Terms

E-Lawyer Master Terms of Use

Updated June 13, 2007

Introduction

The following constitutes the master terms of use with respect to all pages appearing on the E-Lawyer.com domain and subdomains thereof (herein the "Website"). By accessing the Website you agree to be bound by these master terms of use whether you have registered as a "Member" or whether you are a "Site Visitor" (which means that you access the E-Lawyer.com Website without registering) The term "User" refers to a Site Visitor or a Member. You are only authorized to use our services (regardless of whether your access or use is intended) if you agree to abide by all applicable laws and to this Agreement. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, you must immediately cease access to the Website and otherwise discontinue all activity with regard to the Website.

Master Agreement

In order to receive some services on the Website, you may be required to agree to additional terms and conditions. Unless otherwise provided by the additional terms and conditions applicable to said services, those additional terms are hereby incorporated into this Agreement.

Definitions

"The Website" means any page accessible on the E-Lawyer.com or E-Lawyerforums.com domains. "User", "You", "Your", "Site Visitor", "Member", means anyone accessing any page on the E-Lawyer.com or E-Lawyerforums.com domains and their heirs successors and assigns. "ELTR", "E-Lawyer.com", "E-Lawyer", "We" and "Us" mean E-Lawyer Technology Resources, L.L.C. its successors and assigns.

Permitted Uses

Only those uses which are expressly invited on the website shall be considered authorized by these terms of use and permitted. All uses other than those expressly authorized may subject the user to civil and criminal liability.

Prohibited uses

Prohibited uses include but are not limited to: Solicitation not authorized by ELTR including collecting of contact information, usernames and/or email addresses of Members by electronic or other means for the purpose of sending unsolicited email; Unauthorized framing of or linking to the ELTR Website is prohibited. Commercial advertisements, affiliate links, and other forms of solicitation may be removed from Member profiles without notice and may result in termination of Membership privileges; Copyright infringement, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate subject matter including but not limited to nudity, or obscene, lewd, excessively violent, harassing, sexually explicit material or material that is otherwise inappropriate when considered in light of the overall subject matter of the website. ELTR reserves the right to investigate complaints or reported violations of our Terms and Conditions of Use and to take any action we deem appropriate, including but not limited to, reporting any suspected unlawful activity to law enforcement officials, regulators, or other third parties and disclosing any information necessary or appropriate to such persons or entities relating to your profiles, e-mail addresses, usage history, posted materials, IP addresses and traffic information. ELTR reserves the right to take any and all civil or criminal actions in response to any illegal or unauthorized use of the Website.

Ask-Find Attorneys

You agree that any inquiries directed to any Member attorneys contain only truthful information and the subject of the inquiry relates to a real life situation. You agree that your inquiry is for lawful purposes. You agree that all inquiries are made with respect to your legal situation and not on behalf of any third party or at the direction of any third party. You agree not to use the website in violation of any laws or contemplated violation of any law. You understand that in certain limited situations attorneys and/or ELTR may have a duty to disclose otherwise privileged information to third parties. Attorney users acknowledge their professional obligations in this regard and acknowledge that ELTR does not necessarily screen inquiries for ethical implications. Attorney members acknowledge that any screening is not necessarily performed by attorneys familiar with any applicable rules of professional conduct. You agree that ELTR does not operate a referral service. ELTR does not endorse the qualifications or advice or other communications of any Attorney members or other users. All profiles appearing on the website are either free or paid advertisements and ELTR receives no legal fees in connection with the hiring of any attorney as a result of a users use of the website. All users acknowledge that they are solely responsible for selecting attorneys to contact. ELTR does not guarantee that attorneys will respond to any inquiry. All users agree that confidential information shall not be transmitted between users unless and until an attorney-client relationship is established between users. All users acknowledge and accept all ELTR limitations of liability contained in this agreement regarding actions of other users and third parties.

Amendment

ELTR may modify this Master Agreement from time to time without prior notice. Any such modification shall be effective upon posting on the Website. Notice of modification will appear on each Member’s "My Account" page on the Website. It is your responsibility to check the latest update to this agreement. If you do not agree to any updates to this agreement, it is your responsibility to delete all your content from the Website. Continuing to access the Website constitutes your agreement to the amendments to this Master Agreement. You must ensure that you have read and agree to each modification of this agreement.

User Content

You acknowledge that all members assume responsibility for all content appearing on their profile pages on the website . You acknowledge that some content may contain inaccurate, outdated, misleading, unethical, or otherwise improper information. You acknowledge that E-Lawyer does not review said content nor make any warranties or representations whatsoever with regard to said content. Should you become aware that any such content violates this agreement or is otherwise improper, you acknowledge your obligation to provide appropriate notice to ELTR immediately.
ELTR assumes no responsibility for monitoring the website for inaccurate, outdated, misleading, unethical, or otherwise improper or inappropriate content or conduct. If at any time ELTR chooses, in its sole discretion, to monitor the website, ELTR nonetheless assumes no responsibility for the content, no obligation to modify or remove any inappropriate content, and no responsibility for the conduct of any User submitting any such content.
You acknowledge that ELTR may delete any content appearing on the website for any reason whatsoever in its sole discretion.

Removal of Content

ELTR reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject, refuse to post or remove any items including but not limited to profiles, parts thereof and uploaded documents and photos appearing on the Website. ELTR reserves all rights to restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to all or any part of the Website at any time, for any or no reason, with or without prior notice, and without liability. ELTR expressly reserves the right to remove all profiles your profile and/or restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to any part of Website if ELTR determines, in its sole discretion, that you pose a threat to ELTR and/or its Users.

Licensure

You acknowledge that prior to posting of a Member profile purporting to be that of a licensed attorney, ELTR will attempt to verify active licensure with the attorney’s licensing authority in the applicable jurisdiction. You acknowledge that this does not relieve you from your primary independent duty to confirm proper licensure prior to retaining said purported attorney or law firm. You acknowledge that changes in an attorney’s licensure status occur from time to time for many reasons and it is important that prior to hiring an attorney, you confirm that said attorney holds a valid license in your jurisdiction.
Attorney members hereby warrant that should any change occur in the Attorney Member’s licensure status that impedes the Member’s ability to hold oneself out as a licensed, active attorney, the Attorney Member will remove their profile from the Website immediately upon said change in licensure status and notify ELTR so we may take any necessary actions in response to the change in licensure status.
Attorney members agree that their access and use of the website is in compliance with all rules of professional responsibility in the member’s licensing jurisdiction. Member acknowledges that ELTR does not warrant that features and services offered by ELTR are permissible in the member’s jurisdiction. Member acknowledges its non delegable duty to comply with all such rules at all times.

Veracity

By registering on the Website or otherwise utilizing any services on the website, whether or not you create a profile, you warrant that all information you provide is truthful and not in violation of any law or rule of professional responsibility at the time entered. You also agree that any access of the website, interaction with other persons on the website or registration is not on behalf of any third parties. You further acknowledge your duty to periodically review all information you cause to appear on the Website and registration information and make any changes required to ensure accuracy. You agree that you will, at all times, provide ELTR with accurate information even if the website allows for a degree of anonymity in posting or other website interaction.

Fees

You acknowledge that ELTR may offer certain services on the Website in exchange for payment of fees or charges. You acknowledge that we reserve the right to make changes to said fee schedule from time to time in our sole discretion. If you violate this agreement, you shall not be entitled to refund of any unused or prepaid fees and charges.

Password Integrity

You acknowledge that a password that you choose will allow access to your account. You acknowledge your full responsibility to ensure that the confidentiality of your password is not compromised. You agree not to use the account, username, or password of another Member at any time or to disclose your password to any third party. You agree to notify ELTR immediately if you suspect any unauthorized use of your account or access to your password. You are solely responsible for any and all use of your account.

License to ELTR

Unless provided by separate agreement, ELTR does not claim any ownership rights in the content users post to the Website. After posting such content to the Website, users retain all ownership rights in said content. However by posting any content on the Website, users hereby grant to ELTR a nonexclusive, royalty free, worldwide, limited license to use, modify, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce, and distribute such content solely on and through the Website. Users hereby agree that this license extends to our affiliates, subcontractors and business partners to effectuate posting of the content to the Website. Upon removal by you of the content, this license will terminate. The license does not grant ELTR the right to sell your content, nor does the license grant ELTR the right to distribute your content outside of the Website.

Content

You must assume that everything on this site is copyrighted (unless otherwise specifically noted) and may not be used , downloaded, printed, or copied in any manner or form except as provided by this agreement or as set forth on the site without the express prior written consent of ELTR.

You warrant that with respect to any content you post to the Website, you have the right to grant the license referred to in this agreement and that the posting of said content on the Website does not violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, contract rights or any other rights of any person. You agree to pay for all royalties, fees, and any other monies owing any person by reason of any content posted by you on the Website.

Except for the limited license referred to in this agreement, nothing in this agreement grants or should be construed to grant any licenses or rights, by implication, estoppel or otherwise, under copyright or other intellectual property rights.

The Website contains contain content owned by ELTR ("ELTR Content"). ELTR Content is protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other laws. You agree that all right, title and interest (including all copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents and other intellectual property rights) in the Website and its content belong to ELTR, its licensors, Users, Members or Visitors as applicable.

ELTR hereby grants you a limited, revocable, nonsublicensable license to reproduce and display ELTR Content (excluding any software code) solely for your personal use in connection with viewing the ELTR Website and using the Website.

The Website contains content owned by Users and other ELTR licensors. Except for content posted by you and otherwise not in violation of any law or rights of others , you may not copy, modify, translate, publish, broadcast, transmit, distribute, perform, display, or sell any content appearing on or through the Website.

You hereby acknowledge that Users are solely responsible for the content that Users post on or through the website. With respect to any material or information that Users transmit to other Users, ELTR does not warrant review nor endorse and has no control over this content. Such content is not necessarily reviewed by ELTR prior to posting and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of ELTR. ELTR makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the content or to the accuracy and reliability of the content or any material or information that Users transmit to other users or post to the website. ELTR shall not be responsible for and assumes no liability for any mistakes, misstatements of law, defamation, omissions, falsehood, obscenity, pornography or profanity in the statements, opinions, representations or any other form of content contained in any non E-Lawyer content appearing on the website. You understand that the information and opinions in such content represent solely the thoughts of the author and is neither endorsed by nor does it reflect the belief of ELTR

ELTR reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in ELTR's sole discretion, violates this agreement, including without limitation, reporting any user to law enforcement authorities, attorney licensing authorities or other unlicensed practice of law enforcement authority.

Advertisers

The Website may contain advertising and sponsorship. Advertisers and sponsors are responsible for ensuring that material submitted for inclusion on the Website is accurate and complies with applicable laws. ELTR will not be responsible for the illegality of or any error or inaccuracy in any advertiser’s or sponsor’s materials.

No Proprietary Interest

This Agreement is not assignable or transferable and may not be sublicensed by you. ELTR may assign this Agreement in whole or in part. No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment relationship is created as a result of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the fact that a subdomain, user name or e-mail address may have been created by a user, ELTR retains all property rights in all materials on the website or in the code with respect thereto including but not limited to user names, e-mail addresses, and subdomains. Any attempted transfer with or without consideration is prohibited. ELTR reserves the right to reassign, disable or eliminate subdomains, user names, e-mail addresses and anything else on the website without notice.

Termination

You may terminate this agreement at any time, for any reason, by following the instructions to delete your profile on your “My Account” page. ELTR may terminate this agreement any time, without prior notice, for any reason. All terms and conditions of this agreement remain in effect following termination.

Privacy

Use of the website is governed by our Privacy Policy, which is hereby incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

Disclaimers

IN NO EVENT SHALL ELTR BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFIT DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, EVEN IF ELTR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. AND EVEN IF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS, DAMAGES, EXPENSES OR CLAIMS, DEMANDS OR ACTIONS WAS ADIVSED OR KNOWN. THE WEB SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS " BASIS. ELTR EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. ELTR DISCLAIMS ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY LOSS, INJURY, CLAIM, LIABILITY, OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND RESULTING FROM, ARISING OUT OF OR ANY WAY RELATED TO ANY ERRORS IN OR OMISSIONS FROM THE WEBSITE AND ITS CONTENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO TECHNICAL INACCURACIES AND TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS; ANY THIRD PARTY WEB SITES OR CONTENT THEREIN DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ACCESSED THROUGH LINKS IN THE WEBSITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY ERRORS IN OR OMISSIONS THEREFROM; THE UNAVAILABILITY OF THE WEBSITE OR ANY PORTION THEREOF; YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, OR YOUR USE OF ANY EQUIPMENT OR SOFTWARE IN CONNECTION WITH THE WEBSITE. ELTR SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS, INJURY, CLAIM, LIABILITY, OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THE WEB SITE. ELTR SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ADVICE GIVEN BY USERS OR CONTENT POSTED BY ANY USER. ELTR SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ATTORNEYS' FEES) IN ANY WAY DUE TO, RESULTING FROM, OR ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE WEB SITE OR THE CONTENT; AND YOUR PARTICIPATION IN A CHAT ROOMS, MESSAGE BOARDS OR EMAIL FORUMS. TO THE EXTENT THIS LIMITATION ON LIABILITY IS PROHIBITED, ELTR’S SOLE OBLIGATION TO YOU FOR DAMAGES SHALL BE LIMITED TO $100.00. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, ELTR'S LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION, WILL AT ALL TIMES BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID, IF ANY, BY YOU TO ELTR. ELTR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INCORRECT OR INACCURATE CONTENT POSTED ON THE WEBSITE OR IN CONNECTION WITH ELTR SERVICES, WHETHER CAUSED BY USERS OF THE WEBSITE OR BY ANY OF THE EQUIPMENT OR PROGRAMMING ASSOCIATED WITH OR UTILIZED IN THE WEBSITE. PROFILES CREATED AND POSTED BY USERS ON THE WEBSITE MAY CONTAIN LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES. ELTR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT, ACCURACY OR OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON SUCH WEBSITES, AND SUCH WEBSITES ARE IN NO WAY INVESTIGATED, MONITORED OR CHECKED FOR ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS BY ELTR. INCLUSION OF ANY LINKED WEBSITE ON THE ELTR WEBSITE DOES NOT IMPLY APPROVAL OR ENDORSEMENT OF THE LINKED WEBSITE BY ELTR. WHEN YOU ACCESS THESE THIRD-PARTY SITES, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. ELTR TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIRD PARTY ADVERTISEMENTS WHICH ARE POSTED ON THE ELTR WEBSITE, NOR DOES IT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE GOODS OR SERVICES PROVIDED BY ITS ADVERTISERS. ELTR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONDUCT, WHETHER ONLINE OR OFFLINE, OF ANY USER OF THE WEBSITE. ELTR ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DELETION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, COMMUNICATIONS LINE FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO, OR ALTERATION OF, ANY USER OR MEMBER COMMUNICATION. ELTR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY PROBLEMS OR TECHNICAL MALFUNCTION OF ANY TELEPHONE NETWORK OR LINES, COMPUTER ONLINE SYSTEMS, SERVERS OR ELTRS, COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, SOFTWARE, FAILURE OF ANY EMAIL OR PLAYERS DUE TO TECHNICAL PROBLEMS OR TRAFFIC CONGESTION ON THE INTERNET OR REGARDING ANY ELTR SERVICES OR COMBINATION THEREOF, INCLUDING ANY INJURY OR DAMAGE TO USERS OR TO ANY PERSON'S COMPUTER RELATED TO OR RESULTING FROM PARTICIPATION OR DOWNLOADING MATERIALS IN CONNECTION WITH THE WEBSITE. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL ELTR BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE, INCLUDING PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH, RESULTING FROM USE OF THE WEBSITE, FROM ANY CONTENT POSTED ON OR THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR FROM THE CONDUCT OF ANY USERS OF THE WEBSITE, WHETHER ONLINE OR OFFLINE. ELTR CANNOT GUARANTEE AND DOES NOT PROMISE ANY SPECIFIC RESULTS FROM USE OF THE WEBSITE.

Exclusions

In addition to the foregoing exclusions and limitations and notwithstanding any possible application of the exclusions above, User agrees that in no event will ELTR be liable to User or any third party under or in connection with this Agreement or otherwise for: (a) any telecommunication or satellite communication services used by ELTR, or User’s customers, clients, or Financial Institution, or any credit or debit card payment processing or issuing companies, or a change therein; (b) any Internet service or services thereof used by ELTR, or User or User’s customers, clients, or Financial Institution, or any credit or debit card payment processing or issuing companies, or a change of such a service ; (c) Internet access locations and connections used or a change therein; (d) the Internet browser, software, and equipment used by ELTR in connection with this Agreement and otherwise, or a change therein; (e) the Internet browser, software, and equipment used by User or User’s customers, clients, and/or Financial Institution, and/or credit or debit card payment processing or issuing companies, or a change therein; (f) the corruption or loss of data during data transmission, receipt, or data recovery measures; (g) the User’s and his/her/its customer’s/client’s, and/or Financial Institution’s, and/or credit or debit card payment processing and issuing companies’ data security, data loss, and data disclosure or use; (h) the actions of third parties with respect to data; (i) ELTR's records and backups of data and ELTR making records and back ups of data as required or restricted by law; (j) interruptions or non-availability of the data or payments beyond ELTR’s reasonable control due to an act of God or otherwise; (k) delayed payment or nonpayment by credit or debit card payment processing or issuing companies, or refunds demanded thereby; and/or (l) breaches caused by User or User’s customers, clients, and/or Financial Institution, and/or credit card or debit card payment processing or issuing companies. The allocations of liability in this section represent the agreed and bargained-for understanding of the parties, and ELTR’s compensation for its services hereunder reflects such allocations.

Disputes

If there is any dispute about or involving the Website, you agree that the dispute shall be governed by the laws of the State of Florida, USA, without regard to conflict of law provisions and you agree to exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue in the state and federal courts of the United States located in the State of Florida, County of Martin. Either ELTR or you may demand that any dispute between ELTR and you about or involving the Website must be settled by arbitration utilizing the dispute resolution procedures of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) in Martin County, Florida, USA, provided that the foregoing shall not prevent ELTR from seeking injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction. The failure of either party to enforce any rights hereunder shall not constitute a waiver of any terms or conditions of this agreement. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be unenforceable or invalid, this Agreement shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold ELTR, its subsidiaries, and affiliates, and their respective officers, agents, partners and employees, harmless from any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the Website in violation of this Agreement and/or arising from a breach of this Agreement and/or any breach of your representations and warranties set forth above and/or if any Content that you post on the Website or through the ELTR Services causes ELTR to be liable to another.

Waiver of Trial by Jury

All parties irrevocably waive any and all rights they may have to a trial by jury in any judicial proceeding involving any claim relating to or arising under this merchant agreement or the services provided by us.

Other

This Agreement is accepted upon your access and use of the Website or any ELTR Services and is further affirmed by you becoming a Member. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and ELTR regarding the use of the ELTR Services. The section titles in this Agreement are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect. This Agreement operates to the fullest extent permissible by law. If any provision of this Agreement is unlawful, void or unenforceable, that provision is deemed severable from this Agreement and does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. Any action by either party must be brought within two years after the cause of action arose. The prevailing party in any such action shall be entitled to the recovery of its reasonable attorney’s fees, costs and expenses.
ELTR shall not, by the mere lapse of time and without a signed writing, be deemed to have waived any rights under this Agreement. No waiver of a breach of this Agreement shall constitute a waiver of any prior or subsequent breach of this Agreement. ELTR shall be liable for any loss or damage due to causes beyond its control, including earthquake, terrorism, war, fire, flood, power failure, acts of God, or other catastrophes.
Access, use and membership in the Website is void where prohibited. All users warrant that they are over the age of majority.