Case Study: Supporting Farewill in their Data Sharing Approach

November 17, 2021

Supporting Farewill in its Data Sharing Approach

Farewill provides end of life services, such as will writing, funerals and probate support. Committed to supporting customers through one of the most difficult aspects of life, the Farewill team works tirelessly to make the subject of death and its practical realities easier, friendlier and more cost effective.

Farewill worked with us to find an approach to data sharing that reflected Farewill's values, without compromising their attractiveness to their business partners.

Company Name: Farewill
Date: Founded July 2015
Website: https://farewill.com/about

Founded in 2015, Farewill has been voted the UK’s best-rated death experts on Trustpilot, alongside winning the National Will Writing Firm of the Year for 2019 and 2020 at the British Wills and Probate awards.  The business was heralded as the “best social innovation” at the 2020 Europas awards, reflecting the impact their services have had.  

The Challenge

In addition to offering services directly to individuals, Farewill works closely with businesses and charities passionate about making end of life services more accessible. While data insights are a vital part of working with these partners effectively – whether that is cross-referrals, providing responsive customer service or to better understand the needs of the market – it can be particularly difficult to know what information to share with them and importantly, how to transparently relay to customers that information will be shared.As legal experts proud to be known for their human approach, Stephenson Law worked closely with Farewill to create a data sharing strategy that respected individual customers’ data rights, while providing sufficient insights for business partners.

"I loved getting to work with the Farewill team - this is such an emotionally charged industry to work in and getting it right, sensitively and pragmatically, is something they are passionate about.

I really enjoyed getting into the legal nitty-gritty of the different ways organisations are permitted to share personal data with others and analysing the options through the lens of different stakeholders in the team."

How we helped

A necessary part of business is sharing information with the organisations that the company works with. However, it can be difficult to strike the right balance between commercial insight and customer expectations of how their information is shared and what it is used for.

Stephenson Law provided advice on the available ways the law allows organisations to use and share personal data (known as lawful basis).

In doing so, Farewill was equipped with the tools and know-how required to protect their customers’ interests, while facilitating growth with valued business partners.

What this meant for them

As a result of partnering with Stephenson Law for this piece of work, Farewill’s legal and sales team were able to move forward with improved confidence and strategic vision.

The sales team benefitted from a clearer understanding of data protection and how it applied in the delivery of Farewill services. This meant that they were able to negotiate data sharing clauses themselves in the first instance, referring only particularly complicated requests for the inhouse legal team.

Farewill’s legal team benefited from an extra pair of hands to free up internal resource, particularly within data protection. This allowed Farewill’s legal team to focus on other business priorities, knowing they could trust Stephenson Law to deliver advice that aligned with the wider Farewill commercial strategy and company values.

The final result

The teams worked together to find an approach that reflected Farewill values, without compromising their attractiveness to their business partners.

The new approach (which included beautiful, readable templates and a training session for the sales team on how to use the updated contracts and answer data protection enquiries) has enabled Farewill to continue its upward trajectory as well as providing a boost of confidence in its ability to respond to data protection enquiries.

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