Legal Information Site – Supplemental TCU
By visiting our Site, reading or making use of its content you become a “User”. We require Users to accept and agree to our Legal Information Site’s Terms and Conditions of Use (LTCU), in addition to agreeing to the following:
1) Our Privacy Policy
2) Our General Terms and Conditions of Use (GTCU)
3) Our Disclaimer
4) Our Participation and User Generated Content Policy
If you are unwilling to accept our LTCU you must immediately leave and make no use of our Site or its contents.
We may revise our LTCU at any time, without advance notice to users, so you should read and review our LTCU and other policies regularly to determine their updated status.
The Limitations of Legal Information
Legal information is NOT the same as or a substitute for competent, fully informed, personalized and professionally given legal advice.
This Site provides general legal information, not legal advice. Legal information is NOT the same as, nor a substitute for, personalized, fact sensitive, professional legal advice. We strongly recommend you consult a lawyer if you are seeking or need legal advice.
We strive to keep our content accurate and up-to date. However, the law may change abruptly due to new legislation or new judicial opinions. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that the information on the Site and services is complete or current at the time you are viewing it. The accuracy, completeness, adequacy, or currency of the Site’s content is not warranted or guaranteed.
Lawyers and legal services provide information to this Site, which information – except as expressly stated by this Site – is not verified, validated or confirmed by this Site.
The views expressed at, or through, this Site are those of the individual authors writing in their individual capacities only.
Some, but not all our content contributors or writers are law students, lawyers or retired legal professionals. None act as personal legal advisors to Users.
Contributors that are or have been licensed to act as legal professionals are typically limited, by professional licensing, to practicing law in a single State or a select few States. Therefore, information in an article written by a California licensed attorney may be less relevant to a User seeking information about Texas.
Laws governing specific conduct often vary from one jurisdiction to another. Legislative or “statutory law” and court made (judicial opinions) or “common law” vary from State to State. Therefore, content crafted by a contributor licensed in one State may be less relevant or irrelevant to users seeking information relevant to legal issues in another State. That is why a private consultation with a lawyer licensed to practice law in the geographical jurisdiction of the user’s legal involvement is critical.
The publication of information (articles, etc.) attributed to a legal professional is not intended as an endorsement of that legal professional, or their knowledge, experience, or skill.
No Attorney-Client Relationship
Our Site and services are not intended to create any attorney-client relationship. Your use of our Site and services does not and will not in any circumstance create an attorney-client relationship between you and us.No attorney-client or confidential relationship exists or will be formed between Users and this Site or its employees, representatives, agents, contributors or anyone else associated with the Site.
No Lawyer Referrals, Recommendations or Endorsements
The decision to retain an attorney is an important one, one that you must make carefully based on your own judgment and evaluation of that attorney. We do not refer Users to a specific attorney or legal service. User are solely responsible for selecting an attorney or other service. Users are free to consider multiple sources of legal information in order to make an informed attorney selection decision.
We do not endorse any attorney or legal service. We make no representation, guarantee or warranty (express or implied) as to the legal ability, competence, quality, or reliability of any legal services provided by any lawyer, law firm or legal service provider.
We cannot and do not perform a check for conflicts of interest between you and an attorney.
This Site offers Users several ways to identify and locate an attorney or other legal services, including third-party placed advertisements (Google ads) for lawyers and a searchable directory of lawyers and law firms. The directory is routinely updated, mostly on a voluntary basis by lawyers, law firms and other legal service providers choosing to add their personal information.
No Confidentiality of User Information
Statements or other information published online, posted in online forums, in blog comments, online chats and elsewhere online will be publicly viewable and accessible, will be copied and redistributed by others (including automated, software based systems such as “bots”, and, ultimately, such statements can and will be used against their maker.
The release and security of any sensitive or confidential personal information transmitted by Users to any attorney or service is the User’s sole responsibility. We exercise no control over and make no representations as to the use of personal information a User provides to any lawyer or legal service provider.
Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability
All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this Site are hereby expressly disclaimed. The content of this Site is provided “as is;” no representations are made that the content is error-free.
If you use any lawyer, law firm or legal service provider identified or identifiable via this Site, you agree that: IN NO EVENT SHALL WE BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE LAWYER SERVICES OR for any advice, information or services provided to you by any attorney with whom you may make contact through this Site. TO THE EXTENT THE FOREGOING LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS PROHIBITED, PROVIDER’S SOLE OBLIGATION TO YOU FOR DAMAGES SHALL BE LIMITED TO $100.00.
Lawyer Services for Users
Our Site and services offer several ways to identify and locate legal services, including advertisements for or by lawyers or law firms and a searchable directory of lawyers and law firms.
We make no recommendation as to any lawyer or law firm. We do not refer users to specific lawyers or law firms.
The addition of lawyer listings to our directory involves no evaluative judgment of whether a lawyer or law firm is the “best” or the “right” lawyer or service or is otherwise preferrable.
The decision to retain an attorney is an important one, one that you must make carefully based on your own needs, your own judgment and evaluation of that attorney. You may wish to consider multiple sources in order to make an informed attorney selection decision, such as local or State bar associations, court approved legal specialty certification databases and national databases of attorneys with advanced legal training or experience.
You must independently verify the accuracy of any information you obtain from our Site and services.
Agreements regarding legal services or fees are outside the scope of our Site. All agreements are strictly between the User and the service provider, and do not involve us in any way. We do not seek or receive any portion of any attorney fees. We are not involved in or responsible for any transactions between Users and third-party providers of legal services. We do not guarantee such transactions in any way.
The release, transmission, and security of sensitive or confidential information transmitted by users to an attorney or other service provider is your sole responsibility.
We cannot perform a check for conflicts of interest between you and an attorney provided by a lawyer service.
YOU AGREE THAT IN NO EVENT WILL WE BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE LAWYER SERVICES OR FOR ANY ADVICE, INFORMATION OR SERVICES PROVIDED TO YOU BY ANY ATTORNEY WITH WHOM YOU MAY MAKE CONTACT THROUGH OUR SITES AND SERVICES. TO THE EXTENT THE FOREGOING LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS PROHIBITED, OUR SOLE OBLIGATION TO YOU FOR DAMAGES WILL BE LIMITED TO $100.00.
You also should be aware that certain states and jurisdictions have special rules relating to legal services. You should contact your state or local jurisdiction for more information.
Links to Third Party Sites
Our Site and services may contain links to websites controlled by parties other than us (a “Third Party Site”). We work with several partners and affiliates whose sites are linked with our sites and services. We may also provide links to other citations or resources with whom it is not affiliated. We are not responsible for and does not endorse or accept any responsibility for the availability, contents, products, services or use of any Third Party Site, any website accessed from a Third Party Site or any changes or updates to such sites. We make no guarantees about the content or quality of the products or services provided by such sites. We are not responsible for webcasting or any other form of transmission received from any Third Party Site. We are providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by us of the Third Party Site, nor does it imply that we sponsor, are affiliated or associated with, guarantee, or are legally authorized to use any trade name, registered trademark, logo, legal or official seal, or copyrighted symbol that may be reflected in the links. You acknowledge that you bear all risks associated with access to and use of content provided on a Third Party Site and agree that we are not responsible for any loss or damage of any sort you may incur from dealing with a third party. You should contact the Site administrator for the applicable Third Party Site if you have any concerns regarding such links or the content located on any such Third Party Site.
Attorney Ethics and Rules of Professional Conduct
If you are an attorney participating in our Site as an author, a commenter, an attorney listed in a directory, or in any other public facing capacity, you agree
(1) to not provide specific legal advice in content you generate;
(2) to only submit content which is competent, appropriate, educational, and in accordance with your State bar’s attorney ethics requirements;
(3) you warrant that you are an attorney in good standing with a license to practice law in at least one of the 50 United States of America or the District of Columbia;
(4) you agree to promptly notify us of any ethics action brought against you, as well as your resignation from the practice of law or other loss of license; and,
(5) you acknowledge that the Rules of Professional Conduct of the jurisdictions where you are licensed (“Rules”) apply to all aspects of your participation and that you will abide by those Rules.
No Solicitation Allowed
Users are prohibited from distributing to persons or entities identified via our Site any content or material containing solicitations of business. Attorneys and law firms are prohibited from soliciting employment from prospective clients our Site, including any of its interactive features.
Special Rules Relating to Legal Service Providers
Some States and jurisdictions have special rules relating to legal services. You should contact your State or local jurisdiction for more information.
Please note the following examples of State-specific disclosures:
Alabama: No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.
Colorado: No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. Colorado does not certify lawyers as specialists in any field.
Florida: Florida Rule of Professional Conduct 4-7.10(c) defines a lawyer referral service as “(1) any person, group of persons, association, organization, or entity that receives a fee or charge for referring or causing the direct or indirect referral of a potential client to a lawyer drawn from any specific group or panel of lawyers; or (2) any group or pooled advertising program operated by any person, group of persons, association, organization, or entity wherein the legal services advertisements utilize a common telephone number and potential clients are then referred only to lawyers or law firms participating in the group or pooled advertising program.” To the extent that this Site may be deemed a lawyer referral service, Rule 4-7.10(a)(10) requires that all lawyer referral services (as defined in the Florida Rules) must affirmatively state in all advertisements that it is a lawyer referral service.
Iowa: No representation is made regarding the quality of legal services that have been or will be performed.
Minnesota: Past results afford no guarantee of future results; each matter is different and must be judged on its own merits.
Missouri: The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.
Nebraska: No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. Past results afford no guarantee of future results; each matter is different and must be judged on its own merits.
New Mexico: Past successes cannot be an assurance of future success because each matter must be decided on its own merits.
New York: Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The lawyer services offered are not making a recommendation as to any lawyer or law firm and do not vet the qualifications of such lawyers and law firms. Being included on the list of participating lawyers requires only a payment and the selection of a participating lawyer from that list is the result of a neutral process that involves no evaluative judgment. When a lawyer is included from that list, it does not mean that lawyer is the “best” or “right” lawyer for your needs or that the lawyer is otherwise preferred over other lawyers. Lawyers or law firms willing to contact you with your permission as a part of our lawyer services pay an additional fee that is separate from the fee they pay for inclusion in our searchable directory of lawyers and law firms. Lawyers or law firms that do not pay this additional fee are not included in this service.
Wyoming: The Wyoming State Bar does not certify any lawyer as a specialist or expert.
South Dakota: No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. Past successes cannot be an assurance of future success because each matter must be decided on its own merits. Any customer review on this Site does not constitute a guaranty, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter.
Utah: No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. Past successes cannot be an assurance of future success because each matter must be decided on its own merits.
Wyoming: No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. Past results afford no guarantee of future results; each matter is different and must be judged on its own merits. The Wyoming State Bar does not certify any lawyer as a specialist or expert. Anyone considering a lawyer should independently investigate the lawyer’s credentials and ability, and not rely upon advertisements or self-proclaimed expertise.