Terms Of Use: for General Users

 

Last Updated: November 1, 2020

This is a legal agreement ("Agreement") between you and The Court Buddy Company, Inc., a Delaware corporation, dba LawChamps ("LawChamps") with a principal place of business at 584 Castro Street #101, San Francisco California 94114. By accessing the LawChamps website currently located at www.lawchamps.com online, or utilizing the mobile site, (collectively, the "Site"), using any of the Services (as defined below), information, software, or products accessible through the Site, and by checking the box indicating your consent, you become a user and agree to, and are bound by, the terms and conditions of this Agreement for as long as you continue to use the Site or Services. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT, DO NOT INDICATE YOUR CONSENT OR USE THE SITE OR THE SERVICES.  Your use of, or participation in, certain Services may be subject to additional terms, and such terms will be either listed in this Agreement or will be presented to you for your acceptance when you sign up to use such Services.


The LawChamps services consist of the following, without limitation: a wholly automated, double-blind matching service for people in the general public who need an attorney and wish to solicit an attorney for legal services, and for attorneys who wish to be matched to people in the general public who need the legal services they offer ("Matching Services"), and any premium or exclusive scheduling, calendaring, appointment alerts, and/or case management services that may be offered by or on behalf of LawChamps ("Premium Services") (collectively, the "Services"). You are entering this Agreement in your capacity as someone who wishes to find and solicit an attorney for legal services and as someone who wishes to do so through the Services (a “General User”). LawChamps may offer you additional services or revise any of the Services, at its discretion, and this Agreement will apply to all additional services you consent to or revised Services offered by LawChamps. LawChamps also reserves the right to cease offering any of the Services at any time without prior notice.


Please review this Agreement carefully, including the Arbitration provision in Section 14, which describes how Disputes (as defined below) will be resolved between us, and that no class actions may be brought under this Agreement. This Agreement is subject to change by LawChamps in its sole discretion at any time, and any such changes will be posted on the Site. Your continued use of this Site or the Services after the posting of revisions to this Agreement will constitute your acceptance of such revisions, so please refer back to this Agreement reasonably frequently. Please consult the beginning of this Agreement to determine when the Agreement was last revised.

 
 

1. Eligibility.

a. Minimum Age. You must be at least 18 years old to use the Site or to register for the Services. By using the Services and consenting to this Agreement, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years old.

b. For General Users. By requesting to use, registering to use, and/or using the Matching Services, you represent and warrant that you have a pending case, legal matter or issue about which you want a legal consultation and agree to solicit attorneys to consult with and represent you in your pending case, legal matter or issue by answering automated questions, completing an intake questionnaire, and then getting blindly matched with potential attorney(s). Your use of the Site and the Services is contingent upon your providing such representations and warranties.

 

2. Use of Site and Services.

As a party to this Agreement, user of the Site or a user of the Services (a "General User"), you agree to the following:


a. Exclusive Use.  Your account and the information you provide is for your personal reference and use only.  You may not authorize others to use your account, and you may not assign or otherwise transfer your account to any other person or entity.  You acknowledge that LawChamps is not responsible for third party access to your account that results from theft or misappropriation of your user names and/or passwords.


b. Matching with Attorneys.  LawChamps’ Site and Services are intended to allow you to be matched with a number of potential attorneys, who will be presented to you one at a time after they have verified their availability to consult with you. The attorneys within the LawChamps system have given us certain representations concerning their abilities to assist you. If you do not accept a match with any one potential attorney, we will work with you to find you another to help you with your legal needs, however, LawChamps makes no representations or warranties concerning our ability to find you an attorney, does not guarantee results, and your use of the Site and Services is conditional upon your understanding and accepting these limitations and conditions. 


c. Geographic Limitations.  The Site and Services are intended solely for use in the United States and U.S. territories. LawChamps does NOT currently intend to collect data or information from any EU citizen. You hereby represent and warrant that you are NOT a EU citizen, and your use of the Site and Services is contingent upon the truthfulness and ongoing validity of those representations and warranties. You will only use the Site and Services in a manner consistent with this Agreement and any and all applicable local, state, national and international laws and regulations. By using the Site and Services, you represent that you have not been designated by the United States government, any state government, and/or any other government or regulatory body as a person, of whatever kind, to whom use of the Site and/or provision of the Services are prohibited. Registration for, and use of, the Site and Services are void where prohibited. You are responsible for determining whether the use of the Site and Services is legal in your jurisdiction.  


d. Treatment of Information Submitted.  You are solely responsible for, and assume all liability regarding the truthfulness and validity of, (i) the information and content you contribute to the Site and Services; (ii) the information and content you post, transmit, publish, or otherwise make available (hereinafter "post") through the Site and Services; and (iii) your interactions with other users through the Site and Services. We do our best to secure and treat the information you provide through our Site in response to our automated questions and intake questionnaires confidential, meaning, we only share it internally and with your potential attorney matches as needed to assist you. However, no data security measures are guaranteed effective, and you should not provide information you do not feel comfortable sharing with us and with potential attorneys. Moreover, you should always consult with your attorney concerning whether and when an attorney-client has been established, and not assume that a communication is privileged and confidential unless and until an attorney gives you that assurance.  


e. Risk Assumption and Precautions.  You assume all risk when using the Site and Services, including but not limited to all of the risks associated with any online or offline interactions with other users. You agree to take all necessary precautions when meeting with an attorney with whom you have been matched. If you are not satisfied with an attorney with whom you were matched, you may elect to be matched to another attorney. It is recommended that the terms of any agreement for legal work, including specifically what payments will be required for what services, should be arranged for and memorialized between you and your attorney in a written engagement agreement. This establishes the terms of your attorney-client relationship and protects both you and your attorney. You understand and assume the risk that failure to finalize the terms of legal representation with your attorney in a written engagement agreement may result in lack of evidence of proof of your agreement if a dispute arises.  


f. No Guarantees.  While we will work with you to find you an attorney to assist with your legal needs, LawChamps may not be able to provide suitable matches for everyone seeking to use the Services. "Matches" are defined as the point when general users submit information to LawChamps, and LawChamps’ wholly-automated matching system indicates that there is one or more attorney(s) available to be matched with the general user in response to the information provided. LawChamps makes no guarantees as to the number or frequency of matches generated through the Matching Service, or to the attorneys’ availability or ability to perform services once matched. You understand that, except as otherwise stated in this section, LawChamps makes no guarantees, representations or warranties, either express or implied, regarding your ultimate ability to engage any potential attorney that you are matched with through the Matching Service or as to the capabilities or conduct, professional or otherwise, of such individual(s) during the representation. LawChamps cannot guarantee the outcome of any court case, legal matter or issue. 


g. Reporting of Violations. You will promptly report to LawChamps any violation of the Agreement by others upon such violation becoming known to you, including but not limited to, any violation by other users.


h. Content Removal. LawChamps reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor the information or material you submit to the Site, through the Services, or through or social media platforms. LawChamps will have the right to remove any such information or material that in its sole opinion violates, or may violate, any applicable law, the letter or spirit of this Agreement, or upon the reasonable request of any third party. LawChamps further reserves the right to remove matches previously delivered to you, in its reasonable discretion, in order to assure that you and/or other members have quality experiences on the Site.


i. Posting and Communication Restrictions. You will not post on the Site, transmit to other users, communicate any content (or links thereto), or otherwise engage in any activity on the Site, through the Services, or through our social media platforms, that:
 

     i. promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;

     ii. is intended to or tends to harass, annoy, threaten or intimidate any other users of the Site or Services;

     iii. is defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, obscene, profane, offensive, sexually oriented, obscene or otherwise objectionable;

     iv. contains others’ copyrighted content and/or content in which others have intellectual property rights (e.g., music, movies, videos, photographs, images, software, etc.) without obtaining express written permission first;

     v. contains video, audio, photographs, or identifying images of another person without his or her express written permission; however, in no case shall you post on the Site, transmit to other users, or communicate any content (or links thereto) containing any information, video, audio, photographs, or identifying images referring or relating to anyone under 18;

     vi. promotes or enables illegal or unlawful activities, such as instructions on how to make or buy illegal weapons or drugs, violate someone's privacy, harm or harass another person, obtain others' identity information, create or disseminate computer viruses, or circumvent copy-protect devices;

     vii. intended to defraud, swindle or deceive other users of the Services;

     viii. contains viruses, time bombs, trojan horses, cancelbots, worms or other harmful, or disruptive codes, components or devices;

     ix. promotes or solicits involvement in or support of a political platform, religion, cult, or sect;

     x. disseminates another person's personal information without his or her permission, disseminates personal information referring or relating to anyone under 18, and/or collects or solicits another person's personal information for commercial or unlawful purposes;

     xi. is off-topic, meaningless, or otherwise intended to annoy or interfere with others' enjoyment of the Site;

     xii. impersonates, or otherwise misrepresents affiliation, connection or association with, any person or entity;

     xiii. solicits gambling or engages in any gambling or similar activity;

     xiv. uses scripts, bots or other automated technology to access the Site or Services;

     xv. uses the Site or Services for chain letter, junk mail or spam e-mails;

     xvi. collects, solicits, uses or reveals data or information about anyone under 18; or

     xvii. is in any way used for or in connection with spamming, spimming, phishing, trolling, or similar activities.


j. No False Information. You will not provide inaccurate, misleading or false information to LawChamps or to any other user. If you discover that information provided to LawChamps or another user subsequently becomes inaccurate, misleading or false, you will promptly notify LawChamps of such change.


k. No Junk or Spam Email. You will not transmit any chain letters, junk or spam e-mail to other users. Further, you will not use any information obtained from the Site or Services in order to contact, advertise to, solicit, or sell to any user without their prior explicit consent. If you breach the terms of this subsection and send or post unsolicited bulk email, "spam" or other unsolicited communications of any kind through the Site or Services, you acknowledge that you will have caused substantial and irreparable harm to LawChamps, and, further, that legal, monetary relief would not fully compensate LawChamps for the breach. You therefore agree that LawChamps may seek immediate, extraordinary relief in a court of competent jurisdiction, including but not limited to temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions and/or permanent injunctions, in addition to any request for legal, monetary relief, without posting bond or other security, in the event of any alleged breach of this subsection. Moreover, you also agree that the exact amount of harm caused LawChamps would be extremely difficult to ascertain. As a reasonable estimation of such harm, you agree to pay LawChamps $500 for each unsolicited communication you send and/or that is received through the Site or Services as the result of your actions. Finally, in any dispute arising under this subsection of this agreement, the prevailing party shall be awarded his or her reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.


l. Unique and Bona Fide Profile. As a User of the Matching Services, you will create a unique profile with your information, and you agree to create only one profile, which you commit to keeping up-to-date and accurate. In addition, your use of the Matching Service must be for the purpose of soliciting an attorney to represent you in a pending case, legal matter or issue in order to maintain the integrity of the Matching Service. Not all attorney users are available for matching at all times. Moreover, from time to time, LawChamps may create test profiles in order to monitor the operation of the Services.


m. No Harassment of LawChamps Employees or Agents. You will not harass, annoy, intimidate or threaten any LawChamps employee or agent engaged in providing any portion of the Site and Services to you.


n. Social Media. We may provide you the option to connect your LawChamps profile or account to your accounts on social networking sites (such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or Linkedin) for the purpose of logging in, uploading information or enabling certain features on the Service. THIS IS STRICTLY OPTIONAL AND INTENDED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING CONVENIENCE TO YOU AS THE USER WHEN ACCESSING YOUR LAWCHAMPS ACCOUNT. When enabling this feature, we will disclose to you the information we collect from the connected social networking site, and will use such information in compliance with our Privacy Policy. By connecting your LawChamps to your account(s) on any social networking site, you hereby consent to the continuous release of information about you to LawChamps. We will not send any of your LawChamps account information to the connected social networking site without first disclosing that to you. You can always disconnect the accounts via your LawChamps Account Settings page. Each social network may further allow you to set privacy controls around your information on their system, and LawChamps’ collection of information will always follow such controls and permissions. This feature is subject to continuous change and improvement by us and each social networking site involved, and therefore the available features and shared information are subject to change.

 

3. Proprietary Rights.

a. LawChamps’ Proprietary Information.  You hereby acknowledge and agree that LawChamps is the owner of highly valuable proprietary information pertaining to the Site and Services, including without limitation, LawChamps’ matching system, profile and reviewing systems, automated questions and intake questionnaires, calendaring functions and alerts, and other case management systems (collectively, "Proprietary Information"). LawChamps owns and hereby retains all of its proprietary rights in the Site and Services, including but not limited to, its proprietary rights in any and all Proprietary Information.

b. No Use of Proprietary Information.  You will not post, copy, modify, transmit, disclose, show in public, create any derivative works from, distribute, make commercial use of, or reproduce in any way, any Proprietary Information accessible via the Site or Services, without first obtaining the express prior written consent of LawChamps.

c. LawChamps’ Intellectual Property Rights.  You hereby acknowledge that any and all of LawChamps Intellectual Property Rights pertaining to LawChamps, its Site and Services, remain the sole and exclusive rights of LawChamps. You further acknowledge that nothing in this agreement intends to or does grant any Intellectual Property Rights to you or allows you the right to access or use LawChamps’ Intellectual Property.  “Intellectual Property” and “Intellectual Property Rights” shall have the broadest possible meaning, and shall include, without limitation, any and all common law and registered intellectual property rights, patents and/or applications, trademarks and/or trademarks and/or trademark applications, copyrights and/or copyright applications, trade secrets, processes or systems, sales and distribution networks, logos, websites, designs, advertising or promotional materials, automated questionnaires or related research, and/or information related in any way to LawChamps and its Site and Services which now exist, or at any point in the future shall exist, as well as any derivative works, moral rights, and/or other artistic rights associated in any way whatsoever with any of the foregoing.  You agree to respect and not infringe LawChamps’ Intellectual Property Rights, and further agree not to make commercial use of LawChamps’ Intellectual Property, without first obtaining the express prior written consent of LawChamps.   

d. Other Users’ Information. Other Users may post copyrighted information on the Site or through the Services, which has copyright protection whether or not it is identified as copyrighted. You agree that you will not copy, modify, publish, transmit, distribute, perform, display, commercially use, or sell any proprietary information of LawChamps or any third party user that may be made available via the Site or Services, without first obtaining the express prior written consent of the owner of such proprietary rights.

e. License to Posted or Accessed Content.  You may elect to post information or content to any profile pages or other public area of the Site or Services, and you may further elect to link your LawChamps profile or account to any of your social network accounts, for the purpose of linking or posting content to the public areas of the Site or Services, or to populate your profile. You agree that you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to LawChamps and its users, an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, fully-paid, worldwide license to use, reproduce, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute information and content you link or post to the public areas of the Site or Services and your profile, and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such information and content, and to grant and authorize sub-licenses of the foregoing. From time to time, LawChamps may create, test, and/or implement new features or programs on the Site in which you may voluntarily choose to participate or may be a part of a test group with special access, in accordance with the additional terms and conditions of such features or programs. By your participation in such features or programs, you grant LawChamps the rights stated in this subsection in connection with the additional terms and conditions (if any) of such features or programs.
 

4. User Information.

a. Privacy Statement. For information about the collection and possible use of information and material provided by you to LawChamps, please click on the Privacy Policy located on the Site. Your use of the Site and the Services is contingent upon your consenting to the terms of LawChamps’ Privacy Policy.

b. Exchange of Information. Your responses to your automated questions and intake questionnaire are shared with your potential attorney matches at the time of match. You may, at your discretion, exchange further information with your attorney match after you have been matched and the attorney user has confirmed they are available for a legal consultation.

c. Disclosure By Law. You acknowledge and agree that LawChamps may disclose information you provide if required to do so by law, at the request of a third party provided that notice has been given to you of the request, or if we, in our sole discretion, believe that disclosure is reasonable to (1) comply with the law, requests or orders from law enforcement, or any legal process (whether or not such disclosure is required by applicable law); (2) protect or defend LawChamps, your, or a third party's, rights or property; or (3) protect someone's health or safety, such as when harm or violence against any person (including a user) is threatened.

d. Use of Anonymous Information for Research. You agree to allow LawChamps to anonymously use the information from you and your experiences provided through the Site and Services to conduct research to improve the Site and Services.  By way of example only, LawChamps will monitor the popularity of certain areas of its Site and Services and their features, to determine how to improve the functionality of the Site and Services and assess what further products, features and services to offer in the future.  However, we will not publish research containing your personal information. For further information, please see our Privacy Policy.
 

5. Links to Third-Party Web Sites / Dealings with Our Partners.

The Site, Services, and LawChamps’ newsletters and emails may contain display ads or special offerings from our partners and links to web sites of these third-party partners, which are not under the control of LawChamps, and LawChamps is not responsible for the content of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site, or any changes or updates to such websites. LawChamps provides these offerings and links to you only as a convenience, because we have a business partnership with the third party making the offer (we do not accept payment from our partners for making these offers to you) and the inclusion of any display ad or link does not imply that LawChamps endorses or accepts any responsibility for the content on such third-party web site. Your correspondence or business dealings with, or participation in offers or promotions from those third parties found on or through the Site and Services (including payment and delivery of related goods or services, any personal information or opt-in contact information voluntarily given to advertisers and sweepstake sponsors, and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings) are solely between you and such third party. You agree that LawChamps will not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings, including the sharing of the information you supply to LawChamps with our partners, or as the result of the presence of such display ads or special offerings on the Site and Services. Please read our Privacy Policy to learn more about how we use your information.
 

6. Disclaimer of Warranty.

a. No Warranties. THIS SECTION WILL APPLY TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. LAWCHAMPS PROVIDES THE SITE AND SERVICES ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS AND GRANTS NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICES OR THE SITE (INCLUDING ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN), INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. LAWCHAMPS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND SERVICES WILL BE SECURE, UNINTERRUPTED, ALWAYS AVAILABLE, ERROR-FREE OR WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT ANY DEFECTS IN THE SITE AND SERVICES WILL BE CORRECTED. LAWCHAMPS DISCLAIMS LIABILITY FOR, AND NO WARRANTY IS MADE WITH RESPECT TO, THE CONNECTIVITY AND AVAILABILITY OF THE SITE AND SERVICES.

b. Disclaimer. LAWCHAMPS IS NOT AN ATTORNEY OR A LAW FIRM AND THE EMPLOYEES OF LAWCHAMPS ARE NOT ACTING AS YOUR ATTORNEY. LAWCHAMPS DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY LEGAL ADVICE. THE USE OF LAWCHAMPS, THE SITE, OR SERVICES DO NOT CONSTITUTE AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND LAWCHAMPS OR ANY LAWCHAMPS EMPLOYEE. USE OF THE SITE AND SERVICES IS INTENDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND SHOULD BE USED ONLY AS A STARTING POINT FOR ADDRESSING YOUR LEGAL ISSUES, WHICH SHOULD BE ADDRESSED THROUGH CONSULTATION WITH A LICENSED ATTORNEY. FOR FURTHER CLARITY, ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED BY LAWCHAMPS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR AN IN-PERSON OR TELEPHONE CONSULTATION WITH AN ATTORNEY LICENSED TO PRACTICE IN YOUR JURISDICTION ABOUT YOUR SPECIFIC LEGAL ISSUE, AND YOU SHOULD NOT RELY UPON SUCH INFORMATION. LAWCHAMPS WILL NOT INFLUENCE OR INTERFERE IN ANY MANNER WITH AN ATTORNEY’S INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT AND/OR ITS GENERAL USERS’ JUDGMENT OR DECISIONS. ANY COMMUNICATION WITH LAWCHAMPS OR ON THE SITE IS NOT SUBJECT TO AN ATTORNEY’S DUTY OF CONFIDENTIALITY, THOUGH LAWCHAMPS WILL RESPECT THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE AND WORK PRODUCT DOCTRINE TO THE EXTENT YOUR ATTORNEY ADVISES US IT APPLIES TO ANY ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATIONS THAT MAY BE MADE UTILIZING THE SITE AND SERVICES.


The hiring of an attorney is an important decision that you should take seriously and treat with due care; ultimately, you are solely responsible for your decisions regarding whether to engage an attorney and which attorney to engage. That decision should not be based solely upon advertisements. Attorneys that you solicit for legal services may provide certain information regarding legal practice areas, pricing, and experience on their profiles. The profiles are advertisements and you should read and interpret them as such. LawChamps is not liable for any statements, representations, ratings, endorsements, advertisements, testimonials, responses, comments, information, opinions, advice, links to any third party websites and content contained on such third party websites, or content of any other kind transmitted by attorneys, and any such reference(s) on the Site are not a sponsorship, endorsement, or recommendation by LawChamps. You are responsible for assessing the quality, integrity, and trustworthiness of all attorneys with whom you communicate regarding your legal needs. LawChamps makes no representation that the quality of the legal services to be performed by any one attorney is greater than the quality of legal services performed by any other attorney. Similarly, LawChamps makes no representation as to the outcome of any legal representation or matter. Results of an attorney’s prior legal representation do not guarantee a similar outcome in the future.

As with all legal situations, you should discuss any concerns you may have regarding the legal representation with your attorney and get the fees, costs and scope of your agreement for legal representation in writing. Please note that some attorneys discourage the use of certain types of communication (such as texting or unencrypted e-mail) for confidential or sensitive information; this should be discussed with your attorney. As stated, attorneys are solely responsible for any advice and legal services they provide you, and that advice and those services should be understood to be coming solely and directly from the attorneys and not through or from LawChamps. Each attorney reserves the right to make independent professional judgments regarding the legal representations they undertake and the legal services they provide. LawChamps has no influence on, involvement in, or responsibility for the professional services of its attorney users.

As stated, any attorney that you engage should provide you with a separate engagement agreement for you to review and agree to, and the scope of the legal services to be provided you should be specified in, and will be governed by, that agreement.  Any and all disputes between you and any attorney user, including but not limited to disputes regarding whether an attorney-client relationship has been established, the scope of services to be provided, the quality of the services provided, the propriety of the fees charged and/or payments made, shall be resolved between you and the attorney user, not LawChamps.

c. Third Party Content. Opinions, advice, statements, offers, or other information or content made available through the Site or Services, but not directly by LawChamps, are those of their respective authors, and should not necessarily be relied upon. Such authors are solely responsible for such content. LAWCHAMPS DOES NOT: (i) GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR USEFULNESS OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THE SITE OR SERVICES AUTHORED BY OTHERS, OR (ii) ADOPT, ENDORSE OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY OPINION, ADVICE, OR STATEMENT MADE BY ANY PARTY OTHER THAN LAWCHAMPS. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL LAWCHAMPS BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE RESULTING FROM ANYONE'S RELIANCE ON INFORMATION OR OTHER CONTENT AUTHORED BY, POSTED ON THE SITE OR SERVICES BY, OR TRANSMITTED TO OR BY, ANY PARTY OTHER THAN LAWCHAMPS.

d. Beta Features. From time to time, LawChamps may offer new "beta" features or tools with which its users may experiment on the Services. Such features or tools are offered solely for experimental purposes and without any warranty of any kind, and may be modified or discontinued at LawChamps’ sole discretion. The provisions of this Disclaimer of Warranty section apply with full force to such features or tools.

 

7. Limitations of Liability.

a. Incidental Damages and Aggregate Liability. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL LAWCHAMPS BE LIABLE UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INDIRECT DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE OR SERVICES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OR CORRUPTION OF DATA OR PROGRAMS, SITE OR SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS AND PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES, EVEN IF LAWCHAMPS KNOWS OR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL LAWCHAMPS’ AGGREGATE LIABILITY, IN ANY FORM OF ACTION WHATSOEVER IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR THE USE OF THE SERVICES OR THE SITE, EXCEED THE PRICE PAID BY YOU FOR YOUR ACCOUNT, OR, IF YOU HAVE NOT PAID LAWCHAMPS FOR THE USE OF ANY SERVICES, THE AMOUNT OF $10.00 USD OR ITS EQUIVALENT.

b. No Liability for Non-LawChamps Actions. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL LAWCHAMPS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, GENERAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, COMPENSATORY, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE CONDUCT OF YOU OR ANYONE ELSE IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THE SITE OR SERVICES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, BODILY INJURY, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, AND/OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES RESULTING FROM COMMUNICATIONS OR MEETINGS WITH ATTORNEYS OR OTHER USERS OF THE SITE OR SERVICES. THIS INCLUDES ANY CLAIMS, LOSSES OR DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE CONDUCT OF USERS WHO HAVE REGISTERED UNDER FALSE PRETENSES OR WHO ATTEMPT TO DEFRAUD OR HARM YOU.

c. Information Verification. LawChamps may use various ways of verifying information that users have provided, with their consent. However, none of those ways are perfect, and you agree that LawChamps will have no liability to you arising from any incorrectly verified information.
 

8. Indemnification.

For General Users. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless LawChamps, its subsidiaries and/or parent companies, and each of their officers, directors, employees, agents, attorneys, and related third parties, for any losses, costs, liabilities and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs) relating to or arising out of any third party claim related to (a) your use of or inability to use the Site or Services, (b) any user postings made by you, (c) your violation of any terms of this Agreement or your violation of any rights of a third party, or (d) your violation of any applicable laws, rules or regulations regarding, referring, or relating to the Site or the Services. LawChamps reserves the right, at its own cost, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will fully cooperate with LawChamps in asserting any available defenses. You further agree to indemnify and hold LawChamps harmless for any claims relating to or arising out of the outcome of your representation, any and all services performed by attorneys that you are matched with through the Site or Services or that you otherwise engage, and/or for your payments or failure to make payments due to any attorneys.
 

9. Complaints / Law Enforcement or Government Contact.

To resolve a complaint regarding the Site and Services, you should review our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) by clicking on the FAQs link located at the top of any page of the Site, or e-mail us. Law enforcement officials may send correspondence (such as subpoenas, court orders and warrants) to our registered agent for service of process: Northwest Registered Agent, Inc. (C3184722).  All other communications or inquiries sent to this registered agent related to LawChamps will be discarded.  If you hire an attorney and have a dispute with your attorney, you also have the right to file a complaint with a state’s bar association concerning the conduct of your attorney.
 

10. Communication and Privacy.

We may use your email address to send you messages notifying you of important changes to the Services or special offers or promotions. Further, we may contact you by telephone or text message if you voluntarily provide us with your telephone number and opt into receiving text messages and alerts, in order to communicate with you regarding the Site and Services. If you do not want to receive such email messages or telephone calls (including at any wireless number you may have voluntarily provided us), please refer to our Privacy Policy to review your options.
 

11. Term and Termination.

This Agreement will become effective upon your acceptance of the Agreement and your use of the Site or Services and will remain in effect in perpetuity unless terminated hereunder. Either you or LawChamps may terminate your account at any time, for any reason or no reason, without explanation, effective upon sending written notice to the other party. LawChamps reserves the right to immediately suspend or terminate your access to the Site or Services, without notice, for any reason or no reason. We also reserve the right to remove your account information or data from our Site or Services and any other records at any time at our sole discretion. You may terminate your account by selecting "Contact Us" on the drop down menu in the top right corner or bottom of the website and sending a message which states that you are cancelling this Agreement, or words of similar effect, or by sending an email to: support@lawchamps.com. Please include the e-mail address associated with your account in this notice. Following any termination of any user's use of the Site or Services, LawChamps reserves the right to send a notice thereof to other users with whom you have corresponded.
 

12. Cancellations.

a. Cancellation. At Any Time. Except as otherwise stated in this Agreement, you may cancel your LawChamps account at any time by selecting "Contact Us" on website, and sending a message which states that you are cancelling your account, or words of similar effect, or by sending an email to: support@lawchamps.com. Please include the e-mail address associated with your LawChamps account in this notice.
 

13. Billing and Pricing.

a. Price Changes. LawChamps does not currently charge its general users a membership fee, subscription fee, or other fee to use the Site and Services to be matched with attorney users. LawChamps reserves the right to impose fees or adjust membership pricing at any time. Unless LawChamps expressly communicates otherwise, any pricing changes for memberships, and/or the Site and Services, will take effect upon notice communicated through a newsletter, email, on LawChamps’ website, or such other means as deemed appropriate from time to time.

b. Gifts and Promotions. From time to time, LawChamps may make available itself or through third parties gift cards for participating in LawChamps’ surveys, promotions, or other events. The purchase and redemption of gift cards may be subject to additional terms. From time to time, other types of promotions, including through the use of promotional codes, may be available, including those provided as part of a third party promotion. Promotions and promotional codes may be redeemed as described in the specifics of the promotion. Unless otherwise expressly communicated to you in connection with your redemption, gift cards, promotions and promotional codes are only available to new customers that have never utilized LawChamps before, are not transferable, can only be used once, cannot be redeemed for cash, may not be combined with other offers, and are void where prohibited. If you received a promotional code through an offer by a third party, additional conditions may apply.
 

14. Arbitration.

a. Arbitration of Disputes. You and LawChamps agree that any and all disputes arising out of or related to the Site, the Services, this Agreement and/or any policies or practices of LawChamps (a “Dispute”), will be subject to FINAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION as set forth in this section, and may only be resolved through an individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA), to the maximum extent permitted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).  YOU AND LAWCHAMPS AGREE THAT WE ARE EACH GIVING UP OUR RIGHT TO GO TO COURT in connection with a Dispute (subject to the exceptions listed in subsection 14b), and that our rights will be determined by a NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR OR ARBITRATION PANEL, NOT A JUDGE OR JURY.  Notwithstanding the above, LawChamps is always interested in attempting to resolve any disputes by amicable and informal means, and we encourage you to contact us before resorting to arbitration. If you have an issue, question or concern about the Site or Services and are contemplating arbitration, please direct your inquiries to us at jennifer@lawchamps.com

b. Exceptions to Arbitration. The only exceptions to this agreement to arbitrate Disputes are (i) in the event that LawChamps brings legal and/or equitable claims (including but not limited to claims for injunctive relief) in accordance with Section 2.k of this Agreement regarding, referring or relating to your use of the Site and Services, in which case LawChamps may elect to have such claims heard in any court of competent jurisdiction; (ii) in the event that LawChamps brings legal and/or equitable claims regarding, referring or relating to the misuse, misappropriation, infringement and/or other violation of LawChamps’ proprietary rights in its Proprietary Information in accordance with Sections 3.a and 3.b of this Agreement, in which case LawChamps may elect to have such claims heard in any court of competent jurisdiction; (iii) in the event that LawChamps brings legal and/or equitable claims regarding, referring or relating to the misuse, misappropriation, infringement, and/or other violation of LawChamps’ Intellectual Property Rights in accordance with Section 3.c of this Agreement, in which case LawChamps may elect to have such claims heard in any court of competent jurisdiction; and (iv) in the event LawChamps seeks an injunction or other extraordinary relief as provided for in Section 15.a of this Agreement.

c. No Class Actions. YOU AND LAWCHAMPS ACKNOWLEDGE THAT NEITHER OF US WILL BRING OR PARTICIPATE IN ANY CLASS ACTION OR OTHER CLASS PROCEEDING IN CONNECTION WITH ANY DISPUTE WITH THE OTHER PARTY. Further, neither you nor LawChamps agrees to class arbitration or any arbitration where a person brings a dispute as a representative of other person(s).

d. Arbitration Procedure. If the parties are unable to resolve a Dispute by informal means, the arbitration of Disputes will be administered by the AAA, in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules, and if deemed appropriate by the arbitrator or arbitrators, the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer-Related Disputes.  The parties further agree that the arbitration will take place in San Francisco, California.

e. Enforcement. The arbitrator(s) will have full and exclusive power and authority to rule on his, her and/or their jurisdiction and to decide any and all issues of arbitrability.

f. Entry of Judgment. The award rendered by the arbitrator(s) will be final and binding.  Judgment on the award may be entered in court.  For clarity, the parties hereby submit to the jurisdiction of the Federal and State courts in San Francisco, California, for the purpose of confirming any such award and entering judgment thereon.

 

15. General Provisions.

a. Right to Seek Injunction.  Violation of this Agreement may cause LawChamps irreparable harm, and therefore you agree that LawChamps will be entitled to seek extraordinary relief in any court of competent jurisdiction, including but not limited to temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions and permanent injunctions without the necessity of posting a bond or other security, in addition to and without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that LawChamps may have for a breach of this Agreement.

b. Choice of Law and Venue.  This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to conflict of law principles. However, as set forth in Section 14, any and all Disputes will be arbitrated to the maximum extent permitted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).  Arbitrations provided for under this Agreement shall be administered by the AAA in San Francisco, California, pursuant to the AAA’s Commercial Arbitration Rules and any other AAA rules that the arbitrator(s) deem appropriate, also in keeping with the provisions of Section 14 of this Agreement.  In the limited instances in which this Agreement permits the parties to apply to a court for legal or equitable relief, and/or to confirm and enter an arbitration award in court, the parties submit and consent to the jurisdiction of the State of California and agree that such proceedings shall be conducted in the state courts of San Francisco, California or the federal courts for the United States for the Northern District of California.

c. Miscellaneous. This Agreement, the Privacy Policy located on the Site, and any applicable payment, renewal, and/or additional Service terms, comprise the entire agreement between you and LawChamps regarding the use of the Site and Services, superseding any prior agreements between you and LawChamps related to your use of this Site or Services (including, but not limited to, any prior versions of this Agreement). The FAQ's found on the Site and/or any other communications between you and LawChamps are for informational purposes only and are not deemed to be part of this Agreement. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, the Agreement will survive termination of your registration to the Service. The failure of LawChamps to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid, the remainder of this Agreement will continue in full force and effect to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. The section titles in this Agreement are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.

 

16. Digital Millennium Copyright Act Notice.

If you believe that your copyrighted work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement and is accessible on this Site, please notify LawChamps’ copyright agent, as set forth in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA). For your complaint to be valid under the DMCA, you must provide the following information in writing:
 
  • An electronic or physical signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner;
  • Identification of the copyrighted work that you claim is being infringed;
  • Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and where it is located on the Site;
  • Information reasonably sufficient to permit eHarmony to contact you, such as your address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
  • 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 law; and
  • A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information is accurate, and that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on behalf of the owner.

The above information must be submitted to the following DMCA Agent:
 
Designated Copyright Agent
The Court Buddy Company, Inc. dba LawChamps
548 Castro Street #101, San Francisco CA 94114
copyright@lawchamps.com (only DMCA notices will be accepted at this email address. All other inquiries or requests will be discarded)
 

17. Tax Disclosures and Notices.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Circular 230 Tax Advice Disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS under Circular 230, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in any communication from LawChamps (including information provided by an attorney) is and was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (1) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (2) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any matters addressed therein.