Thanks for visiting the LegalPlatform.com website (the “Website”). These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) govern your use and access to the products, services, software, platform and Website (collectively, “Services”) provided by LegalPlatform and any of our affiliates (collectively, “LegalPlatform”, “we”, “us”, or “our”.) In these Terms, the words “you” and “your” refer to each user or Website visitor.
By using the Services, you agree to these Terms and conditions as an agreement (the “Agreement”) by and between you and LegalPlatform. By using our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms as well as our Privacy Policy. If you are using our Services as the employee or agent of an organization, you are agreeing to these Terms on behalf of that organization. If you do not wish to agree to these terms, please refrain from using the Website. We may revise these Terms at any time without notice to you, although we will do our best to notify you of any changes. If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us through the Website.
LegalPlatform Q&A is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized advice from a qualified legal practitioner. Communications on LegalPlatform Q&A are not privileged communications and do not create an attorney-client relationship.
The information, advice, links and/or any other materials (“Content”) made available through LegalPlatform (the “Site”) are for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for professional legal advice or consultation. You should contact a qualified licensed attorney to obtain advice with respect to any important legal issue or problem. Do not disregard or delay in obtaining professional advice based on any Content from the Site. Content may not be complete, correct, or up to date, and some Content may be obtained or provided without proper citation or review. Content made available through the Site does not represent endorsements or recommendations by LegalPlatform or other users. Use of and access to the Site or any Content on the Site, or any of the e-mail, website, social media or other like links contained within the Site, do not create an attorney-client relationship between those posing or responding to inquiries, or any other users, even if licensed individuals in the corresponding fields are involved in such use. Further, these are not privileged communication or attorney work product, and no right to privacy exists. Any opinions expressed are the opinions of the individual author and may not reflect the opinions of LegalPlatform, or other users. All users of the Site relinquish any or all claims against LegalPlatform, the party providing the Content, and any other users that may arise from reliance on any information obtained from the Site. Reliance on any information appearing on the Site is solely at your own risk.
Using the Services
You must be the legal age of majority in your state of residence or otherwise able to form a binding contract with LegalPlatform in order to use the Services. Use of the Services is prohibited by those under the age of 13.
You are legally responsible for any writings, files, pictures or any other work (collectively, “User Content”) that you post or transmit using the Website or Service. In using the Services or posting User Content, you agree that you:
No Attorney-Client Relationship
Your use of the Website or Services does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and LegalPlatform or between you and any LegalPlatform employee or representative. Unless you are otherwise represented by an attorney, including an attorney or firm you contact through LegalPlatform, you represent yourself in any legal matter you undertake through our Services.
LegalPlatform provides a platform for legal information. The information provided by LegalPlatform through its Website or Services does not constitute legal advice. We do not review any information provided to us for legal accuracy or sufficiency, draw legal conclusions, provide opinions about your selection of an attorney or firm, or apply the law to the facts of your situation.
If you need legal advice for a specific problem, you should consult with a qualified attorney licensed to practice in an appropriate jurisdiction.
As LegalPlatform is not a law firm, please note that communications between you and LegalPlatform may not be protected as privileged communications under the attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine. Similarly, any communications between you and the attorneys or law firms that you contact through our Website or Services may not be protected as privileged communications under the attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine.
Any listing of attorneys or law firms published on our website is provided for informational purposes only. LegalPlatform does not make any warranty as to the qualifications or competency of any attorney.
LegalPlatform may highlight a particular attorney’s or law firm’s specialty or expertise but this is not an endorsement of any particular attorney or law firm nor is it a guarantee of an attorney’s or law firm’s quality, competency, or character. No information provided through the Website is a predictor of the outcome of any matter in which an attorney or law firm is involved. Information on an attorney or law firm provided through the Website is intended to be a starting point to gather information about attorneys and law firms who may be suitable for your legal needs but is not a substitute for your independent judgement and decision-making.
Your Relationship with Attorneys and Law Firms on the Website
When you use our Services, you will have the opportunity to initiate contact with an independent attorney or law firm. Neither attorneys nor law firms are employees nor agents of LegalPlatform. Attorneys and law firms on the Website are third-party independent contractors who carry their own malpractice insurance and have agreed to provide online answers, limited consultations or other basic legal services through the Website. If you choose to communicate with an attorney or law firm through LegalPlatform, please note the following:
When you contact an attorney or law firm through the Website, you may be asked initial questions or asked to complete or provide certain forms or documents in order for the attorney or law firm to answer to your legal questions. Please note that any such interaction is intended to be a starting point for dealing with a legal matter or addressing basic legal questions and any attorney-client relationship formed during the course of that interaction is strictly between you and the attorneys or law firms you contact through the Website, and expressly excludes LegalPlatform.
When you communicate with an attorney or law firm through the Website, you consent to sharing certain personally identifying information for the purpose of requesting or securing legal advice. LegalPlatform may have access to any communications submitted through our Website or Services for fulfilment and quality assurance purposes and will use such information as permitted under these Terms and our Privacy Policy.
You control the extent and duration of any attorney-client relationship formed during the course of your interaction with an attorney or law firm on our Website. If you wish to create an attorney-client relationship with an attorney or law firm that extends beyond your use of our Website or Services, that relationship will be on whatever terms you establish with the attorney in question. Those terms do not involve LegalPlatform and, except for pre-negotiating special discounts or promotions for certain users of our Services, LegalPlatform does not set, control or influence the terms of any agreed-upon attorney-client relationship.
Attorneys or law firms may be compensated by LegalPlatform for Services performed on your behalf, however, LegalPlatform does not receive any share of legal fees collected by any attorneys or law firms that use our Services. In all cases, LegalPlatform will not influence or interfere in any way with any attorney’s or law firm’s independent professional judgment. Attorneys or law firms reserve the right to refuse to perform legal services on your behalf in their sole discretion.
LegalPlatform is an information provider and does not endorse or recommend any attorney, including any of the attorneys or law firms appearing on the Website. LegalPlatform makes no representation or warranty as to the qualifications or competency of any attorney or law firm on the Website or to the accuracy or completeness of any attorney’s or law firm’s work.
LEGALPLATFORM SHALL HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY OF ANY KIND FOR ANY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES RENDERED BY ANY ATTORNEY OR LAW FIRM YOU ENCOUNTER ON OR THROUGH OUR WEBSITE, AND ANY USE OR RELIANCE ON SUCH PROFESSIONAL SERVICES IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Legal Advertising
It is solely the responsibility of lawyers and law firms to ensure that any information or advertisements they post or place on the Website or provide through the Services, including any communications attorneys or law firms may have with prospective clients through the Services, fully complies with all applicable laws and rules of professional conduct, including those concerning the unauthorized practice of law and those regulating the form, manner or content of communications with clients, advertising, or other matters.
Your Account/Profile
To access certain parts of the Website, we may require you to create an account or profile. All such information provided by you shall be accurate and you agree to keep said information up to date. Anyone whose privilege to use the Website was previously terminated by us may not register for another profile or account, nor use another’s profile or account to use the site or create an account on your behalf.
Links to Other Sites
We may have links to third-party websites that are not owned, controlled or operated by us. We do not assume any responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any other websites or their owners. We are not endorsing or recommending any other websites, products or services by the simple inclusion of a link to another website.
Termination
We reserve the right to alter or discontinue the Website or any of the Services at any time without prior notice. We also reserve the right to terminate this Agreement at our election and for any reason, without prior notice. This Agreement will automatically terminate if, in our sole discretion, you violate any of the terms and conditions set forth below. A termination will result in the immediate cessation of access to the Website and Services. The Disclaimers of Warranty and Limitation of Liability, Indemnity, Dispute Resolution sections and all terms and conditions related to your User Content shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Disclaimers of Warranty and Limitations of Liability
We provide the Website and the Services “as is”, “whereis”, and “as available.” We make no express and/or implied warranties or guarantees about the Website, the Services described thereon or any third-party websites that appear on our Website. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE AND OUR OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AGENTS, VENDORS, AND THE MERCHANTS WHO ADVERTISE WITH US DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES THAT THE WEBSITE AND SERIVCES ARE MERCHANTABLE, OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, ACCURATE, TIMELY OR FIT FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NEED. WE IN NO WAY GUARANTEE THAT WE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, IS ERROR-FREE, ACCURATE, RELIABLE, WITHOUT INTERRUPTION OR AVAILABLE AT ALL TIMES. WE MAKE NO GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS OR USE THE WEBSITE AT TIMES OR LOCATIONS OF YOUR CHOOSING.
YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR ANY DISPUTE OR CLAIM WITH US IS TO CEASE USE OF THE WEBSITE. WE, OUR AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AGENTS, VENDORS, AND MERCHANTS WHO ADVERTISE HERE, SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF, INABILITY TO USE, OR RELIANCE UPON THE WEBSITE IN ANY WAY. THESE EXCLUSIONS APPLY TO ANY CLAIMS FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, DAMAGE TO ANY OTHER EQUIPMENT, OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, EVEN IF WE KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IF ANY JURISDICTION DOES NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, IN SUCH JURISDICTION, OUR LIABILITY, AND THE LIABILITY OF OUR AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AGENTS, VENDORS, AND MERCHANTS WHO ADVERTISE HERE, SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
In connection with the foregoing release, you hereby waive California Civil Code Section 1542 (and any similar provision in any other jurisdiction) which states: “A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, which, if known by him must have materially affected his settlement with the debtor.”
Indemnity
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless us, our officers, directors, representatives, employees and agents and all of our parent companies, affiliates, related companies and their officers, directors, representatives, employees and agents from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to reasonable attorney's fees) arising from: (i) your violation of any term of these Terms; (ii) your violation of any third party right, including without limitation any copyright, property, privacy right, or any and all intangible or intellectual property rights; or (iii) any claim that any of your User Content causes damage to a third party.
Dispute Resolution
In this Agreement, Dispute is defined as “any dispute, claim or controversy between you and LegalPlatform, its members, officers, directors, agents, parent companies and vendors that arises out of or relates to this Agreement or use of the Website or Services, or otherwise regarding any aspect of your relationship with LegalPlatform that has accrued or may thereafter accrue, whether based in contract, statute (including, but not limited to, any consumer protection statutes, regulation, ordinance, tort (including, but not limited to, fraud, misrepresentation, fraudulent inducement, negligence or any other intentional tort), or any other legal or equitable theory.”
For the purposes of this section, references to “LegalPlatform”, “you”, and “us” include our respective subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, employees, business partners, predecessors in interest, successors, and assigns, as well as all authorized or unauthorized users or beneficiaries of services or products under these Terms or any prior agreements between us.
Should a Dispute arise related to your use of the Services, we will make every effort to resolve it quickly and to your satisfaction when you email us at support@legalplatform.com
However, if we cannot amicably resolve a Dispute, you agree that any Dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Agreement, or the breach thereof, shall be settled by arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules, and each party hereby consents to any such disputes being so resolved. The arbitration shall take place in New Jersey, USA before a single arbitrator mutually agreed to by the parties. Judgment on the award rendered by any such arbitration may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.
ARBITRATION OF YOUR CLAIM IS MANDATORY AND BINDING. NEITHER PARTY WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO LITIGATE THAT CLAIM THROUGH A COURT. IN ARBITRATION, NEITHER PARTY WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL OR TO ENGAGE IN DISCOVERY, EXCEPT AS PROVIDED FOR IN THE AAA CODE OF PROCEDURE.
All determinations as to the scope, interpretation, enforceability and validity of these Terms or this Agreement shall be made final exclusively by the arbitrator, which award shall be binding and final. This arbitration provision shall survive: i) the termination of the Agreement; or ii) the bankruptcy of any party. If any portion of this arbitration provision is deemed invalid or unenforceable, the remaining portions shall remain in force.
NO CLASS ACTION, OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION OR JOINDER OR CONSOLIDATION OF ANY CLAIM WITH A CLAIM OF ANOTHER PERSON OR CLASS OF CLAIMANTS SHALL BE ALLOWABLE.
Applicable Law
The laws of the State of New Jersey, excluding its conflict of law provisions, will apply to any disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services.
Intellectual Property
We, or people from whom we obtained a license, retain ownership of all intellectual property rights of any kind associated with the Website or Services, including all applicable trademarks, copyrights and other proprietary rights such as trade secrets. Through the use of this Website pursuant to this Agreement, you have a limited right to use the Website, but in no way are we granting any license to you under any of those intellectual property rights. We reserve all rights that are not expressly granted to you in this Agreement.
We retain, to the maximum extent possible, all ownership, without limitation, of all the text, software, scripts, graphics, photos, sounds, interactive features and the trademarks, service marks and logos contained therein (“Marks”) unless they are marks used by third-parties who have provided them to us for use on the Website.
You retain any intellectual property rights in your copyrighted materials and trademarks that are contained in User Content that you post to the Website. You grant us an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully paid, worldwide license, with rights to sublicense through multiple levels of sublicensees, to reproduce, make derivative works of, translate, distribute, publicly perform and publicly display in any form or medium, whether now known or later developed, make, use, sell, import, offer for sale, otherwise commercially exploit and exercise any and all such rights, under any and all of your intellectual property rights related to the User Content in any manner we choose.
Copyright Notice
If you believe we have infringed on your copyrights, please submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3)) in writing to the agent (“Copyright Agent”) designated below or to the copyright agent on file with the U.S. Copyright Office with the Subject: “copyright notice.”
Your notice needs to include:
(1) A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
(2) Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
(3) Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;
(4) Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail;
(5) A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
(6) A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
You may file a DMCA Notice of Alleged Infringement with LegalPlatform’s Designated Copyright Agent.
a.) Counter-Notice. If you believe that your User Content that was removed (or to which access was disabled) is not infringing, or that you have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner’s agent, or pursuant to the law, to post and use the material in your Content, you may send a written counter-notice containing the following information to the Copyright Agent:
(1) Your physical or electronic signature;
(2) Identification of the User Content that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the User Content appeared before it was removed or disabled;
(3) A statement that you have a good faith belief that the User Content was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or a misidentification of the User Content; and
(4) Your name, address, telephone number, and email address, a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of an appropriate court in New Jersey, and a statement that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification of the alleged infringement.
If a counter-notice is received by the Copyright Agent, LegalPlatform may send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party informing that person that it may replace the removed User Content or cease disabling it in 10 business days. Unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order against the User Content provider, member or user, the removed User Content may be replaced, or access to it restored, in 10 to 14 business days or more after receipt of the counter-notice, at the LegalPlatform’s sole discretion.
Entire Agreement
These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and LegalPlatform with respect to the subject matter of these Terms, and supersede and replace any prior version of the Terms.
Modifications to the Agreement
We reserve the right at all times to discontinue or modify any of these Terms and/or our Privacy Policy as we deem necessary or desirable. Such changes may include, among other things, the adding of certain fees or charges. We may, but are not necessarily obligated to notify you via email of any substantial changes, by sending you an e-mail to the e-mail address that is registered with your account and/or by posting notice of the change on the Website.
Any changes to the Terms or this Agreement will be effective upon the earlier of the e-mail notice to you or our posting of notice of the changes on our Website. We suggest you, therefore, re-read this section of our Website from time to time to stay informed of any such changes. Use of the Website by you after such notice shall be deemed to constitute acceptance by you of such modifications.
Compliance with Export Restrictions
You may not access, download, use or export the Website, Services, or User Content in violation of United States export laws or regulations or in violation of any other applicable laws or regulations. You agree to comply with all export laws and restrictions and regulations of any United States or foreign agency or authority and to assume sole responsibility for obtaining licenses to export or re-export as may be required. You acknowledge and agree that none of the Services or any direct product therefrom is being or will be acquired for, shipped, transferred or re-exported, directly or indirectly, to proscribed or embargoed countries or their nationals or used for any prohibited purpose.
Severability, Assignment
If any provision of the Agreement is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect the enforceability of any other provisions contained in this Agreement, and the remaining portions of this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. There are no third-party beneficiaries of this Agreement. You may not assign this Agreement or your rights and obligations hereunder, in whole or in part, to any third party without our prior written consent by LegalPlatform, and any attempt by you to do so will be invalid.
You understand and acknowledge that you have read and agreed to be bound by these Terms. If you have any questions regarding the Website or Services, please contact customer support at support@legalplatform.com