Effective date: 06/05/2009
IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO ANYONE ON THIS WEB SITE: You must read these Legal Notices and Terms of Use (“Terms”) carefully before accessing the HigherLegal™ website. These Terms create a legally binding agreement between you (“You” or “Your”) and HigherLegal™ which will govern: (1) the information of HigherLegal™ (the “Information”) which is on and/or is made available through this website; (2) the nature of the relationship between You and HigherLegal™; (3) other matters of professional responsibility; (4) Higher Legal’s™ use of Your information which is gathered by HigherLegal™ through this website; and (5) Your use of this website, its related systems, and the Information (hereafter collectively referred to as the “HigherLegal™ Site”). By accessing any portion of the HigherLegal™ Site, You are indicating that You have read and understood these Terms and that You assent and agree to be bound by these Terms, which may be amended from time to time. If You do not agree to each of these Terms, You are not permitted to access the HigherLegal™ Site. You are only authorized to use the HigherLegal™ Site if you agree to abide by all applicable laws and by each of these Terms. 1. NO LEGAL ADVICE: HigherLegal™ is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or legal services. HigherLegal™ is a Lawyer Referral Service which is Certified by the California State Bar (LRS #130). As such, HigherLegal™ is governed by the Rules and Regulations of the State Bar of California Pertaining to Lawyer Referral Services Including Minimum Standards for a Lawyer Referral Service in California (“Rules”). The Information is made available for general informational purposes only, and is not intended to constitute specific legal advice or to be a substitute for advice from a lawyer. The Information may not reflect recent developments in the law, may not be complete, and may not be accurate in or applicable to Your case. Because the Information is general in nature and may not pertain to Your specific case or circumstances, You should not act or refrain from acting based on any Information without first obtaining advice from a lawyer who is qualified in the subject area which is applicable to Your case and/or in Your jurisdiction. 2. NO ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP: Higher Legal™ does not enter into an attorney-client relationship with its clients. You agree that Your access of the HigherLegal™ Site and/or receipt of the Information, or Your transmission of electronic mail to addresses on the HigherLegal™ Site, does not create an attorney-client relationship between You and Higher Legal™. 3. NO ADVERTISING OR SOLICITATION: The HigherLegal™ Site is not intended to be an advertisement or solicitation, but may be deemed an ADVERTISEMENT in certain jurisdictions. 4. COMMUNICATIONS: You agree that electronic mail You send to HigherLegal™ will not be treated as confidential or invoke an attorney-client privilege. However, if You are an existing client of HigherLegal™ and You send an electronic mail to HigherLegal™ pertaining to a matter in which HigherLegal™ has been involved and/or has notice, such electronic mail may be entitled to be treated as confidential or privileged at the discretion of HigherLegal™. Notwithstanding the foregoing, You acknowledge that electronic mail and the Internet are generally insecure media of communication, and HigherLegal™ cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any electronic mail sent to or received by it through the HigherLegal™ Site. 5. LRS-CLIENT PRIVILEGE: California Evidence Code § 912 was amended and new Evidence Code §§ 965 through 968 were added which specifically provide for a lawyer referral service–client privilege in California. Under new Evidence Code § 965(a), the new lawyer referral service–client privilege provides that "client" means, ‘a person who, directly or through an authorized representative, consults a lawyer referral service for the purpose of retaining, or securing legal services or advice from, a lawyer in his or her professional capacity, and includes an incompetent who consults the lawyer referral service himself or herself or whose guardian or conservator consults the lawyer referral service on his or her behalf.’ And, under § 965(b), "[c]onfidential communication between client and lawyer referral service" means, ‘information transmitted between a client and a lawyer referral service in the course of that relationship and in confidence by a means that, so far as the client is aware, does not disclose the information to third persons other than those who are present to further the interests of the client in the consultation or those to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for the transmission of the information or the accomplishment of the purpose for which the lawyer referral service is consulted.’ Finally, under § 965(d), "[l]awyer referral service" means, ‘a lawyer referral service certified under, and operating in compliance with, § 6155 of the Business and Professions Code or an enterprise reasonably believed by the client to be a lawyer referral service certified under, and operating in compliance with, § 6155.’ 6. JURISDICTIONS: HigherLegal™ provides referral services in the jurisdictions in which it is authorized by the California State Bar. 7. NO WARRANTY: The Information contained herein or otherwise provided may contain descriptions of matters in which Higher Legal™ has successfully represented and/or provided services to its clients. The results of these matters were dependent on their specific circumstances, and are in no way intended to be predictive of future results, even in similar circumstances, or offer any type of guarantee or assurance of outcome. Information pertaining to HigherLegal™ clients may not reflect the opinions of such clients. 8. PRIVACY. With respect to all facts and/or Information submitted or collected on the HigherLegal™ Site, You accept the HigherLegal™ privacy policy as set forth herein. This privacy policy does not pertain to, and HigherLegal™ is not responsible for the privacy practices of, any third party websites to which the HigherLegal™ Site hyperlinks. Certain areas of the HigherLegal™ Site may be subject to additional privacy-related provisions, links to which will be posted in those areas. 9. ACTIVITY LOGGING: When You use the HigherLegal™ Site, which may be hosted in whole or in part by a third party, the HigherLegal™ Site will collect information indirectly and automatically (through, for example, the use of “cookies” or Your “IP address”) about Your activities. HigherLegal™ uses this activity information (the “Activity Information”) for internal purposes such as to administer the HigherLegal™ Site, improve the HigherLegal™ Site, and to help HigherLegal™ understand how the HigherLegal™ Site is being used. “Cookies” are small pieces of information stored on Your hard drive, not on the HigherLegal™ Site. You are always free to decline cookies if Your browser permits, but in that case, some portions of the HigherLegal™ Site may not operate properly. An “IP address” is a number that is automatically assigned to Your computer when You use the Internet. 10. PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION: The Higher Legal™ Site is designed so that You may generally browse it without providing any Personally Identifiable Information (defined below). Certain areas of the HigherLegal™ Site, however, may require or allow the voluntarily submission of Personally Identifiable Information. HigherLegal™ uses Your Personally Identifiable Information for the purposes for which it was submitted by You to HigherLegal™. Except as otherwise set forth herein, HigherLegal™ does not knowingly share Your Personally Identifiable Information with third parties. “Personally Identifiable Information” means information that would allow someone to identify or contact You, such as Your name, physical or electronic mail address, and telephone number; provided, however, that Personally Identifiable Information does not include aggregated information that, by itself, does not permit the identification of individual persons and does not include the Activity Information. Higher Legal™ will use reasonable efforts to remove Your Personally Identifiable Information from our then current Higher Legal™ Site at any time upon Your written request to [email protected]. Such removal of Personally Identifiable Information will not ensure the permanent removal of such Personally Identifiable Information from the HigherLegal™ Site. Higher Legal™ may share Personally Identifiable Information with third parties, including the State Bar of California, affiliated firms and/or third parties performing services for or on behalf of HigherLegal™. Such services may include communications, database, event management, hosting, mailing, and marketing services. Additionally, HigherLegal™ cannot fully ensure that Your Personally Identifiable Information will not be disclosed to third parties. For example, Higher Legal™ may be legally obligated to disclose information to the California State Bar or third parties under certain circumstances. Third parties may circumvent Higher Legal’s™ security measures to unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications, or an error may occur in the administration of the HigherLegal™ Site. In the unlikely event that HigherLegal™ needs to investigate or resolve possible problems or inquiries, HigherLegal™ may, and You authorize HigherLegal™ to, disclose any information about You to the California State Bar and/or other government officials as permitted by applicable law. 11. MISCELLANEOUS PRIVACY TERMS: Higher Legal™ has implemented and follows appropriate technical measures to protect against the risks of unauthorized access to, erroneous disclosure of, and unlawful interception of Personally Identifiable Information. You should know, however, that HigherLegal™ cannot fully eliminate such risks. HigherLegal™ hopes this clarifies Higher Legal’s™ procedures regarding its collection, use and disclosure of Your information including Personally Identifiable Information. From time to time, HigherLegal™ may modify these terms. Such modifications will be effective on the date that HigherLegal™ posts the modified statement to the HigherLegal™ Site. Questions or concerns regarding the HigherLegal™ privacy policy may contact HigherLegal™ at [email protected]. 12. PROHIBITED USES: You agree You will not use the Higher Legal™ Site in violation of any applicable law. You agree You will not use the HigherLegal™ Site in connection with (a) the infringement of intellectual property rights; (b) the unauthorized transmission of unsolicited commercial electronic mail; (c) the transmission of defamatory materials; or (d) fraud. You will not violate, attempt to violate, or knowingly facilitate the violation of the security (including access control or authentication systems) or integrity of the HigherLegal™ Site. 13. COPYRIGHT: The HigherLegal™ Site, name, logo, and including the Information is protected by United States and international copyright laws. All rights are reserved. Subject to these Terms, HigherLegal™ grants to You a limited, nonexclusive, personal license to access, view, download and print the Information solely for noncommercial and informational purposes. You may not modify the Information in any way and You may not remove or obscure any copyright or permission notices provided on or in connection with the Information. HigherLegal™ does not grant to You any rights in its marks. You are free to hyperlink to any page in the publicly available pages of the HigherLegal™ Site; provided, however, that You agree to remove any such hyperlink upon Higher Legal’s™ written request. 14. ELECTRONIC MAIL: You may send electronic mail to those addresses made available on the HigherLegal™ Site for the purposes of requesting information regarding HigherLegal™ or legal or other services offered by HigherLegal™. You agree to cease sending electronic mail to any HigherLegal™ address upon Higher Legal’s™ request. 15. NO WARRANTIES: THE HIGHER LEGAL™ SITE IS PROVIDED TO YOU “AS IS.” YOUR ACCESS AND USE OF IT IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY THE LAW AND RULES OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE APPLICABLE JURISDICTION, HIGHER LEGAL™ DISCLAIMS ALL CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, ACCURACY OF INFORMATIONAL CONTENT, SYSTEM INTEGRATION, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE OPERATION. 16. DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY: TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY THE LAW AND RULES OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE APPLICABLE JURISDICTION, HIGHER LEGAL™ DISCLAIMS LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR INCOME, LOST BUSINESS, OR LOST DATA, OR FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THIS SITE. 17. THIRD PARTY INFORMATION: Higher Legal™ may hyperlink to or otherwise make third party information available on the HigherLegal™ Site. This is done solely for the purposes of convenience. HigherLegal™ does not endorse or approve of any such third party information or such third parties. 18. MISCELLANEOUS: You agree that any dispute arising out of or in connection with the HigherLegal™ Site or these Terms will be governed by the laws of the State of California without reference to conflict of laws principles that would require the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction, and You submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California. In the event that You gain access to information not intended to be accessed by You, You agree that You will immediately notify HigherLegal™ and lawfully destroy all copies of such information in Your possession. HigherLegal™ may be contacted at [email protected]. 19. MODIFICATIONS: HigherLegal™ may change or update these Terms from time to time, and any such modifications shall be effective upon posting on the HigherLegal™ Site. Your use of the HigherLegal™ Site after a change has been posted signifies Your agreement to any such changes. You should review these Terms periodically to make sure you are up to date on any changes. 20. NON-COMMERCIAL USE: The HigherLegal™ Site may not be used in connection with any commercial endeavors except those that are specifically endorsed or approved by HigherLegal™. Any illegal and/or unauthorized use of the HigherLegal™ Site, including but not limited to collecting clients, client information, and/or email addresses by electronic or other means for the purpose of sending unsolicited email or unauthorized framing of or linking to the HigherLegal™ Site is prohibited. Appropriate legal action may be taken for any illegal or unauthorized use of the HigherLegal™ Site. 21. California law requires certain specific disclosures be made available to California residents who use the Internet and provide information that may be used for marketing purposes. That law requires any business that discloses a customer's Personally Identifiable Information to any third party for direct marketing purposes to provide the customer a method for obtaining the names, addresses and certain other specified details of anyone who might have received that Personally Identifiable Information. If you are a California resident you may request this information from HigherLegal™ by writing to: Higher Legal™ 1925 Century Park E, suite 1700, Los Angeles, CA 90067 or by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. You can also reach HigherLegal™ by telephone at (800) 210-2104. HigherLegal™ is not obligated to respond to more than one such request from you per calendar year.