Privacy Policy
Last updated: 20 April 2026 · LexLadder Limited · Company No. 17167750
PART A — PRIVACY POLICY
1. Who We Are
LexLadder Limited ("LexLadder", "we", "us", "our") is a company registered in England and Wales under company number 17167750. Our registered office is at 100 Barbirolli Square, Manchester, United Kingdom, M2 3BD.
We operate a legal talent exchange for UK and Ireland private practice. The Platform helps law firms and verified legal professionals discover opportunities, access market intelligence and make their own hiring decisions. LexLadder is the Data Controller for personal data processed through the Platform.
For all data protection enquiries, please contact us at: legal@lexladder.ai
ICO Registration: LexLadder Limited is in the process of registering with the Information Commissioner's Office. Our ICO registration number will be published here once confirmed.
2. What This Policy Covers
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share personal data when you use the LexLadder platform, visit our website at www.lexladder.ai, or interact with us by any other means. It applies to:
- Registered candidates (lawyers and legal professionals)
- Law firm users and their authorised personnel
- Website visitors
- Anyone who contacts us directly
This Policy should be read alongside our Cookie Policy and, for legal professionals, our Candidate Terms of Use.
3. What Data We Collect and Why
We collect and process the following categories of personal data:
| Category | Examples | Lawful Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Identity & Contact | Name, email address, phone number | Contract; Legitimate Interests |
| Professional Profile | PQE, practice area, current firm, career history, CV | Consent (candidates); Contract (firms) |
| Compensation Data | Base salary, bonus, billable hours target and actual | Consent |
| Platform Activity | Pages visited, vacancies viewed, applications made | Legitimate Interests |
| Communications | Messages sent via the Platform or by email | Contract; Legitimate Interests |
| Technical Data | IP address, browser type, device identifiers and security-verification signals | Legitimate Interests (security); Consent (analytics cookies) |
| AI Interaction Data | Profile preferences, role interactions and matching feedback | Consent |
4. The Anonymity Promise
LexLadder uses candidate data to generate anonymised market benchmarking outputs — salary percentiles, billable hour comparisons, and demand scores. These outputs are computed from aggregated, pseudonymous data and do not identify any individual. No personally identifiable information is ever used in benchmarking outputs shown to third parties.
Your identified profile data (such as name, current firm and career history) is held separately. It is not made available to a specific law firm unless you choose to engage or otherwise give explicit consent, as described in Section 5.
5. How We Use Your Data
5.1 Providing the Platform
We use your data to operate and improve the LexLadder platform, including matching legal professionals to relevant roles, generating market-worth dashboards, supporting employer profiles and role management, and producing aggregated market intelligence.
5.2 AI-Assisted Processing (Lex)
Certain Platform functions are performed by Lex, LexLadder's AI-assisted matching and market-intelligence layer. Lex may:
- Identify relevant, consented professional profiles and opportunities using practice, PQE, location and preference information
- Generate match insights based on professional and role context
- Generate aggregated and anonymised market signals from platform activity
- Support role discovery and profile management
Human decision-making remains central. Lex does not make hiring decisions, automatically disclose a legal professional's identified profile to a law firm, or determine whether an individual should apply for a role. Users retain control over engagement and all consequential next steps.
Lex is designed to explain the principal inputs behind a match where practicable. It supports a more informed legal talent market; it does not replace the judgement of law firms or legal professionals.
5.3 Your Rights Regarding Automated Processing (Article 22 UK GDPR)
Under Article 22 of the UK GDPR, you have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing that produces a legal or similarly significant effect on you. LexLadder's match scoring is AI-assisted but is always subject to human review before any action is taken. However, if you wish to:
- Request human review of any AI-generated match score or assessment
- Understand the principal factors that contributed to your match score
- Contest any AI-generated assessment that you believe is inaccurate
Please contact us at legal@lexladder.ai. We will respond within 30 days.
5.4 Sharing with Law Firms
We will only share your identified profile with a named law firm where:
- You have registered as an active legal professional and given explicit consent to the processing of your profile for opportunity discovery; and
- You have chosen to apply, express interest or otherwise engage with that firm; or
- You have separately agreed to a named introduction after LexLadder has identified a potentially relevant role.
You will be notified before any separate named introduction is made and will have the opportunity to decline.
5.5 Security and abuse prevention
We use proportionate technical controls to protect the Platform and our users against automated sign-up attempts, misuse and service disruption. This includes request-rate limits that store one-way hashed email and IP identifiers for a limited period, and Cloudflare Turnstile when you request a professional sign-in code. Turnstile assesses whether the request appears to be made by a human; it is used as a strictly necessary security control and not for advertising or behavioural profiling.
5.6 Sub-Processors
We use the following key sub-processors to deliver the Platform. Each is subject to appropriate data processing agreements:
| Sub-Processor | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Manus AI | Cloud hosting and platform infrastructure | US / Global |
| Amazon Web Services (S3) | Secure file storage (CVs, documents) | EU / US |
| Resend | Transactional email delivery | US |
| Cloudflare Turnstile | Automated abuse prevention for professional access requests | Global |
| Plausible Analytics | Privacy-first website analytics (cookieless) | EU |
| Amplitude | Product analytics (requires consent) | US |
6. Your Rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:
| Right | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Access | Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you |
| Rectification | Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data |
| Erasure | Request deletion of your data in certain circumstances |
| Restriction | Ask us to limit how we process your data |
| Portability | Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format |
| Objection | Object to processing based on legitimate interests |
| Withdraw Consent | Withdraw consent at any time without affecting prior processing |
| Human Review | Request human review of any automated decision (Article 22) |
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at legal@lexladder.ai. We will respond within one calendar month.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.
7. Data Retention
We retain personal data for the following periods:
| Data Type | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Active candidate profile | Duration of active candidacy |
| Profile data after account closure | Permanently deleted within 30 days of account closure request |
| Placement records | 6 years from date of placement (legal obligation) |
| Communications | 3 years from last contact |
| Anonymised benchmarking data | Indefinitely (no personal data) |
| Website analytics | 13 months (Plausible); per consent (Amplitude) |
8. International Transfers
Some of our sub-processors are based outside the UK. Where we transfer personal data outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the ICO or reliance on an adequacy decision. For more information about the safeguards we use, contact us at legal@lexladder.ai.
9. Cookies
We use cookies and similar technologies on our website. For full details of the cookies we use, their purpose, and how to manage your preferences, please see our Cookie Policy.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Where changes are material, registered users will be notified by email. For changes that affect consent-based processing, we will seek fresh consent where required. The date at the top of this page reflects the most recent update.
PART B — CANDIDATE TERMS OF USE
11. Scope and Acceptance
These Candidate Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your use of the LexLadder platform as a candidate (a lawyer or legal professional). By registering and using the Platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms.
The Platform is free for candidates. LexLadder charges law firms, not lawyers.
12. Eligibility
The Platform is available to qualified lawyers and legal professionals based in the UK and Ireland who are employed or seeking employment in private practice. By registering, you confirm that you are eligible to work in the UK or Ireland and that all information you provide is accurate and up to date.
13. Your Candidacy
13.1 Active Candidacy and Consent
By registering as an active candidate, you give LexLadder explicit consent to:
- Hold and process your personal profile data for recruitment purposes;
- Prepare a Submission profile based on the information you provide;
- Share that Submission profile with law firms where LexLadder identifies a potentially suitable role.
You will be notified prior to any specific Submission being made to a named firm and will have the opportunity to decline that Submission.
13.2 Human Control of AI-Assisted Matching
LexLadder's AI-assisted matching layer (Lex) may identify a potentially relevant role based on your profile data. Lex does not automatically disclose your identified profile, submit an application or make a decision with a material effect on you. You control whether to engage with a role or firm.
Lex supports opportunity discovery by making context and potential fit more visible. It does not replace your judgement or the judgement of the firm. You can request information about the principal factors that contributed to a match signal by contacting us.
13.3 Accuracy of Information
You warrant that all information provided to LexLadder is accurate, complete, and not misleading. You agree to promptly notify LexLadder of any material changes to your circumstances, including acceptance of an alternative role, commencement of notice period, or withdrawal from the market.
13.4 Your Control
You may at any time:
- Update or correct your profile information by contacting us or through your dashboard;
- Pause your profile visibility without deleting your account;
- Withdraw from the exchange entirely, at which point we will stop using your profile for matching and suppress it within 5 business days;
- Request deletion of your data in accordance with your rights under Part A, Section 6.
14. What LexLadder Is Not
LexLadder is a technology platform for legal talent discovery and market intelligence. We are not:
- A recruitment agency or employer making employment offers on behalf of law firms;
- A legal careers adviser providing regulated career or financial advice;
- A party to any employment contract entered into between you and a law firm;
- Liable for the conduct, terms of employment, culture, or practices of any law firm to which you are introduced.
15. Conduct on the Platform
You agree not to:
- Submit false, misleading, or fraudulent profile information;
- Use the Platform to solicit candidates or clients on behalf of a competing business;
- Use the Platform to collect or misuse another user’s data outside the purposes for which it was made available;
- Engage in any conduct that is abusive, discriminatory, or harmful to other users or LexLadder staff.
LexLadder reserves the right to remove any candidate profile and terminate access to the Platform where these Terms are breached.
16. Intellectual Property
All content on the Platform, including benchmarking outputs, design elements, copy, and methodology, is the intellectual property of LexLadder Limited. You may not reproduce, distribute, or commercially exploit any Platform content without our prior written permission.
17. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, LexLadder shall not be liable for:
- Any loss of employment opportunity, salary, or career progression arising from use of or reliance on the Platform;
- The accuracy of benchmarking outputs;
- The conduct or decisions of any law firm to which you are introduced;
- Any indirect or consequential loss arising from your use of the Platform.
Nothing in these Terms limits LexLadder's liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or any other matter that cannot be excluded at law.
18. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute arising in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
19. Changes to These Terms
LexLadder may update these Terms from time to time. Registered candidates will be notified by email of material changes. Where changes affect consent-based processing, fresh consent will be sought. Continued use of the Platform after notification of non-consent-related changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.