reasons explained in the next section.

Through your use of this website

Like most websites, our site and the services that deliver it may automatically receive limited technical information when you visit, such as your browser type, device type, pages viewed, and the date and time of your visit. We describe cookies and similar tools in section 10. We do not use this website to build profiles of visitors for advertising.

2. What we do not ask for

Please also avoid naming or identifying other people in more detail than we need for a first review. A short, high-level description is enough for us to decide whether a confidential consultation is appropriate. If we need more detail, we will discuss with you how to share it appropriately during a consultation.

3. Why we collect it and how we use it

We collect and use the information you provide for a limited purpose: to review your inquiry, decide whether a confidential consultation with us is appropriate, and contact you about it using your preferred method. In particular, we may use your information to:

• Understand, at a high level, the kind of matter you are asking about and whether it is the kind of work we do.
• Check for conflicts and practical issues before we speak, such as location, timing, and scope.
• Respond to you, arrange a consultation if appropriate, and communicate with you about your inquiry.
• If you become our client, prepare for and carry out the work we agree with you in writing, and administer that engagement.
• Keep the records we are required to keep, protect our firm and our clients, and meet our legal and professional obligations.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not rent it, trade it, or use inquiry information for unrelated marketing. If we ever wanted to use your information for a purpose not described here, we would ask for your consent first, unless the law permits or requires otherwise.

4. An inquiry is not a client relationship

Submitting an inquiry — through the form, by phone, or by email — does not make you our client, and it does not oblige us to accept your matter. It does not guarantee a consultation, an investigation, or any particular result. A client relationship with us begins only if, after a consultation, we both agree to proceed and we confirm the scope of work with you in writing. Until then, please do not treat an inquiry as a safe channel for highly sensitive detail, and do not rely on us having taken any step on your matter.

5. Your consent

When you send us an inquiry or contact us, you consent to our collecting, using, and disclosing the information you provide as described in this policy. You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. If you withdraw consent, we may be unable to review your inquiry, continue a consultation, or carry out work for you. We will explain the practical consequences if you ask us about withdrawing consent.

6. Confidentiality inside our firm

We treat inquiries as confidential. Inside our firm, your information is available only to the people who need it to review your inquiry, speak with you, or carry out agreed work — on a need-to-know basis. Anyone who works with us, including any contractor we engage on a matter, is expected to handle your information confidentially and only for the purpose for which it was shared. We do not discuss client or prospective-client matters outside the work itself.

No method of communication is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of information sent to us over the internet or by email. You can reduce risk by following section 2: keep first messages high-level and leave sensitive detail for a consultation.

7. When we may disclose information

We do not disclose your personal information except in the limited situations described here:

• With your consent — for example, if you ask us to share information with your lawyer or another person you name.
• Where required or permitted by law — for example, in response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, or other lawful demand, or where disclosure is required by applicable legislation or our professional obligations.
• To protect people or our firm — where disclosure is reasonably necessary to prevent serious harm, or to establish, exercise, or defend a legal claim.
• Through service providers — trusted providers who help us run our firm and this website (for example, email, telephone, and hosting services) may process information on our behalf, only as needed to provide their service to us, and we expect them to protect it appropriately. Some providers may store or process information outside British Columbia or Canada, where it may be subject to the laws of that jurisdiction.

If you become our client, additional terms about disclosure may be set out in the written agreement between us, and those terms will govern our work on your matter.

8. How we protect information

We use administrative, physical, and technical safeguards that we consider reasonable for a firm of our size and the sensitivity of the information we hold. These include limiting access to those who need it, keeping inquiry information out of public view, and handling case-related material privately. Safeguards reduce risk; they cannot eliminate it. If we become aware of a privacy incident involving your personal information that creates a real risk of significant harm, we will respond in accordance with our obligations under applicable law.

9. How long we keep information

We keep inquiry information only as long as reasonably necessary to review your inquiry, communicate with you, and meet our legal, professional, and record-keeping obligations. If your inquiry does not proceed, we dispose of the information when it is no longer needed for those purposes. If you become our client, we retain matter records in accordance with our professional obligations and the terms we agree with you. You may ask us about the retention of your information at any time using the contact details in section 15.

10. Cookies and analytics

This website is a largely static site. Cookies are small files stored on your device by your browser. We do not set advertising or cross-site tracking cookies, and we do not sell or share browsing information with advertisers. If analytics or similar measurement tools are used on this site, they are used only to understand general, aggregate use — such as which pages are visited — so we can maintain and improve the site, and any cookies involved are limited to that purpose. Third-party services embedded in this site, described in the next section, may set their own cookies under their own policies. You can control cookies through your browser settings; blocking cookies will not prevent you from using this site or contacting us by phone or email.

11. Third-party services

Parts of this site rely on services provided by others, and your use of those features is also subject to their terms and privacy policies:

• Google Maps — we show a Google map of our Vancouver office area on this site. When that map loads, Google may receive technical information from your browser and set cookies under Google’s own privacy policy.
• Google Business Profile — links to our Google Business Profile (for example, to read our reviews) take you to Google, where Google’s terms and privacy policy apply.
• Fonts and translation — this site loads web fonts from Google Fonts. Our Chinese translation runs entirely in your browser using a built-in dictionary — it does not send page text to Google or any other service.

Links to other websites are provided for convenience only. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of sites we do not control, and we encourage you to read their policies before sharing information with them.

12. Your rights: access and correction

Subject to limited exceptions under applicable law — for example, where information is subject to a legal privilege, or where giving access would reveal another person’s personal information — you have the right to:

• Ask us what personal information of yours we hold, how we have used it, and to whom we have disclosed it.
• Ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete. Where appropriate, we will note your requested correction even if we do not agree to make it.
• Withdraw your consent to our continued use or disclosure of your information, as described in section 5.

To make a request, contact us using the details in section 15. We may need to verify your identity before responding, to protect your information from being released to the wrong person. We will respond within the time required by applicable law and explain any exception we rely on. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia; if PIPEDA applies to your information, you may also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. We would appreciate the chance to resolve your concern with us first.

13. Children’s privacy

Our services and this website are directed to adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children through this website. If you are a parent or guardian and you believe a child has sent us personal information through this site, please contact us and we will take reasonable steps to delete it. Investigations sometimes involve information about young people as part of an adult client’s matter; where that occurs, we handle it under the terms agreed with our client and applicable law, not through this website.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example when our practices or the law change. The current version will always be posted on this page with its last-updated date. Changes take effect when posted. If a change materially affects how we handle information you have already given us, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to your attention. Your continued use of this website after a change is posted means you accept the updated policy for information collected through the site.

15. Contact us about privacy

Questions, access or correction requests, and privacy concerns about this policy or our handling of your personal information can be directed to us at:

Sterling Oak Research and Investigations

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (604) 817-5685

Office: Park Place, 666 Burrard St Suite 500, Vancouver, BC V6C 3P6

Mailing address: 22420 Dewdney Trunk Rd Suite 300, Maple Ridge, BC V2X 3J5

Please mark privacy correspondence “Privacy” in the subject line so we can route it promptly. Please do not include sensitive case detail in a first privacy email — tell us what kind of request you are making, and we will arrange a suitable way to discuss it.