Legal
Privacy Notice
instruct.expert — operated by Cliniscape Ltd · Last updated: March 2026
1.Who we are
instruct.expert is operated by Cliniscape Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 13648703) with its registered office at Atrium, York Eco Business Centre, Amy Johnson Way, York, England, YO30 4AG.
Cliniscape Ltd is the data controller for personal data processed through the instruct.expert platform. We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) under registration number ZB768536.
Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted at contact@cliniscape.co.uk for any data protection queries.
2.What this notice covers
This privacy notice explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal data when you use the instruct.expert platform, whether you are a legal professional, litigant in person, or expert witness.
We take your privacy seriously. The instruct.expert platform has been designed with data minimisation and privacy by design at its core, particularly in relation to the handling of sensitive legal case information.
3.What data we collect
If you are a legal professional or litigant in person:
Your name, email address, password (encrypted), and optionally your firm name and SRA number. When you use the AI matching feature, you provide case details describing the nature of your legal matter and the type of expert you need.
If you are an expert witness:
Your name, email address, password (encrypted), professional title, primary and secondary specialisms, jurisdictions covered, court experience, qualifications, professional registration numbers, fee range, availability status, biographical information, and optionally a profile photograph.
Information collected automatically: When you visit our platform, we collect limited technical information including your IP address, browser type, and pages visited. We use only strictly necessary cookies required for the platform to function. We do not use tracking cookies, advertising cookies, or third-party analytics that track individual users.
Information from third parties: We do not purchase or obtain your personal data from third parties.
4.How we use your data
Account management
To create and maintain your account, authenticate your identity, and provide access to the platform. The lawful basis for this processing is performance of a contract (Article 6(1)(b) UK GDPR).
AI-powered expert matching
When a legal professional or litigant in person submits case details, our AI matching engine analyses the description to identify suitable expert witnesses from our database. The lawful basis is performance of a contract (Article 6(1)(b) UK GDPR) for registered users, and legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR) for the matching service itself.
Expert profiles and directory
Expert witness profiles are displayed to authenticated users searching for experts. This is necessary for the performance of our contract with expert witnesses (Article 6(1)(b) UK GDPR) and constitutes the core service we provide.
Platform improvement
We may analyse anonymised, aggregated usage data to improve the platform. The lawful basis is legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR).
Legal obligations
We may process your data to comply with legal or regulatory requirements. The lawful basis is legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) UK GDPR).
5.How we handle sensitive case information
We recognise that case details submitted through our AI matching feature may contain sensitive information, including information relating to health conditions, criminal proceedings, family matters, or financial circumstances. Such information may constitute special category data under Article 9 of the UK GDPR.
Where case details contain special category data, we rely on Article 9(2)(f) — processing necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims — as our lawful basis for processing.
Our commitments regarding case data:
- —Case details are submitted solely for the purpose of AI-powered expert matching.
- —They are processed through our AI matching engine and are not stored permanently.
- —Case descriptions are automatically deleted within 24 hours of submission.
- —We do not use case details for any purpose other than generating expert matches for the specific search request.
- —Case details are not accessible to expert witnesses — experts receive only anonymised match notifications, not the underlying case information.
- —We do not use case details to train AI models.
6.AI-powered matching
Our platform uses artificial intelligence (specifically OpenAI's GPT-4o-mini model) to analyse case descriptions and match them with suitable expert witnesses. This processing involves:
- —Sending the case description and available expert profile data to the OpenAI API for analysis.
- —The AI compares the case requirements against expert specialisms, jurisdictions, court experience, availability, and fee ranges.
- —The AI returns a ranked list of up to three recommended experts with an explanation of why each was matched.
This is not automated decision-making with legal or significant effects within the meaning of Article 22 of the UK GDPR. The AI provides recommendations only. The decision to instruct any expert witness remains entirely with the legal professional or litigant in person, who is expected to independently verify the suitability of any recommended expert.
OpenAI processes data in accordance with their data processing agreement and does not use API inputs to train their models. Case data transmitted to OpenAI is processed and not retained beyond what is necessary to generate the response. For further information, see OpenAI's privacy documentation.
7.Who we share your data with
Expert witness profiles
Visible to authenticated users of the platform (legal professionals and litigants in person) as part of the core matching service.
OpenAI
Processes case details through their API for the purpose of generating expert matches. OpenAI acts as a data processor and is subject to a data processing agreement that includes Standard Contractual Clauses for international data transfers.
Supabase
Provides our database and authentication infrastructure, hosted in the London (eu-west-2) region. Supabase acts as a data processor and processes data in accordance with their data processing agreement.
Vercel
Provides hosting for the platform. Vercel acts as a data processor.
We do not sell your personal data to any third party. We do not share your personal data with advertisers. We do not share case details with expert witnesses or any other party beyond the AI matching process described above.
8.International data transfers
Your account data and expert profile data are stored on servers in the United Kingdom (London region) through our database provider, Supabase.
When you use the AI matching feature, case details are transmitted to OpenAI's API servers, which are located in the United States. This transfer is protected by Standard Contractual Clauses (UK Addendum) in our data processing agreement with OpenAI. OpenAI is certified under the UK-US Data Privacy Framework. As described in section 5, case details are not stored permanently and are deleted within 24 hours.
9.How long we keep your data
| Data type | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Account data (name, email, login credentials) | Retained while account is active. Deleted within 30 days of account closure. |
| Expert profiles | Retained while account is active and published. Deleted within 30 days of closure or upon request. |
| Case descriptions submitted for AI matching | Automatically deleted within 24 hours of submission. |
| Search history (metadata only) | Retained for 12 months, then automatically deleted. |
| Technical logs (IP addresses, access logs) | Maximum 90 days for security and troubleshooting purposes. |
10.Your rights
Right of access
You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification
You can ask us to correct any inaccurate personal data. Expert witnesses can update their profiles directly through the platform.
Right to erasure
You can ask us to delete your personal data. We will comply unless we have a legal obligation to retain it.
Right to restrict processing
You can ask us to restrict how we use your data in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability
You can request your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
Right to object
You can object to processing based on legitimate interests. We will stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds.
Rights related to automated decision-making
As described in section 6, our AI matching provides recommendations only and does not constitute automated decision-making with legal or significant effects. You are not subject to decisions based solely on automated processing.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@instruct.expert. We will respond within one month of receiving your request.
11.Data security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including:
- —Encryption of data in transit (TLS/SSL) and at rest
- —Secure password hashing (bcrypt)
- —Row-level security policies on our database ensuring users can only access their own data
- —Regular security reviews
- —Access controls limiting who can access production systems
12.Children
instruct.expert is not intended for use by anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will take steps to delete it.
13.Changes to this notice
We may update this privacy notice from time to time. We will notify registered users of any significant changes by email. The “last updated” date at the top of this notice indicates when it was most recently revised.
14.Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: ico.org.uk
We would appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns before you approach the ICO, so please contact us first at hello@instruct.expert.
15.Contact us
Cliniscape Ltd
Atrium, York Eco Business Centre, Amy Johnson Way, York, England, YO30 4AG
Email: hello@instruct.expert
ICO Registration: ZB768536