Middleton Ross and Arnot Ltd Privacy Notice

Middleton Ross and Arnot Ltd, including its brands Middleton Ross and Highland Homes, is a legal services and estate agency firm regulated by the Law Society of Scotland. We act as a data controller, meaning we are responsible for deciding how and why your personal data is processed.

We collect and use personal information in the course of providing our legal and estate agency services, whether through our website, when you request a quotation, or when you formally instruct us. We may also require additional information during the course of your matter, which will be handled in accordance with this Privacy Notice.

We use cookies and similar technologies to improve website functionality, measure website usage and understand visitor interactions. Where required by law, visitors will be asked to provide consent before non-essential cookies are placed on their device.

What Information We Collect

We collect personal data that can directly or indirectly identify you. This may be obtained from you or, where appropriate, from third parties or publicly available sources.

Information may be collected via our website, email, telephone, meetings, or other communications. We may use trusted digital recording devices to record meetings to ensure accurate note-taking, and we will always seek your permission before any recording begins.

Examples of the types of information we may collect include:

• Name, address, telephone number and email address
• Date of birth
• Photographic identification
• National Insurance number
• Family and relationship details
• Financial and employment information
• Health information (physical and mental)
• Ethnic origin
• Religious or philosophical beliefs
• Genetic or biometric data
• Sexual orientation

We will only collect and process special category data where necessary and in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

How We Use Your Information

We process your personal data on the following legal bases:

• Performance of a contract - to provide legal and estate agency services
• Legal obligation - including compliance with the Law Society of Scotland, Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, and other regulatory requirements
• Legitimate interests - including managing our business, maintaining client relationships, and promoting our services (where appropriate)
• Public interest - where required in the course of legal work

We use your information to:

• Provide legal advice and services
• Communicate with you by email, telephone or post
• Represent you in legal or property matters
• Carry out roles such as attorney or guardian
• Maintain accounting and client records
• Carry out conflict of interest checks
• Investigate and respond to queries or complaints
• Send updates, legal information and invitations to events (you may opt out at any time)

If you do not provide the information we require, we may be unable to act on your behalf.

You have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests, particularly in relation to marketing communications. To do so, please contact us on 01349 862214.

Sharing Your Information

Your information is treated as confidential and is generally protected by legal professional privilege.

However, we may share your data where necessary with:

• Other solicitors involved in your transaction
• Courts and tribunals (including the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service)
• Financial institutions and advisers
• Surveyors and estate agents
• Registers of Scotland
• HM Revenue & Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions
• The Office of the Public Guardian
• NHS and other relevant bodies
• The Law Society of Scotland
• Accountants and professional advisers
• Trusted service providers (such as IT support, LawWare, Amiqus and Signable)
• Any third party authorised by you
• Any party where disclosure is required by law

 

Website Analytics and User Behaviour Tracking 

We use a number of analytics and website management tools to help us understand how visitors use our website and to improve the services we provide. These include Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google Tag Manager and Microsoft Clarity.

These tools collect information such as pages visited, time spent on the website, device type, browser information and general geographic location derived from IP address data. The information collected is used solely for website performance monitoring, user experience improvements and marketing effectiveness analysis. We do not use these tools to identify individual visitors.

Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity may place cookies or similar technologies on your device. Information collected may be processed by Google LLC and Microsoft Corporation in accordance with their respective privacy policies. We only use these technologies where permitted by applicable data protection and privacy laws.

Further information about how Google and Microsoft process personal data can be found in their privacy notices:

• Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
• Microsoft Privacy Statement: https://privacy.microsoft.com/privacy-statement

 

 

How We Store Your Information

We store personal data securely and in accordance with guidance from the Law Society of Scotland, HMRC, and the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data against unauthorised access, loss or misuse. However, no system is completely secure, and transmission of data over the internet is at your own risk.

We ensure that any third-party service providers handling data on our behalf have appropriate safeguards in place.

How Long We Keep Your Information

We retain personal data in line with regulatory and professional requirements:

• Private Client matters - 20 years after completion
• Conveyancing purchases - 10 years after completion
• Conveyancing sales - 1 year after completion
• Estate Agency matters - 1 year after completion

We may review and securely delete data where appropriate after a period of 10 years from the end of our relationship with you, unless we are required to retain it for longer.

Your Rights

You have the following rights under data protection law:

• To access the personal data we hold about you
• To request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
• To request restriction of processing
• To request deletion of your data (where applicable)
• To object to processing, particularly for marketing purposes
• To withdraw consent where processing is based on consent

To exercise your rights, please write to us at:

Middleton Ross
Mansefield House
7 High Street
Dingwall
IV15 9HJ

We may require proof of identity before processing your request.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:
www.ico.org.uk

Changes to This Notice

We keep this Privacy Notice under regular review and will update it on our website:
www.middletonross.co.uk

Last updated: April 2026

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or how we handle your data, please contact:

Email: mail@middletonross.co.uk
Telephone: 01349 862214